Thom Hartman, his version of the Health Care problem, how to still have a chance at Public Option

[Mira]

Thom says the sheer profits sitting in the bank by the Health Care providers, the walk around money, the cash available to them any given time, with which they can carpet bomb the US -
is greater than the sum total of all the money spent by the political candidates in the 2008 election, including all monies spent by McCain and Obama.

For Congress, who knows this, the money is a threat just like the bear outside the cave.

In order, says Thom, for me to tell you the one way we can still make the Public Option happen, let me first mention how legislation happens.

The Senate comes up with a bill, and the House comes up with a bill.
The chairmen and the speakers get together and hammer out a compromise bill.

In this case the House had the Public Option and a number of really good things, and even the Senate bill had a number of good things, together they could have come up with some really fine legislation.

The bill had to be re-voted on, and the problems in the Senate became the 60 votes needed, or people like Landrieu, Lieberman et al.

Then Hartman played an ad that is playing throughout the country, from "yeswestillcan.org" that shows Obama saying:
"Anything I sign must include a Public Option"
and where they show the public approval for it is 59% vs 33% approval for Mandates.
Then the ad shows Obama in essence dissing mandates, comparing them to forced buying of houses by people who cannot afford a house.

So now comes Thom and says we have one more chance to get the Public Option into the bill,
We need one progressive Senator, ONE HERO, one brave person to block the final bill.

That would absolutely force them to either make a choice, or it would force them into Reconciliation which only requires 51% for approval.

And that, says Thom, is my campaign to get this thing accomplished.
It's not speculation, it is public stuff, and if you go to Bernie Sander's website then you will find a poll he conducts about whether people agree with this proposed legislation, and overwhelmingly they do not.

My suggestion is, says Thom, to add the Public Option back into the bill,
it looks like Obama is not playing chess, but when you study Sanders' website you will see that he very well may be.

And the stakes are really high.

[Cleita]

1. Shhhhhh!eom

[ThomWV]

2. You can not "improve" on a Public Option that isn't in the bill

If its not there in the initial bill there will never be a public option. You can no improve on what is not there.

[WI_DEM]

3. Really they should pass a windfall profits tax on health care industry

[Sebastian Doyle]

4. Hey, Thom said not to repeat this where the 'pukes could see it!

Though I really hope he's right, but I don't have that much faith in the politicians who claim to be on our side.

Bernie Sanders, possibly. But that doesn't necessarily mean he'll have cooperation from anyone else.

[Mira]

6. True, he did say it,

but then he laughed, knowing he was not only on radio, but also on TV.

[European Socialist]

5. I want some of what Thom has been smokin....

Since when do Dems do something that bold and progressive.

[Cleita]

7. I think he's reaching out their too and giving them too much

credit for doing something really clever and smart, when in fact they are just covering their fat cat asses.

[regnaD kciN]

8. Despite what he thinks, you can't go to reconciliation with this bill...!

Sure, you could pass a public option, but any attempt to regulate the insurance industry via reconciliation would be killed by the Senate parliamentarian, as it is not a matter of government spending or taxation. That includes the regulations about not dropping people when they get sick, refusing to cover people for pre-existing conditions, etc.

So, what happens if you go to reconciliation, and vote in a public option without those regulations? Every private insurance company drops anyone who might cost them money in the near future (including older people as a bloc) and forces them into the public option plan. Since that will, de facto, become a plan for high-risk clients, while the private insurers will only be covering low-risk clients, the premium cost for the public option plan will likely be more than for private insurance.

The only way to achieve this is by passing this bill, with all its problems, now, then coming back in the future and using its foundation to pass a public option through reconciliation. But we need this bill now to do it. If we kill this bill, we're still going to have to pass those regulations before we can put a public option in place, and it will still need sixty Senate votes. Better get that portion out of the way now.

[bobbolink]

10. Coming back....when?

You mean after the huge electoral losses in '10?

[stopbush]

9. Nobody in Congress listens to Thom Harttman, so this amounts in blovaiting to the echo chamber.

And the poll at Sanders' site has a major programming flaw that turns it into a push poll.