CNN: Public option may be dropped from final health care bill

[Bluebear]

Washington (CNN) -- House Democrats are signaling that a final health care bill will drop the government-run public health insurance option favored by liberals but rejected by conservatives from both parties.

A House-Senate conference committee will begin negotiations next month on merging health care bills passed by the Democratic majorities in each chamber.

However, voting in both chambers was extremely close, raising concerns that a compromise might fail to win the necessary final approval.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/12/28/health.care/

[niyad]

1. gee, does this come as a surprise to anyone?

[Bluebear]

3. Well, after all, nobody actually campaigned on the public option

:silly:

[IndianaGreen]

21. No one campaigned on single payer, public option, or repeal of DADT, DOMA

The entire 2007-2008 campaign was an illusion.

[highplainsdem]

23. And the nobody who didn't campaign on it actually worked against it behind the scenes (link):

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/08/19/obama/index.html

But there's nobody to blame...

[inna]

34. thanks for this link.

it's an oldie but definitely a goody.

[valerief]

2. Like there was any hope for it to be included in this reactionary Congress. nt

[TheWraith]

35. Unfortunately correct. Without 60 votes in the senate, we were going to end up here regardless.

I wouldn't call the current congress "reactionary" by any means, but the problem is the 60 vote requirement to end debate in the Senate. As long as the Republicans, even the "moderates," are falling in line behind the "obstruct everything" strategy it means that we need every single Democrat on board with every single initiative, and one or two objectors can pretty much get a line item veto.

[Owl]

4. "conservatives from both parties" suck.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

5. Color me surprised...............

not.

[kestrel91316]

6. ........because with 60 senators we STILL let the Repukes haul us around

by the neck.........

[bigwillq]

7. Wow, what a shock.

NOT! :mad:

[KansDem]

8. Our Corp-gress at work...

:grr:

[bobbolink]

9. "Hope/Change you can believe in".

:nuke:

Followed by the news that Congressional Democrats have turned their backs on homeless people.

[ixion]

10. yeah, strip out that pesky public option... just keep the mandates for all

yeah! :puke:

[clear eye]

11. Louis Slaughter, for one, won't vote for it

and I wonder about Marcy Kaptur, and Anthony Weiner, and many others who promised their constituents that there would be no mandate w/o a public option.

[Nite Owl]

20. They will probably pick up

enough of the Blue Dogs instead. After all that's what they really wanted.

[jgraz]

26. Barbara Lee's out as well.

[spanone]

12. 'conservatives from both parties'

funny how you never hear about liberal republicans..well, not really funny

[HughMoran]

13. As suckspected

Even knowing this was going to happen, it's still annoying as crap.

[villager]

14. Does the "Public Option" lobby have more money than the insurance co's?

I know -- a rhetorical question....

[mmonk]

15. Go ahead (stupid party).

[DJ13]

16. I "hoped" for "change"

Are we there yet?

[Cleita]

17. We were taken on a merry ride weren't we?

Yet, I'm pretty certain the final outcome was decided back in July and August in back rooms with all the insurance and big PhRMA donors present. What a disgusting bunch of multi-millionaires and billionaires we were told to vote for and who are holding tax-payers hostage for their further enrichment.

[Shagbark Hickory]

18. What will be interesting to see is what happens with opening up medicaid to lower middle income ppl.

PEople seem to be forgetting that Medicaid is supposed to be opened up to ppl 300% of poverty. This could include a lot of people, even middle class people that just don't earn a ton.

[clear eye]

24. Do you know what Medicaid is like?

It will be interesting to see how they deal w/ the shock of the life-threatening inadequacy of the coverage.

[Shagbark Hickory]

41. No, I don't. I never qualified for it BUT it seems like it's accepted virtually everywhere m-care is

[IndianaGreen]

19. Didn't we predict this? Abortion restrictions to remain as well

The defenders of the Senate's LieberCare told us in their faith-based confidence that this monstrosity would be modified in conference.

Sure, we said!

[ProgressIn2008]

22. One country for the rich; one country for the poor. So it goes. nt

[jgraz]

25. Sooo glad President Fierce Advocate rolled up his sleeves for the final negotiations

:banghead:

[Davis_X_Machina]

27. The Hebrew for 'public option' is 'shibboleth'... n/t

[clear eye]

29. A buzzword?

How so?

[Davis_X_Machina]

32. At its last reported size --

-- small enough to pass both Houses, untethered from Medicare's pricing structure, more expensive than private plans offered on the same exchange, and unavailable to nearly everyone, yes.

It's now just a bright shiny thing for us to chase. Nothing more.

[bvar22]

28. ALL according to plan, my pretties.

The Corporate Owners arranged a little Kabuki Theater to entertain the Peasant Class while they robbed the Treasury again.


Now don't fret.
There is absolutely NOTHING you could have done to stop them.
You might as well just get used to it.
Your whining and complaining and dying doesn't matter one whit to these people (your owners).
Hahahahahahahahahahaha!

ALL according to plan.

[highplainsdem]

33. True, as Glenn Greenwald explained months ago:

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/08/19/obama/index.html

The attempt to attract GOP support was the pretext which Democrats used to compromise continuously and water down the bill. But -- given the impossibility of achieving that goal -- isn't it fairly obvious that a desire for GOP support wasn't really the reason the Democrats were constantly watering down their own bill? Given the White House's central role in negotiating a secret deal with the pharmaceutical industry, its betrayal of Obama's clear promise to conduct negotiations out in the open (on C-SPAN no less), Rahm's protection of Blue Dogs and accompanying attacks on progressives, and the complete lack of any pressure exerted on allegedly obstructionists "centrists," it seems rather clear that the bill has been watered down, and the "public option" jettisoned, because that's the bill they want -- this was the plan all along.

[Desertrose]

30. Of course it will be dropped....

never thought it wouldn't be.

[Nikki Stone1]

31. The last chance for this health insurance bill to have some semblance of decency

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

[gratefultobelib]

36. How do they get around Lieberman?

[bvar22]

37. If you don't know by now,

I would be wasting my time trying to explain.
The easiest and most obvious:
Lieberman has demonstrated that he has a price.
BUY him.

If that doesn't WORK:
Lieberman has demonstrated that he is a coward.
Scare him.

Lieberman has demonstrates that his vanity is ALL important to him.
Threaten to expose him.

"Lieberman" is just the most recent in a long line of excuses the Democrats are continuing to hide behind for failing to implement a "Democratic" agenda, and to NOT do the things the PEOPLE voted them into office to do.

Lieberman is NOT a "Superman".
Lieberman IS a merely an "excuse".

[gratefultobelib]

38. Oh--I didn't realize it was that easy. Silly me!

[rudy23]

39. "Liberals" = representatives of 70% of the country.

But good thing those damn liberals stopped their whining.

[Kansas Wyatt]

40. The names of everyone who sold out or will sell out the American People...

Because the worthless fucking whores need to be shamed and shunned from society for failing to represent the American People.

Either they stand with the American People or they stand with Corporate America.
That is the bottom line!