H/t to Thinkprogress
The interesting part of this whole health care debate is that the arguments like this can be used 100 fold against the current system and private bureaucrats. The ones who raise costs and lower service for giant executive compensation and shareholder gains. That's what this is all about, Broun and others are protecting the profiteers who are really killing people. It's just plain fearmongering and projection. They know they can't compete with a system designed to help people that doesn't require large exec salaries or shareholder profits.
For more information about the public option see these two fantastic bloggers nyceve and slinkerwink
nyceve's most recent blog is All hands help coax a Whip Count holdout, urgent plans, updates and more
July 10, 2009
Here's what needs your immediate attention.
But before I go any further, if you think the stakes aren't quite high enough, I urge you to read what Karen Tumulty is reporting in TIME Magazine. This is what I would call a Holy Shit piece.
Whip Count Project - your work is getting noticed and not everyone is happy, that's a good thing, politicians like to fly under the radar, especially when it involves, oh um, standing on principle.
Emanuel Cleaver II from the 5th Congressional District of Missouri took the pledge. No fuss, no muss, no stalls, no doubletalk, just doing the business of the people.
Eve has set up an ActBlue fundraising page to reward the Health Care Heroes that demand a strong real public option as part of health care reform.
Slinkerwink's latest article is called
Tell Pelosi Not To Listen To The Blue Dogs on Health Reform!
The House's work on health care reform was put on brakes after the Blue Dog Democratic Coalition in the House released a letter, signed by forty members, against a strong, robust Medicare-like public option and insisting that the bill be bipartisan by working to include Republican input. There's that old-fashioned bipartisanship fetish on display again. I'm pissed that the House leadership had to listen to them in meetings yesterday, and keep on holding their hands lest they stray off the reservation in a 40-membership vote against the Medicare-like public option in health care reform. It's also interesting that the Blue Dogs haven't explicitly ruled out a public option, but they're ruling out the best kind of public option that currently exists in the House discussion draft.
Enough is enough! I'm going to need you today to CALL the House leadership and the three Committee chairmen, Miller, Rangel, and Waxman, and ask them not to listen to the Blue Dog Democrats and NOT to give in to their demands on health care reform.
One Blue Dog Democrat is standing up for a public option, because of the cost savings it will provide! Loretta Sanchez of California.
UPDATE 1: At last count we had 37 Senators committed to the Public Option, 40 Against, and 22 undecided. (I imagine we're at 38 now that Franken is in, but Dr Dean's site hasn't update that. So we need either 13 or 14 of the remaining 22 undecideds to pass a real public option through reconciliation. For more info on that see Dr. Dean's website Stand With Dr Dean