On the day that General Lee surrendered, Lincoln ordered the WH band to play Dixie

[bluestateguy]

It was written by a Northerner, and Lincoln liked the song.

When this bill passes, I will celebrate by having a cup of tea.

[Bicoastal]

1. LOL! It's a perfectly sensible, elegant beverage...

...what it ever do to deserve being paired up with these nutjobs?

[Lifelong Protester]

2. I like your spirit. and I will join you.

[azmouse]

3. Mine will be iced tea but I will join you.

[Guilded Lilly]

4. Mine will be GREEN tea...

decafe, diet, of course (wink)

[troubledamerican]

5. What gesture will you make toward those of us on DU who are against this bill?

Tell us we're not real Democrats?

Tell us we're not real Progressives?

A mandate & an excise tax & a steamroller but not to steamroll a public option -- Yay, we won.

[tridim]

6. Maybe a green tea high colonic?

Nothing I can say will force you to participate in the future. That's up to you.

[troubledamerican]

12. Sounds just like what Lincoln would say.

I guess the lesson of Lincoln's classiness in playing Dixie -- the topic of this entire thread -- was interpreted by you as passive-aggression.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

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

[DefenseLawyer]

Right, because it is clearly an either/or proposition.

Either you support this or you are a teabagger. Couldn't be easier to understand. I guess all of that criticism of George Bush for painting everything in absolute black and white was misplaced. My bad.

[troubledamerican]

10. Classy. Just like Lincoln's Dixie.

[Ikonoklast]

14. It was a popular tune at the time, and one of Lincoln's favorites.

He had "Dixie" performed at his inauguration.

Yes, it was magnanimous gesture toward a defeated foe.

It was never intended or construed as taunting.

[troubledamerican]

15. Exactly my point. A Reply to a DUer who didn't show Lincoln's class or magnanimity.

How could you possibly miss that point?

[Ikonoklast]

16. Hard to tell from your reply.

Point easily missed as it could be construed as sarcasm.

[Edweird]

11. Hehe.

http://healthca.newamerica.net/blogposts/2008/reform_newt_gingrich_on_free_riders_and_the_individual_mandate-18127
Gingrich appears to get this, as did fellow Republicans Arnold Schwarzenegger in California, and Mitt Romney in Massachusetts. Romney made the individual mandate central to his state reform proposal while he was governor of Massachusetts, and confronted this issue head on in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, during the heat of the health reform conversations in his state. "Some of my libertarian friends balk at what looks like an individual mandate," he wrote. "But remember, someone has to pay for the health care that must, by law, be provided: Either the individual pays or the taxpayers pay. A free ride on government is not libertarian."

The reality of an individual mandate (when coupled with subsidies so that insurance is affordable and market reforms so that coverage is accessible), is that it would not only address the "free rider" problem, but also serve as a tool to enhance insurance market competition. When combined with market reforms and subsidies, the mandate would help move insurers away from a business model that relies on marketing and underwriting and towards a strategy that involves competing for customers based on performance and price. This is a good thing...and something those in favor of market competition could get behind.

[RoyGBiv]

13. Depends on how you react ...

Frankly, a private citizen being against the bill has never troubled me. There are distinct problems with it that can be rationally articulated and reasonably discussed.

But that's hasn't been happening on DU for the most part. Were it within the rules of the site, I could point to several specific individuals who oppose the bill who have reasonably discussed it and argued against it. I'm fairly certain I know how they'll react if the bill passes, and I won't have a problem with that. In fact, I'll probably be saying much the same things they will be, e.g. shifting focus to discuss ways to improve it and support those who offer modifications for that improvement.

But if the bill passes, and the react is merely to complain about that passage, i.e. essentially to continue with spouting nihilist dogma (irony intended), any gesture I might make will either be one of contempt or one that continues to mostly ignore those who choose not to be part of the process.

We're on the same side and have the same overriding cause, believe it or not. Those who have something positive to add to the discussion, regardless of whether we all agree on the details, are all supportive of the cause and beneficial parts of the debate.

[On the Road]

17. Well Put

Sometimes the most vicious fights are over the smallest differences -- look at the primary wars.

I guess DU is going to move on now to a new set of incindiary topics.

[kirby]

8. I'm sure Obama will congrat the Repukes

for making the bill better.

[ncteechur]

9. I actually like the "red" tea.