Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) "I think the Senate bill is a disaster"

[Better Believe It]

Peter DeFazio: “We Can Play the Same Game as the Senate”
By: Jane Hamsher
January 13, 2010

Peter DeFazio is back from the break and boy is he pissed. Mike Stark caught up with him:

DEFAZIO: I think the Senate bill is a disaster. I mean, anybody who’s watching this noticed that insurance industry stocks has gone up since the Senate bill passed, because It gives them a lot of new customers and no meaningful controls. They took out my language stripping the industry of the anti-trust immunity. They established meaningless, spineless weak state exchanges instead of a national exchange.

They want to tax union workers and others who have good health insurance. Those are all total non-startes with me and I believe with other members of the caucus, and I think, you know, I mean, we can play the same game as the Senate. “You know gee, we’ve got to have a bill Joe Lieberman likes”…. well they’ve only got two votes to spare in the House. so I think this is going to be a tougher negotiation than they think.

STARK And when you say it’s a non-starter with a lot of members of the caucus, what that translates to is, not vote?

DEFAZIO I have been in Oregon, I’ve only talked to a few people on the phone. But there are a number of people upset with the direction this is going, and we don’t feel like we need to be jammed by the Administration who is just in a hurry to get something on the checklist for the State of the Union. We’ve got to get it right, and if that means standing up to the Senate, then we’ve going to do that. I hope.

STARK: Congressman I don’t think I’d be doing my job if I didn’t convey the thanks and appreciation from the progressive community that’s really concerned about retaining a Democratic majority and see disaster on the horizon…

DEFAZIO: Well meaningful Democratic majority that does things Democrats should be doing, it would be good.

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2010/01/13/peter-defazio-we-can-play-the-same-game-as-the-senate/

http://www.defazio.house.gov/

[Political Heretic]

1. Before the trashing begins, Pete DeFazio is my representative and he has been unbelievably good

on the issues.

[gateley]

7. Why would there be trashing? I've got a good Rep, too, but I'd love to see him

come out swinging like this. It gives me hope! :hi:

[Political Heretic]

9. Because he's calling the health care bill garbage. That's enough for their to be trashing...

..here. :)

[gateley]

11. Oh -- got it. Silly, isn't it? Who could disagree with this statement? And if

they do, what are they doing here? :shrug: :hi:

[nofurylike]

21. you have it backward. we support anyone who is *capable* of

making the bill better. and we would thrill to find that someone is *capable* of making single-payer the plan that comes out of it all. the difference between us and your mob is that when it comes down to what bill IS *possible*, at the very best, we do not threaten to join teabaggers and slime like norquist, we do not threaten to bring the entire democratic party to destruction, to punish it for not making the bill exactly what we want it to be.

it is you all who do the trashing when things do not happen as fast as you want them to - and trash us for resenting your threats. and it is you all who undermine the exhaustingly hard work of those of us who struggle through the process in real life, by spending more time trashing than creatively working to make the ideal possible (versus braggadocio about "to the streets!" and so on).

you all don't even know what the bill is or will be. how about working hard, hard, hard, for the ideal, then working harder for it to be more ideal if it is not?

nah. rather just gripe and threaten... here. :)

[spiritual_gunfighter]

22. "us vs. them" divisive bullshit n/t

[nofurylike]

30. yes! that is exactly what i am objecting to in the comment i took

exception to!

oh, it's fine to call US the trashers, but turn it around, it's our "divisive bullshit"?

look through the thread.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

32. It isnt okay for either "side"

It is pathetic on both accounts, your comments dont help if that is what you think.

[nofurylike]

40. no need for you to get it. yes, it is foolish i dare stand up to them. nt

[nyc 4 Biden]

27. I don't think Du'ers could trash a founder of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) was established in 1991 by five members of the United States House of Representatives: Representatives Ron Dellums (D-CA), Lane Evans (D-IL), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Maxine Waters (D-CA), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_Progressive_Caucus

[defendandprotect]

37. De Fazio is good . . . everything he is saying is truth -- and I'm sure not welcome by

Dem leaders -- especially Rahm/DLC corporate hijackers --

[gateley]

2. Good! Dennis was just on Tweety saying much the same. nt

[FLAprogressive]

3. DeFazio rocks!!!

[villager]

4. But but... how does this jibe with the bill's apologists!?

n/t

[Political Heretic]

8. Oh believe me, they'll start trashing Defazio too, which is a shame because its absolutely excellent

Just a fantastic representative, right down to having his office take PERSONAL interest in my fathers fight for veterans disability, with his chief of staff (Frank) calling my father regularly to help shepherd the process through and get him what he needed.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

39. Yes, DeFazio is one of the most genuine populists I've ever encountered

You can literally walk up to him on the street and start talking about issues.

He holds $30 fundraisers, so ordinary people can attend.

[Political Heretic]

5. "anyone watching this would know that insurance industry stocks have gone up since the bill passed"

That's almost the only indicator you need, to know whether or not this bill is good for working class families.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

41. "It gives them a lot of new customers and no meaningful controls."

Kill it.

[earth mom]

6. Go DeFazio!

:kick:

[clear eye]

10. Some Democrats in the House may want to survive there more than 5 years

when whatever provisions are in the bill land on the citizenry.

Thanks for the encouraging news from DC on what our chances are for improving the thing. DeFazio is saying that the points in play are nat'l vs. state exchanges, anti-trust exemption, and taxes on "Cadillac" plans. While that means that a public option is out, it is better than nothing. He wants some control over the industry in exchange for the mandate, instead of just throwing us to the wolves. I would add to his three "non-starters", the Senate bill's exemption of existing employer plans from regs forbidding pre-existing condition denials of coverage, etc.

Those who prefer the House cost controls and funding mechanism need to keep calling our Representatives and let them know that it still matters to us. It's a better option than waiting until maybe the regs get tweaked once the worst aspects of the Senate bill play out.

[doc03]

12. I agree n/t

[thotzRthingz]

13. U GO Peter (cross posted from another thread, linked below)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7458589#7458854

[invictus]

14. The Senate bill is shit.

[Faryn Balyncd]

15. K and R...Maybe we've finally got someone with the guts to stop this farce before it destroys both

...the middle class & the Democratic Party.


If the Senate won't agree to real reform, then kill the bill, Peter!

[Better Believe It]

16. From his remarks it's clear the Obama administration will settle for anything passed by Congress

"we don’t feel like we need to be jammed by the Administrationwho is just in a hurry to get something on the checklist for the State of the Union."

[Kansas Wyatt]

17. Hopefully Democratic Politicians are waking up and are getting an earful

About how passing this HCR/DLC SHIT Bill will be cutting their own throats.

If the Democrats don't need unions anymore, than fuck'em, there are union halls all over the country to organize and push a Labor Party and the Democrats can take the mask off and just merge with the Republican Party to create the Corporate Party.

Hmm... Now who do you think most Working Americans will pull the lever for on election day,
the Labor Candidate or the Corporate Candidate?
Who would win that first gut instinct, after the way things have been going for years?

[Union Yes]

18. Thank you Congressman Defazio! Thanks for standing up for the people! knr nt

[Better Believe It]

19. Just three members of the House voting No this time can kill this horrible bill.

[midnight]

20. K&R.

[Norrin Radd]

23. kr

[leeroysphitz]

24. Kill it with fire. n/t

[Krashkopf]

25. Go Get 'em, Pete!

Progressives to the rescue!

Kill the DLC Bill!

[dflprincess]

29. I hope he sticks to this

but, let's be honest, we've heard the Progressive Caucus talk tough before - right before they cave in.

Maybe they've been getting an earful and have finally figured out that just belonging to the Progressive Caucus will not be enough for reelection if they've sold us out. We expect them to stand up and fight for us.

[Bluenorthwest]

26. DeFazio is an outstanding Representative of my home

district. I have never encountered a better field office than his. Not just Peter but also his staff and their priorities are first rate.
DeFazio knocked himself out for candidate Obama here. Put himself out there earlier than he had to, and his endorsement here is major.
Peter has been hearing what the voters think, he has a skill that is rare in Congress, especially in a long term Rep- DeFazio knows how to listen as well as he knows how to speak, and he knows the listening is the more important element.
Those of you who have conservareps need to call them and tell them you stand with Peter DeFazio of Oregon's 4th!

[bvar22]

28. I STAND with Peter DeFazio.

The current Senate Bill is a HUGE LEAP in the WRONG direction.

Less than 33% of ALL Americans support Individual Mandates w/o a Public Option.
This WILL BE a blood bath for the Democratic Party if it passes.

"They" (Democratic Party Leadership) already KNOW this.
"They" just don't care.



The DLC New Team
Progressives Need NOT Apply

(Screen Capped from the DLC Website)

[leftstreet]

31. K&R

[Eyerish]

33. K&R

[johan helge]

34. Problem is,

it's actually true that “You know gee, we’ve got to have a bill Joe Lieberman likes”….

Lieberman would perhaps be even glad to see a health reform down the toilet. So saying to Lieberman, "If we don't get this, there will be no reform", is probably not much of a threat.

And: The Democrats will probably lose some of their 60 Senators this year (partly because many liberals won't vote Democratic because of Lieberman etc.). God knows when a reform can be passed the next time. Time will be lost, people will die.

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/opinion/18krugman.html?_r=1

[defendandprotect]

38. People will die with this fake health care reform...which takes place in 3 years!!!

Though they start collecting taxes on it this year!!

We need REAL health care reform -- single payer/Medicare for All --

why compromise?

When we compromise, we are killing people!

[johan helge]

45. The alternative to compromise is

no health reform. No health reform kills more people than this reform.

It's that simple.

[defendandprotect]

46. No, it's not . . . this is corporate/fascism and not something we should settle for . . .

You elected Obama and the Dems to provide universal health care --

why accept something which is a scam to enrich the insurance/"for profit" health care

industry/pharma companies?

Let me also caution you that compromising with this evil will make more evil all the

easier for these corporatists -- Social Security privatization and more Medicare privatization

will be next --

And there is NO question about that --!!!

Decide to hold the line and NOT to enter a downward spiral from which we will all lose even more.



PS: Remember .... Public Option was the "compromise" vs single payer -- !!

[Better Believe It]

47. And what significant compromises have the blue dogs and "centrist" Democrats in the Senate made?

Surely they must have thrown a few crumbs or bone our way while patting our heads.

[freddie mertz]

35. K & R. He's a great guy, trying to save what he can from this disaster.

[Better Believe It]

36. Not much left to save from what I can tell.

[Dinger]

42. Hopefully This Will Snowball And Gain Steam

Actually, I feeling the first pangs of hope . . . Kill the bill and redo the damn thing. It's fucked up.

[shopgreen]

44. Dems have a retreat next week. We will see after that.

[SandWalker1984]

43. Obama gets $20 mil from healthcare industry in his campaign, they'll get 1 TRILLION in profits

Obama received $20 million from healthcare industry in 2008 campaign

By Brad Jacobson
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

Almost three times the amount given to McCain

While some sunlight has been shed on the hefty sums shoveled into congressional campaign coffers in an effort to influence the Democrats' massive healthcare bill, little attention has been focused on the far larger sums received by President Barack Obama while he was a candidate in 2008.

A new figure, based on an exclusive analysis created for Raw Story by the Center for Responsive Politics, shows that President Obama received a staggering $20,175,303 from the healthcare industry during the 2008 election cycle, nearly three times the amount of his presidential rival John McCain. McCain took in $7,758,289, the Center found.

The new figure, obtained by Raw Story through an independent custom research request performed by the Center for Responsive Politics -- a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that tracks money in politics -- is the most comprehensive breakdown yet available of healthcare industry contributions to Obama during the 2008 election cycle.

- snip -

Gary Jacobson, a campaign finance expert and political science professor at the University of California, San Diego, says the healthcare industry saw the writing on the wall and sought to “protect their interests.”

“Contributors expect access,” Jacobson, author of Money in Congressional Elections, told Raw Story. The healthcare industry “anticipated an Obama victory and they wanted to be in the game.”

While experts agreed that there is certainly nothing illegal about receiving such copious contributions from the industry within the current U.S. system of campaign financing, all emphasized the inevitable impact this money has in influencing public policy.

- snip -

“The funding from the healthcare industry to the Obama campaign, in retrospect, was not misplaced,” Solomon said. “It appears, based on policy, that those funders are getting what they would’ve hoped for."

“Let me put it this way,” he added. “Single-payer advocates literally couldn’t get into the White House. And you have Billy Tauzin and Big Pharma and all of these in-depth strategy meetings in the White House in mid-2009 cutting deals. And I think it’s shameful.”

- snip -

“We've seen many examples of the healthcare industry’s interests – and we would argue that a lot of it has to do with the money – prevailing over the public interest,” she said. “The fact is, we have this broken system that allows interests that want the most out of government to have the loudest voice and to get that loudest voice by contributing the most money and spending the most money.”

You can read the entire article at:

http://rawstory.com/2010/01/obama-received-20-million-healthcare-industry-money-2008/

*******************************

Better Believe It said this recently: "Democrats in Congress, under the leadership of Barack Obama, have now turned that principal on its head and made health care neither a right, nor a privilege, but an obligation for individual citizens and a government-mandated profit center for private corporations. For the first time in American history, Democrats are about to pass a bill that uses the coercive power of the federal government to force every American -- simply by virtue of being an American -- to purchase the products of a private company. At heart, the Democrats' solution to 48 million uninsured is to force the them to buy inadequate private insurance -- with potentially high deductibles and co-pays and no price controls -- or be fined by the federal government."

We deserve better than this. I hope there are still some Democrats in the House of Representatives that have the honesty and courage to stand up and say NO to passing the Senate version of their Corporate Health Insurance Profits Protection Act, since the Senate and White House have obviously sold us out on health care reform.