The Chris Matthews Show: Can Obama Get Universal Healthcare?
By Nicole Belle Sunday May 03, 2009 1:00pm
The use of "meter questions" on The Chris Matthews Show has always seemed like a waste of time, because the questions are generally framed in such a way as to divide the responses down partisan lines. And the responses to today's meter question "With Arlen Specter joining the Dems, will health care pass?" did have a curious partisan divide...though not the one you might expect.
Overall, Matthews' panel of pundits narrowly agreed 7 to 5 that Universal Healthcare would be done this year, something with which Matthews agrees. The lone dissenter on the panel this week was putative "liberal" Joe Klein, who, like the scorned girlfriend, has been down this road before with other presidents and just cannot believe that it's possible to get Universal Healthcare passed.
And as much as it kills me to agree with Kathleen Parker--and it really, really does--she's right that Universal Healthcare is a foregone conclusion. It's politically untenable for the Republicans to put up too much of a fight (sell-out Democrats notwithstanding)and the Obama administration has done a good job of tying healthcare to our collective economic recovery.
However, it's interesting to note that all of the pundits completely ignored the framing of the question, which was to weigh heavier Specter's defection to the Democratic Party to the success of passing health care reform. Obviously, despite all the bloviating in the punditocracy over Specter changing sides of the aisle, ultimately, he's not seen as Obama's ace in the pocket. Given his statements this morning, they're probably right.
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Gregory: It was reported this week that when you met with the President, you said, “I will be a loyal Democrat; I support your agenda.” Let me test that on probably one of the most important areas of his agenda and that’s healthcare. Would you support healthcare reform that puts up a government-run public plan to compete with a private plan issued by a private insurance company.
Specter: No. And you misquote me, David. I did not say I would be a loyal Democrat. I did not say that. ...
what a sick joke.
he just became the 16th conservaDem. they work against the people even harder than the DLC/DSCC/DCCC. Just ask Ben Nelson and the other Confederates.
When Obama and Clinton were leading the primarys, you remember when msnbc decided Kucinich shouldn't have a public voice, I knew real health care reform was out the door off the table now. So putting it on Specter is wrong, it is on the leadership for real for real. The Obama/Clinton plan is a sham, is it not?
Passing something that is called "Universal Healthcare" may be a foregone conclusion to most. Having it actually pass as something that *is* universal health care ... that will be some feat.
Hats off if it can be done, I have serious doubts. I'll reserve judgment until I read actual proposed plans/legislation.
If, and it is still a big IF, we ever get Universal Health Care, I can guarantee that Specter will have nothing to do with it.
Aside for the absolutely marvelous spectacle of watching the Thugs take one to the nuts yet again, which really never gets old, he's of NO USE WHATSOEVER to any kind of a progressive agenda.
~
It really doesn't matter if he has an R, D or an I in front of his disguting name he is still a lying scumbucket. Arlen is a douche!
http://jed-lewison.dailykos.com/
I really like the very end with Michael Steele's hat analogy. Please GOP keep this guy!
he's benefitted from health care subsidized by american taxpayers and the peace of mind knowing that he and his family's health would be cared for. his entire adult life. his serious health episodes-- all paid for. should he ever retire, he knows he gets (public paid for) health care w/i his retirement package. his health care package is not one that gets folded when there's a deal du jour for the stock holders, banksters -- or state or county shortfalls targeting healthcare.
not so, many of us. for those corporate and/or ideological shills to deprive this country of healthcare (depriving so very many of good health, peace of mind and economic stability) is beyond the pale; hypocrites and evil, they are - imo.
The moderate dems are protecting their "special" interests from the progressives of the democratic party. They are greedy, self important cowards who have abused the power of the legislative branch of the federal government.
Not Obama or actual Democrats. There will be no Universal Health Care because those who are enriching themselves at the expense of the sick & needy care most about the health of their own bank accounts.
If the President can't get healthcare within the current structure of Congress than he can't get it, and maybe Universal healthcare is just not meant to be.
if 90% of the rest of the industralized nations have it. There is just a big hurdle to leap and show the idiots how important it is to be competitive with the rest of the world.
I can't think of an example of a developed nation in the top tier of the world ranking which does not offer either single payer, or straight universal health care coverage to their citizens/residents.
It seems that our destiny is to go down as the last industrialized nation using imperial measurements units and for-profit health care. This is, we are in some respects a nation of people who are dumber than a bag of rocks.
If anything, I am astounded we were able to get as far as we did with such retarded systems holding us back.
can we say retarded & punitive. Modest assessment is 18,000 people die in the u.s. per yr for absent medical attention.
I keep thinking of the 9 year old boy in Chicago that died in december from a tooth abcess infection that invaded his brain. How there is nothing more painful than a tooth abcess, and how he kept quiet about it because he knew his mother couldn't afford to pay a dentist.
We got as far as we did because people tend to suffer silently.
part of Obama's platform in any way shape or form.
It would be great to have single payer or universality for our health care system. Alas, let's be clear: as long as the health care industry has absolutely no incentive to support either choice, we will not get a system that benefits the common person.
Let's not kid ourselves, due to the overwhelming influence of private campaign donations, this is no longer a government for the people. But rather a government for the highest bidder. And honestly, us mere single mortals are no match for the coffers of the HMOs, ergo we will never register in the radar of the politicians.
It is becoming more clear that this is a government by the highest bidder, and that most politicians do not see their jobs as being the representatives of the people in their district/state/nation... but rather their main job seems to be elected... with their duties in between elections being nothing more than an unwelcome overhead.
In some sense, this is our fault... since we allowed (via our passivity) the system to evolve this way.
In other words... we're f*cked.
Again, Congress represents Congress. Corpoprate America owns Congress. Therefore, .....
Not single-payer, we know that.
So it's gotta be some kind of insurance.
And that means the people get fucked.
But the parasites stay fat on the blood and pain of the suck and injured.
it means you're going to have to be injured or ill to get care.
it means there isn't going to be any preventative incentives.
it means, dear friends, you should just quietly drop your deawers, turn your batts toward the nearest insurance provider, and pray they're not too bored to use a lube...
insurance, is not universal healthcare no matter how much the administration and the media pretend it to be.
Buy insurance or you'll pay for it on April 15. And that insurance, if you can afford it, will still be as inadequate a so-called "system" to keep you healthy as it is today.
Like I commented somewhere before, if it's like the pharma bill it'll make foreign medical tourism as illegal as foreign pharmacy purchases. Get a $10,000 Thai operation and that devious non-sheeple will pay $90,000 in taxes to make up the difference on what he cheated the American Medical Mafia out of. Make as much sense so don't think it couldn't happen.
My wife used to get non-smoking aids from a New Zealand pharmacy. Four day global express on a smallish box and it was _still_ 25% cheaper than the local Target. Same company, Lily. Same "country of origin" (EU). Just made a side trip from Europe to New Zealand before dodging Target to come straight to us in America. One of the boxes came wrapped in lime-green "Mr. Yuck" Homeland Security tape but that shipment was U.S. non-prescription aids, so screw 'em. Nothing they could do. [Kept the tape on our refrigerator for a while -- "Inspected by Homeland Security".]
As an aside to that, our credit card was on scam alert at the time and when we'd make four or five internet purchases in a day, we'd get a call. Only time I've ever had a package inspected (that I know of, and I've made international purchases of CDs, clothing, books, bunch of stuff) so you _know_ the card company's teledrone ratted us out to Homeland. "He actually volunteered that it was a pharmacy and 'claimed' it was a non-prescription shipment." So don't think the IRS can't find out about your Thai knee operation if you aren't careful.
Obama campaigned on the premise that he would cut spending elsewhere and use the savings to provide health care for the uninsured. I assume there would be a needs test, otherwise everyone would stop paying for health care.
So far, I don't see any spending cuts. The only way to cover the uninsured without additional spending is to copy one of the national self insurance (single payer) plans from Europe, Canada, or Japan. Doing this would cut total expenditures, while covering everyone.
Their whole approach depends on cost analysis not being part of the debate, and the corporate media is going to cooperate just as much as they cooperated in the run-up to the Iraq war. If the public gets an inkling as to the true amounts we're getting ripped off using the current system, then health care will become a third rail in elections. I think it's headed towards a third rail status anyway.
I was a Kucinich supporter, and when he was shut out of the debates I knew that Universal Single-Payer Health Care would be off the table regardless of who became President.
HOWEVER, the real fight this year will be over a seemingly inconsequential provision of the Obama health care bill - whether or not Americans will have the option to enroll in a public program (think Medicare). The insurance industry is vehemently opposed to giving us this option. Why? Even they admit it would represent "unfair competition".
Here's the strategy which (I hope and pray) Obama is pursuing - An incremental, gradual switch to a not-for-profit, single payer system by first allowing all Americans to opt into Medicare. Since the private sector could never match the coverage, efficiency or simplicity of such a system, and as more and more Americans drop them in favor of the public plan, they will eventually get out of the business altogether. And the ironic thing is it will be market forces that cause their demise.
So, it is the public option that we must insist be included in any health care legislation. It will at least be a powerful first step toward the ultimate goal.
They should be bombarded with e-mails, phone calls, and so on, from Democrats. Their funding from the party? Cut it off. They can compromise on other things. Besides, the only reason that porker Ben Nelson is against it is because he knows that a public plan with compete too well with his big healthcare donors. Example: I just turned 65. I still have to work, thanks to the stock market and my 401k, but I have Medicare, a Supplement and the drug plan. total before this, from private health care? $600+ a month, with the drugs I need. Now I have better coverage, any doctor who takes medicare, no deductible, for less than $300. That's where it hits the insurance porkers. They don't want it, because it works BETTER. The Blue Dogs will have to be shamed, because they need it. We can't let the prevailing DC wisdom work. It's full of BS, as usual. They will have to feel the sting. Bipartisan, shmipartisan, no funding for Blue Dogs, and run a primary candidate against anyone who signs that insane manifesto.
Obama isn't offering universal health care.
exactly so far has Obama offered the merican people? Uh, I can't think of anything except the taking. Yeah. Lots of taking and not a single progressive.
Do you remember this article?
it was posted, quite a few years back..
believe it was on "salon.com"
here you go..
http://dir.salon.com/story/tech/feature/2003/...
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