Kyl: "I Don't Think A Single Republican Will Support Health Care"

so what. it's not like this type of behavior is limited to republicans.

see: cap and trade. dems were doing the same thing.

 

Maybe it's just too important to actually waste time reading it. Isn't that what we heard about the stimulus bill?

 

So, if we're talking about equivalency here, the important part is that for every stupidity espoused by one side, the other side must have an equal stupidity.

Sounds fair! Good point! It doesn't matter what gets done (or what doesn't) as long as the two dominant sides both have the freedom to be complete ****ing idiots.

 

Party comparisons completely aside, Inhofe is uniquely positioned at the apex of those humans not wanting to really do homework to form an absolute opinion.

 

Well there you have it.

Looks like a repeat of social security, medicare, medicaid, probalby the minimum wage laws, the laws allowing unions (with the weekend, corporate health care) etc. and other important bills creating a middle class --virtually no GOP votes for.

Maybe the working class, including the working college grads, can start to realize can start to realize what side their bread is buttered on. The CEO's and the country clubbers know what side their bread is buttered on and the Libertarians are trapped in their ideology so they will keep obstructing.

Time for the real Dems to ram it through with 51 votes and at the minimum let the Blue Dogs take the blame for defeating it if that is what they stand for.

Bring it back every session until we get a decent bill.

 

Social Security was supported by 80% of Republicans in the House and 75% of the Republicans in the Senate. Medicare and Medicaid also passed with a decent number of GOP votes (though not as many). The most recent minimum wage hike was passed with a large amount of GOP support.

Where exactly do you get your information?

 

What can happen?

Like others have said it's obvious what the republicans are trying to do. If Obama can't get anything passed he will come off as being a incompetent president who can't get the job done. One of the reasons I hate politics.

 

Don't be a p***y Obama - just do whatever you have to do to force a public option through.

GODDAMNIT THAT RHYMED TOO.

 

the thadeus wins another interwebz.

 

He sees his information through the Democrat colored glasses he got for $2.50 with four box tops from Kix cereal.

 

Really? Because very few Republicans were calling for health care reform before Obama forced the issue. In fact, until it became incredibly obvious that reform was necessary, a great deal of prominent Republicans supported our current system.

 

This has been the failing of the Republican party for 25 years... however, it can be effective. The Republicans offer no solutions and then poke holes in the Democrats solutions. Of course the democrats have the intestinal fortitude of a little girl.

 

This is just too easy.... MUST LEAVE IT ALONE ...

 

Actually they are scared, very terrified, their main spiel is that government does not work, therefore defund it (and of course this allows tax breaks for their true core, the wealthy). An effective health care bill that will give insurance to the constantly revolving 45 million or so uninsured and the probably double that who have lousy insurance with high premiums, high deductibes and low caps would make the GOP a minority party for a generation and that scares the hell out of them.

 

If Obama lets this fail, I will hold it against him (and the democrats as a whole) pretty much forever. He's wasting a golden, once in forever opportunity.

 

So will I sort of, but what do you do? Vote for Ralph Nader so some nut like Dubya, Palin or whoever can get in office?

I got a fund raising call from the DNC as we frequently do, and told them I was pissed off at Obama, so not now.

Note: Remind myself to write a letter to Sheila Jackson Lee and Gene Green that waffler to tell them not to vote for Obama's bill if there is no public option.

 

Sheila Jackson Lee is everything that is wrong with politics and politicians. I say this about very few people, but she is disgusting...

 

Don't the Democrats have huge majorities in both houses and the White House?

Why would they care?

 

No.

In the House they have a substantial majority and passing health care is not an issue there.

In the Senate they have 60 including Lieberman, who is an independent that leans right on many issues. Count him out on this. That makes 59. Minus one for Kennedy and maybe one too for Robert Byrd, who is older than dirt and has been ailing. That's 57. Then there are the blue dog Democrats, who often cross party lines and many of whom are extremely well supported by insurance company lobbyists. Subtract them and you wind up right around 50. I believe the current head count is 45 committed to a yes vote on a public option.

But even 51 doesn't do the trick. It takes 60 to kill a filibuster. Or it takes 51 plus the use of "reconciliation" (the process of splitting up a bill to dodge a filibuster, if I understand it right), which anyone would like to avoid in legislation as major as a health care reform bill.

And that's kind of the point. Obama never wanted to just bully stuff through; he has always wanted bi-partisan input and support. There are over 150 amendments in this bill already that came from Republicans, with nothing in return to the Democrats for including them except the illusory promise of future collaboration.

But regardless of how accommodating Obama and Congressional leadership is willing to be on this (and they have been stupidly accommodating considering they're giving everything away for free), Republicans have decided that their best and only political tool against Obama is obstruction. Hence, the DeMint comments about health care being Obama's Waterloo.

Republicans don't want health care reform at all and they certainly don't want any reform that would harm the insurance industry/lobby. But way, way, way more important to them in this is to deliver Obama a massive failure. So, although he sincerely wanted to include Republicans in this to craft a truly bi-partisan solution to the health care crisis, he now has two choices: go it alone (even by reconciliation if need be, hoping that someone like Snowe or Collins will break ranks in the interest of compassion and/or reason) or cut off his own balls and hand them to the GOP. I guess you know which one I pick.

 

The thadeus is like a shark, circling around the truth. It is time for Obama to slap the Democratic Congress up side the head and tell them to send him a good bill, regardless of Republican game playing, obstructionism, and complete lack of any alternative that isn't made up for Fox News soundbites. The GOP doesn't want healthcare reform. Many, many Republicans want it, but not those in power in the Republican Party on the national level and in Congress. Those Republicans are simply screwing around and hoping to make the Democratic Congress and Obama look bad, so they can pick up some seats in the next mid-term elections.

Blow them off and pass a bill.