Howard Dean

[emilyg]

Passing the healthcare proposals before Congress will "hang out to dry" every Democratic incumbent running for reelection this fall, Howard Dean said Thursday.

Dean, a physician by training who's a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), said that Democrats in Congress -- and President Barack Obama -- would do themselves more harm than good by passing the current healthcare bill.

"The plan, as it comes from the Senate, hangs out every Democrat who's running for office to dry -- including the president, in 2012, because it makes him defend a plan that isn't in effect essentially yet," Dean said during an appearance on the liberal Bill Press Radio Show.

Dean, who has clashed publicly with the White House over the healthcare proposals favored by the administration

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/84969-howard-dean-health-bill-hangs-dem-incumbents-and-obama-out-to-dry-in-elections

[denimgirly]

1. Shame no one agrees with Dean except for the public....Yes, it will be a masacre in Nov but lets..

hope by not as much....shame they just dont do what the people want. Well, at least you can blame the democrats for being the real reason for being defeated.

[texastoast]

7. What, are we knuckle dragging again

In your book?

I think it very interesting that you hang all the blame on the Dems.

[babylonsister]

2. Hmmm-and then there's this, also from Dean, also from today...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x207057

Howard Dean: 2010 won't be as bad for Dems as people think

snip//

"There are two good signs for the Democrats: One is all this blowup happened 10 months before the election, not 10 weeks before the election. Two, the average American believes that better times are ahead. Those are two important indicators. Now, there are plenty of indicators that aren't so good, but I think a month is a huge lifetime in politics, so I think we're actually going to do a bit better than people are predicting."

One of the reasons Dean sees for hope has to do with the issue he's been most associated with over the past year, healthcare reform. The former DNC chair hasn't been wild about the way Democrats have gone about passing a bill so far, or about the legislation itself, but he's encouraged by what's been happening in recent days.

"Obviously I wish this had been done a while ago, but I really think it's terrific that the president brought the bill back. It's a high-risk strategy and it shows that he can exhibit some strength and leadership, so that's very, very important. And now we'll see what comes out of it."

more...

[karynnj]

21. One of these two is obviously distorting Dean

because there is no way both of these are compatible.

[jesus_of_suburbia]

28. Yep.

My thought exactly.

[totodeinhere]

31. Since both articles use direct quotes I don't know how there can be a distortion.

I cannot explain the apparent contradiction but just in case his comment about hanging Dem incumbents out to dry is the more relevant one, I would take heed of it.

Plus it fits in with what many others have been saying. This proposed bill is unpopular with the American people because it doesn't go far enough.

[karynnj]

35. You can cherry pick quotes in a way that absolutely does not represent the whole thing

The proposed bill is unpopular with the American people because some thinks it does not go far enough and others do not want comprehensive reform at all. Look at the first poll here - http://pollingreport.com/health.htm

This is a very well designed poll, and they ask the 47% of the people who say they oppose, why they oppose. 37% of that 47% say - as you did - that it does not go far enough. What is not clear is that a plan that goes further won't lose support on the other end. It is also possible that many of these people want the public option effort to succeed - so they are withholding their approval.

Now, another interesting statistic is that 40% of people say they don't know very much about the plan. I can't prove it, but I would bet that there are more in the center and left/center in that 40%. Many against it have the echo chamber of the right's list of misinformation on it. They are NOTHING, if not self proclaimed experts on everything. That 40% tells me that a concerted PR effort from the left is needed to correct the lies and to get out what good things are in the bill.

One question I wish were asked, but I haven't seen is - Is this bill better than the status quo? When looking at any detailed bill, while things are still in play, there is a tendency to concentrate on the things where there is disagreement rather than the 85% that everyone is in basic agreement on. Consider that on the issue of how to handle covering abortions alone, there are people on each side that would answer disapprove. Yet, I would bet that, after making their points, there will be no one (other than perhaps Kucinich ) on the left who votes against this it specifically because of abortion. On the right, I suspect that Stupack and company will be brought in by allowing them to have a vote on a separate bill.

[hulka38]

24. replied in the wrong spot

[David Zephyr]

3. K&R.

.

[ProSense]

4. "The president needs a win here," Dean said.

Fairly certain health care reform will pass. Still, Dean's comments are all over the place.

[Uzybone]

6. sadly he is becoming more and more pundit like

liable to say one thing at 2pm on radio and a different thing at 6pm on cable.

[Sebastian Doyle]

23. Yes, the President needs a win.

But corporate mandate insurance that the entire fucking country will hate him (and Congress)for, is not a WIN.

Single Payer is a win. The TRUE public option that Dr. Dean wrote about would be a win. Rewarding the bastards who caused the problem in the first place, is not a win. I know it, you know it, and the voters definitely know it. And Howard Dean definitely knows it.

If President Obama does NOT know it, its only because he's listening to goddamn idiots like the Emanuel brothers, and not people who actually live in the fucking real world.

[Uzybone]

5. they were sent to Washington to improve lives

not to worry about reelection and who is hung out to dry. All this re-election fascination is why nothing ever gets done.

[MarjorieG]

8. HCR always uphill and hard, but PO plus Medicare at 55, dual track amendments a must.

[Connie_Corleone]

9. Dean needs to make up his mind.

He's saying two different things today. Pick one and stick with it.

[goclark]

11. Does his mouth have two sides?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=207057&mesg_id=207178

[depakid]

17. Only for those incapable of dealing with more than one issue at a time...

[goclark]

29. Yes, there are some people that can't seem to do that

I'm not one of them.

[depakid]

33. Well, if folks can't seem to get that what he's saying is perfectly consistent

Then I don't know what else to call it.

If the Democrats don't pass a health care bill AND provide some tangible results and benefits to people prior to the election(s)- they've screwn the pooch.

Not sure why anyone would disagree with that assessment.

[hulka38]

13. He said only one thing today. That's the quote in the OP.

The other quote was from several days ago - "Obviously I wish this had been done a while ago...."

When he said this, I think he was still hopeful that more key items would be available to the public before 2013 or 2014. A.B. Stoddard talked about this on Press this morning also. I think it should be more of a concern for Democrats. Dean realizes that the bill is going to continue on with the three or four year delay and the public will not see the benefits and he thinks that's bad politics. Koppelman is correct. Dean has never been happy with the legislation itself. His support has been strictly political.

[babylonsister]

20. See #2, quotes from yesterday, totally different message. Go figure. nt

[hulka38]

26. I stand corrected. I could've sworn these Dean quotes were from Monday.

[karynnj]

22. Even if it were today and a few days ago - there have not been seismic

changes over the last week.

[hulka38]

34. What Dean's been consistent about is that he really doesn't like the legislation

for a number of reasons but now that it's basically set, it needs to pass and would be disastrous for the party if it didn't pass. He has said that he's happy the WH has become more aggressive about getting this through. He's warning Dems that the long delay before people start seeing benefits from this plan is dangerous and should be changed. I think he knows that's not likely to happen. Dean's was the first voice strongly advocating for the use of reconciliation when it looked like HCR was going nowhere in the Senate.
These are not competing thoughts. They are completely consistent and certainly understandable in the context of political wrangling over historic legislation. People who tell you that he was "delighted" with the bill are wrong. Those who are trying to construct a caricature who doesn't know what his opinions are from one moment to the next are being willfully ignorant and deceptive. Dean has the Democratic Party's and the American people's best interests at heart. He should be listened to and respected and not mischaracterized.

[Cha]

14. I'll admit I got a little

whiplash from keeping up with Dean and I'm a deaniac from way back.

[amborin]

10. the senate bill is a disaster; i hope everyone reads this:

http://files.cwa-union.org/healthcarevoices/CWAExciseTaxReport.pdf

[emilyg]

25. Thanks. Took a while to load - well worth it.

[Captain Hilts]

12. Dean's been all over the map on this. I don't like the bill but would vote 'for' it. nt

[Rosa Luxemburg]

15. Once it passes then this is only the beginning for change

one you have a foot in the door it will be easier

Single payer!

[depakid]

16. Telling it like it is...

Congress and the administration has one last chance to get at least a few things right.

[Arkana]

18. I continue to be confused about where Dean stands.

One day he's against the administration, the next he's behind them 100%.

I don't get it, I really don't.

[Ildem09]

30. he is a true progressive

He supports the admin when it makes since, and he calls them out when they act a fool

[SoxFan]

19. If Al From or Evan Bayh said this...

[depakid]

32. Nope- would have looked more like this:

[BeyondGeography]

27. He's entertaining, smart, and more than a little in love with the sound of his own voice

even when it's making diametrically-opposed sounds in response to the same question.