(image created by KayInMaine of White Noise Insanity)
My, my, my….I remember a time in our country under George Bush when I was called unpatriotic, an America-hater, and a traitor to this country for not supporting the funding of two illegal invasions that George Bush & Dick Cheney started. I remember the republicans across this country telling me and everyone like me that if you didn’t support our soldiers you were pond scum. Well…
TIMES HAVE CHANGED! THERE’S A BIG SCARY BLACK MAN LIVING IN THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE REPUBLICANS WILL VOTE ‘NO’ ON EVERY BILL THAT COMES TO THE FLOOR, BECAUSE THEY’RE PASTY WHITE IDEOLOGUES WHO WOULD SEND OUR SOLDIERS DOWN THE RIVER IN A CHICKEN WIRE CANOE OR SELL THEIR CHILDREN INTO PROSTITUTION….JUST TO AVOID A ‘YES VOTE’ ON ANYTHING THE BIG BLACK SCARY MAN WANTS! See?
Remember this in 2010: REPUBLICANS VOTED AGAINST FUNDING OF OUR TROOPS TO DENY AMERICAN’S MUCH NEEDED HEALTH CARE REFORM.
Here’s the vote tally: (click here and here)
This is off topic, but can I rant here for a minute (I don’t have my own blog up yet,
)
Did you all see Dylan Ratigan’s bullying of the awesome, wonderful Debbie Wasserman-Schultz? It was despicable, shameful, rude and disrespectful of a sitting congresswoman. It’s one thing to hold people’s feet to the fire and try to make them answer the questions, but this was way different than that. He didn’t give Debbie a chance to even begin to answer his questions.
I will answer his idiotic premise…just because insurance stocks go up, doesn’t necessarily mean that this bill is a godsend to them. Insurance companies are going to benefit no matter what comes out, it’s simple, more people getting health care, more money for insurance companies. Yes, they are vile, money grubbing capitalists, which companies aren’t in America? Even with a public option, insurance companies stand to benefit, and simply because speculators raise the stock of an industry based on speculation doesn’t automatically mean they are right, either. That’s why it’s called speculation. I sent several complaining emails to MSNBC for the treatment Debbie received, it was probably the worst case of bullying I’ve ever seen and I smelled a sense of sexism too….I for one will never watch his show and ranting monologues again, even if I do frequently agree with him. Thanks for letting me vent.
So Kay, when it loses posts, do you have to dig them out of somewhere? Is it a wordpress thing? It’s kind of weird how intermittent it is.
Hi Jim! Yes, I have to dig the comments out of the spam catcher to put them back on the front page. I use keywords to moderate thanks to the right wing trolls, so if you use any of those keywords your comment will go in there. Happens to all of us…including me! Yep, I have to fish out my own comments from time to time.
Jim, I hear what you are saying about Ratigan but I must confess that I am one of those progressives who wouldn’t vote for the health care bill in it’s present form just for the sake of passing something.
Obama and the democrats have really dropped the ball on this one and it could come back to haunt them. Republicans already have ammo on them for the mandate in the bill which forces all Americans to purchase health insurance.
Now of course with everyone having insurance this would cut the emergency room visits for a cough or pulled muscle but without a public option what mechanism is there to stop the insurance companies from raising premiums or deductibles?
See, I think we need to pass something now and then work on it for the next few years until implementation. I love the idea of the wealthy being taxed in the meantime!
We also need to work hard next year in getting real progressive liberals into the Senate so we can perfect the health care reform bill!
Robert Kuttner and Matt Tiabbi discuss the health care bill with Bill Moyers.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/12182009/watch.html
Hey Temple,
If I wrote the bill, we’d have single payer, nationalized health care, call me a commie. My concern is that we may not have this opportunity again, next year is an election year, politicians play it safe and the commercials attacking them have probably already been cut. If we miss this opportunity, real people will die. And that isn’t hyperbole, it’s reality.
I don’t place the blame squarely on Obama, I think the blame should go where it is due, the republicans, Ben Nelson, Joe Lieberman, Mary Landriu (sp), and a few others who went public and helped fuel the republicans opposition. They should have worked within the caucus to get their pet projects.
I don’t think Obama could have played it better if he had taken a harder tact. There was no easy route to getting this passed, if you know of one, I’d like to hear it. The interests lined up against this since before the election would have made it difficult no matter how he approached it. I think the history books are going to treat this much differently than the current mood. By dealing with Pharma and the Medical lobby early on, he prevented an all out attack from all interests. It probably would have fallen the same way Hillary’s attempt did back in the 90’s. Progressives surely have reasons to be upset at the compromise, but I am realistic and believe doing nothing, riding high on principals isn’t going to help my sister-in-law who has a pre-existing condition.
Exactly Jim! The insurance companies don’t want anything to pass because they know if it does eventually we will have a single payer health care system, you know….a not for profit system which cuts out the middle man/CEO’s etc! In the meantime, to get back the money they spent trying to kill this bill, THEY WILL RAISE THEIR RATES AND THEY WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO UNTIL AMERICANS CAN’T FIX IT.
Pass a bill now! We have to. It’s not a perfect bill but we have time to fix it.
Matt Taibbi is very good at persuading people, but as I learned the other day….I think it was on Huffpost….he plays loose with facts frequently, exaggerates and overgeneralizes. I love him for his progressive views, but that doesn’t excuse his tactics. He is much like Dylan Rattigan in that he despises Wall Street, Bankers, and big money….sign me up too, but that doesn’t mean that they are always right, accurate or dealing in reality. I’ll try to find the take down of Taibbi and put the link up, I lost a lot of respect for him when I read it, even though like I said, I love his progressive outlook.