Via Adam Green of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, posted at Huffington Post:
In the wake of last week’s “bipartisan summit” — which proved that no Republicans in Congress will vote for health care reform — an avalanche of Democratic senators are announcing today that they will vote YES for the public health insurance option if it is brought up in “reconciliation.”
Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) are the latest to announce their support, raising the number of senators on record from 0 to 30 in under 2 weeks.
Here’s the quote they put up from Murray:
“I’ve been consistently supportive of a public option so that Washington’s families and businesses have choices in their health care options and so insurance companies are finally forced to compete for the business of the American people. Nothing has changed that support. I don’t know whether the votes exist in the Senate right now, but if the public option came up for a vote as we move ahead with reform, including under reconciliation, I would vote yes.”
The patience of the American people has limits, and it’s time to get this done. Let the Tea People and their corporate puppet masters throw their hissy fits, they aren’t anything close to a majority.
All due to my phone call last week,no doubt.
What was missing from the post was… no Republicans in Congress will vote for health care reform in it’s current form [since it’s the same bill crafted by Max Baucus and the Senate Democrats for Democrats without any Republican input. This bill forced the Cornhusker Compromise and the Louisiana Purchase to occur.]
There we go. Now fact checked and corrected.
Good. Not that it matters much but if she didn’t, she was going to lose my vote and my $ support for being a spineless democrat.
shalom, emily
About time…
Input was asked for and the “output” from the Republicans was “NO”.
If UPS, Fed Ex and others can be thriving businesses in competition with the Post Office then so can the insurance companies in competition with a people-first Public Option.
And what about Sen. Cantwell???
Sorry, Emily … it was my angry reply to the request for “summit input” that Patty’s campaign sent out last week. I specifically demanded that she back the PO, and then she went and mentioned it (the first person to do so) at the summit.
And I’m with sarge — WTF, Maria? You’ve been a real champ on HCR, and now you won’t even sign a near-toothless letter?
ButtPutty @2
Maybe your precious republicans should have spent more time in Congress doing their jobs instead of grandstanding on the fake news network.
It is not as if the republicans have not had a hand in health care “reform”. They can take full credit for Medicare Part D because of which Medicare is not allowed to negotiate for lower drug prices. Can anyone say “REPUBLICAN PORK”?
Funny stuff. It’s practically a republican bill.
Didn’t see Baucus arresting any republicans…
3. Blue John spews:
Yeah Right–
As if you wouldn’t vote for her.
And BTW, your $2.17 Contribution must weigh heavily on her pointy pinhead BJ!
About time.
President Obama seems to be following a Lincoln script.
He came into office faced with radicals who really seemed to want to split the Union … this time by doing away with the social model that got us to where we are.
Obama/Lincoln seemed to naively believe that the rhetoric of the dissenters was only that … but he was wrong. The Republican party of today is the radical democratic party of 1860.
Obama began his Presidency in a very collegial manner, seeking support even from moderates … ironically Blair of Blair House was one of these.
Most put their self interest above the country. Like todays Radical Republican Remnant .. The Repricans.
Hopefully, like the man in the shrine at the end opf the mall, this President has found his Grant.
Let public option be the price GOPers pay for not supplying a single Senate vote to pass a bipartisan healthcare bill.
@2 “no Republicans in Congress will vote for health care reform in it’s current form”
Is this somehow significant, given that Democrats currently hold the largest majorities of the last 100 years in both houses of Congress?
You guys are the MINORITY party. In all caps. Meaning, your party was decisively and sweepingly and comprehensively rejected at the polls by voters all across America.
So why, then, should Congress adopt your healthcare plan? Especially when you don’t even have one?
Screw GOP obstructionists! Git ‘er done!!
@5 Yeah. If they don’t like public option, let ’em go to Wellpoint.
SeattleJew who really thinks he’s God–
C’mon.
Obam-Mao is an ideologue.
He spent more time talking than all the Republicans COMBINED at the Health Care Summit.
By his actions will he be judged.
I seriously don’t think that based on Obam-Mao’s actions to date, the majority of voters would by your assertions. They simply are not supported by the record. He has mocked & ridiculed Tea Partiers…the list goes on & on.
Just cuz Obam-Mao sez he’s collegial, doesn’t make it so.
In fact, another huge problems for Obam-Mao is that just because he sez anything doesn’t make it so.
He still has the far-left loons in his corner. Less than 20%. And he has a few more folks who desperately want HOPE & CHANGE.
But Hey…Seattle Jew thinks he’s God, so no need to argue. Coo-coo!
But Rog–
Even if the Dems ram it thru, what will happen with the next Budget??
In all likelihood, the make-up of Congress will change drastically…and Democrats will be punished for ramming it thru.
So the Next Congress refuses to fund this debacle. Then what??
2, 15 — Well well, we have both of the Two Stooges here with us today … the two guys who claim a state liquor clerk made $105,000 last year.
Mr. Cynical thinks Mr. Thomas D. Taylor should take a 10% pay cut.
I’m sure that Mr. Taylor, who makes $13.50 an hour, would be happy to get his pay knocked down to $94,500 a year ($105,000 – $10,500)!
[raucous rabbit laughter in background]
2, 11 … not 2, 15
And Rog–
By the time the Constitutionality of the Dems actions is vetted by the Supreme Court, it will like be close to 2012.
Supposedly we will start getting taxed on this soon…with no benefits for 5 years.
What if a future Congress & President shifts the funds to something like Health Savings Accounts.
Remember, ALL Legislation that is done…can be undone.
@17 I must say, despite the substantive stupidity of your posts, I can’t help but find your Pollyannish optimism refreshing, albeit laughable. It’s always a pleasure to hear the orchestra playing on despite the fact your ship is sinking.
@20 Waaaahaaaaahaaahahaha … you think this is unconstitutional? As a lawyer, I can hardly wait to read your brief. If nothing else, I’m sure it’ll be quite long on novelty.
HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR
Sorry, Klown, gotta go. Have to research some stocks. And when I get done with that, I’m gonna go apply for one of those $100,000-a-year liquor store clerk jobs!
HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR
2 Pud
I assume that the “Max Baucus” to whom you refer is the same Senator who held closed-door meetings with Republican Senators Charles Grassley, Olympia Snowe, and Susan Collins for more than two months last year writing the Senate Finance Committee HCR bill.
22. Roger Rabbit spews:
You silly SOB, I never said it was unconstitutional. That’s not for me to decide. But I suspect it will be challenged and put before those who do.
It all takes time Rog…it all takes time.
17. Cyn
Democrats aren’t going to “ram” anything through. Try hard to understand these two very important points: 1. The House passed a health care reform bill. 2. The Senate passed a health care reform bill. In the Senate, however, Republican obstruction made it necessary for them to reach 60 votes for cloture numerous times in order to pass the bill, but pass it they did. There’s not some new bill that’s waiting for a vote.
Now all that is left to do is for the Democrats in the Senate to tweak the Senate bill a bit through reconciliation. The the House will passes the original Senate bill, then they’ll pass the reconciliation measure, and then it’s all over but for the long summer of GOP weeping and wailing.
The funny thing is that I agree with you on this, but not for the reasons I suspect you think apply. It is not reasonable to assume that the not-just-abnormal but really superhuman amount of Democratic favor and Democratic grassroots energy of 2006 and 2008 would continue at that level. I expect Republicans to pick up more seats this year, but not to gain a majority in the either House. And that will be especially true after the Democrats pass HCR.
We’ve been over that. Using 51-plus votes to pass legislation is just how it fucking works, son.
And the Democrats will be rewarded for passing HCR because (for example) from Day One, no one will be turned down for insurance for their pre-existing conditions. Come on, Republicans, I’m just waiting for when you all claim you’ll repeal THAT. Talk about popular! Not.
Well, the next Congress will not have a Republican majority in either House. And even if they did, the majority wouldn’t be in both Houses, so their legislation would not reach the president’s desk. And even if they somehow gained a majority in both Houses, which is the longest of long shots considering that Republicans are still incredibly unpopular, it would then be vetoed by the president and that would not be overridden.
Do you even know how this works? Do you think the Congress just says “I think I’ll pass a budget” and it just magically happens? Did you ever see the Schoolhouse Rock version of “I’m just a Bill?”
The Dumb Bunny Dipshit said
Where did Puddy say this fool?
Come on Dumb Bunny… You can even ask the arschloch on this one… you know the fool who though karen was kaitlyn was DanielS was xuxa… etc. Ask the fool, fool!
20 Cyn
Just like Social Security and Medicare, right? I noticed how those were repealed on January 21, 2001. Oh, wait, that’s right, they weren’t.
Republicans aren’t just doubling down on their obstruction of the majority. They’re tripling down:
Once again ekim the goatfucker forgets facts… Well when the hemorrhoids are bleeding he is losing brain material…
This has been available to Congressional DUMMOCRAPTS for a long time… They continue to ignore it like ekim ignores his hemorrhoids oops… brains…
Oh yeah with this link Puddy expects the arschloch to attack the source vs the content…
If you HA Libtardos watch the preznit without his teleprompter last week he was the man of no no no. He rejected just about every Republican suggestion. So why should Republicans vote for the same thing Americans reject and want to start over on?
Hey Moonbat!s, who wrote the reconciliation legislation rules? Robert 3K Sheets Byrd. Remember Clinton wanted to use reconciliation to pass his 1993 health care plan, but Senator Robert Byrd insisted that the health care plan was out of bounds for a process that is theoretically about budgets.
How dat rake to da face another tj?
30 Pud
Oh, we’re all well aware that Paul Ryan created a budget outline that proposes draconian real cuts in all domestic programs—less money for Pell Grants, less money for local schools, less money for the FBI, less money for job training, less money for National Institutes of Health research, less money for food stamps, etc. And part of the program is cuts in Social Security-—people won’t be getting what they’ve been promised. Oh, and it won’t balance the budget for 60 years. Nice.
But the rubber really meets the road in how Ryan’s budget treates Medicare. Bottom line: he just won’t pay for it. That’s easy to say, but takes a bit to explain.
Basically, Ryuan’s plan will be to drop seniors off Medicare, but give them a voucher for an amount that matches the cost of keeping them on Medicare, which they must then use to buy private insurance. Of course, private insurance has higher administrative costs than Medicare, and it has profit margins and such that Medicare doesn’t have, and it will be charged more per service than Medicare is. So on Day One you’ll lose your Medicare coverage and instead get a voucher that costs the government the same amount, but buys you much less in the way of health care services.
And then in the LONG run, the amount of the voucher is increased annually at approximately HALF of the projected rise in the cost of health care, so Ryan is really proposing to ration care for seniors. He’ll take the baseline level of per capita medical costs for seniors in 2020 and then draw a curve representing 2.7 percent annual growth and say that any costs above that won’t be covered. If grandma’s got a bunch of money, then she can spend her money. If not, then the plug is pulled.
It saves money, though. Enough to balance the budget in 60 years, by cracky.
Please, please run on this plan, Republicans.
32 Pud
As you sink into irrelvancy with that comment, you seem more or less blissfullly unaware that today, here in reality world in 2010, no one is proposing to pass a heatlh care reform bill via reconciliation. The bills were already passed.
The reconciliation measure will change some tax and other budgetary matters regarding the previous bill.
But nice try.
Oh yeah, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Part D, Medicare hospice care, and on, and on, and on? Passed under reconciliation.
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that 63% of Americans want Congress to “keep tring to pass a comprehensive health care reform plan.”
According to the Washington Post,
“As party leaders tussle over the proposed bipartisan health care summit, nearly two-thirds of Americans say they want Congress to keep working to pass comprehensive health-care reform. Democrats overwhelmingly support continued action on this front, as do 56 percent of independents and 42 percent of Republicans.”
it’s seems pretty remarkable that the people, liberals, who want healthcare reform, and lets be honest, they want it government controlled, are like hysterical to get it passed now. do i sense an ulterior motive. i do know all the little bernie maddoff’s out there are waiting to skim off the top of one sixth of our economy. but what about the rest of you. why so hysterical?
Daddy Love–
The Dems will be rewarded??
You really think voters will reward a Party that increases taxes today…but doesn’t start providing benefits for years??
And RAM IT THRU means using reconciliation for this purpose which significantly modifies Legislation.
The Courts will decide.
The voters will decide.
No matter…the Tea Party will get 100% behind the Republicans if they promise not to fund this monstrosity in future Budgets.
We may have to shut down the government!
Hey, not a bad idea!
The only thing required is DEFENSE & SECURITY.
Yeah, let’s just shut down the rest.
Can Bureaucrats survive without a government paycheck?
Not for long.
Puddy–
Excellent! Your irrefutable memory comes in handy once again. Gosh, these KLOWNS must hate your intelligence and recall ability!
The fact that you can out-debate these KLOWNS while eating Dinner, reading a good book and watching a movie with Mrs. Puddy ought to embarrass these dumba$$es.
Also..a slight correction for Daddy Love.
When you refer to Congressman Ryan in the future, would you mind calling him “Future President” Ryan as I have been telling you all for the past year??
Many thanks!
36 mot
Health care may be, in its entirety, somethig like one-sixth of our economy. But outside the the tebaggers fever dreams, the actual HCR bills (which you have not read, admit it) touches only a small portion of this directly, oputside of small measures such as disallowing the “pre-existing condition” dodge for insurers to drop patients.
38 CYn
You must mean like “Future President” John McCain, right?
37 Cyn
Yep. Because there are a bunch of provisions (you don’t listen well) that begin immediately and will affect the people who need help–like those nice working people who have been denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
Yeah, I knew what you meant. The rules around reconciliation do not care how “significant” a “modification” is. And I’ll bet a double sawbuck you can’t state what those modifications are to be. But as for the courts, don’t make me laugh. The filibuster, and reconciliation, are merely Senate rules, which the Constitution explicitly grants the Senate the right to make. The USSC can only rule of a law violates some contiututional provision. It has no say over, and thus cannot rule on, how the Senate conducts its business. Passed is passed. Oh, and this was already passed.
Like the Tea Party has an agenda, intead of thousands of weird, idiosyncratic agendas, one per teabagger.
You got a mouse in your pocket?
What is required is what our elected representatives decide on behalf of those who elected them.
Great! Put a fifth of our workers out of a job. Heck, that won’t start a depression or anything, as aggregate deamnd plummets.
Oh, sorry, one more thing…
You mean “this monstrosity” that the CBO estimates will reduce the deficit by $132 billion over the next decade and $1.2 trillion over the following 10 years?
Yeah, stop funding that and see what happens. Or call Paul Ryan; he can get out out of annual deficit on only 63 years.
Yes, people want health care reform – I think people on both sides of the aisle can agree on that.
NO, not everyone wants govt run healthcare.
funny how that deliniation is NEVER made in the media…or on HA for that matter.
Maybe except those crotchety old townhall zombies who screamed at their Congress Critters to keep their grubby socialist hands off their Medicare..
O and just the other day – I saw military men and women up in arms against that communist VA system where the doctors, nurses, whohaveyou get a government paycheck.
Wait a minute. I must have totally imagined that protest.. I must be hanging out here too much. Delusional right wingers are rubbing off on me..
@16 “SeattleJew who really thinks he’s God–
C’mon.”
Well, I don’t wanna be God, I’d be perfectly happy to be a $105,000-a-year liquor store clerk — if such a job existed, which it doesn’t.
“Obam …a … is an ideologue.”
And you’re not???
“He spent more time talking than all the Republicans COMBINED at the Health Care Summit.”
He’s the president. They’re not.
“By his actions will he be judged.”
By Democrats, yes. As for wingnuts, BULLSHIT, because (a) they’ve prejudged him, and (b) they don’t have a clue what he actually did (or didn’t do).
“I seriously don’t think …”
I stopped there because you don’t think seriously.
“He has mocked & ridiculed Tea Partiers…”
… and I can’t think of a more deserving bunch.
“Just cuz Obam … a … sez he’s collegial, doesn’t make it so.”
He was expressing an aspiration that is wasted on Republicans in any event.
“In fact, another huge problems for Obam … a … is that just because he sez anything doesn’t make it so.”
That applies to you, too.
“He still has the far-left loons in his corner.”
He also has Wall Street and a large percentage of America’s CEOs in his corner. The “far-left loons” were had. This guy is a capitalist through-and-through.
“Less than 20%.”
Is that your investment returns over the last decade, or what’s left of your portfolio after the crash, or the percentage of your goat herd that’s willing to have anything to do with you?
“And he has a few more folks who desperately want HOPE & CHANGE.”
The last poll I saw showed 66% of Republicans are hoping for a change to how we run health care in this country, and that’s before counting any of the Democrats.
“But Hey…Seattle Jew thinks he’s God ….”
Not me. Hell, I don’t even think I’m a $105,000-a-year liquor store clerk. I’m just a fucking rabbit living in a hole in the lawn of a public park.
“Coo-coo!”
My mourning dove pal says, “Coo-coo you, too!” If you need to be told what it means, you don’t want to know.
@44 “Delusional right wingers …”
Speaking of whom, Klown thinks a state liquor store clerk made $105,000 last year. What a dumbshit! The BIAW combined the pay of two guys with identical names, neither of whom makes over $35,000/yr, plus the BIAW double-counted leave pay.
@37 “You really think voters will reward a Party …”
I sure liked how they “rewarded” yours for sleeping through 9/11 and Katrina, starting two wars they couldn’t finish, borrowing $1 trillion from China to give to rich guys, and putting 8 million Americans out of work and the country into a depression.
2006! 2008! Whooo-hooo!
As they said at Gettysburg, “Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg!”
243 “NO, not everyone wants govt run healthcare.”
Everyone over 65 does. And all of the people under 65 I know can’t wait to turn 65 and get their government run healthcare!
@49….thats interesting, I dont know anyone under 65 who looks forward to medicare.
Daddy Love spews–
Ummmmm, huge obvious difference is the length of time they were in place. Not comparable..you are grasping at straws.
This one will not even be paying out benefits for 5 years. Easy to undo and give the money back to the rightful owners—taxpayers.
Is this all the better you can do??
The other thing is that the Dems using reconciliation sets a dangerous precedent.
On an issue the magnitude of Health Care, the voters will always blame the Democrats for it’s misuse. Certainly if reconciliation is used to ram this thru…it can be justified to be used to eject it.
52 Cyn
Again with the ramming. What is your fascination with ramming? I mean, I could guess, but that would not be fair, would it?
43 MR
ANd not everyone gets it, either. Most won’t. Most people will retain the insurance tey have. Those who have no insurance can get it in one of the exchanges, in which most of the choices will be privately run insurance companies. If there is no “public option” (and so far there is none) then there will be NO publicly run insurance in the exchanges.
Under the bills that have been passed, the government:
– employs no doctors
– provides no insurance
None beyond what is currently available, at any rate. However, there are subsidies for insurance purchase on a sliding scale for low-income patients.
So to what “government-run healthcare” are you referring?
New Republican idea:
Payday loans to buy health insurance.
What is your fascination with ramming?
Damn! Chrome’s javascript sucks!
The Edit Comments feature doesn’t work with it too well.
Heh. The fiend (Stupes) once couldn’t remember that his sockpuppet lied about his true identity.
Or the fool was so addled by his self-delusional “google skillz” and right wing mentality he couldn’t conceive that a lefty could just google his bullshit as well.
When he was exposed, he was so shamed he left HA for a spell. What a pleasant relief that was…
52 Cyn
Precedent. You mean like when CHIP, Medicare hospice care, and other health care measures were passed using reconcdiliation? No, you mean that this is DIFFERENT from all of the other uses of reconciliation for health care changes.
Here’s Orrin Hatch in the WaPo (3/2/2010) on reconciliation:
And now we know where you got “ramming.” Right from GOP Talking Points Central. So cute.
But you see, Orrin Hatch is lying, and he knows he’s lying. He’s been a Senator since 1977, so you know he knows goddam good and well that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was already passed by the Senate on December 24, 2009. THAT was the “multitrillion-dollar health-care bill.” Already passed. Whatever goes through reconciliation will be some relatively changes to that Act. And he knows that, so he’s lying.
You, on the other hand, may just be that dumb.
And during Clinton’s administration, you thought that voters would blame Democrats for the budget dusputes that shut down the government, but as usual you were wrong.
Here’s the real truth: most voters are not well informed and don’t know or care a bit about the arcanities of Senate rules and procedure. They don’t blame Republicans for their unprecedented use of the filibuster to obstruct legislative action (even though they should), and they don’t care about reconciliation. And if you’re counting on voters to care about the use of reconciliation, prepare yourself for disappointment. It works both ways, you see.
Here’s another Senator who I consider to be a bit confused about reconciliation. And this time he’s one of ours (Kent Conrad). Now, to be fair, he is explaining to a reporter why Cynical is wrong and Orrin Hatch is lying about reconciliation and HCR. And this is because the big HCR bill was already passed under what is called “regular order.”
Anyay, Kent Conrad says that reconciliation “was designed for deficit reduction.” Really? Let’s be sure that we clearly understand this.
– The $1.3 trillion in tax cuts contained in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (the first of the so-called “Bush tax cuts”) blew a big fucking hole in the budget and was part of the reason that the CBO-projected “$5 trillion surplus” never materialized and why instead the Bush Years increased our national debt by, well, about $5 trillion.
– The Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (the second of the so-called “Bush tax cuts”) contained an additional $330 billion in budget-busting tax cuts.
– The Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 shielded wealthy investors from an increase in their capital gains tax and increased the deficit and our debt. During this time, Republicans had already obligingly repealed PAYGO rules, because, you know, they get in the way of increasing the deficit.
So I’ll give Kent Conrad a break because he said that reconciliation “was designed” for deficit reduction. It’s just that no one uses it for that, and Republicans sure as shit don’t care about whether it’s used for deficit reduction. You know, a hammer “is designed” to pound in nails, but if I want to break a window in Cynical’s house, it works just fine for that.
In other related news:
– Hey, guess who just re-adopted PAYGO rules recently? The Democrats! Now any new spending must be offset by spending cuts of revenue enhancement. Stuff Republicans don’t give a fuck about, because piling up big debt like Saint Ronnie (tripled the national debt) and GW Foolish (doubled the national debt) is as Republican as cherry pie.
– And guess who just passed a “multi-trillion-dollar” health care refom bill that reduces the deficit by $132 billion over the next decade and $1.2 trillion over the decade following that? The Democrats!
53. Daddy Love spews:
Perhaps your komrade Blue John can explain the “ramming” concept you raised.