Hey Obama, you didn't mention the line - "if we were starting from scratch"....

[Postman]

http://www.breitbart.tv/obama-in-03-id-like-to-see-a-single-payer-health-care-plan/

“I happen to be a proponent of a single payer universal health care program. I see no reason why the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, spending 14 percent of its Gross National Product on health care cannot provide basic health insurance to everybody. And that’s what Jim is talking about when he says everybody in, nobody out. A single payer health care plan, a universal health care plan. And that’s what I’d like to see. But as all of you know, we may not get there immediately. Because first we have to take back the White House, we have to take back the Senate, and we have to take back the House.”

[sandnsea]

1. And we have to transform rural Democrats

into sensible people. Perhaps he didn't realize just how far off the beam those folks are.

[Electric Monk]

2. You're helping :/

[TexasObserver]

8. Blame the president, for his lack of leadership, and Pelosi and Reid, for theirs.

That's Chicago, San Francisco, and Las Vegas, if one must ascribe geographic linkage to their failures.

[sandnsea]

14. Which has what to do with Texas and Arkansas?

I don't think we're having problems with the votes from anyone in California or Illinois.

[TexasObserver]

15. You're not rational, so I'm not wasting any more time on you.

[sandnsea]

16. Landrieu, Lincoln, Nelson, Dorgan

They're from rural states, yes? They're going to be the problem on every single bill this Congress tries to pass. The only solution is a campaign targeting these states and getting accurate information to those people.

[TexasObserver]

19. Those people don't represent me, and didn't promise me anything. Obama did.

His lack of leadership is the reason health care is in trouble. Blaming conservative Democrats from conservative states is asinine. They have an excuse - they're representing the constituencies that elected them. Obama has no excuse. His excuse is he caved in to the health insurance industry, and completely failed to provide any leadership on the subject, while the GOP and the health insurance industry tore apart health care reform.

The blame is on Obama, not those who vote their constituencies. He could have pushed this through 5 months ago, but he was too weak and too willing to have lobbyists run the debate.

Landrieu is from Louisiana. Lincoln is from Arkansas. Nelson is from Nebraska. Dorgan is from Dakota. It's not the rural v. urban paradigm you urge as relevant. It is conservative v. non conservative. Oregon is a rural state. The largest city in Oregon is 40% smaller than Ft. Worth, Texas. Dallas is many times larger than Portland. But Portland is more liberal than either Ft. Worth or Dallas. It's not the urban v. rural, it's conservative or not that matters.

Your approach is to complain about the areas that are never going to elect someone you find acceptable, because their constituency will never vote in someone you like. My approach is to blame the leadership, who could have handled the matter competently, but didn't. You scapegoat those whose vote you have no reason to expect. I blame those who ran on the issue and promised to make it happen.

Obama - not a handful of conservative Democrats - is responsible. LBJ would have had this done six months ago, but Obama lacks the political savvy or skills of LBJ.

[sandnsea]

20. And when LBJ pushed through reforms

he also said it was going to cost Democrats the southern vote for decades to come. That's what I'm talking about, it's just that "southern bashing" is against the rules. So Obama chose to try a different approach, which probably would have worked if he'd gotten support in June when Kennedy first released the Senate HELP bill. But nooooo, the left had to hold out for single payer and look where we are now. We need the left to help operate a campaign on every issue that can reach the people in these rural, conservative, red, southern, whatever, states. But it has to be something that has some sort of realistic chance to get support which is where the left fails in gaining any progress at all.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

3. 2003?

[tavalon]

4. Because first we have to take back the White House..................

We did it, now give me my damn Universal Healthcare. Now.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TexasObserver]

7. tsk tsk

not cool

[ima_sinnic]

9. yes, and I also fell for the "community organizer" crap

the only "community" that has been "organized" so far has been the community of Wall St. greedheads and bankers.

He may have been a "community organizer" a few decades ago, but as with universal single-payer health care, he figured out how to exploit concern for humanity to make it work for the least humane. Hey, he got elected, and that was all that mattered. Any "false impressions" he might have given during the campaign--well, it wasn't HIS fault people actually believed the "promises" made during the campaign--after all, everybody knows campaign promises are just a marketing tool and not something that should be taken seriously by voters.

[TexasObserver]

6. Any chance that Obama makes a return?

[tavalon]

11. Do you mean a second term?

Bill Clinton did it. He will do it. He hasn't pissed off anyone who matters.

[TexasObserver]

12. No, I mean a return to his prior stated values.

[tavalon]

13. You mean Obama the campaign animal?

I don't know if he really holds such strong values, at least if his actions in the last year are any indication.

[Major Hogwash]

10. And then we have to take back the outhouse because WE are the real bullshitters in this country!

If you think Republican Senators can lie their asses off, just listen for the spin to begin about just how hard the Democrats in the Senate worked to kill this bill!!!

And they will tell you -- they did it for YOUR own good!!

You dumbass liberal Democrats!!

[area51]

17. Canada

Canada didn't start from scratch either, and look how far they got and how pleased the populace is with their single-payer.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

18. Oh, if only Obama had demanded single payer.

It would already have passed through congress by now and we'd be living in a utopia.

Some how.