Kucinich: If You Listen To The President You'd Think He's For The Public Opition BUT HE'S NOT!

[democracy1st]

Run time: 08:40 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2vGQqZI0BY   Posted on YouTube: March 09, 2010 By YouTube Member: MoxNewsDotCom Views on YouTube: 1   Posted on DU: March 09, 2010 By DU Member: democracy1st Views on DU: 3327

 
http://MOXNews.com/
March 08, 2010 MSNBC Keith Olbermann

http://kucinich.house.gov/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/

[Cha]

1. I believe Rep Grijalva over kucinich anytime.

"Rep Grijalva: "The President supports the Public Option."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x210532

[slipslidingaway]

2. Why is it that the progressives say they will stand for something

and then cave in when it comes time to uphold their position?

No wonder the corporations keep on gaining ground and the people lose more rights and more purchasing power year after year.

When Kucinich stood against the banks as mayor of Cleveland it cost him politically, but years later they thanked him for taking a stand for the people.

Obama said "Enough is Enough, this is not who we Are..." in October 2008 when speaking about politicians who make deals with lobbyists about health care once they arrive in DC.

Unfortunately, he became the man he had campaigned against when he went back on his detailed HC plan with the Pharma deal.

:(

[truedelphi]

4. You just nailed it - Obama has become the man that he campaigned against.

And then there is the thing of the Kabuki Theatre. We have a media that is in the pocket of the Big Insurers, so they don't care to parse Obama's statements or his actions.

A Cronkite would be out there saying, "But this so called Reform Bill doesn't have anything but giveaways, and may not even provide for the uninsured who have pre-exisiting conditions."

But the media acts like Obama states something factual and meaningful when it is just more of his usual mesmerizing but EMPTY glibness.

[slipslidingaway]

5. It is hard to reconcile the man in the speech with what he did a few months

later.

:(

Even the "liberal media" such as Olbermann, Maddow and Schultz have done a poor job in reporting this bill, if anything they have helped to keep up the pretense of the left/right divide.

Sure they are better than the RW jerks, but we do not need better, we need facts.

And we hear Obama talk about the deficit reduction in the first ten years, but over half of that comes from the long term HC provision (CLASS) which collects money for long term care and uses the money to pay for subsidies to the private insurance companies. At some point that debt becomes due???

Even the CBO said in late December that the Dems were double counting the Medcare savings, they cannot help keep Medicare solvent for a few more years and also pay for HC reform.

I wish my revenue could be double counted against future debts.

:)

Where is the liberal media? Their job should not be to help the left/right divide, but to point out flaws in what the Dems are telling us. We have enough cheerleaders.


CBO suggests Democrats are double-counting Medicare savings

http://www.examiner.com/x-28973-Essex-County-Conservative-Examiner~y2009m12d23-CBO-suggests-Democrats-are-doublecounting-Medicare-savings

"In fact, in a significant departure from the usual non-argumentative language that the CBO uses, the CBO actually used the phrase "double-counting" to describe the assumptions that the Senate's plan makes (emphasis added):

The key point is that the savings to the HI trust fund under the PPACA would be received by the government only once, so they cannot be set aside to pay for future Medicare spending and, at the same time, pay for current spending on other parts of the legislation or on other programs. Trust fund accounting shows the magnitude of the savings within the trust fund, and those savings indeed improve the solvency of that fund; however, that accounting ignores the burden that would be faced by the rest of the government later in redeeming the bonds held by the trust fund.

Unified budget accounting shows that the majority of the HI trust fund savings would be used to pay for other spending under the PPACA and would not enhance the ability of the government to redeem the bonds credited to the trust fund to pay for future Medicare benefits. To describe the full amount of HI trust fund savings as both improving the government’s ability to pay future Medicare benefits and financing new spending outside of Medicare would essentially double-count a large share of those savings and thus overstate the improvement in the government’s fiscal position..."

[pundaint]

21. I agree, Rachel exhibits an uncharacteristic tin ear on this one.

[swilton]

29. Yes, on this issue Rachel has been lackluster

She has covered very selective aspects of the bill but not the bill in its totality - the worse aspect of which the power it gives to health insurance industry through the mandate mechanism.

I also have to say that I didn't like her coverage of Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize.

[fascisthunter]

12. .

[bvar22]

34. Not just the Pharma Deal...

Check out this video on the "Cadillac Tax":

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x420430

[Better Believe It]

39. And than fold?

[Enthusiast]

6. If the president supported

the public option it would be included.

[Barbara2423]

51. Tell that to Blance Lincoln & others

[sabrina 1]

16. I like Grijalva, but he's wrong about this.

Obama is now claiming that 'later' we will 'fix it' to get the votes of the Progressives. Funny how ignored them for so long while he held meetings with Republicans and Big Pharma. See how hard he works when he really believes in something? But, Obama has said clearly all along, as Kucinich points out, that the 'PO is not important'. So we have Obama's own words to prove Kucinich right.

Grijalva believes him now, but will be very disappointed in the future. His vote has been coerced with a lie.

Lots of information on how Obama fought AGAINST a PO.

http://www.google.com/custom?q=Obama+says+Public+Option+not+important&btnG=Google+Search&sa=Search&client=psp-toshiba&forid=1&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=ISO-8859-1&safe=active&cof=GALT%3A%23008000%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23336699%3BVLC%3A663399%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BLBGC%3A336699%3BALC%3A0000FF%3BLC%3A0000FF%3BT%3A000000%3BGFNT%3A0000FF%3BGIMP%3A0000FF%3BLH%3A19%3BLW%3A100%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fbase.googlehosted.com%2Fbase_image%3Fq%3Dpsp-image-u0nmbb%26size%3D1%3BS%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.toshibadirect.com%3BLP%3A1%3BFORID%3A1&hl=en&aq=f&oq=

[Mike K]

24. I trust Dennis Kucinich because I have good cause to.

I do not trust Barack Obama because I have good cause not to.

[denimgirly]

3. Kucinich, I LOVE YOU -- You are the few TRULY FOR THE PEOPLE!!

[pundaint]

7. I cannot understand how anyone can believe expanding insurance companies involvement is reform.

It's just so obvious. One of these countries isn't like the others, can you spot the difference? United States, largest percentage of GNP spent on health costs, lowest percent covered in free world, mediocre outcomes performance, for-profit insurance participation - The rest of the freaking industrial world - more people covered, lower costs as % of GDP or per person, better outcomes, NO for-profit-insurance.

Moving backward at the start of the reform process will only make it harder to get where we need to be.

Elected officials: Give us real reform or go home

[scentopine]

40. corporations wrote nafta, they wrote banking "reform", energy "reform"

all of them are sucking our money away from us, using us like cattle. Whoring politicians and their corporate CEO johns have made washington look like Times Square porn district circa 1975. Its a race to the bottom.

[bowens43]

8. unfortunatly

I's very difficult to know what the president believes about anything.

[Dawgs]

9. Me: If you look at Kucinich's record you would see that he voted AGAINST the PO.

:shrug:

[Lerkfish]

14. Because he wanted something better.

But hey, YOU: okeydokey with all the DLC who kept making the bill worse.

but you seem to hate DK.

now, why is that?

[sabrina 1]

17. He didn't vote against the PO, you are misinformed.

He has explained in great detail why voted against that bill. I really wish at least on democratic boards people would not repeat rightwing and DLC talking points. This issue has been discussed over and over here, and links provided many times.

Dennis did NOT vote AGAINST the PO.

[florida08]

10. a good man

but if the democrats lose this fight..it's a win for the neocons. The bill does have some good things in it. I heard Wendell Potter on Bill Moyers the other night supports it.

[bvar22]

36. If the "Centrist" Democrats win this fight....

it is a huge WIN for the For Profit Health Insurance Industry....
the same people who caused the problem....
Just like the Wall Street Bailout.

There will be NO "fixing it LATER", especially after the losses in 2010.
The Democratic Party will NEVER be as strong as it is today. (at least for a generation)
If "they" can't FIX IT NOW, they will NEVER Fix It.

[grahamhgreen]

11. MUST SEE VIDEO!

[GreenTea]

13. Unfortunately, we do NOT have a social progressive for president, he's more a DLC corporate

moderate who borders the right and constantly gives into corporations demands and who throws a few token crumbs to the liberals now & again.

Under republican rule, we don't even get the crumbs.

And it's also very clear it's the corporations that completely run this country of ours....inevitability corporate money, corporate lobbyist & the corporate owned media always win out in the end.....just as we have seen for the past year with health care and the public option....

And it will only get worse, before and if, it ever gets better!

Sadly, moderate progressive at best Obama, is about the most progressive president we'll ever see in in this country again, corporations are only getting stronger they will see to that....The corporate DLC president Clinton was not any more progressive than Obama.....Corporations will not allow anyone more progressive, only less progressive as time moves on.

America is corporate controlled and the people and workers don't stand a chance with just a handful of elected reps who call themselves progressive democrats, the rest are easily bought off, we call them "spineless Democrats".

Yes, they are spineless, but what makes them that way, and even changes them from once progressives to complete corporate wimps......is of course corporate money.....knowing full-well that if they don't cave into corporations desires, corporate money will find someone else instead who will fill their seat....

So this is what we have now is democratic corporate stooges, republican robots and no Public Option and very few demanding one.

Fuck them all....I'm with Dennis Kucinich as always, this one as well!

[swilton]

30. It's nauseating the way President Obama

goes around the country calling this piece of worthless garbage reform. When the Democrots lose their majorities in the House and the Senate in the 2010, how does he think this crap will be improved?

[SandWalker1984]

15. I agree with Dennis on this bill.

I’ve had enough of the US corporate profiteering healthcare system.

A few years ago a family member had a minor heart attack.He thought he had insurance. While in the hospital, looking at hospital bills of possibly $150,000, he found out that Aetna had changed the terms of his policy several months before and they would only pay $5000. He was never notified by Aetna of the policy change. They claimed they had sent him notification but never provided any proof. Aetna was charging him $666 a quarter for $5000 per year maximum coverage. That's loan shark rates.

He found out that they didn’t even HAVE to notify policy holders by mail of the change. He was told that this was “legal” in 34 states at the time - now it’s even more. You only think you have health insurance. Try using it!

To add insult to injury, the 1st night he was in the hospital he almost died because they gave him too much nitro, causing his blood pressure to drop too low. They didn’t even have a blood pressure monitor on him, the guy with the heart attack. If his wife hadn’t been there to alert the nursing staff, he could have died. I could write a book not only about the incompetent medical service he received but also about the incompetent billing department at the hospital and at Aetna. It took him almost a year to sort through the mess and deal with all of the multiple billing, billing errors, etc.

Now he can't get affordable insurance because of his pre-existing condition. Under Orahma Care, insurance for him will still be unaffordable. So he will be stuck buying a useless, high deductible policy that covers very little OR pay fines.

From what I just heard on one of the major media channels, the subsidies won't kick in until 2014 (if they are not legislated altogether out of the bill after 2010 elections) but the mandates to buy insurance would start before 2014. So that means you will be forced to buy insurance you probably cannot afford without the benefit of the subsidies. If you cannot afford the mandated insurance, you will be fined thru the IRS or go to jail.

Consider the following: Anthem Blue Cross (yes, the company wanting 39% increases in premiums) brags that a woman can still get a private insurance policy for only $156 a month. That may sound good to some until they consider this policy has a $1500 deductible, and then only pays for 30% of most medical procedures and tests, makes the woman pay up to $500 a day for a hospital room, and doesn't cover pregnancy or delivery costs at all. How good a policy is that? THIS is your future health insurance policy under mandated Orahma Care. A promise of insurance for all but no limits on how bad that coverage can be.

There's one other problem with this bill. The expansion of Medicaid in the bill, which is a single payer system funded by working American tax payers. I'm good enough to pay taxes to support the expansion of a single payer program for others but I am told that I cannot have that same program for myself by the Democrats in Congress. Yes, there will be a political bloodbath for the Democrats in November if they pursue passing this corporate benefits package they call health care reform.


Chains we can believe in.....

[midnight]

18. Thanks Dennis.

[spedtr90]

19. DNC does not ask about health care reform

A survey from the Democratic national committee just arrived in the mail!

Tell me what it means that the words "health care reform" are nowhere to be found.
They do want me to rate the president's efforts for "health insurance reform".
They would like to know how important "health insurance reform" is to me.

Those words are NOT interchangeable! They mean totally different things!

I wonder if Kucinich has been informed his party does not have health care reform as an issue in a lousy survey.

Bad party! No donation! I'll support individuals.

[guyton]

20. We don't need insurance reform!

The model is fundamentally broken. Insurance companies are *for profit* - they are rewarded for denying claims and dropping high-risk customers.

You can't put lipstick on a pig and you can't make the current *for-profit* system better. Insurance companies need to be put out of business.

We need universal health care, not billions more for insurance companies whose stock holders demand that they maximize returns.

[pundaint]

22. Right, And This Bill gives Insurance Companies incentive to increase costs so their 20% grows

[SlingBlade]

23. Kucinich speaks Truth to power K & R

[gorfle]

25. "building on sand"

This guy nails it.

Building a health care system that depends on for-profit private insurance is building on sand.

[zulchzulu]

26. Kucinich voted AGAINST the Public Option already, so who the hell is he?

What a grandstanding jackass.

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ProSense]

42. "A public option was never included in the legislation." You don't know what you're talking about nt

[Hamlette]

27. And what has Dennis EVER done?

I mean, really, what has he every accomplished? Legislation? nope, Leadership, Nada. He's a bomb and tantrum thrower.

Loser.

[ima_sinnic]

31. take your hatred and shove it

fake "democrat"

[Hamlette]

53. hatred? I'm trying to get 31 million people health care and Dennis is trying to stop it.

I'd say he hates 31 million americans.

I just think he is an ineffectual congressman and an ineffectual leader and an ineffectual presidential candidate.

It's great to have ideals but it won't help change or fix our problems.

There is nothing fake about wanting to see to it that 40,000 Americans don't die because they can't get health care while progressives complain that they will have to buy insurance and worship a very flawed leader.

I tried the "ideals" way. When we stormed mass meetings to get McGovern on the ballot. How did that work out for us? Now I'm willing to compromise to get change instead of taking my toys and stomping off in a fit. Those who stomp their feet and throw tantrums because they don't get what they want are the fake democrats.

[ima_sinnic]

55. wrong. who says those 31 million can afford the useless product they're forced to buy?

Dennis has never once acted in his own self-interest. He takes the job of "representative" seriously. He has serious problems with the bill as it is, and for his courage to oppose this mountain of shit I am grateful. We need a bunch more Dennises to put the country in a truly progressive direction, not into the wallets of fat-cat insurance co CEOs.

When Americans get their bills for mandated "health insurance" requiring huge co-pays and out of pocket deductibles, which are then made even huger after all their pre-existing conditions and "fraud" are sorted out--well, maybe you can afford it, but I sure as hell can't. I'm self-employed and uninsured, and I don't need another useless bill every month that I can't afford--I need health care, not welfare for insurance companies--what do we even need them for, anyway? I'm going to opt for jail if I can, or at least pay the fine for NOT flushing my money down the toilet--it is supposed to be cheaper than the "insurance."

[AnOhioan]

28. K&R

Dennis did not vote against a strong public option....he voted against a weak public option designed to fail.

Let the haters hate...Dennis is voting with the American people.

[ProSense]

32. Labor On Dems Who Block Health Reform: We'll 'Take Them Out'

here

[Bluenorthwest]

37. A non Union member promoting a false impression again

In that article, no Union makes an official statement, and each of the Unions who have people quoted are calling for a wide open and strong public option, not the bill as it stands. None of them have stopped calling for or working toward that vital aspect. 40 Senators and counting. Both of mine of course. How about yours? Are both of your Senators supporting the public option? If not, why are you wasting time here?
Labor supports a public option, and a bill far better than the one we are currently looking at. That is the fact. No wee 'link' to a mystery site or Andy Stern piece needed.

[WatchWhatISay]

43. Here, let me help you

[tomm2thumbs]

35. Top notch video and straight-forward facts by Kucinich - thanks for posting /nt

[BlueJac]

38. Obamarama........

the living nightmare! I feel so patrioitic today I can't fucking stand it!

[Better Believe It]

41. Key point: Insurance companies make money by denying people health care.

And we want to continue and deepen that by forcing millions to give money to the insurance industry?

[BEZERKO]

44. Yes, it sucks that it turned out this way, but it is what it is.

I don't understand the strategy of starting the negotiations with the watered down version. We can't afford a battle, it's getting too late. Pass the senate version and try and fix it in reconciliation, as much as possible. We don't have many options left. It's time to suck it up.

[earcandle]

45. Thank gopod for one sane congressman! Thank you Dennis!

Here is Something Different for you!

[David Zephyr]

46. Proud to be the 72nd Rec.

Kick.

[ecstatic]

47. Doesn't matter what the president is for. It's the Congress and Senate that will vote nt

[Jefferson23]

48. K&R For Kucinich

[sabrina 1]

49. If they want his vote, they know how to get it. Do the right thing.

Include a PO which is what the American people want. No one describes the problems with this bill more clearly and succinctly than Kucinich. They all know he is right, Obama must feel a twinge of conscience when he hears Dennis basically what HE said in the campaign and now asking Dennis Kucinich to do what he has done, change his mind, vote against his conscience.

That was a great interview. He is sad, he would love, as I would, to be able to support this president, but it is not possible if you have a conscience to support this bill.

On the good side, the report says that Dodd is the 37th Senator to sign on for a PO. If Obama wants HCR to pass, get the base fired up. Include a PO and watch it pass! I don't understand why he won't do that.

[Barbara2423]

50. Kucinich knows the votes are that there for single payer

So why would he not vote for the next best thing? He should vote for the bill at hand and work towards the public option. Rome was not built in a day.

[Lindsey]

52. I'm so sick of Kucinich I could die. n/t

[wildbilln864]

54. kicked...

too late to rec. sorry.