If it's true that the Senate has dropped Public Option and Medicare buy-in and Obama signs

[rateyes]

a bill without a strong public option...we can all kiss the Democratic Party goodbye. I'm one progressive that will not vote for Obama or any other Democrat that does not fight for us. And, the number who feel like me are legion.

And, don't you dare blame me, and others like me, if we get a fucking Republican administration and Congress.

Blame the assholes who won't stand and fight, AND LEAD like LEADERSHIP is supposed to LEAD.

Lieberman, and all those who cave to that piece of shit can kiss my rosy red progressive ass!

[d_b]

1. why so serious?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl3vxEudif8

[polpilot]

2. Right on!!!!!!! We DO NOT NEED REPUB LITE.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. I hear you, and I'm tempted to agree...

But things would NOT be any better with any Republican in office...

Let's face it: we lefties are being hung out to dry, and there's not a damn thing any one of us can do about it.

Our system is corrupt, and there are too many politicians caught up in that corruption to change it, ever.

K&R

[mdavies013]

4. What can we do right now? How can we get some serious candidates running?

[rateyes]

12. If I could get the financial backing to win (from the people) I would

run against my blue dog prick of a Representative.

[AndyA]

5. You'll probably get eviscerated for making your statement, but you are correct

that many do feel they way you do. Many of us who donated lots of money, time, and energy will not be repeating those actions.

If they aren't going to stand up and fight for us, we might as well have a bunch of Republicans in office. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference.

[rateyes]

9. I don't care.

I've given too much time, money, blood, sweat, tears and anguish to work for "change we can believe in" only to get short-changed.


My God, what a difference a year makes. To think how high my "HOPE" was, and how low it is now.


I'm starting to really believe that Obama is as much a coward as Reid ever was.

[VMI Dem]

6. Shit, you'll soon have centrists telling you that its better than nothing.

That you only care about yourself.

[rateyes]

7. I don't give a shit what they tell me.

This "we've got to be bipartisan" bullshit is sickening. :puke:

[HughMoran]

8. You make this threat every day

I'm tired of your lame act.

[rateyes]

10. I'm not making a threat.

I'm making a prediction. And, if you are so fucking tired of it, you don't have to read it.

[HughMoran]

11. Good idea

see ya

[rateyes]

13. Bye.

[truedelphi]

16. It has all been so carefully designed to destroy the Progressive side of the table

Greed has had a lot to do with it, on both sides of the aisle.

When I was growing up, my father was a Republican. But most of my parents' friends were Dems, and they exemplified what was decent about the party.

They wanted Civil Rights and worked on that issue. The businesses they set up to make themselves and their kids wealthy also paid well to the workers.

Then as the kids grew up and took over the family business, at the first sign of economic trouble, they would choose bankrupcy and raids on the worker's pensions and their escape clause via Golden Parachutes. They cared about themselves and didn't care about anyone else.

These were the same kids that had disliked my Dad being a Republican - but my Dad would never in a million years pull stunts like that.

So many of the "Dems" out there are really Republicans. They don't see that they are greedy, because like our dear President they donate a day or two at a Food Bank during the holidays.

And toss a coin or two at the feet of The Salvation Army Santa.

[Dinger]

14. K & R rateyes (nt)

[slipslidingaway]

15. knr - our votes are one of the most important tools we have, the HC debate ...

is one of the most important debates we have had for years.

But we never really had a debate on various systems and the best way to move forward.

Instead we were sold a plan that would keep the For Profit companies in business, especially since they were losing customers and stand to lose a lot more in the next couple of years as the boomers start to shift from private insurance to Medicare.


THE HISTORY OF THE PUBLIC OPTION.

http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tapped_archive?month=08&year=2009&base_name=the_history_of_the_public_opti


http://pnhp.org/blog/2009/12/13/two-thirds-support-5/

"Two-thirds of Americans support Medicare-for-all (#5 of 6)

Celinda Lake’s “research” for the Herndon Alliance
By Kip Sullivan, JD

One key player was Roger Hickey of the Campaign for America’s Future . Hickey took … Jacob Hacker’s idea for “a new public insurance pool modeled after Medicare” and went around to the community of single-payer advocates, making the case that this limited “public option” was the best they could hope for. … And then Hickey went to all the presidential candidates, acknowledging that politically, they couldn’t support single-payer, but that the “public option” would attract a real progressive constituency…

The rest is history. Following Edwards’ lead, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton picked up on the public option compromise.

So what we have is Jacob Hacker’s policy idea, but largely Hickey and Health Care for America Now’s political strategy. It was a real high-wire act – to convince the single-payer advocates, who were the only engaged health care constituency on the left, that they could live with the public option as a kind of stealth single-payer, thus transferring their energy and enthusiasm to this alternative.

That is how Mark Schmidt summed up the strategy of the “public option” movement in a short piece for the American Prospect last August. Schmidt’s analysis, rarely seen anywhere else in the media, was correct. I would have added two details to Schmidt’s article..."

[NJmaverick]

17. I will dare to blame you, because you will be at fault

The FACT of the matter is the Dems didn't have a way to win, and you want to blame them for things that are out of their control.

[rateyes]

24. OK, go ahead and blame me:

I don't give a shit.

[blue_onyx]

25. What?!?

They have a Democratic President, a Democratic House, and a Democrats Senate with 60 votes. They don't have a way to win? Nonsense.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

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

[Prism]

22. Health care is not a pony

Declaring such displays a certain callousness about the actual lives affected by policy and issues and instead asserts a kind of indifferent allegiance to political gamesmanship rather than improving American lives.

[ShortnFiery]

19. Amen Brother! This liberal democrat fully supports the above suggestions.

:patriot: :thumbsup:

[Blasphemer]

20. And blame you they will...

That's the name of the game, isn't it? It's somehow always the fault of those on the left who demand more or expect better. The blame somehow is never assigned to those who are making the decisions that drive away people who want government to work for the people.

[Milo_Bloom]

21. Its likely going to take ANOTHER republican administration

to get this party to find its strength.

They likely would have won in 2004 if they didn't put up a war voter

[depakid]

23. That'll be the dynamic

It's not always necessary to win these policy battles- but it IS necessary to stand up- pull out all the stops and fight.

Unfortunately, the growing perception is that this administration is long on carrots and short on sticks. That aint gonna get it done on the domestic front.

[blue_onyx]

26. Without a public option,

I likely won't vote for Obama either. Well, unless Palin or Jeb Bush is the GOP nominee. Nothing is worth risking either of them winning.

If we get health care "reform" with no public option, no medicare expansion, and mandate coverage, I hope there's a primary challenge to Obama.