It is remarks from Democrats like Kent Conrad that makes me leary about a REAL public option (Video)

And the lack of President Obama putting real skin in this game that worries me. If the White House thinks that they can pass watered down, tepid reform and claim a victory, think again. Senator Conrad is on Fox News pushing the worthless, "co-ops".



h/t to Daily Kos

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CPR, Rick Scott gloating over bi-partisan defeat of health care reform (video)

Conservatives for Patients Rights, you got that?



Are you pissed, yet?

I don't know how this health insurance reform will play out. Right now, it is not playing out well.

Sure, we need a bill out of conference, but who is going to defend the public option once out of conference?

We have a lot of sorry ass Democrats who are not listening to their constituents, taking marching orders from health insurance companies and doing it while screwing us, the American Public.

With no public option, it now means that Senate Leader Harry Reid has to whip the Democrats together, but he does not do that well. That fact is that he is trying to raise money while BLAMING REPUBLICANS for the debacle called, "health insurance reform". The truth is the obstructionists have never been Republicans (we always new they would not vote for shit), but have been the Democrats.

Blanche Lincoln, Max Baucus, Kent Conrad, please don't send me any emails or mailers because I am truly not feeling ANY OF YOU. And Harry? I could care less. As my mother told me today, "everything coming from these Democratic groups goes in the garbage until they get their priorities and act together."

And I co-sign those sentiments completely.

Oh, and if you want to know the deal on Rick Scott? View it here.

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To Obama, “…how stupid, naive or lame can you be…”

This was from the Ed Shultz radio program, from Ed Schultz on the Obama stance or lack of stance for the public option.

And the way things are swinging now, I concur.

President Barack Obama can play around all day long on the “will he or will he not” game of public option, but it will be the Democrats who lose in 2010.

The Obama White House and Democrats in congress have been horrendous on the message of any health care package. Instead of making congress sit their tails in office for August and hammer out this legislation, congress went home and is getting the wrath of the well oiled lobbyists organizations that is causing chaos at these town hall meetings.

The main obstruction of these disruptions at the town hall meetings is to provide MISINFORMATION and hope that the media will repeat it, and they have in droves. The Obama White House should not have been shocked, stunned or surprised at any of this. Mr. Obama has continued to say that the other side will do anything to disrupt conversations, dialogue of healthcare reform. So, if he knew this why was the White House and Democrats in congress ill prepared for what we have witnessed going on?

Over the weekend there has been a slew of will we, won’t we, can we, could we information from the Obama White House and his surrogates sending out mixed messages all over the place. With all the friends below, it is easy to see how the public option can be totally NIXED from the conversation.



The Obama White House and the Democrats argument should be simple, “Do you know that you are a job away from not having any health insurance for you and your family?” “Are you unemployed? If so, can you afford the $1500.00 a month COBRA payment offered for you and your family?” “Do you know that we already have a public option in place for members of congress and the Federal Government? And why can’t the citizens of this country be offered the same option for lower costs?” “As health care costs continue to rise, do you know it is highly probable that your premiums can double by next year?”

These are the questions that needs to be presented to the public, but the Obama White House and the Congressional Democrats are numb on all the above.

I don’t care how this health care reform or health care insurance reform is crafted; one thing I do know is that it better have a SOLID PUBLIC OPTION. If not, the Democrats are in serious trouble come 2010 and Barack Obama may be going back to Chicago sooner rather than later, as planned.

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Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) at it again, public option, "...a wasted effort"

This is what we are up against. People who have taken large amounts of money on the Democratic side, who will do everything to get rid of the public option. While, Senator Conrad has a robust public option, federal employees do, they have many plans to pick and choose from with very low cost to their families. Why the rest of America can not have this is beyond me?

A public health insurance option took more hits Sunday as Sen. Kent Conrad described its pursuit as a “wasted effort” and an administration official said it is not an “essential” part of reform.

Conrad (D-N.D.), who supports setting up health insurance co-operatives with government seed money to compete with private insurers, described the public option as all but a lost cause.

“Look, the fact of the matter is there are not the votes in the U.S. Senate for the public option, there never have been,” Conrad said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.”

“So to continue to chase that rabbit is, I think, a wasted effort,” Conrad said. read more here....

With Democrats like these, how can any public option have a chance when many in congress are compromised to the likes of the insurance companies?

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Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) says, "NO" to health care public option (UPDATE)

Well, is anyone surprised here?

Really, he is touting a co-op plan which caters specifically to the insurance companies and don't hold their feet to the fire for consumers. But again, when you take heavy money from the insurance lobbyists, as we saw with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), we see who really pull the strings around here.

Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D. presented his cooperative health care proposal here Thursday and told an audience of 100 that he would not vote for a government-run health care program.

Conrad stopped in Carrington as part of his a statewide tour touting the Senate Finance Committee’s cooperative health care proposal.

The proposal has received bipartisan support for several reasons, he said. The cooperative would offer a non-profit insurance option to compete with private health care. It would not be government run, he said.

Individuals, families and small business owners could stick with their current provider, or they could opt for the cooperative plan.

Health care issues are a concern in the country and North Dakota, Conrad said. A North Dakota family of four currently pays more than $11,000 for health insurance. By 2016, Conrad predicted health insurance costs could almost double to more than $20,000 for a family of four.

“The government itself cannot afford the direction we’re going,” he said.

[UPDATE]

Conrad Backpedals

Source

Is this true?

If so, Dodd and Conrad have a lot of explaning to do:

Despite their denials, influential Democratic Sens. Kent Conrad and Chris Dodd were told from the start they were getting VIP mortgage discounts from one of the nation's largest lenders, the official who handled their loans has told Congress in secret testimony.

Both senators have said that at the time the mortgages were being written they didn't know they were getting unique deals from Countrywide Financial Corp., the company that went on to lose billions of dollars on home loans to credit-strapped borrowers. Dodd still maintains he got no preferential treatment.

Dodd got two Countrywide mortgages in 2003, refinancing his home in Connecticut and another residence in Washington. Conrad's two Countrywide mortgages in 2004 were for a beach house in Delaware and an eight-unit apartment building in Bismarck in his home state of North Dakota.

Robert Feinberg, who worked in the Countrywide's VIP section, told congressional investigators last month that the two senators were made aware that "who you know is basically how you're coming in here."

Ok, this is the problem with congress.

The United States Congress has forgotten who they work for. If anyone believes the constitution, these elected officials are suppose to represent us, the people. But, as more things have come to light, especially around the health care legislation, the mere fact is that congress works for the corporations. The LARGE corporations that line their campaign coiffers.

Now, Dodd and Conrad, if true, is probably not the only ones in the pot who got something while touting the housing industry's water, but right now it just does not smell right.

Yes, I hear the argument that it is the AP reporting this, but this has been floating around Chris Dodd for quite some time and remember Countrywide was out of the State of Connecticut.

What I am trying to state is his that if we expect ANYTHING in health care to get done, how can it when so many are compromised from both sides? The ones that are spending the 1.4M a day to lobby are the ones who will have the final say, apparently. And that final say will be the health care and insurance industries.

The question is, "Are we going to let them?"

Source

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Senator Kent Conrad, "...not possible..." to pass a health care bill without the Republicans (Video)

I wrote about this yesterday, here is the clip:



h/t jed @ Daily Kos

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Republican votes are NOT NEEDED to pass health care reform

I don't know why these Senate Democrats continue to hide behind this bogus argument.

Republican votes are NOT NEEDED to pass solid health care reform. Not when you have 60 Democratic senators in the senate. Forget about whether these individuals are liberal or conservative, they are democrats and the count is 60.

What IS NEEDED is some damn balls and guts on the part of the Democrats in the senate.

Senator Kent Conrad went on This Week with George Stephanopoulous, ABC, and stated that Republican votes are needed to pass health care legislation, when this is a lie. Conrad is the senator that is in congress pushing for a "co-op" plan to replace the "public option". Conrad clearly is not the choice or voice to deliver the strong Obama White House message for health care, not when he is constantly trying to placate the Republicans.

Democrat Kent Conrad, a key player in bipartisan Senate Finance Committee negotiations on healthcare, refused to predict whether the panel will be able to produce a bill before the Senate breaks for a month long recess on August 7.

"There are not the votes for Democrats to do this just on our side of the aisle. It is not possible and perhaps not desirable either," Conrad said on ABC's "This Week."

"We're going to finish when we're finished. We're going to do everything we can to get it right," he said. "We'll be ready when we're ready."

What I don't get nor understand in this political bubble, and take away the lobbyists, is the whimpy and weak attitudes of the Democrats in the senate. Again, take away the lobbyists influence, the Democrats run the town or supposedly but behave and act like second graders who must raise their hands for a rest room break. If my mind is current, which it is, when the Republicans ran the town did we hear anything of bi-partisanship? Did the Democrats voice or message mean anything during the Bush/Cheney regime? The answer is, "Democrats did not mean shit during the Bush hay day and were relegated to NOTHING."

I appreciate the tone of the Obama Administration in trying to be conciliatory and NICE to the Republicans, but in the end it netted them very little in support and votes. This continued notion that Republicans are needed to pass health care legislation is a red herring for those Democrats to hide behind the real issue of being afraid.

Yes, Democrats are afraid to pass health care legislation. They are afraid of ruffling feathers and afraid of all the money that many of them have accepted from lobbyists in the insurance and health care industry. Instead of doing the right thing, they will continue to hide behind the "we need Republican votes" as a continued excuse to bog or slow down any legislation.

After reading the diaries by teacherken and The Bag of Health and Politics every single Democrat in the senate should be rushing, pounding, fighting for affordable health care in this country to every American. Instead we have the continued politics of all about me and how I can continue to look like I am doing something, when I am not doing shit, continuing in the senate.

Lastly, I understand the difference between a liberal, conservative. I understand that within our own party. What I don't understand, in the end if the Democrats torpedo or shoot their own foot, don't they understand that they are the liability in 2010 and not the Republicans?

The wheels of the status quo continues......as Americans fall into a deeper hole of the uninsured....

Senate Democrats. Pathetic.

Contact the United States Senate, here

Source

Cross-posted @ Daily Kos

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