Cohen Should Be More Like a Weiner
I went to Cohen's townhall. Couldn't really hear much because of the lunatics, but I do know he hasn't signed on to opposing a bill that doesn't have a public option yet. hmm? My guess is that he knows Herenton can't raise any money. If he came out for a strong public option, the healthcare industry may bankroll Herenton or some of those republicans that may cross-over in the primary election may stay home. That's a sympathetic yet cynical view. The other view may be that Cohen doesn't believe a public option is as important as the other policy changes in HCR. I wouldn't agree with that position. Personally, I would like Cohen to talk like Representative Weiner from New York. He did a great job completely stumping Joe Scarborough.
posted by polar donkey at 1:29 PM
3 Comments:
Unlike the liberal bloggers, I believe that Cohen and the majority should vote in the best deal they can. The public option is the best thing that's been offered but the votes may not be there. A single payer would be better but it's not in the cards this time.
Healthcare bills have died in recent years due to inflexibility. With all due respect to Cracker, Ted Kennedy helped kill it in the 70's because Carter's bill didn't go far enough for him. Hillary refused to compromise in the 90's, so nothing happened.
If the co-ops are the best that they can do, and I'm not saying that they are, then write them in with possibly a backdoor public option.
The Obama Administration apparently didn't prepare for the onslaught of the Health Insurance companies. So, if the votes aren't there for the public option, then you either take the best deal you can or wait another 20-30 years while things get worse than ever.
I would rather do something now, however incremental. Either way, y'all can have your fun bashing blue dogs, teabaggers, etc.
9:35 AM
From what I have read, the co-ops would be worse than nothing at all. Health care co-ops around the country haven't worked and have done nothing to reduce costs. What's worse, Blue-Cross could qualify as a co-op and fulfill the Congressional mandate simply by continuing to exist, whilst simulaneously sucking up millions of Federal dollars provided by the bill, thereby preventing real co-ops from getting off the ground.
Therefore a bad bill is not better than no bill. No bill is preferable. There is a management theory that says when faced with intractable obstacles to reform and improvement, sometimes you have to allow a system fail. If they don't fix this now, it only means that there isn't enough pressure in the system to push through real reform. Half-measures will reduce that pressure without actually solving any of the problems. From a purely cynical point of view, letting the system fail virtually assures success in the near future, because of the recession. When enough people are without health insurance because they don't have jobs, or because they've been priced out of it because they aren't getting raises, and they'll outscream the screamers.
Personally, I am solidly middle class and I can barely afford my health insurance. I haven't had a raise in four years and with this economy I'm not likely to see one anytime soon. Four more years of price increases will definitely mean I have to drop my coverage. There are a lot of people in the same boat as me. A lot of them don't see the iceburg ahead. But they'll see it eventually.
10:01 AM
Jeff,
I totally agree with you. We're solidly middle class and just got priced out. We were paying FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR for insurance. What must this be doing to the economy indirectly if the middle class can't buy...stuff...because we're paying half our income for health insurance?
3:52 PM
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