If no public option then this whole process is worthless!!!

[KansasVoter]

Obama needs to VETO any bill without a public option.

Dump it and live to fight another day!

The insurance companies are laughing their asses off at this point.

[BlooInBloo]

1. Half the time I think that...

The other half of the time I think this:

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/breaking-dam-by-dday-im-going-to-have.html

"Breaking The Dam

by dday

I'm going to have to pretty much agree with Thers' take:

Like I said over at the Cerulean Cherub's place, getting a health care bill passed through reconciliation would be great fun even if it were a crap bill <...>

From a democratic (small d) perspective, the Senate has been asking for it for a long time now. The filibuster is not a constitutional tradition, and as we've seen, amply, is a safeguard of made-up Senatorial principles, not democratic principles, and the public good be damned.

Yes, we need sane healthcare, but we need lots of sane things that we're not getting because of the absurdities that the Senate enables -- Max Baucus directly represents fewer than a million people, and has extensive power over the healthcare of over 300 million Americans. Why? Because he's a fucking healthcare maven genius! Or not! It's all amazingly silly.

A case could be made that whatever the content of any specific bill, a punch to the solar plexus of the pudgy, complacent Senate would be good for the nation. The nation's health literally rests at the whim of a very small number of individuals who are only directly accountable to a very, very small percentage of the nation's voters. Whatever this is, it's not democracy.



The Senate has basically gotten completely out of control. It was conceived as a saucer to "cool the cup" of the passions of the House, but there's a fine line between that and freezing the cup and throwing it into a meat locker. If the Senate were instituted after passage of the 14th Amendment, the Supreme Court would likely have found it unconstitutionally in violation of the equal protection clause. California has 69 times as many citizens as Wyoming, and yet their citizens get the same amount of Senate representation. The Senate was a bad compromise put in by the Blue Dogs of the 18th century.

..."

[Cha]

3. Interesting, thanks..

and worth clicking on to this thread.

[truedelphi]

2. Hell's bells, the people need a veto for any damn bill that

is not single payer universal health care.

But most people who have "D" after their name would rather eat shit from the oven than admit that their plate is empty. (including most people here at DU.)

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/truedelphi

[quiller4]

4. If insurance reform is all we get but it ends the practice of

cancelling policies when health deteriorates, eliminates pre-existing condition limitations and provides a substantial subsity so that low-income individuals can purchase coverage that will be worthwhile. Is that all I want? Hell no. Is it worth having? Hell yes.

[Oregone]

5. Why is a worthless public option covering a measly 10 million people a litmus test for success?

(According to the CBO scoring)

Serious question here.... It seems to me the most generous draft of the public option puts it a mark above useless--firewalled with no market influence. You honestly think thats the only thing in reform that is positive? Fuck, if that is all you want, its not worth fighting for in the first place.

[KansasVoter]

6. nsurance companies will destroy any bill in the long run unless there is a public option.

[CreekDog]

7. 47 million getting access to affordable healthcare is not worthless

i realize it's a lot easier to say worthless than say not good enough, but whatever.

[Thrill]

8. I agree there needs to be a Public Option. But the regulations in my opinion are just as important

No caps on coverage, Not being denied for Pre existing conditions, and not being dropped when you get really sick. Are still things that mean a lot to millions of people.

[WinkyDink]

9. Not if you're the insurance company CEO.