REMEMBER THOSE WHO TURNED THEIR BACKS ON THE PUBLIC OPTION

It’s the way the democratic system works! Those who failed to give us real health care reform must be made to pay for it. That is, throw the braggarts out!
by Charlie Leck

There are a bunch of liberals (progressives) out there trying to hold on to the public option. I wish them luck, because the current plan is a kick in the ass for all those of us who wanted real health care reform.

Jim Dean, of Democracy for America, wrote the following in an email this morning.

“Here's the deal, Senate leaders are all over Washington claiming they finally have a healthcare reform bill they can pass, as long as they remove the public option. After all, they say, even without a public option, the bill still 'covers 30 million more Americans.' The problem is that's not really true.

“What they are actually talking about is something called the 'individual mandate.' That's a section of the law that requires every single American buy health insurance or break the law and face penalties and fines. So, the bill doesn't actually 'cover' 30 million more Americans – instead it makes them criminals if they don't buy insurance from the same companies that got us into this mess.

“A public option would have provided the competition needed to drive down costs and improve coverage. It would have kept insurance companies honest by providing an affordable alternative Americans can trust. That's why, without a public option,
this bill is almost a trillion dollar taxpayer giveaway to insurance companies.”

Dean, of course, is correct, but the players just aren’t there to get this ball across the finish line. There are too many conservative Democrats who won’t go along. That’s the President’s failure. He hasn’t made them understand that this would be one of the most important pieces of legislation ever passed and that it would transform America – saving it billions of dollars at the same time.

I have no interest in health care reform without a strong public option. None! The currently proposed plan is nothing less than a major victory for the health care, pharmaceutical and health insurance industry. What we are learning from this exercise is that this industry is far too powerful. It’s making so much money that it spends fantabulous numbers of millions of dollars on lobbying efforts to protect its money-making machine.

Minnesota has two of the most progressive Senators in Washington; yet, they are in for the meaningless compromise bill.