Dean says open up Medicare to show tangible results by 2010...otherwise Dems will suffer.

[joeycola]

This is a repost from a few weeks ago. It is worth reposting and I have sent to my congress critters.



Dean says open up Medicare to show tangible results by 2010...otherwise Dems will suffer.
Wed Oct-07-09 09:27 PM

He points out that if no results are evident until 2013, there will be problems for the Democratic party.



http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/politics/2009/10/07/dean-public-option-will-hurt-democrats-in-2010-elections.html

Public option must show tangible results by next year..Dean

Dean said he expects the more liberal House Democrats to "to pull the Senate back" by insisting on a public option of some form in the final bill. "We have to be able to choose between a public option and a private option," he said, adding that no such option is in the Senate Finance Committee bill.

But he also warned that the public option may hurt Democrats politically next year. "If the Democrats want to hold on to their majority, you're going to have a problem," he said. That's because the public option wouldn't be up and running until 2013, long after the 2010 elections, meaning voters won't really see any benefits until long after the election.

To address that problem, Dean said Democrats need to do something that will have tangible results by next summer. His proposal: opening up Medicare to people over the age of 50 so that a "certain mass" of people will already have benefited from health reform by the elections. "You need to have people sign up for this program by July 2010," Dean said.

[jwirr]

1. That seems to be the only way that we can do something about the

health care crisis before 2013. And one year to the election is not enough to show how good the program is. Dean is absolutely correct. I think Obama did say in one of his speeches that he would do something right now for those without HC but I do not remember what he was promising.

[joeycola]

2. Perhaps someone will post it for us.

[xxqqqzme]

3. you might want to edit that year nt

[jwirr]

6. Thanks that was a freudian slip. I love the medieval era.

[xxqqqzme]

9. I've posted stuff like that only to look at it

later and wonder 'how did I do that?' Wishing someone would have gently nudged me.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

4. This is SO right. All the fear, none of the benefits is political poison

When you pass a big new law you have to show people something right away.

Maybe not the whole deal, but something

[Faryn Balyncd]

5. K&R

[Vinnie From Indy]

7. Dr Dean is once again telling it like it is

He is absolutely right that Dems will suffer if the bill is a load of crap and does not do something for people before the 2010 elections. He was right about a 50 state strategy and he is right now.

[xxqqqzme]

8. As usual, Howard Dean

warns the party and they will ignore him. Th grassroots knows the man's wisdom.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

10. I have to agree. Dr. Dean's point is as plain as the nose on your face.

In fact, it is so plainly in clear sight,that designing and passing reform that will be carped at for years before results are shown is a pre-planned suicide watch. Why would anyone design something like that? Unless . . . and then the cynic in me immediately goes down paths best left unsaid.

Ok, I'll say them anyway. If anyone actually cared about deficits and universal coverage, they would go for single payer and damn the torpedos. We all know why that isn't happening.

Someone should call in Eliot Ness.

[slipslidingaway]

11. It should be done not because the Dems will suffer, but because all people...

will suffer.

[joeycola]

16. That thought ran across my mind as I read it also.

[eridani]

12. Yep. First tell your congresscritters to vote for the Weiner amendment

Single payer. The fallback is letting at least some people into Medicare.

[JBoris]

13. Can we trade Reid for Dean?

Please?

[ProSense]

14. For how long? n/t

[fujiyama]

15. He's absolutely right

With high unemployment likely to remain and few results of any legislation passed in the two years actually felt by people, Dems will suffer. People are hurting, and and need more than just extensions on unemployment - and Congress is dragging their feet on that as well...

Dems need to give people a reason to vote for them. Otherwise, the opposition is almost always more fired up and may win out of default.