health care debate, the latest

Well the health care debate is now allowed to continue in the Senate as the Democrats joined unanamously to break the Republican Fillubister against debate.

Now this was just a vote to allow debate on the bill. Every single republican was against even allowing debate on the bill.

One of the most important issues to the American people, one that has dominated politics for years, and the Republicans don't even want to debate it.

Now the Republicans say they will filibuster every single amendment that is to be debated. This means for every amendment all 60 Democrats need to agree and vote on each amendment.

They are doing everything they can to stop this legislation from passing. This includes putting in anti abortion amendments and even amendments regarding gun laws as a strategy to sink the reform ship.


What good are the Republicans if they do not even want to debate important issues and fight with all their might to prevent any reform for the American people. They are so pro corporate and anti American it is crazy.

And the political wisdom is that if the Dems don't deliver they will suffer in the next election. Harry Reed for example, may not get re-elected if he cannot get all 60 Dems to agree on a Bill. How utterly idiotic is this! With our two party system if the Dems lose, the Republicans win. So if the Dems try and fail to provide Health Care Reform the party that did every thing they could to prevent it from passing will come out on top?

Clearly if we fail at health care reform now we need to elect MORE democrats and MORE PROGRESSIVE Democrats so they can actually get stuff done.

Ironically the conservative Dems and Republicans say cost is a big problem but they are the ones that are adamantly against all the reform that would reduce cost! A strong public option for instance (stronger than the one in the bill now), but to go even further, single payer.

They insist that if we have reform it must be in a way that still allows private insurers to profit, which is the reason health care is so expensive, and then they complain about the cost. Dumb. The bill we are going to end up with is going to use tax payer money to pay private insurers to insure people. Of course it is going to cost a lot, that is why we are having this debate in the first place.

I am actually thinking it would be best if this bill passes without the public option. The public option they are proposing is so awful that it will not effect most of us nor will it bring down the costs for anyone. It is designed to be expensive and uncompetitive. Better to get no public option and then to come back with a real one someday - medicare for all, or perhaps states will start with single payer systems and serve as models. Not that we don't have plenty of models with all the other countries out there doing better than us.

I wish they had done it in parts from the start. Started with Health Care Insurance Reform and get rid of the pre-existing conditions,etc. Then later they could work on expanding coverage through expanding and improving Medi-care.

Right now it looks like we have 2,000 pages of crap that will do a few good things but will not provide the reform needed.

It makes me laugh when I get emails from the Democrats and Dem leaning groups like Move-on saying we are on the verge of HISTORIC legislation addressing the biggest moral issue of all time. I don't think this bill is something to be so proud of as a progressive or liberal. I am glad I am not in congress, I would have a hard time voting for the bill the way it is. My vote is with Bernie Sanders - he is right on the issue, we'll see what he thinks of the final bill.