Elizabeth Edwards on The Colbert Report
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Download | play (h/t Heather)
Elizabeth Edwards faces Stephen Colbert to stump for on behalf of the group Health Care for America Now! trying to raise the awareness of the campaign to bring affordable health care to all Americans.
Colbert: You’re talking about Universal Health Care?
Edwards: Universal, meaning everybody gets health care.
Colbert: Okay, but we already have a form of universal health care, it’s called prayer. Okay? Everybody can do it, and the Lord of the Universe hears all prayers, but sometimes the answer is, ‘I’m sorry, you’re not covered for that.’
Edwards: Right. A little too often it’s ‘you’re not covered for that.’ And unfortunately, there’s just too many Americans who currently prayer is their only form of health care.
OBAMA - FUNK SOUL BROTHER!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGeVtzqFlUY
I love Collbert and respect Edwards- but this was a sh!tty interview on both sides.
Elizabeth Edwards is an angel and if anyone can make it happen for all Americans, she'll do it! She'll do it with the help of her own personal angel Ted Kennedy!
She makes me proud to bear a name that means "consecrated to god," even though I am an atheist. Thanks Elizabeth.
She's a class act.
What's with the '4' joke? I don't follow.
BennyP @ 2:
Disagree. Informative and entertaining, she is elevating and advancing the discussion of healthcare in the US. What else do you want?
Nikola @ 6:
Maybe she said, "Fords"?
Exotic Blue Lensman @ 8:
I figured that. But then she went on to say fives and sixes?
But it's socialist !! It must be evil ......... I hope you are all wearing your flag pins ...........
Nikola @ 9:
I didn't see the show, but, if I've got it figured right, it's about making the 4's that go in gas station signs- soon to be 5's and 6's.
i watched/listened to this interview yesterday. elizabeth did well ..........i particularly appreciated when she said people need to have a fair chance ... not being taken care of like the (R) likes to suggest. if the path to independence is fair people will go after it. open up the healthcare system to everyone make it affordable by increasing pool size and increasing effiency. the market was given a chance and it's not working.....colbert may not agree but he got it.
is that healthcare plan that the congress has....social?
I only saw the clip, but assumed it was a backwards reference to an earlier Colbert comment from an earlier segment in the show.
The Republican Faithbased Healthcare Plan:
Pray that you don't get sick.
Pray if you do.
George Bu'ush and John McBu'ush, both of whom have long availed themselves of platinum-plated health care financing courtesy of the taxpayers, "believe strongly in private medicine" for the rest of us. Interestingly, John McBu'ush, absent his comprehensive federal health care coverage "entitlement," would be among the uninsurable in the wake of his many chronic and acute maladies.
constituent @ 13:
I want what they have. Simple.
Andy K Jong Il @ 11:
WooHoo! Got it right the first time out!
BobbyG @ 17:
same here
BennyP @ 2:
it wasn't great but she did make a couple good statements
Two Southern liberals who believe they can turn government by force of reason or irony.
Good luck America.
The evil fucks have much more power and much different ideas.
Not sure why Elizabeth Edwards rejects the Canadian system, saying it's "socialized medicine". It's really universal healthcare, same as what she's proposing. Doctors treat everyone equally and no money has to be paid up front. Everyone is covered by the plan. How do doctors get paid? They bill the government for services rendered. Here in British Columbia we pay $108. per month per family and the rest comes from our taxes.
Personal experience here: I had brain surgery 8 years ago. Vision problems and weakness of my left leg sent me to the doctor, a CAT scan showed a tumour the size of a golfball that had totally filled the ventricle of my brain. Lots of fear in my family over the outcome, but at least we never worried about paying for it. It turned out fine and the quality of care was first class. I got physiotherapy afterwards to learn to walk again.
The ONLY issue worth talking about today is Gore's challenge to move to clean energy in 10 years. It's not only possible, it's necessary for our survival, both economic and environmental. But all anyone wants to talk about is political cartoons and who made what bad jokes. Where is the liberal blogosphere on this? Where is Obama on this?
zeppyfish @ 23:
It was on C&L's blog last night and you ignored it.
Ron @ 24:
pwn3d!!!1!!!!!!!!!11!1!1!
[Deleted. Over the top. Not just a little offensive, too. Site Monitor]
And what better way to deliver health care?
Yes, universal cradle to grave healthcare for every man woman and child in this nation.... Anything else is just another privatized scam to fleece money while making damned sure no help will be there when you truly need it..... I already bitched about this long and hard yesterday on another thread... Honest brokers for this idea can haggle over the details of how to pay for it.. I favor across the board taxation, probably of a progressive nature with those more weathy paying more than the dirt poor... But in the main, it needs to be everyone chipping in. After all, we're 'all' chipping in for this fucking war whether we want to or not... I spelled that out in my earlier rant.. No response..pro or con... Noone even wanted to give me any shit. I can only hope Ms. Edwards can get this ball rolling... Ain't none of us getting any younger..................JD
If Gore were president,
he would be a tool of those in power.
Wake up!
Government is not determined by individual voters.
It's determined by those in power.
I hope provisions will be made for those of us who choose not to take pharmaceuticals unless honestly required, and honor our traditional and/or natural medicine choices. Who we choose to regard as a valid health care authority is a matter of liberty.
Yeah, universal care! Then we can say goodbye to any more advances in medical technology. We can say good bye to same day/next day tests. Good bye to procedures done in a timely matter. And hey, good bye to the Canadians that cross the border to get the care they can't in their own nation.
Chris, you are misinformed. Don't believe the propaganda. There is nothing stopping Canadians from making advances in medical technology, our waiting times are about the same as those for Americans (except for hip and knee replacements) and very few Canadians need to leave Canada to get medical treatment. We have a right wing think tank called The Fraser Institute that puts out these lies, probably because they want private enterprise to siphon some of those health care dollars into their pockets. Not going to happen! I make it my business to stop businessmen making a profit from illness.
Chris, I daresay there are probably more Americans who cross the border, literally or virtually, to get pharmaceuticals at comparatively reasonable prices than there are Canadians in the group you specify. Should the profit motive be the inspiration for developing new drugs, as it is for the development of so many products that seem to backfire against our society, such as environmental toxins and the like? I liked the way Ms. Edwards backed off on fealty to free market capitalism -- very refershing candor.
Dave
Goodbye any more advances in medical technology! Good bye to same day/next day tests! Good bye to procedures done in a timely matter! I hardly knew you. Ever.
Buckley @ 33:
That's because you couldn't afford it. You had no health insurance. You couldn't afford that either.
constituent @ 20:
Hey, like I said- great lady with great ideas. I'm just saying Colbert was soft on her and she didn't seem up to the humour of the setting. If this wasn't a comedy show- I'd say great interview.
Good bye to obscene profits in the health care industry.
My God, using logic and reason in this nation where politics resembles chimpanzees in 50 states and in Washington all throwing shit at each other? Did something in the water change when I wasn't looking?
Classy lady.
I wonder when we can expect to see 8-mansions-beer-heiress-Cindy-McCain stumping on behalf of health care for the average rank and file American (or any other issue for the average citizen)?
BennyP @ 35:
I would say that she did remarkably well, considering the fact that she is still going through treatment for cancer again.
jwazzz @ 5:
"Elizabeth Edwards"
"Maybe there is hope for America."
Compare her comments to comments from:
BOR, Hannity. Limbaugh,Coulter ( I had to include her),
Bush Jr. , Rumsfeld, Rove , 'oh way', Bolton,and all the
Neocons and AIPAC' type's. etc.
hmo/healthins. dream.....paypaypay but never allowed/need care
BennyP @ 35:
Soft on her? Ya don't say...
Let's see...We've got a comedy show...the premise of the show is that the host is a right wing blowhard...but in reality the host and the staff of the show skew to the left...and here's a woman who's undergoing cancer treatment, and it looks like the treatments aren't going to cure her cancer necessarily, but might let her hold on for a few more years if she's lucky...and she's taking the time to push for a pretty important issue...and she doesn't have a lot of experience doing stand-up comedy, or even making appearances on shows such as this one...WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?
For those who noticed it was a weak interview, that is because HCAN are astroturf.
Single Payer is what works. 1) Single payer is gaining power.
HR 676 has been endorsed by over 430 union organizations in 48 states including 108 Central Labor Councils and Area Labor Federations and 33 state AFL-CIO’s (KY, PA, CT, OH, DE, ND, WA, SC, WY, VT, FL, WI, WV, SD, NC, MO, MN, ME, AR, MD-DC, TX, IA, AZ, TN, OR, GA, OK, KS, CO, IN, AL, CA & AK).
It has also been endorsed by the largest physician medical specialty group (American College of Physicians), the largest Nurses union (CNA), and numerous civic and religious groups all over America.
Unitarian Universalists Endorse Single-Payer Health Care 2008
US Conference of Mayors 2008
...
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/7/13/203532/544
Don't give up on single payer.
To get the 16 thousand physician and medical student point of view, see http://www.pnhp.org/blog/ and http://www.pnhp.org/blog/2008/07/10/what-hcan-is-really-about/
2) The left gains nothing with this so called HCAN coalition compromise. HCAN do not bring a single right wing group to the table. Instead this group seems to triangulate the left with this ill-conceived and premature compromise. HCAN targets progressive groups as proponents by recruiting Elizabeth Edwards and others to lend their names to this effort. But the members of the unions and activist groups, if polled, prefer single payer anyway. Their leadership who support HCAN betrays them already by settling for a plan that does not at least START from a single payer position. They will soon have to compromise even more.
Marc Campbell PhD 3rd year medical student PNHP member not paid by HCAN nor PNHP supporter of MoveOn except when they support funding Iraq War in 2006, Planned Parenthood except when they support Lieberman and True Majority except when they supoort HCAN.
Chris @ 30:
Chris, I agree with Barbara in BC. I live in Ontario. My neighbor is a US citizen who worked in Canada and paid into our system his entire working life. He is retired now and splits his time equally between Canada and the US. Why? Because he doesn't want to lose his health coverage in Canada. He is politically conservative, but he knows first hand the quality of Canadian health care and he wouldn't trade systems. All health care is under financial stress, but at least we don't have to add in profits to insurance companies in our health care dollars up north.
thank you for helping with that "4" joke--I didn't get it!
Rush was better.
I was surprised she didn't give us an update on her own health condition. She
usuallyalways does.Andy K Jong Il @ 11:
Ah, nice. I didn't make the $4 gallon connection. We use liters here:P
Stash @ 14:
Yeah, my original assumption as well.
Barbara in BC @ 22:
I found it fairly obvious. You americans have an inbuilt negative reaction to the word socialized. Cold war remnant, yay. Politicians must be careful not to use it or they automatically lose the right vote. She wants to push it by something not socialized, but doing the same thing.
the only true universal coverage is through a single payer system. incremental compromises like the HCAN group proposes is still laying down to insurance companies. what we need to guarantee for all Americans is access to health care, not access to insurance.
Chris @ 30:
Wrong as usual Chris. Medical advances are made all over the world, including Canada and every single country in Europe has socialized medicine. Most medical developments besides drugs are the result of publicly funded research and not by for-profit corporations. As it happens the U.S. is particularly blessed with generous foundations and people who make massive donations that keep the system producing.The money draws talent from all over the world but it has nothing to do with universal health care.
People that are against Universal Health Care are ether really stupid (or just plain ignorant) or they are profiting from the system as it stands.
We should have it, end of story. If you believe otherwise, you are wrong.
Total sell out to get the 'nice' insurance companies to the table. What right do they have to be at the table with me and my doctor. I'll pay into a single payer plan because I want treatment when it is time and I want everyone in this country to have the same thing. Just like our Socialized Government Medical Plan. It works for them.
no compromise @ 51:
That's what Edwards meant by "cutting out the middle man". I agree completely. Capitalism is an excellent system, but corporations have acquired too much power and control over markets through deregulation. This is a situation that the new president would do well to investigate.
I hope Elizabeth gets well and stays well long enough to take advantage of the coming improved medical knowledge and technology. While some people I've encountered consider humanity a pox or cancer on the planet (like I'd want health care ideas from people with THAT attitude,) and want to cull our numbers to what they deem appropriate, I hope for everyone to be able to rise up from the burdens of illness and dysfunction associated with aging, to enjoy a persistent biological existence for as long as they choose to do so. Hopefully this can be a step in that direction for all of us who value human life.
Elizabeth is an embarrassment. she is an embarrassment to a majority of the dunderheads that sit on the other side of the aisle, regardless of gender. she is an embarrassment because she illustrates what person with a brain can do and say. This is a lady with an intellect who should have occupied a senate seat or any other position of political power. She's brighter than most who would aspire to the presidency and their spouses are not even in the same arena. Get well, Elizabeth, hearts, minds, and yes, prayers, are with you.
Universal 'Healthcare' is just another way to force these 'Pharmaceuticals' onto the masses. Brain-altering, nutrition-depleting drugs that have a hundred side-effects and only minor evidence that they even do what they claim.
AND she has a sense of humor.
Universal health care is the answer for the USA. But, imagine what it will be like when you have a rich person sitting beside a poor person at the doctors office. It might bridge this class war (we try to hide.) Or not. I believe universal health care for all will help the employer and the citizen. Who said it was the employers responsibility to provide health care for all? Other countries don't do that. How can business be truly global if handicapped with a hugh medical insurance burden? They can't-so they move to another country for cheap labor.
Cosmic Dog @ 58:
Untrue. Drugs don't have to be part of the health care system. In Canada we pay for drugs out of our own pocket, which is why the government makes sure they are cheap. The only time I"ve gotten free prescription drugs was when I was a patient in a hospital.
Anything short of universal single payer healthcare like or similar to what Canadians have isn't universal healthcare. Universal health insurance is a joke and a corporate welfare scam for the insurance companies.
HR-676.
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