Any lingering mystery about where Hillary stands on universal health care was dispelled in last night's debate. She laid it out. Here are her words:
If you don't start out trying to get universal health care, we know, and our members of Congress know, you'll never get there. If a Democrat doesn't stand for universal health care that includes every single American, you can see the consequences of what that will mean. I think it is imperative that we have plans, as both John (Edwards) and I do, that say from the very beginning that- you know what- everybody's got to be covered. There's only three ways you can do it. You can have a single payer system, you can require employers,or you can have individual responsibility. My plan combines employers and individual responsibility while maintaining Medicare and Medicaid. I think that the whole idea of universal health care is such a core democratic principle that I am willing to go to the mat for it. I've been there before, I will be there again, I am not giving in, I am not giving up, and I am not going to start out leaving 15 million Americans out of health care. |
Sounds like a determined woman to me.
Here is a link to the video of that statement.
Hillary says that Democrats should stand and fight for universal health care. There are all kinds of interests waiting in the bushes to derail this critical policy initiative, and you can't play nice with them. Conceding universal coverage is a fatal error when dealing with the insurance companies and pharmaceutical giants. And all these people you don't cover will still end up in the emergency room, as they do now, running up huge costs that must be absorbed by the system.
Hillary has often spoken about the difference between talk and action. Last night, she spoke about her willingness to fight for universal health care as a core Democratic principle. "Core" means non-negotiable- half a loaf is the same as no loaf.
Hillary's campaign just released this video illustrating the difference between Sen. Obama's statements last night and his 2003 remarks when running for the Senate:
And here is the transcript of the video:
Obama last Night: "I never said that we should try to go ahead and get single payer."
Obama in 2003: "I happen to be a proponent of single-payer universal health care coverage."
Obama last Night: "What i said was, that if I were starting from scratch, if we didn't have a system in which employers typically provided health care, I would probably go with a single payer system."
Obama in 2003: "That's what I'd like to see. But, as all of you know, we may not get there immediately, because first we've got to take back the White House, and we've got to take back the Senate, and we've got to take back the House.... there must be something in the water in Washington, D.C. where Democrats go over there and forget what those core values are." |
Don't worry, Senator Obama. You can put your mind at ease. We know what the core values are. We didn't forget, even if your memory is playing tricks on you.
As Hillary said, Sen. Obama could have a pretty good debate with himself.