Zeitgeist: Kill the Bill?
Posted by Brandon | Filed under uncategorized
First, the Republicans attacked the health care reform bill. Remember those crazies activists at the town hall meetings shouting and hollering expressing their views last August?
Now, some Democrats and independent progressives are lining up against The Bill as well. First, Howard Dean, appearing on NPR, MSNBC, and writing in the Washington Post, sounded the alarm:
If I were a senator, I would not vote for the current health-care bill. Any measure that expands private insurers’ monopoly over health care and transfers millions of taxpayer dollars to private corporations is not real health-care reform. Real reform would insert competition into insurance markets, force insurers to cut unnecessary administrative expenses and spend health-care dollars caring for people. Real reform would significantly lower costs, improve the delivery of health care and give all Americans a meaningful choice of coverage. The current Senate bill accomplishes none of these. –Howard Dean, Physician, former governor of Vermont, former DNC Chair
President Obama’s Senior Adviser, David Axelrod, responded the next day, saying that Dean’s criticisms of the health care reform bill are “predicated on a bunch of erroneous conclusions” and that for liberals to try to kill the bill “would be a tragic, tragic outcome.”
Finally, the progressive grass roots organization, Moveon.org, is now circulating a petition to “Block the bill until it’s fixed.” This petition will be sent to Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, a proponent of the public option, and other progressives.
The latest Senate health care bill has no public option. No expansion of Medicare. And it does too little to guarantee that uninsured Americans will actually be able afford the coverage they’ll be required to purchase. But it’s not too late to fix the bill. And as Joe Lieberman has shown, just one senator willing to stand in the way can force legislation to be changed dramatically. Senator Bernie Sanders, a strong proponent of the public option, has already made clear that he’s opposed to the legislation in its current form—and he could decide to block it until it’s fixed. But there’s enormous pressure from all sides to pass a bill quickly, no matter how weak it is. Let’s show Bernie and other progressives that we’re counting on them to block this version of the bill—and we’ll get their backs if they do. A compiled petition with your individual comment will be presented to Bernie Sanders and other Senate progressives. –MoveOn.org
What do you think? Is the current bill still worth it? Or were you opposed from the start? Let us know in the comments below!
See also: “Health-care bill wouldn’t bring real reform,” Howard Dean, Washington Post, Dec. 17, 2009
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- John Cherry, Lt. Governor speaks out.
- Guest Post On Health Care Reform
- McCain and Dave Kiss and Make Up
- Expanded LGBT Coverage @ the urbane life
- Zeitgeist, bye George! Hello, President Obama!
Tags: health care, Kill Bill, zeitgeist
