The Top Ten Immediate Benefits You’ll Get When Health Care Reform Passes

[sjdnb]

@ the <http://www.dems.gov/blog/the-top-ten-immediate-benefits-you-ll-get-when-health-care-reform-passes|House Dem's blog>

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[OhioChick]

1. Nothing about skyrocketing drug costs? n/t

[OhioChick]

39. Anyone??? n/t

[defendandprotect]

2. What a sad joke that is . . . !!!

[dflprincess]

3. You got that right! (nt)

[NYC_SKP]

7. Fortunately for you, these reforms apply even for people who aren't happy with them. n/t

[gateley]

4. Thank you. These are Ten Benefits we sure don't have now, so I say we're off to

a good start! :hi:

[NYC_SKP]

5. Here they are in print. Thanks for posting the link. k and r.

As soon as health care passes, the American people will see immediate benefits. The legislation will:

* Prohibit pre-existing condition exclusions for children in all new plans;
* Provide immediate access to insurance for uninsured Americans who are uninsured because of a pre-existing condition through a temporary high-risk pool;
* Prohibit dropping people from coverage when they get sick in all individual plans;
* Lower seniors prescription drug prices by beginning to close the donut hole;
* Offer tax credits to small businesses to purchase coverage;
* Eliminate lifetime limits and restrictive annual limits on benefits in all plans;
* Require plans to cover an enrollee’s dependent children until age 26;
* Require new plans to cover preventive services and immunizations without cost-sharing;
* Ensure consumers have access to an effective internal and external appeals process to appeal new insurance plan decisions;
* Require premium rebates to enrollees from insurers with high administrative expenditures and require public disclosure of the percent of premiums applied to overhead costs.

By enacting these provisions right away, and others over time, we will be able to lower costs for everyone and give all Americans and small businesses more control over their health care choices.

[Tansy_Gold]

26. Not one single item on that list applies to me. Not one.

If it were a good list that did lots of good things for others, I could cheer it even though it leaves me out in the wasteland of the uninsured. Sadly, I don't see much positive in it.

As someone around here says quite frequently,


Meh.




Tansy Gold

[NYC_SKP]

28. Some of the protections might apply to people who don't currently need these.

I don't think any of them apply to me, either, but conditions in my life could change.

[Tansy_Gold]

30. The salient point was that these are IMMEDIATE benefits

If they kick in later, they aren't immediate, by definition.

From this list, *I* get no IMMEDIATE benefits. There may be other benefits that kick in IMMEDIATELY for someone like me, but not on this list.

And I don't think I'm so special that I'm the only one.




Tansy Gold, one of a kind but not THAT special

[Cid_B]

29. Double Meh..

Nothing in there to benefit myself or my family... Gonna have to make a stronger sale.

That's the real crux of the whole HCR debacle. General perception, mine included, is that the benefits, if any, are outweighed by the costs. Appealing to the warm and fuzzy is a stinker of an idea.

[northzax]

45. nothing that affect me, either

doesn't mean it's a bad thing. there's a lot of legislation that passes that doesn't benefit me directly. should I oppose it based on that level of selfishness? let's take a look at some of them, shall we?

increased benefits for veterans. eh, not a vet.
equal pay for women: eh, not a woman.
equal marriage rights: eh, not gay.
civil rights for minorities: eh, anglo.
mortgage protection: eh, I rent.
safer automobiles: eh, ride a bike.

so which should I care about, then?

[Cid_B]

59. Don't forget the second half of the equation...

What is the cost to you... It still feels to me that the main reason HCR is so opposed is that basic principle.

Am I going to be forced to give up money/time/benefits/something and give them to someone who may not have earned/put as much work in/etc.. as me?

The issues you mentioned don't have that same gut effect on the average voter. Most citizens feel that they have received a benefit from veterans and therefore don't feel jipped. The rest of the issues, most people feel like it doesn't cost.

As it stands, right now, people feel like they are going to be mugged.

[northzax]

67. Net costs?

You're talking to a guy who has lost out on jobs to people with a veteran's preference. A 75k government job. That I was more qualified for, that I was selected for. That I lost by one point to a guy with a ten point preference. So yeah, I'd have good reason to think I've been 'mugged' if I only looked at specific cases like that.

Let me put it this way: I am a white male, from a WASPy background, raised upper-middle class, I went to prep schools and private colleges. I spent my summers at the Cape and winter vacations in Vail. In other words, every advantage that could be bought. Fifty years ago, this priviledge would have been magnified a dozen times, Go watch Mad Men. Pick out all the minorities and women in positions of power and influence. So why do I support all these laws that eroded my personal, and my family's position of influence and wealth? Because they were, and are, of the greatest benefit to the most people. That's called being progressive, and decent.

Everything costs something. Read the bill. In toto. All of it. And make up your own mind. Is it good enough? No. Is it better than nothing? Yup. Do we need to take what we can get and move on to the next thing? Hell yes. Will it directly help you on Tuesday? Maybe not. Will it directly help millions of other Americans? Yup. So, which side are you on?

[ChicagoSuz219]

31. Those are just 10 new things in it...

...the bills something like 2500-2700 pages long. I'm sure there are things that will help you. For starters, free testing for things like mammograms, pap smears, etc. Someone said it's posted on Rep. Grayson's website. Check it out...

[madokie]

36. Me either because I'm a vet

but it damn sure will for a lot of others plus I'm not the center of my universe. In other words I worry for you and everyone else too.

[Fla Dem]

72. I'm sorry you are currently uninsured. But sometimes we need to look beyond ourselves.

To the parents of an ill child who has been denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions, they can now not be denied coverage. Imagine the relief of parents with a sick child that they will now have at least some of their child's treatment covered.

If you are uninsured because of a pre-existing condition the bill will provide immediate access to insurance for uninsured Americans who are uninsured because of a pre-existing condition through a temporary high-risk pool. This is extremely important for individuals/families who are sick with no insurance.

For those Americans currently insured, but free from illness at this point, this bill removes a major concern. That if they do get sick and are lying in a hospital bed somewhere, they do not have to fear that the insurance company will arbitrarily drop their coverage.

Parents have always worried that their children will be uninsured once they were dropped from the parents insurance at 21, or when they graduated college. Now their children can stay on their policies until 26. This will allow their children to get a job without worrying whether or not there are health benefits.

The elimination of lifetime or annual caps is also a great move in the right direction. A family hit with a catastrophic illness can easily burn through these caps.

As I said, I'm sorry you do not have coverage, I don't know if that is by choice, expense or pre-existing conditions. If it is because of a pre-exisiting condition, then this bill should have an immediate benefit for you.

Do I wish the other components of the bill took effect faster, of course. Do I wish there was a public option, hell yes. But please do not sell this bill short. Many, many families will be helped by this bill, and for that I am thankful.

[Raineyb]

81. Could you really be any more callous?

It's only the difference between life and death especially if you have a preexisting condition. But for you to just brush it off and say in essence "suck it up for others" doesn't make this bill any more palatable.

Seriously EVERYONE'S life is supposed to mean something and you just told her that hers doesn't mean enough to actually pass Health Insurance reform that'll do something for her. (Like fight for single payer or an actual public option)

Nice attitude.

[a kennedy]

37. none of this helps me either........

:cry: :cry: :cry:

[Paper Roses]

63. For those who will benefit from this, it is a beginning.

For some it will offer -well-not much, I think.

One of the first things that comes to mind is the drug coverage for Seniors on Medicare.
Yes, there is a benefit in closing some of the "donut hole" in prescription drug coverage.

There is no provision for those Seniors who are financially unable to buy prescription drug coverage in the first place.

[eridani]

68. Adults with pre-existing conditions are invited to die before 2014.

And premium rebates are so fantastically useful to dead people like Nataline Sarkisian!

[ScreamingMeemie]

84. "temporary high-risk pool" Everytime I see that I want to scream.

Every time.

[Bluebear]

6. #1: Prohibit pre-existing condition exclusions for children. (Adults, YOU'RE FUCKED.)

#1 was quite illuminating on its own.

[NYC_SKP]

9. Well, then let's screw the kids, too, keep it fair, right? FFS. nt

[Bluebear]

11. Really, FFS yourself. /ignore at long last. Enough NoneSense.

[NYC_SKP]

38. If we're going to tax stockbrokers' health plans and benefits, we have to tax unions as well.

And if we can only pass the pre-existing exemption for kids at this point, then so be it.

We both want the same things, but if we can't have it all and have it right now, I'll accept some reform now and more over time.

[Edweird]

44. No, actually, you don't have to tax the union plans. The union busting is despicable.

Especially given how much support the unions gave Obama during his campaign.

[NYC_SKP]

48. Unless they means test the taxation, every should pay some amount, or nobody should pay.

And therein lay the problem.

This shit ain't free.

While it's true that we could find a very progressive taxation scheme that would keep anyone under, say $100K salaries, from paying taxes on their benefits, generally speaking-- we have to pay for services.

We'll pay through taxes, copays, premiums, something.

Ya can't create money out of thin air, those who can afford to must pay in something.

and, for the record, I do support very progressive taxes to pay for this cuz under the plan I'm going to pay more than I currently do under COBRA.

[Edweird]

49. Paying for this on the backs of blue collar workers that sacrificed pay for insurance

is RW to the core and WRONG! People are paying attention, and the RI incident and this bill send a message to labor.

[eridani]

69. No, you could tax high earners insteat, like the House proposed.

Union rank and filers are not amused.

[OhioChick]

10. That was my take, as well

:wtf:

[Bluebear]

12. 'They're Getting Ready to Dump Adult Coverage For Pre-Existing Conditions'

This hell was compromised back in January:

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/aravosis-looks-theyre-getting-ready-d

A day after former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe is elevated to a more senior adviser status at the White House and the DNC, Plouffe pens an op ed in the Washington Post in which he seems to suggest that much of President Obama's promise to ban pre-existing conditions is now being jettisoned. Plouffe wrote in the op ed, which was certainly cleared with the White House, if not written by them:

Parents won't have to worry their children will be denied coverage just because they have a preexisting condition.

Their children? The original promise - even the bad Senate bill - protects everyone, of any age, from being denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions. Now it's just children?

And before anyone argues that Plouffe was simply using children as an example - that the legislation could still cover everyone - look at what else happened in the last two days. CBS News reported that the pre-existing conditions promise was now looking unlikely. But even worse, the NYT talked to folks on the Hill and health policy experts, and they were told the compromise package might just protect kids under the age of 19 from being denied for pre-existing conditions. No one else.

It would sure be one hell of a coincidence if Plouffe, on behalf of the White House, is now talking about kids being protected from pre-existing conditions when the growing chatter in town is that only kids may now be protected from pre-existing conditions - that the rest of us are about to get tossed under the Martha Coakley bus.

As Joe noted the other day, the pre-existing conditions promise, for "all Americans," was the top item on the Obama transition's health care reform page. So, in an effort to appease the masses, they're now considering gutting the one provision that everyone likes, the one provision that defines the legislation.

[OhioChick]

14. Thanks for the link....

"the pre-existing conditions promise, for "all Americans," was the top item on the Obama transition's health care reform page."

More lip service, I see.

[Bluebear]

16. Oh, well. It was a GREAT campaign promise!

:/

[leftstreet]

20. It pulled in a lot of independents, that's for sure n/t

[girl gone mad]

56. It was always an empty promise.

I asked people to use a little common sense.

The only way insurers can continue to increase profits is to find ways to deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions. It's simply not possible to force them to accept all takers, unless you want to increase the fines for going without insurance to a level that no one would be able to pay anyhow.

Covering pre-existing conditions never made any sense under the Senate's proposal. Without a strong public option, it's just not feasible.

[Tansy_Gold]

15. And it only applies to "new" plans,

I can already imagine ways the ins. cos. will label new plans as really being a lot older than they look. . . . .


TG (editing because she shouldn't try to type one-handed while eating ice cream)

[liberalhistorian]

21. But.........but......but there are people here who claim

that insurance company restrictions will work perfectly, that they'll never be violated, that it's paranoid hooey to think that they'd try to find ways around it or that they wouldn't totally and completely comply. They just can't be wrong, can they? How can they be wrong? Insurance companies have never, ever done that in the past, not once, not ever. :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[Bluebear]

23. The insurance companies will have RESTRICTIONS though!!!1

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7931561&mesg_id=7931723

[liberalhistorian]

17. Well, hey, what the fuck do the congresscritters care about us

adults? THEY don't have to worry about denial of coverage for a PEC, thanks to their cushy health plans PAID FOR BY WE, THE PEOPLE, many of whom (in fact, most) don't have anywhere near the same coverage or have no coverage altogether. So what the fuck do they care about us? Especially when they're in the pocket of the very private insurers who are screwing us and killing us.

[Bluebear]

19. I do hear "over time" & "in a couple years" they will iron it all out. So, hang on, you sick folk.

Help is just around the bend, er, mountain, er, equator, er, ...

[OhioChick]

25. About sums it up. n/t

[ChicagoSuz219]

32. #2 on the list...

* Provide immediate access to insurance for uninsured Americans who are uninsured because of a pre-existing condition through a temporary high-risk pool;

[Hell Hath No Fury]

40. And how much will that cost?

:shrug:

"Access" is only half the battle.

[ChicagoSuz219]

41. It's paid for by having a mandate...

...there are healthier people in the pool to offset the costs for all.

The repubs idea was to have a special pool for those with pre-existing conditions. That would only provide a private insurance at exorbitant rates.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

43. You still didn't answer my question.

How much will person with a pre-existing condition be expected to pay for a premium in that pool? Affordably is relative. Under the Obama plan I am expected to come up with $140 a month to pay for my premiums. There are some weeks I am livng paycheck to paycheck and don't have $20 to spare to eat, let alone pay for a premium.

[ChicagoSuz219]

62. I don't know where you got those figures from...

...you'll be able to choose from different plans in the Public Exchange. There are subsidies if you can't afford to buy. Let's wait & see how the final Bill plays out.

[eridani]

71. I'll be able to "choose" the useless garbage Bronze level

All you Gold and Platinum people have sure put me in my place. Thanks for nothing!

[ChicagoSuz219]

73. Whatever... n/t

[Raineyb]

82. That's not true.

From what I understand while they're allowing insurance companies to discriminate against those with "preexisting conditions" they're going to dump them into a "high risk pool"

Any time for other insurance a "high risk pool" was higher priced insurance that covered less that was basically designed to make people want to drop the plan in the first place. Only with this bill they will have to pay a penalty to drop it so they'll be paying for nothing. Nice work if you can get it.

[eridani]

70. Which utterly worthless garbage. You actually think that states don't have such bullshit on offer

--already? They do, it sucks, and the fed version will suck too.

[onpatrol98]

8. Question???

"Prohibit dropping people from coverage when they get sick in all individual plans;"

Is there anything to make certain that we can afford to pay what they'll charge when they're kind enough to not drop us? Part of my fear is that, yeah they won't drop me, but they'll jack up my rates so much I can't afford them or I'll still have to pay some unaffordable rate as an exchange member. With my income, I'm fairly certain I wouldn't qualify for any of the subsidies.

Who decides what's affordable for me?

These things may have been mentioned before, but they are concerns that I have.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[leftstreet]

22. Don't worry. We've been promised it will be 'affordable.'

:rofl:

[Skittles]

24. I HAVE MANY BRIDGES TO SELL

YES INDEED

:rofl:

[gristy]

18. That's a pretty good list!

:)

[kiva]

83. Yup, the cheerleaders love it so much they've already

posted it here about a dozen times.

[orleans]

27. sigh...whatever... n/t

[notesdev]

33. No thanks

I'd rather keep my money in my pocket and take care of my own health care. I can't afford these grand plans people have for my income, I need to do things like eat and keep the lights on.

[Cronus Protagonist]

34. A large bill I cannot afford.

Can't see much past that... all I can think of after that are the fines.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

35. It can't be immediate...what would be the effective date?

[closeupready]

42. OMG, can someone translate these two 'magnificent' benefits for me?

>># Ensure consumers have access to an effective internal and external appeals process to appeal new insurance plan decisions;
# Require premium rebates to enrollees from insurers with high administrative expenditures and require public disclosure of the percent of premiums applied to overhead costs.<<

Umm ... WAT?

[Bluebear]

46. Who knows? But you have those benefits! IMMEDIATELY!!!!1

[closeupready]

47. what a relief!!!1

lol

[pecwae]

53. There's usually an appeal

process for denials in place with all plans, but being effective is another thing. The most bothersome part of that one is "new insurance plan decisions". What are they, how will they affect us?

That second one is quite the head scratcher. Why not just eliminate insurers with high administrative costs (read CEO bennies). Better yet, eliminate insurers (one can dream).

[gmoney]

50. Where is the list of retaliations to be visited upon us by insurance cos, pharma, etc?

When they did the credit card reform, but then had a six month lag before it went into effect, the banks did all they could to fuck credit card holders -- raised rates, fees and penalties, closed accounts, etc. and they had plenty of time to make it happen.

Isn't it written so that the insurance companies will have plenty of time to purge "unprofitable" policyholders, raise premiums on everyone, deny benefits even more than they do now? Plus, it will allow providers and pharma to raise prices and do who knows what to us until "the good stuff" actually kicks in.

[guitar man]

51. hmm

I don't see where it says anything about lowering premiums. I can't afford what we have now and if it doesn't drop drastically, this will be our last year of coverage...I can't pay this much anymore :(

[Saphire]

52. Yeah, this pisses me off too. Why is it that I have to pay for so many others

to have insurance, but can't get it for myself.

I work hard and pay my taxes, but I can't insure myself. I can't afford to anymore. I pay for Medicare/Medicade - CHIP - Veterans - Government workers (Congress!!) none of which helps me.

I'm sick. I'm sick and I'm scared. Scared that I'll have to take Alan Graysons advice and let whatever is wrong with me kill me.

To quote Sally Brown - "All I want is my fare share."

[guitar man]

54. Yep, same here

I started to drop ours at open enrollment last time around when I saw another outrageous premium increase, but decided to tough it out for this year hoping for a premium decrease if hcr passes. When enrollment rolls around again in November if nothing has changed, I'm out, I won't pay it anymore. I'll be damned if I'm going to get up and go to work every day just to enrich aetna, to hell with that.

:grr:

[girl gone mad]

55. lolz.

The propaganda is going over like a lead balloon.

[Bluebear]

58. All those recommendations, eh?

Pathetic :)

[hobbit709]

57. 1 for 10 in my case.

The pre-existing condition.

Glad I got medical COVERAGE from the VA. My copay for my meds is $56/mo. I looked it up-it would be $810/mo for my meds otherwise and that's not even counting the cost of the glucose test strips.

Since I'm not disabled enough to qualify for disability, and not well enough to work full time even if I could get hired at my age 59½, I am basically SOL on getting AFFORDABLE under ANY circumstances insurance. I'm just hoping to hang on 2 more years until I'm 62.

If my wife was still alive, she would be screwed under this deal. Before she died, she was paying $1000/mo between her COBRA and copays and only making $20K/yr for a 30 hr/wk job.

[applegrove]

60. Thank you. I've been looking for something short and sweet to describe HCR to me.

[Joe the Liberal]

61. WOW what Great "reform" this is......

I mean how cool is this guys? Lets have a look and this WHOPPING "reform".....

* Prohibit pre-existing condition exclusions for children in all new plans
(SWEET, I'm not a kid anymore and not that my parents would be able to afford insurance if I were but cool anyways)

* Provide immediate access to insurance for uninsured Americans who are uninsured because of a pre-existing condition through a temporary high-risk pool
(AW MAN is this awesome, I can't afford insurance period but nice anyways)

* Prohibit dropping people from coverage when they get sick in all individual plans
(AWESOME, I don't even have a plan but sounds good)

* Lower seniors prescription drug prices by beginning to close the donut hole
(I'm not a senior but good for them)

* Offer tax credits to small businesses to purchase coverage
(I don't have a small business and never will, but that is just INCREDIBLE)

* Eliminate lifetime limits and restrictive annual limits on benefits in all plans
(I don't have a plan but this sounds just GRAND)

* Require plans to cover an enrollee’s dependent children until age 26
(OH WOW, my parents don't have insurance, thank you for this, *Facepalm*)

* Require new plans to cover preventive services and immunizations without cost-sharing
(don't have a plan....WOW all this affects those who already have insurance it seems, good for them)

* Ensure consumers have access to an effective internal and external appeals process to appeal new insurance plan decisions
(And once more, don't have insurance, good for those who do)

* Require premium rebates to enrollees from insurers with high administrative expenditures and require public disclosure of the percent of premiums applied to overhead costs. (Gee, this is great?)

WOW, this HUGE "reform" is so GREAT, I mean none of it will affect me who doesn't have coverage period but this is so AWESOME. Thank you Dems for delivering us with this WHOPPING set of "reforms". Now everything will be Ok and we can move on to "reform" other things in this great country of ours, God bless America. :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :eyes:

On a serious note, nothing on that list applies to me, not one thing. From the look of it, it seems that these mostly go to help those who already have insurance. No wonder they changed the debate from "health care reform" to health insurance reform". Those 30+ million of us who don't have insurance will.....well continue to be uninsured, wasn't that what they were trying to fix in the first place? This country sucks on so many levels, at this point people might as well move to another country to get health care because it will never happen here, not in our lifetimes anyways.

[LWolf]

64. It's right here.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7942380

[ThomWV]

65. Not one single item on that list applies to me or to many others either

From my point of view this has been a wasted year.

[NYC_SKP]

66. To people moaning that none apply to them: These are immediate because some are in dire straits.

If you aren't among the people to benefit from these IMMEDIATE reforms, thank you lucky stars.

Also, other reforms will be enacted over time.

And if we keep up the pressure and quit the infighting, we might even get single payer.

But it will be done over time, not all at once, not this year, not with this congress.

Thank you and have a nice evening.

[TorchTheWitch]

77. thank my lucky stars for being uninsured?

These immediate benefits do jack shit for us uninsured folks and you think we should be THANKFUL???

A law that mandates every citizen BUY insurance from for-profit insurance companies is some magical way toward single payer???

People here have lost their fucking minds. If this EXACT same bill was brought up by Repubs there wouldn't be a single sole here that wouldn't be fighting it tooth and nail.

[Naturalist111]

79. I am one that would have supported

it had the Republicans brought it up. But that is fantasy. Outlandish at that. Some of you are young (under 40). You don't know what it was like back in the 50's 60's and 70's. Great jobs, great pay and great low cost insurance provided by most employers. We didn't have these worries back then. Those days are gone. You can blame corporate and personal selfishness, greed and union bashing for that. Most young people like yourself don't have insurance, where before they did from their employer. Those insurance premiums paid for by the employer and the young employee helped keep the cost down for health insurance (aside from the greed and ego pricing). Young people rarely file a claim but it is still good to have it just in case. Obviously most Americans are unable to see what is happening and why this problem is so important. Millions of baby boomers are going to need a lot of health care. There will be trillions of dollars spent on this health care. You have seen banks go belly up. What are the American people going to do when some health insurance companies go belly up? Will they be able to get insured? What if they have a pre-exisiting condition? Your are testament by not having health insurance of this fact. Everything is socialized. Insurance companies are the blueprint of socialization. Everyone chips in to provide health care for others. Do you really think paying $150.00 a month for 5 yrs will pay for that $30,000 dollar hospital bill? Where do you think the balance of the money comes from? Others!

[Raineyb]

85. Adults with preexisting conditions are in dire straits. But they're being put off for four

years and it doesn't seem to bother too many people.

Four years a bloody long time to wait when you know it's the difference between life and death especially when if you had actually had access to health CARE you could have kept your condition under control.

[Political Heretic]

74. It's not what's right, but what's wrong that overshadows and cripples any good

The year this insurance reform becomes law, millions of people will experience some good.

Millions of other people however will not experience good. Whether its the millions of Americans not covered in any way by legislation, or whether its the Americans who's out of pocket costs of care plus deductibles and premiums leave them in the exact same situation they were in before any reform: facing bankruptcy.

That might be okay, maybe we'd still want to do it, except for the fact that the good some people will immediately experience doesn't last.

Thanks to the lack of regulation, complete removal of substantive cost controls, insurance industry exemptions, protections and loopholes, both insurance costs and costs of health services will continue to skyrocket.

Soon people who experienced some good will be right back to where we are now - with health care being unaffordable to most people. And we will have punted the exact same nightmare to our children.

That's pretty disgraceful, in my book.

[Political Heretic]

75. PS - 0 of 10 work for me.

[bvar22]

76. If you consider that this was a "Once in a generation opportunity"

then that list is very weak....I mean really, REALLY WEAK.

In 2008, The American People gave the Democratic Party:

*The White House

*A veto-proof Majority in the Senate

*A huge MAJORITY in The House

*(Most Important)A HUGE MANDATE for "CHANGE"
.
.
.and THIS is "The Best they could do""?
What a sad indictment of the Democratic Party:
THIS is the Best they could Do!

If this is "the Best they could Do,"
it is because this IS the best they WANTED to do!


Oh My Bad.
Its ALL Joe Lieberman's fault!!!
LOL, because I'm beyond crying.

What a pathetic ending for a Once in a Generation Opportunity for real "Reform".


"There are forces within the Democratic Party who want us to sound like kinder, gentler Republicans. "---Paul Wellstone

[Naturalist111]

78. Awesome and Fantastic

Those are truly GREAT benefits!!!

[Scurrilous]

80. Kick

:kick: