I received a long email from Dennis Kucinich that had

[mmonk]

his decision on his healthcare vote as told to Mark Warren and it is at Esquire.com. It is titled, "What President Obama Didn't Say". Some of it is as follows:

This was a particularly hard decision because the private insurance model is something that I don't support. As I've said before, I don't take back any of the criticisms I've made of the bill. This is reform within the context of a for-profit system. And the for-profit system has been quite predatory — it makes money for not providing health care. Now, the reforms in this bill may provide some relief from that impulse. But, nevertheless, I have my work cut out for me now in continuing the effort toward a much broader approach to health care reform, which would include attention to diet, nutrition, complementary alternative medicine, and empowering states to move forward with single-payer.

When it comes to analyzing the law we've just passed, it's hard to use terms like good or bad. Because ultimately what was decisive for me was not the bill, but rather the potential to create an opening for a more comprehensive approach toward health care reform. If the bill were to go down, this whole discussion about anything we might hope to do in health care in the future is not going to happen in this generation. We had to wait sixteen years after the demise of the Clinton plan to come to this moment. And the angst that members are feeling about this bill — the temperature that's been raised in the body politic over this bill, the characterizations of the bill in a debate that's been quite distorted — all of those things argue against bringing up another health care bill in the near future if this bill were to go down.

Also,

Last year, seventy-seven members of Congress agreed that if the bill didn't have a public option, they were going to vote against it. And there were only two members who had kept that pledge when it was voted on the first time in the House. And I was one of them. And the other one's no longer in Congress. So I basically was the last man standing here. So I'm aware of the debate that took place in favor of the bill. My concern was that this bill was hermetically sealed to admit no opening toward a not-for-profit system, no competition from the public sector with the private insurers. Which makes the claims of a government takeover such a joke. You know, those who claim that this is socialism probably don't know anything about socialism — or capitalism. ....


But let's go deeper than that. We're at a pivotal moment in American history, and in contrast to a crippled presidency, I have to believe that this effort, however imperfect, will now have a broad positive effect on American society, and make possible many things that might not have otherwise been possible. Once this bill is signed into law, more Americans are going to be aware of this as they ask, What's in it for me? And as they become more familiar with the new law, more people will be accepting this bill. The president will have a stronger hand in domestic and international affairs, and that will be good for the country. The Democrats will be emboldened to pass an economic agenda, which has been waiting for this bill to pass. Wrong or right, as far as a strategy, the White House invested so much in this health care bill that everything else was waiting. Now, I think there's a chance that the party will regain some momentum. And if it does, then the American people will finally have a chance to see something done about creating jobs, about keeping people in their homes, about helping small businesses get access to credit, which is a huge problem right now.

Read more: http://www.esquire.com/the-side/qa/dennis-kucinich-health-care-bill-032210#ixzz0j86o03gn

[bvar22]

1. Thank You, Dennis.

A Good & Loyal Democrat.
I commend him for his STAND in hopes for a last minute move back to the Left, and last minute acceptance of the inevitable.
I am with him.
This is now LAW.
Not one I supported (Mandates without a Public Option),
and not one the vast MAJORITY of Americans wanted,
but it IS law, and we must find ways to make the best of it.


I will continue to support the best possible solution to the Health Care crisis in America...the expansion of Medicare.

Again, thank you, Dennis, for speaking for me.


”Unlike the other candidates, I am not funded by those corporate interests.
I owe them no loyalty, and they have no influence over me or my policies.” ---Dennis Kucinich

[amborin]

2. "a crippled presidency"

I think that was the basis of the arm-twisting that's been going on for several months now.

Dems have huddled and concluded that, if HCR did not pass, Obama's presidency was in the tank. They held their nose and voted yes, for a bill many were too principled to support otherwise.

A hollow victory for Americans.

[eridani]

3. +10000 n/t

[sabrina 1]

4. He was put in a terrible position by the Democratic leadership.

He puts all of them to shame as he stood his ground, even under the awful attacks from people claiming to be Democrats. To see some of the attacks on this board by so-called Democrats, and I doubt they were, some claiming that he wanted to 'kill 45,000 Americans' was unforgivable. The DLC is a vile organization and I will work as hard as I can against any candidate who is connected to them. The Big Tent was for people who had no voice in this country, when did it become a refuge for war-mongers and corporatists?

We need hundreds like Kucinich in Congress and that is what I will be working for so that he is not left to fight for the people against Big Business all by himself the next time around. Social Security is likely to be their next target. They have been salivating over those funds for decades. And after watching the capitulation on this issue, I can already imagine the attempt to convince people how we need 'reform', which really means 'hand the money over to private business. Soon, the entire country will be privatized and sadly it will be supported by many so-called DEmocrats.

[mmonk]

6. I agree he must not fight the battles alone.

We face privatization from both parties. Anyone who holds their ground against this shift is going to be called "purists" and "extreme" by both parties. This is where we must step in or fail.

[Greyhound]

5. K&R, but too many words.

So, the jackasses in charge put themselves in a corner by selling up out and getting nothing in return, and once Obama's entire administration is in jeopardy because of his mismanagement, it comes down to DK pitying the Pres. and voting in favor of a bill he recognizes as a choke-hold on the public that does nothing but enrich the party's enemies.

But this is three-dimensional chess...
:eyes: