Booman Tribune

Blue Dog Corporate Whoring

by BooMan
Fri Jul 10th, 2009 at 03:30:20 PM EST

I hear all kinds of excuses for why we need to maintain employer-based health care and the for-profit corporate health insurance industry, but other than a few Republicans I don't hear people making these arguments on the merits. I think employer-based health care is the stupidest thing ever, and I don't know anyone who enjoys interacting with their health insurance provider. As far as I can tell, we're just engaged in the art of the possible here, with almost no attention being paid to the best quality solution at the least expense. I don't like it, but I accept it. What I don't accept are these arguments from Democrats about how the cost is too high but that the public option will cost local hospitals and doctors too much. It's one or the other. Either the bill spends an inordinate amount of money compensating health-care providers or it saves money. It can't do both at the same time. I see so little merit in the Blue Dogs' argument that I think it is fair to call them corporate whores, plain and simple.



Display:
yup. But why can't we get rid of them? Why can't Obama lay the smack down on them? Why doesn't the DNC pull all campaign financing from them? Why can't they be held accountable for their actions?

Why are democrats such wussies????

Say all you want about the rethugs, at least they stick together and vote together and are disciplined.

by Jan on Fri Jul 10th, 2009 at 05:04:44 PM EST
Jan has it SOOOO REight! However- What is missing is the simple fact that if one simplys totals the number of small donators to the Obama victory- That Is Our Strength! As was done during the campaign, so too must it be done now. What is missing is the "Word" form the leader. Where the hell is he? What is the hold up? Why the delay? Does the leader still think in terms of the "B" word? (Bipartisanship!!!)
 Or, does the base need to remind the leader that what we were capable of doing in 08, WE CAN UNDO IN 09!
by billjpa (billjpa@aol.com) on Fri Jul 10th, 2009 at 05:25:33 PM EST
They're all whores, it's just a matter of who's their (primary) pimp...

The Underground Railroad
by Oscar In Louisville on Fri Jul 10th, 2009 at 06:03:19 PM EST
As I was working for Obama, putting out money, standing in line in Richmond VA, standing in the rain for 8 hours- I NEVER thought we'd be standing up here begging for Obama to do the right thing.

I notice his approval ratings are dropping quickly. He needs to GET UP OFF IT, quit listening to Emanuel, Gibbs and Axelrod with all their bi partisian shit and just friggin' do it.

DAMN what is the PROBLEM????

by Jan on Fri Jul 10th, 2009 at 06:20:56 PM EST
by Oscar In Louisville on Fri Jul 10th, 2009 at 06:37:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]
It is not at all clear how replacing employer-based health care with a government-run system would make interacting with one's health insurance provider any more enjoyable than it is now.
by Hurria (Muslawia@gmail.com) on Fri Jul 10th, 2009 at 11:53:15 PM EST
It should be clear, as any survey of Medicare recipients makes obvious.  Government bureaucrats don't try to deny you coverage you are entitled to.  
by BooMan on Sat Jul 11th, 2009 at 12:59:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]
But no doubt they can deny you coverage you need, and ought to have, and I am sure they can be as obtuse as any other government bureaucrat.

It is possible that I have been exceptionally fortunate, but I have never been denied any coverage I have been entitled to. On the other hand, I was appalled and deeply angry to hear Obama in a town hall meeting-type setting pretty much admit that under the type of government-run plan he envisions people could be denied treatment simply on account of age. So, what's going to be the automatic cut-off for a hip replacement, or cancer treatment, or surgery that could greatly improve the quality of someone's last three or five or ten years, or even save their lives?

I'm not arguing FOR employer-provided insurance, or against government-run insurance. I'm just suggesting that government-run might be better overall, or it might not, but for sure it is not going to be the panacea that some people seem to expect.

by Hurria (Muslawia@gmail.com) on Sat Jul 11th, 2009 at 01:39:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]


Display:
Go to: [ Booman Tribune Homepage : Top of page : Top of comments ]
Menu
Login
. Make a new account
. Reset password





Find textbooks at Alibris!

NOTE: Overstock bests Amazon's prices and is "blue."

THE BOOKS WITH "BUZZ":
______________

Senator Edward M. Kennedy tells his extraordinary personal story:

True Compass: A Memoir
by Edward M. Kennedy.

Read Barack Obama's vision for America:

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
by Barack Obama

Boran2 and maryb2004 recommend:

The Big Over Easy: A Nursery Crime
by Jasper Fforde

Must-have information for all presidents-and citizens-of the twenty-first century?

Physics for Future Presidents: The Science behind the Headlines
Richard A. Muller

rae recommends:

Dark Ages America: The Final Phase of Empire
by Morris Berman.

On BooMan’s shelf:

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
by Doris Kearns Goodwin

This looks interesting:

Adventure Divas
by Holly Morris

Here’s a good one from
Elizabeth Gilbert:

Eat Pray Love
by Elizabeth Gilbert

"Crash" * Best Motion Picture, Academy Awards * Only $11.79 at Overstock * 2006 SAG Winner, Best Ensemble

Check out
Powell's new section:
NEW FAVORITES

Selected new arrivals at 30% off

Recommended by Indianadem and ejmw:
The Conscience of a Liberal
by Paul Wellstone

From northcountry’s bookshelf:

The New Golden Age:
The Coming Revolution Against
Political Corruption and Economic Chaos
by Ravi Batra

A novel about contractors in Iraq from the woman that runs The Spy That Billed Me:

Outsourced: A Novel
from RJ Hillhouse.


Great Deals
----- * ^ * -----

Find mystery novels by Nancy Pickard ("Kansas")



Challenging Empire: How People, Governments, and the UN Defy US Power by Phyllis Bennis (interviewed on DN!)


Featured by Keith Olbermann, New (Powell's Sale): Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower by William Blum (whose other books merit serious consideration)


"Explosive" State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration
by James Risen


The book the CIA doesn't want you to read: Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander
Larry Johnson's review


BT's all-time best seller:

PERMACULTURE:
A Designers' Manual

$79.95 * Sale: $59.95


Unequal Sisters: A Multicultural Reader in U.S. Women's History (Third Edition)


The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor And Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car!


The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
by Timothy Egan


Green Press Initiative
----- * ^ * -----


Journalistas: 100 Years of the Best Writing and Reporting by Women Journalists by Eleanor Mills * NYT review


Bury Me Standing: the Gypsies & Their Journey


1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus



Brokeback Mountain
by Annie Proulx
----- * ^ * -----
Check out Powell's
"At The Movies"


Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World by Noam Chomsky (Power & Terror: Post 9-11 Talks)


The Price of Privilege:

How Parental Pressure and
Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of
Disconnected and Unhappy Kids

by Madeline Levine


Save 35-70% on
name brand clothing,
footwear, and outdoor gear
at SierraTradingPost.com

:





We listened to PEN American Center's "State of Emergency" and found 1940s books by Curzio Malaparte only at Alibris. (Selection (MP3) excerpted from "The Skin.")

Alibris - Books You Thought You'd Never Find
Banned Books * Are you a fan of Film Noir, Art House, Documentaries or Hong Kong Action? * Searching for a long-lost children's book or a first printing of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue on vinyl? Find it at Alibris!

:
:
www.Patagonia.com


Listed on BlogShares

© 2009 Booman Tribune