Obama: Critics 'stop scaring everybody'

[sabra]

Source: Chicago Trib

President Barack Obama, carrying his appeal for public support for healthcare reform today to two long-Republican-voting states which supported his election, spelled out a series of measures intended to protect consumers against abuses by insurance companies.

...

While promoting his plans for reform, the president also is attempting to dispel fears about them. Fewer than half of all Americans surveyed say they believe that healthcare reforms will improve medical care, the Gallup Poll reported today - with only one in four voicing confidence that medical care will improve.

"First of all,'' the president said today before an audience at a high school in Raleigh, N.C., " no one is talking about some government takeover of health care.

"I'm tired of hearing that,'' Obama told his audience. "I have been as clear as I can be, Under the reform I've proposed, if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan. ''

Addressing critics at large, the president said to a cheering crowd: "These folks need to stop scaring everybody.''

Read more: http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/07/obama_critics_stop_scaring_eve.html

[Kermitt Gribble]

1. "If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan. ''

I wish he'd give specifics on what happens if you don't like your health care plan or don't have one.

[No Elephants]

18. He is talking to people who are afraid they may have to give up what they already have and like.

If you have no health care plan, you are going to have to get one. Hence, the glee in the insurance industry as the single payer is already a fading memory and public option gets weaker and weaker. Not much percentage for Obama in driving home that point, so he is unlikely so to do.

Not sure about people who have a health plan and don't like it, but are currently unable to change. They are probably stuck wih the status quo, unless public option, no matter how weak, holds out some hope to them.

[The abyss]

24. No Elephants - Well spoken!

[Igel]

23. The entire discourse strikes me as odd.

He's said to be selling "his" plan, but none of the Senate and House bills have received his endorsement. This has been a big point made whenever anybody attributes any of the bills' provisions to Obama and says how undesirable or unpleasant s/he considers them. Obama's untouchable.

Under *his* plan, there are promises. But the Senate and House bills aren't necessarily his plans. It makes what he says to be rather pointless, in a very real sense, because he has automatic cover: Anything that actually gets enacted into law will be signed by him (barring the unlikely event of a veto and veto-override), however he can always perfectly honestly deny that any of those were his plans. It reduces his selling "his" plan to producing support that's transferrable, and possibly able to supply pressure, on Congress to do something.

Possibly that "something" is what he wants. Presumably many of the details in at least some of the proposed bills are coordinated with his chief of staff and other administrative aides, if not directly between himself and Pelosi/Reid. Nonetheless, more than simply plausible deniability is firmly and ineluctably in place, and that ain't going anywhere soon.

[strategery blunder]

2. I am indeed scared that health reform will fail

because the congress is too damn busy pandering to industry lobbyists to do a damn thing to actually repair the system. Whatever comes out of congress will be half-assed at best and most likely not worth the paper the bill is printed on. :(

[Not Me]

9. My fear is that if he caves on health care

you can forget about anything substantive for the rest of his term. The repubs/blue dogs will know that they hold the upper hand.

[gratuitous]

3. But he didn't invoke the troops

So he must not be very serious. See, Sarah Palin would have said that in honor of the troops, killin' and dyin' for our freedom, how about our elected officials, and the lobbyists they're always pallin' around with, just try tellin' the truth. Such as.

Compare and contrast, class, the fawning coverage given to Mrs. Palin's incoherent comments and what you can be sure will be the ginned up "outrage" that the President of the United States would deny private citizens their right to speak (lie) freely.

[bdamomma]

4. the critics are arfraid that Obama's plan will work.

[cabbage65]

17. Exactly!! And??

[sdfernando]

5. Stop with the "scaring" meme

Call them LIARS!...and to it often!

[AlinPA]

11. He needs to call them liars.

[Martin Eden]

6. FEAR ...

... baseless, irrational, FEAR is their only effective weapon.

[tridim]

7. And it's working, unfortunately even on DU.

It's amazing how fast some DU'ers roll over and succumb to the Republican/Bluedog fear campaign.

[depakid]

14. Some DU'ers would prefer to fight

rather than watching a significant number of Dems roll over. It's time the Obama administration REALLY led that fight- doing what it takes to win.

[No Elephants]

19. Do you see that happening?

[totodeinhere]

26. Yes, the Progressive Caucus has said that they will not compromise on...

a robust public option. At least that's a start.

[totodeinhere]

27. Of course a lot of DU'ers are criticizing it from the left.

And that's a different situation. Personally, a part of me wishes that this current plan could collapse and be replaced by single payer. Yes, I know I'm dreaming.

[Kablooie]

25. and an excellent and effective weapon it is! Works EVERYTIME!

[bamacrat]

8. Fearmongering is the only way they know how to act.

THey cant come up with an actual plan, just scarry lies that will make uninformed people scared.

[timeforpeace]

10. Trouble is, people like to be scared. Human nature.

[JBoy]

12. For Republicans, just being scared is a whole lot easier than thinking.

[BadgerKid]

15. of course. Forcing (false) dichotomies is their way. n/t

[GeorgeGist]

13. Obama stop blaming everybody ...

for your failure to come up with a healthcare plan.

[cabbage65]

16. all that's missing is his stamping his feet like an whiny little boy

"Stop saying that! Say what I want!"

[SemiCharmedQuark]

21. I actually think he'd be happy with substantive debate rather than "IT"S GOING TO KILL OLD PEOPLE!!"

or "IT'S SOCIALISM!"

[No Elephants]

20. Thing is, when Clintonco tried that, they got blamed for "top down." And they failed.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

22. Clinton tried that and was attacked as trying to erode the branches of gov't and micromanaging

healthcare.

[Old Hob]

28. I got online and purchased healthcare insurance yesterday for $92/mo.

That's my healthcare reform. And I'm dropping the dish network television to pay for it since it's a giant waste of fucking money anyways.