EXCLUSIVE: UnitedHealth Lobbyist Announces Pelosi Fundraiser As She Begins Backing Off Public Option

[kpete]

Source: Open Left

EXCLUSIVE: UnitedHealth Lobbyist Announces Pelosi Fundraiser As She Begins Backing Off Pub Option
by: David Sirota
Fri Sep 11, 2009 at 17:47

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the first time yesterday suggested she may be backing off her support of the public option. According to CNN, Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid "said they would support any provision that increases competition and accessibility for health insurance - whether or not it is the public option favored by most Democrats." When "asked if inclusion of a public option was a non-negotiable demand - as her previous statements had indicated Pelosi ruled out any non-negotiable positions," according to CNN. This was also corroborated by the Associated Press, and by Pelosi's own words, as quoted in those stories.

This announcement came just hours before Steve Elmendorf, a registered UnitedHealth lobbyist and the head of UnitedHealth's lobbying firm Elmendorf Strategies, blasted this email invitation throughout Washington, D.C. I just happened to get my hands on a copy of the invitation from a source - check out this OpenLeft exclusive:



From: Steve Elmendorf (mailto:[e-mail])
Sent: Friday, September 11, 2009 8:31 AM
Subject: event with Speaker Pelosi at my home

You are cordially invited to a reception with

Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi

Thursday, September 24, 2009
6:30pm ~ 8:00pm

At the home of
Steve Elmendorf
2301 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Apt. 7B
Washington, D.C.

$5,000 PAC
$2,400 Individual

To RSVP or for additional information please contact
Carmela Clendening at [phone] or [e-mail]

Steve Elmendorf
ELMENDORF STRATEGIES
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS SOLUTIONS
900 7th Street NW Suite 750 Washington DC 20001
[phone]



Read more: http://www.openleft.com/diary/15066/unitedhealth-lobbyist-announces-big-fundraiser-for-pelosi-as-she-backs-off-public-option

[Captain Hilts]

1. Oh, my...nt

[Name removed]

83. Deleted message

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

[Bill219]

2. WTF??????!!!!

I am going to be so pissed off if this is true

[harvey007]

172. Don't believe everything you read

Don't be so quick to assume that what you read is true. Pelosi is still one of Congress' biggest proponents of the public option.

Insurance companies want to divide and conquer Democrats and the Left. They do this by going after the credibility and reputations of our leaders.

As for these fundraising events -- yes they are sickening -- but as long as we the people allow the corrupting influence of money in politics, this sleazy practice will continue.

[mbperrin]

3. That should do it.

I wanted single payer anyway, but nobody cared.

[bkkyosemite]

53. Many of us want Single Payer but 2 million a day by insurance lobbyists gets no Single Payer.

[lib_wit_it]

109. It's not just the insurance lobbyists who are against us:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x369101

[joeycola]

147. Think of all the actual health care to people in need that money would provide!!

[DaLittle Kitty]

212. THIS Is Precisely What John Russell Has Been Speaking About For Years!

Watch this The Great Capitulator! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anTW1ZdqswM

[dotymed]

125. single payer

is the only, cost effective (neutral) way to get coverage for all. Most Americans want this. It doesn't matter anymore, what Americans want. It is all about money, profit and greed. It doesn't matter anymore what "party" is in charge. They are both just one party with two different methods to achieve the same goal....increasing corporate profits. Shameful. We have to start a new "party" and make it is not compromised by corporate money. Easier said than done, I know...

[joeycola]

4. Time us ALL to contact her. Call her offices and leave a message.

[Maraya1969]

80. I think we should all send it to the President, just so he knows that we know.

[Maraya1969]

81. Trying to take our health care away? It's also time to picket 2301 Connecticut Ave.

At the home of


Steve Elmendorf
2301 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Apt. 7B
Washington, D.C.

[Maraya1969]

88. And shoot out the post right back at the two emails in it. Steve Elmendorf

and the other email that I don't have at hand.

[Delphinus]

122. Now that's a good idea.

Beyond that, what country is taking good, solid, hard-working citizens?

[Dr.Phool]

117. I just sent her an ear full.

http://speaker.house.gov/contact

I told her if she brought him some cigarettes, Jack Abramoff would hold a fundraiser for her in the prison yard.

[Maraya1969]

196. Thanks for the link DR. I think we should all put up contacts and ideas

for speaking out. That's our job right? Not just to sit here all day and read DU, (although I do sometimes..............) but we are supposed to be activists right? Even if it is just a letter of a phone call it is our responsibility.

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

(I think that quote should be a sticky)

[Maraya1969]

200. Here is my letter to her.

Dear Speaker Pelosi,

I hear you are headed off to a fund raiser at Steve Elmendorf' house, a lobbyist for the health care industry. And this comes on the heels of your recent comments on the public option and how now it is an option where before it wasn't.

If you are bought off by the health insurance companies know that the blood of hundreds of thousands of people who are refused health care in favor of stock options will be on your hands.

So know that while you are eating your caviar at this function people will be dying unnecessarily and families will be losing their homes because they gave everything to save their cancer stricken child.

Seriously,

xxxx-xxxx

[joeycola]

5. REC

[joeycola]

6. "Shares of UnitedHealth Group (UNH.N) and WellPoint Inc (WLP.N), the two largest health insurers, ro

http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUSTRE58941P20090910?sp=true



"Shares of UnitedHealth Group (UNH.N) and WellPoint Inc (WLP.N), the two largest health insurers, rose about 1 percent and 2 percent, respectively. Aetna Inc (AET.N) rose more than 2 percent and Cigna Corp (CI.N) jumped more than 4 percent.

[wildbilln864]

40. UNH was down today!

four cents/share
http://www.google.com/finance?q=UNH

and WLP lost fifteen cents! :shrug:
both will probably surge tomorrow if this is true.

[glinda]

7. I am so sick of this crap. I don't think anyone cares about us at this point.

[harmonicon]

71. "at this point"?

How long have you been asleep for? The likes of Pelosi never cared about you. Well, she is almost as old as my parents, and I don't know how old you are..... just maybe she cared about you before I was born, but I'm sure that she's never once had my best interests in mind for the course of my entire life.

[ixion]

8. and here we see how the laws of our country are formed

one fund raiser at a time. :grr: :argh: :banghead:

[flyarm]

9. Joe Wilson and AHIP Team Up to Write Max Baucus’s Health Care Bill By: Jane Hamsher

I have been posting this all day today and I will continue to do so until everyone knows this information!
You have the right to know!


Joe Wilson and AHIP Team Up to Write Max Baucus’s Health Care Bill
By: Jane Hamsher

http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2009/09/11/joe-wilson-and-ahip-team-up-to-write-max-baucuss-health-care-bill/

Friday September 11, 2009 7:06 am


There really doesn't seem to be any limit to what the administration will do to pass Rahm Emanuel's neoliberal giveaway to the insurance industry. The "author" of the plan released by Baucus (and apparently by Mike Ross) is a former VP of Wellpoint. Now AHIP is boasting about their role in crafting it:

Many of the changes to the insurance system now under discussion are the ones that have been advocated this year by the insurance companies themselves, said Karen M. Ignagni, the chief executive of America's Health Insurance Plans, the industry trade group. "The industry has been the leader in creating the proposals everyone is about to endorse," she said.

No wonder insurance company stocks shot up after the President's speech.

But now we find, per John Aravosis, that Kent Conrad and Max Baucus are changing their bill to appease Joe Wilson:

"We really thought we'd resolved this question of people who are here illegally, but as we reflected on the President's speech last night we wanted to go back and drill down again," said Senator Kent Conrad, one of the Democrats in the talks after a meeting Thursday morning. Baucus later that afternoon said the group would put in a proof of citizenship requirement to participate in the new health exchange — a move likely to inflame the left.

As John says, if Wilson's outburst turns out to be successful, it'll keep happening over and over again. And it will work every time.

If you want to stop this travesty from going forward -- and it's turning into a complete travesty -- ask these members of Congress from strong Democratic districts, all of whom have cosponsored Single Payer in the past and know better, why they aren't pledging to vote against any bill if it turns out to be nothing more than an insurance industry bailout:

read the rest at the link..........

.....................................................................

Reid Endorses Wellpoint’s Co-op Plan
By: Jane Hamsher Friday September 11, 2009 9:46 am

http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2009/09/11/reid-end...

The Senate Majority Leader endorses the Mike Ross/Kent Conrad/Wellpoint authored co-op plan:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) endorsed the concept of health insurance cooperatives Thursday, siding with centrists in the House and Senate who want healthcare reform but oppose a public option.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) also hinted she could accept that approach a day after President Barack Obama delivered an address to a joint session of Congress that offered encouraging words for both centrists and liberal Democrats who have demanded a public insurance option.

I think I may have to adjust my prediction for the co-op "squeeze play" on July 20:

The easiest political path to passing health care is still running the "co-op" crunch. Regardless of what the House does, the Senate can pass Conrad's shitty fake co-op. The Blue Dogs band together and refuse to vote for anything else, and that's what comes out of conference. There's a PR blitz to sell it as a "public plan" (which is why we've worked so assiduously to define it as NOT a public plan), and in a rush to get something passed, Rahm starts twisting progressive arms -- which have been historically very easily twisted.

Blue Dog Mike Ross presciently submitted virtually the same co-op plan in a July 31 amendment that finally emerged this week in Max Baucus's Senate plan. But since it now looks like Pelosi is on board with co-ops, that means the Blue Dogs aren't going to have to take the hit.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/09/11/maxtax-is-a-plan-to-use-our-taxes-to-reward-wal-mart-for-keeping-its-workers-in-poverty/

MaxTax Is a Plan to Use Our Taxes to Reward Wal-Mart for Keeping Its Workers in Poverty
By: emptywheel Friday September 11, 2009 3:41 pm

I made this point in this post, but I'm going to repeat it over and over and over until it sinks MaxTax, the Baucus health care plan.

MaxTax is a plan that will use your and my tax dollars to reward companies like Wal-Mart for keeping its workers in poverty. Here's why.

In most cases, the MaxTax fines employers up to $400 per employee if it doesn't provide its employees with health care. The fine is absurdly small (less than half of what individuals, themselves, would be fined if they didn't get insurance), but it could mean a company like Wal-Mart would have to pay up to $560 million if it refused to provide insurance to any of its employees.

The other option is to provide crap insurance for your employees. MaxTax gives very few requirements for this insurance (and it allows you to charge employees up to 13% of their income in premiums). But assume Wal-Mart decided to provide incredibly crappy insurance at a cost of $2,500 an employee. It would then pay $3.5 billion a year to meet its obligations under MaxTax.

So Wal-Mart chooses between paying $560 million or $3.5 billion right?

There is another option.

The MaxTax offers this one, giant, out for corporations.

snip: and do read the rest at the linkkkkkkkkkkk!



A $1.25 billion reward to Wal-Mart--a competitive advantage it would have--for paying shit wages.And who will be paying that reward to encourage Wal-Mart to continue to pay shit wages? Why, that'd be our taxes, yours and mine.

[Iowa]

25. Thank you for posting. I had not seen that. n/t

[SandWalker1984]

56. The devil is in the details....

....and the details aren't pretty.

While many have been giving glowing commentary here about Obama's speech the other night, I concentrated on what he was saying instead of how he was saying it.

I heard:

Insurance Exchanges i.e. Co-ops

MANDATES to buy insurance, and if PRIVATE, expensive corporate insurance is the only option, then that is what you will be forced to buy.

A weak public option, without any government support (never mind the $150 billion per year for 2 wars), available only to those currently uninsured. So much for a free market.

Tax credits for those in the Exchange to purchase PRIVATE insurance.


NOT ONE WORD was uttered about how we got into this mess in the first place -- the greed of the CEOs running these huge insurance corporations, the lack of regulation of them by our government (where have we heard that before, can you say AIG?), not one word about excessive premiums, cutting benefits and denying health care in the name of profits.

Hey, Mr. CEO needs a new private jet to take him to the Cayman Islands for that big industry meeting.


Oh, I forgot, this isn't the greedy corporations fault - according to Obama's speech, it is all the fault of THOSE OF US WHO DO NOT CURRENTLY HAVE INSURANCE BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN SCREWED BY THE INSURANCE COMPANIES AND NOW CANNOT AFFORD INSURANCE.

As I have said before, I expect this from Republicans. Getting the shaft from Democrats is a double hurt.

[postulater]

61. Not just WalMart!

"Three out of four Milwaukee-area companies could lower their health care costs by 20 percent or more if they scrapped their current plan and paid the 8 percent payroll penalty proposed by Congress, according to the 2010 results of the Greater Milwaukee Health Care Benefits Survey.

Seventy-three percent of employers who responded to the HCTrends.com survey reported that health care benefits represented at least 10 percent of their total payroll costs. Electing to pay the 8 percent penalty instead would reduce their health care costs by 20 percent.

Twenty-eight percent of employers said their health care benefits represented 16 percent or more of total payroll costs. These employers could reduce their health care expenses by at least 50 percent if they paid the penalty instead of keeping their plan.

While there is no way of knowing how many companies would choose to pay the penalty to save money, the survey suggests there could be a significant financial incentive for many employers to drop their health care plans."


<http://www.hctrends.com/>

[Maraya1969]

92. I really thing they could change this easily if it is brought to the President's

attention We can't always assume he knows everything. I've heard him make some good changes after he heard contention from people.

Perhaps if they make it so corporations larger than a certain amount of employees paid a much larger penalty for not providing health insurance. I don't know how much you would have to make it to cover WalMart.

WalMart does not supply enough health insurance so maybe they would be made to pay more to help their employees Or maybe there needs to be a stipulate what the insurance companies need to cover and how much of a health care co-pay they need to make sure that the insurance companies pay for extraordinary circumstances.

I don't think it should all be about a public option but a laws that require insurance companies to not rip off the consumer.

[pundaint]

185. That would be single payer

Provisions have long been removed requiring that corporations act in the public good, but there has been at least one court judgment requiring them to chase profits. Why is our sickness someone's profit center?

[blueworld]

153. Thanks for posting...and

Is there still a discussion about taxing our health benefits as "salary" for payroll purposes? You know in order to help "fund" the reform?

Mandated shitty coverage, possibly taxed benefits, huge deductibles, and big CEO bonuses...imported champagne, anyone?

[flyarm]

165. ahhh they go for Champagne Cristal on their yachts ..laughing at all of us!! eom

[pa28]

189. What you described is the insurance industry's dream

. . . and it looks like their dream might come true.

We must question whether it is better to have a bill at all rather than "reform" written by the insurance companies.

[OwnedByFerrets]

10. Is ANYONE surprised??

If so, why?

[tnlefty]

15. I am, honestly.

And I think it's because it's just so damned brazen.:wow:

[KoKo]

27. True..."Brazen" is the word to describe it. Or "In Your Face" in the current lingo. n/t

[Paper Roses]

121. As we used to say, "not even subtle".

[dflprincess]

77. I think that's what shocks me

they don't even bother to pretend they haven't been bought.

[flyarm]

190. and they are bought on the backs of Americans and their health care!

they show no sense of shame..other wise they wouldn't send their paid propagandists here and to other web sites to shut down the flow of dialog ..and debate!


http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/09/11/maxtax-is-a-plan-to-use-our-taxes-to-reward-wal-mart-for-keeping-its-workers-in-poverty/

MaxTax Is a Plan to Use Our Taxes to Reward Wal-Mart for Keeping Its Workers in Poverty
By: emptywheel Friday September 11, 2009 3:41 pm

I made this point in this post, but I'm going to repeat it over and over and over until it sinks MaxTax, the Baucus health care plan.

MaxTax is a plan that will use your and my tax dollars to reward companies like Wal-Mart for keeping its workers in poverty. Here's why.

In most cases, the MaxTax fines employers up to $400 per employee if it doesn't provide its employees with health care. The fine is absurdly small (less than half of what individuals, themselves, would be fined if they didn't get insurance), but it could mean a company like Wal-Mart would have to pay up to $560 million if it refused to provide insurance to any of its employees.

The other option is to provide crap insurance for your employees. MaxTax gives very few requirements for this insurance (and it allows you to charge employees up to 13% of their income in premiums). But assume Wal-Mart decided to provide incredibly crappy insurance at a cost of $2,500 an employee. It would then pay $3.5 billion a year to meet its obligations under MaxTax.

So Wal-Mart chooses between paying $560 million or $3.5 billion right?

There is another option.

The MaxTax offers this one, giant, out for corporations.

snip: and do read the rest at the linkkkkkkkkkkk!



A $1.25 billion reward to Wal-Mart--a competitive advantage it would have--for paying shit wages.And who will be paying that reward to encourage Wal-Mart to continue to pay shit wages? Why, that'd be our taxes, yours and mine.

[flyarm]

192. Joe Wilson and AHIP Team Up to Write Max Baucus’s Health Care Bill By: Jane Hamsher

Joe Wilson and AHIP Team Up to Write Max Baucus’s Health Care Bill
By: Jane Hamsher

http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2009/09/11/joe-wilson-and-ahip-team-up-to-write-max-baucuss-health-care-bill/

Friday September 11, 2009 7:06 am


There really doesn't seem to be any limit to what the administration will do to pass Rahm Emanuel's neoliberal giveaway to the insurance industry. The "author" of the plan released by Baucus (and apparently by Mike Ross) is a former VP of Wellpoint. Now AHIP is boasting about their role in crafting it:

Many of the changes to the insurance system now under discussion are the ones that have been advocated this year by the insurance companies themselves, said Karen M. Ignagni, the chief executive of America's Health Insurance Plans, the industry trade group. "The industry has been the leader in creating the proposals everyone is about to endorse," she said.

No wonder insurance company stocks shot up after the President's speech.

But now we find, per John Aravosis, that Kent Conrad and Max Baucus are changing their bill to appease Joe Wilson:

"We really thought we'd resolved this question of people who are here illegally, but as we reflected on the President's speech last night we wanted to go back and drill down again," said Senator Kent Conrad, one of the Democrats in the talks after a meeting Thursday morning. Baucus later that afternoon said the group would put in a proof of citizenship requirement to participate in the new health exchange — a move likely to inflame the left.

As John says, if Wilson's outburst turns out to be successful, it'll keep happening over and over again. And it will work every time.

If you want to stop this travesty from going forward -- and it's turning into a complete travesty -- ask these members of Congress from strong Democratic districts, all of whom have cosponsored Single Payer in the past and know better, why they aren't pledging to vote against any bill if it turns out to be nothing more than an insurance industry bailout:

read the rest at the link..........

.....................................................................

Reid Endorses Wellpoint’s Co-op Plan
By: Jane Hamsher Friday September 11, 2009 9:46 am

http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2009/09/11/reid-end...

The Senate Majority Leader endorses the Mike Ross/Kent Conrad/Wellpoint authored co-op plan:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) endorsed the concept of health insurance cooperatives Thursday, siding with centrists in the House and Senate who want healthcare reform but oppose a public option.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) also hinted she could accept that approach a day after President Barack Obama delivered an address to a joint session of Congress that offered encouraging words for both centrists and liberal Democrats who have demanded a public insurance option.

I think I may have to adjust my prediction for the co-op "squeeze play" on July 20:

The easiest political path to passing health care is still running the "co-op" crunch. Regardless of what the House does, the Senate can pass Conrad's shitty fake co-op. The Blue Dogs band together and refuse to vote for anything else, and that's what comes out of conference. There's a PR blitz to sell it as a "public plan" (which is why we've worked so assiduously to define it as NOT a public plan), and in a rush to get something passed, Rahm starts twisting progressive arms -- which have been historically very easily twisted.

Blue Dog Mike Ross presciently submitted virtually the same co-op plan in a July 31 amendment that finally emerged this week in Max Baucus's Senate plan. But since it now looks like Pelosi is on board with co-ops, that means the Blue Dogs aren't going to have to take the hit.

[NJCher]

90. me, too

It's so brazen it takes a person's breath away.


Cher

[DKRC]

186. The scenery is coming down.

"The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater."
— Frank Zappa

[OwnedByFerrets]

209. That quote was made by a genius. Thank you for posting it.

[DKRC]

216. You're welcome. I thought it was appropriate for the discussion.

I don't know what Pelosi is doing for a certainty, but I do know that the people/corporations who hold the strings of too many of our institutions - government, media, finance, etc - aren't being as careful to remain behind the curtains. I can only hope that their hubris leads ultimately to their downfall.

[ProSense]

11. Pelosi is not backing off the public option

While effusively praising Obama's speech from the night before, Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada signaled separately the president may not prevail in his call for legislation that allows the federal government to sell insurance in competition with private industry.

Reid said that while he favors a strong "public option," he could be satisfied with establishment of nonprofit cooperatives, along the lines expected to be included in the bill taking shape in the Finance Committee.

Pelosi, who has long favored a measure that allows the government to sell insurance, passed up a chance to say it was a nonnegotiable demand.

As long as legislation makes quality health care more accessible and affordable, "we will go forward with that bill," she said.

Democrats are divided over the public option in both houses, liberals strongly in favor and many moderates against it. Critically, though, it appears that any chance for Republican support would evaporate if legislation permits immediate, direct competition between the government and insurance industry.

<...>

"They hit us with their best shot; distortion, misrepresentation, and obstruction," Pelosi said. But she said Democrats had "sustained the effort admirably" and now "we're in a better place to go forward."

link

Not only did CNN leave out that last point (which is the same thing Obama said), but AP claims the Dems are divided in both Houses"?

[uberblonde]

12. I'll believe it when I see it.

Pelosi's leadership style is ALWAYS about splitting the difference. She talks a good game but doesn't deliver.

[ProSense]

13. Transcript

here

[No Elephants]

100. It is a pull back from her prior statements, which flatly said a bill without the public option

would not pass in the house. Now, she is saying, "You never go into a negotiation saying something is not negotiable." Yet, not long ago, she was saying exactly that--no public option, no bill.

[flyarm]

193. that person keeps trying to sell a tomatoe when it is actually a turnip!

he never ceases to amaze me how he twists and turns stuff!!

thanks for pointing out the truth No Elephants!

[high density]

14. I agree

This fake "Obama/Reid/Pelosi are softening on the public option" thing is really getting old now.

[harmonicon]

74. when will it stop being old?

Can we start talking seriously about them not softening on it when Obama signs a health insurance reform bill that doesn't include a public option? Then will you be pleased?

[high density]

157. I don't think Obama is going to sign a reform bill without the public option.

He says he wants to know what the alternatives are to the public option, but at the same time I don't see anybody talking about serious alternatives. Baucus or Conrad can whine for coops and Snowe can whine for a trigger, but neither of these fill the specific role of the public option that was laid out by Obama. Everybody here can continue to bellyache about it and go on the wild ride with the AP/CNN/et al over this if they want to. I'd prefer to just observe the disinformation campaign from a distance. I think we'll all end up in the same place in the end.

Of course I could be wrong, but I don't see how worrying about it now changes anything.

[OwnedByFerrets]

210. I guess having 5 % of Americans being covered by

a "public option" is signing a bill with a public option, but it sucks big ones.

[No Elephants]

97. Obama's speech should have told you he softened on the public option.

The public option he described was very limited. And he reminded his "liberal friends" that health care reform was always about things other than the public option.

And his comments in August were a clear indication that he was prepared to sign a bill with no public option, if it came to that.

Saying he supports a public option (albeit a very weak one) is very different from saying he will not sign a bill without a public option.

Tell you what. Save this thread to favorites and throw it back in my face when they pass a bill with a real public option. I'll be more than happy to apologize, grovel, whatever.

[high density]

160. Well, it is true that the public option is a limited part of the reform

And it is also true it is only one choice of his Exchange idea, and not everybody is going to be immediately eligible to participate in it. He says there's got to be something in there to control costs, and right now he thinks competition from the public option is the way to do that. He's open to ideas (he has to say that, you know) but so far I don't see any viable ideas coming his way that would accomplish this part of his plan.

I'm not interested in predicting the future, I just think that currently Obama has made it clear that he wants a public option. I am willing to feel that way even without a declaration that he'd veto anything without a public option. For one thing I suspect they've calculated such a political statement would not advance the cause for health reform.

[flyarm]

195. that is not how he sold it during the campaign! And it was he who brought up public option!

and all the revisionism in the world will not fool most of us!! Watered down from single payer.

http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2009/09/10/yes-obama-campaigned-on-a-public-option/

Yes, Obama Campaigned on a Public Option
By: Jane Hamsher Thursday September 10, 2009 10:18 am

I'm not sure exactly what Chuck Todd is trying to prove here:

he speech also will be a failure if progressives -- Obama’s second audience tonight -- are still obsessing over the public option a week from now. We've said this before and we'll say it again: Obama never made the public option the focus of his health-care ideas, in the primaries or in general election. In fact, he never uttered the words "public option" or "public plan" in his big campaign speeches on health care. But there is no doubt that the public option has fired up the left, and how he sells them near-universal coverage and lower costs -- even if it means no public plan -- could very well be the trickiest part of tonight's speech.

From the Obama '08 campaign document, "Barack Obama's Plan for a Healthy America" (PDF):

The Obama plan both builds upon and improves our current insurance system, upon which most Americans continue to rely, and leaves Medicare intact for older and disabled Americans. The Obama plan also addresses the large gaps in coverage that leave 45 million Americans uninsured. Specifically, the Obama plan will: (1) establish a new public insurance program available to Americans who neither qualify for Medicaid or SCHIP nor have access to insurance through their employers, as well as to small businesses that want to offer insurance to their employees; (2) make available the National Health Insurance Exchange to help Americans and businesses that want to purchase private health insurance directly; (3) require all employers to contribute towards health coverage for their employees; (4) mandate all children have health care coverage; (5) expand Medicaid and SCHIP to cover more of the least well-off among us; and (6) allow state flexibility for state health reform plans.

I'm not quite sure how that jibes with "never made it the focus of his health care ideas," but YMMV.

But if the DC wags think that the base is going to get over its "fixation" on a public option in a week, I seriously doubt it. Here's Rasmusssen from yesterday:

One major challenge is that while most voters oppose the legislation with or without a so-called “public option, that option is essential to supporters. In fact, without the inclusion of a government-run health insurance company to compete with private insurers, enthusiasm for the reform plan collapses among Democrats


read the rest at the link!

[high density]

203. Huh? What I read there meshes up nicely with what he talked about on Wednesday

What exactly is the problem here? The only things I didn't hear discussed are points 5 and 6.

[closeupready]

29. Yes, she did back off. I saw her video address with my own eyes.

I'll even find it for you, if you like.

[99 Percent Sure]

33. Don't believe everything you read or hear. n/t

[closeupready]

37. Don't take my word for it then - see for yourself

Here she is in late July stating that she is "for the strongest possible public option"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNZhtjh9aEs

Here she is the day after Obama's speech:

One day after Obama's speech to Congress, Pelosi stepped away from her previously unwavering insistence on a government-run public insurance option.

"I don't think you ever really go into a negotiation and say that some things are nonnegotiable," Pelosi said when asked if the public option is on the table.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/09/11/2009-09-11_pelosi_joins_president_obama_on_road_to_health_care_compromi.html

Sorry, I can't find the video, but as I can confirm, this is what she said in the clip.

[KoKo]

123. MSNBC showed her at a Podium with Harry Reid where she

said that. I posted about it here on DU with her quote.

[pa28]

91. It is backing off.

Last month she said there "must be" a public option and "no way" a bill could pass without a public option.

If I were on the other side of a negotiation these comments would sound like a total cave-in to me.

[ProSense]

166. No

it isn't

[pa28]

197. Seeing it with two sets of eyes apparently.

[No Elephants]

98. What you posted is a long way from Pelosi's earlier statement that a

bill without a public option will NOT pass the House.

[ProSense]

167. That the AP spin, here is what she actually said

it isn't

Though everyone is ignoring the comment titled "Transcript"

[bread_and_roses]

131. eh? how is what is quoted "not backing off public option"

I must be dense this AM? Or is your title sarcastic?

[ProSense]

168. Because it's a distortion of what she actually

said

Though everyone is ignoring the comment titled "Transcript"

[lovuian]

16. Not surprised Pelosi is a sell out all the way and part of the

New World Order sham

Pathetic

I never had any hopes for this
obviously the Congress is going to fiddle and laugh and party
while Rome burns

[scentopine]

17. Pelosi has been disaster for democratic party, more proof.

[aquart]

Thank you for your concern.

[KoKo]

20. Well two financial anylists were on the tube today laughing about Obama's "compromise" on the bill.

They were saying "Public Option" was dead and the rest was pretty middle of the road Bi-Partisan and a back away from what both said was "Obama's Radical Agenda." They were thrilled.

[Moochy]

34. blind loyalist

[scentopine]

48. Pelosi will be one of the worst for Dems. History will not be kind.

[sabrina 1]

85. Thank god for people like David Sirota

who exposes the hypocrites who otherwise would get away their selling out of the American people. I wish we had hundreds of him.

Concern is something we don't see nearly enough of and I wish there was more of it by our so-called representatives, for the American people.

I assume you were thanking him? If so, I will join you.

[nightrain]

18. It just keeps on getting more and more interesting.... follow the money...

[KoKo]

19. Do our Democrats not think this kind of hypocritical information won't be leaked?

Do they truly think the Blogophere is so "way off there and unimportant" that no one will care?

How out of touch can get get and especially Speaker Pelosi? There's no way this can be explained unless she's going to try to get him to support the "Public Option."

[emilyg]

69. I don't think they care.

[No Elephants]

102. Why would they care? They get re-elected over and over anyway.

[unkachuck]

21. this must be just coincidence....

"UnitedHealth Lobbyist Announces Pelosi Fundraiser As She Begins Backing Off Pub Option"

....she wouldn't do this to us, would she?

[joeycola]

23. never.........

:sarcasm:

[dr_aswan]

128. Is she really that stupid???

[Doctor_J]

22. Thy're not very subtl any more are they?

Don't even try to hide their corruption

[zeemike]

38. They don't have to be.

They are safe from any media coverage of it and what are we going to do about it anyway?
Pen a strongly worded letter?...they have trash cans large enough to deal with that.
And they know in the end we will support them as the lesser of the two evils and our liberal organizations will only see it as another opportunity to raise money to combat the right wing lobbyist.

The only thing left is to take to the streets, but people have jobs to worry about loosing and the right has guns...so it will be safer to stay home and take it up the ass again.

[sabrina 1]

89. I think they are wrong about this

And they know in the end we will support them as the lesser of the two evils

That worked until they got the majorities they said they needed to 'get things done'. Many stood by them, very reluctantly, to give them that last chance. Bush is gone, so that motivation won't work anymore, and if they fail the people who elected last time, many will either stay home or vote their consciences.

You are right about the liberal groups using the election to raise pac money. But their donations will not be what they used to be. Many will donate instead to organizations that actually do work for them, like ACLU. No use throwing away money people cannot really afford on those who jump for the highest bidder. We the people could never compete with Corporate America, so it's a waste of money.

I think people will donate directy to Dems who deserve it, but no more DNC donations, or liberal pacs if they do not start listening to their base. That is what I am hearing from a lot of disgusted people.

[704wipes]

94. lesser of 2 evils - Evan Bayh/ NOT if he don't line up

yeah I am tired of this shit here too... if Evan Bayh does not line up for the public option, fuck him, I'll vote for the republican - no difference in my world...

[No Elephants]

105. Voting Republican says you want things to go more to the right. Is that

the message that you really want your vote to send? If not, vote Green, vote Socialist--anything but Republican.

[No Elephants]

103. I am working to primary them and, if I can't, I'm voting third party. And that is from

someone who wanted to make a voodoo doll of Nader after Florida, 2000.

[Blue State Bandit]

24. PR Hit job by United Health to depress Dem supporters?

And I hope it backfires!

Stroll on the Mall this fall anyone?

Either way, I'll be pissed.

[KoKo]

26. Usually you have to make your self available in advance to be featured at a Lobbyist Fundraser

Would think this was set up awhile ago. :shrug:

[Blue State Bandit]

120. Her greed, I won't address...

But I'm pretty confident that the leak was meant to accomplish something Pelosi might not have expected.

[No Elephants]

104. United Health cannot make Pelosi back pedal in her statements, yet she did.

[nankerphelge]

28. FU Nancy

FU very much.

[Hutzpa]

177. Fuck you too

fucking imbecile....:grr:

[defendandprotect]

30. Well . . . why don't we Democrats simply use our LEVERAGE over Pelosi . . .????

And change her mind --

But -- where is the leverage -- ????

When does she run for office again?

[OwnedByFerrets]

45. It doesnt matter when ANY of these sell-outs run for office again.....

they can make millions of dollars AFTER they leave office working for K street. We have NO leverage over them.

[defendandprotect]

49. Guess that's what I've been trying to make clear: We have NO LEVERAGE over Dems . . .any of them!!!

[No Elephants]

113. Your vote is your leverage. So what if some private corporation will pay them money later?

That is between them and the corporation. We MUST start primarying people, geting laws changed, etc. Or die trying. Otherwise, we have no business snarking. Corporations cannot vote and there are more voters than there are huge corporations. Difference is, corporations are willing to invest their time and money and band together to get their way. Voters aren't.

[Moochy]

159. What a load of hooey

You are blaming citizen persons for their inability to organize like the smaller number of corporations do?

Either you are completely missing the point or you are being coy.

[defendandprotect]

206. eh . . . . well . . . no --

Rahm is hatching more little blue eggs as we speak --

"Primarying people" . . . ??

Do you mean getting pledges in writing?

Yes on the laws . . . Fairness in Broacasting, ending any corporate participation

in our elections -- no more campaign finance BRIBERY -- renewing regulation on

capitalism/unregulated capitalism is merely organized crime.

Yes there are more voters -- but there are still lots of computers and vote stealing!!!

Obama probably had a HUGE landslide -- but we'll never know it!

Corporations are organized in every way possible while keeping the public disorganized

and un-united in every way possible!!!

This isn't about a willingness to work hard -- this is about the ability of wealth/power

to buy government and candidates and that's been clear for more than 40 years now!!!

If liberals/progressives don't stick together and do whatever they're going to do en masse,

then it will have no effect.

What is Plan B, exactly, anyway???

In buying government, the elite/royals have simply morphed into corporations and used their

wealth to buy government/elected officials thereby putting laws in place which have given

capitalism/corporatism free reign while hamstringing consumers/citizens!

[OwnedByFerrets]

208. Sorry if I didn't make my point clear. Its sometimes difficult to do that

on here. Yes, we have a mandate to try to change them while they are in office. I am very jaded because I live in deep southern Alabama, and no matter how many calls I make, no matter how many letters I write, Sessions and all the other repug scum are going to vote against my best interests.
The point I was trying to make is that the congress critters on the take don't have to listen to us. In fact, its in their financial best interest NOT to listen to us. The very BEST we can do is vote them out of office.
Oh, and on your "corporations cant vote" line, I believe that to be very incorrect. They vote with their money. Why do you think they spend billions on lobbying? It works.
I'm 53 yrs old as of yesterday. I have become very cynical. May you never get that way.

[No Elephants]

106. So what if they make millions later? Get them out of office.

[Moochy]

158. So What?

Yeah because making millions by peddling influence and undermining Democracy by representing corporate persons over the people is the Centrist Way! Go Third Way! Go DLC!

[defendandprotect]

207. We have to stop outright all of this lobbying nonsense . . .free speech cannot

be based on your ability to pay for it --!!!

Corporations have to be stopped from spreading money as "free speech."

Corporations have to be broken up -- AGAIN!!

[No Elephants]

107. Every two years in the House. But, you have to be in her district to vote her out. And folks in

her district benefit from all the earmarks and other $$ she sends their way. We need to get rid of earmarks. That's bs.

[ChiciB1]

137. Kicking Anyone Out Is Extremely Difficult... I Don't Know HOW MANY TIMES

I've made this comment! Not only is it difficult for the "smaller fish" to be replaced, but to replace the "BIG FISH" is almost impossible!

Once Again, I state...
1) THEY HAVE THE MONEY TO GET RE-ELECTED
2) THEY NAME RECOGNITION, BECAUSE FAR TOO MANY PEOPLE AREN'T POLITICALLY SAVVY!
3) THEY HAVE THEIR OWN PEOPLE, WHO KNOW PEOPLE, WHO KNOW OTHER PEOPLE, WHO WILL KEEP THEM IN PLACE!!

All you have to do is THINK Joe Lieberman AND Arlen Specter!

Why even here people don't realize that ALL OF OUR HAND-RINGING isn't doing very much! Statements keep changing day by day, and we keep holding our HOPE that what we are hearing isn't REALLY what we are hearing! But what we hear, ALL OF IT, has a certain amount of TRUTH in it and IMO, we are being fleeced all the time!

IT'S GOING TO TAKE A REAL REVOLT, BUT THAT WON'T HAPPEN EITHER!!

Just sit back and watch, when things STILL don't CHANGE... what will "we the people" do???

[disndat]

138. Earmarks do not balance out

Public Option for millions of her constituents without any health insurance.

[SandWalker1984]

178. They don't need our votes, they've got privately owned vote counting

Go to Bradblog.com and read about the voting scam that's coming up in 2010. Brad was on a radio show last night and he said the Diebold/E&S will be one private corporation counting 75 million votes in secret.

So now the corporations own the Republicans, the Democrats and our votes.

With the Democrat majority we have in Congress, there is no excuss for them not to take up this serious voting issue now, before the mid term elections. Why aren't they doing that?

[defendandprotect]

31. k i c k

[Juche]

32. Why does she even need a fundraiser?

She is elected with 80% of the vote in her district.

[Moochy]

36. Its hard work taking things off the table

She's got to hire help to get all of the things we thought we voted for off the table.

[harmonicon]

75. what would be point of being reelected be....

if she didn't have these people to tell her how to vote? Then she'd just have to sit there and have her own ideas, which it seems scares the shit out of her.

[mule_train]

35. I'm surprised they do business like that in Washington

just kidding

bwaaahahahahahaha!!

[blueknight]

39. i have posted on here MANY TIMES

that pelosi is the worst, most gutless,ineffective politician in my life time, and TONS of people jumped my ass! i hate to say i told you so.......

[Not Sure]

42. hear, hear!

what you said.

This whole thing is just another transfer of our wealth to those who bought and paid for the past election.

At this point, the only good thing I can say about the republicans is at least they don't bullshit you into believing they're on your side. The Democrats have been doing the work of the republican party for the past two and a half years, thanks to Pelosi and Reid.

I am absolutely disgusted, but in no way surprised.

[ArcticFox]

60. Big time sell out

I said the same about Obama after hearing that speech the other day.

Public option in four years simply means he wants four years to figure out how to tell us we're not going to get it. It's a reverse trigger. I'm sure the insurance companies will play nice for a few years and politicians will say: "I guess we don't need a public option." Then, when we've all forgotten how close we came, four years will pass with nothing and nobody will say a word.

IF the democrats are ACTUALLY serious, then does anyone REALLY THINK that the insurance companies won't just throw billions of dollars to the republicans in order to change the law before those four years are up?

The alternatives are therefore:

EITHER Obama and Pelosi, et al. sold out

OR Obama and Pelosa, et al. have ensured a republican rout in 2012.

This could have been used to energize the democratic base. Instead, the dems have lost all the momentum they had after the election. I do believe it will end in utter failure. For the democratic party and, even worse, for the country.

[defendandprotect]

50. Why aren't we targeting her . . . do we even have a list . .. ????

OK . . . add Reid to that list when we find it !!!


And Rahm ...

and Hoyer . . .

And the DINO's . . .

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

164. Rahm

works in the Executive Branch now. Too bad, I'd like to see his ass go too.

[defendandprotect]

205. I well know that . . .Obama eloped into the White House with Rahm and DLC . ..!!!

:eyes:

[creeksneakers2]

41. Pelosi held out to the end

But the end has passed. At his speech before Congress, Obama said,

"But an additional step we can take to keep insurance companies honest is by making a NOT-FOR-PROFIT public option available in the insurance exchange. (Applause.) Now, let me be clear. Let me be clear. It would only be an option for those who don't have insurance. No one would be forced to choose it, and it would not impact those of you who already have insurance. In fact, based on Congressional Budget Office estimates, we believe that less than 5 percent of Americans would sign up."


"NOT-FOR-PROFIT" means the co-op deal. They'll provide little if any competition to the rest of the health insurance industry. I don't even call them a "public option." The only people who do are politicians who want to switch them for a real public option. And they won't even be available to most people.

The public option is dead. Pelosi held out for as long as it made sense.

Obama also promised to indirectly tax some employer provided health care benefits. That's breaking one campaign promise and if the tax falls on anyone who makes less the $250K a year then another will be broken. The plan now includes mandates that individuals buy insurance. That will be very unpopular too. Obama has turned the bill into an even bigger loser than it was before, and if it passes it will turn out to be wildly unpopular. The only thing saving Obama now from a major hostile public reaction is the flap over Joe Wilson.

Its best to kill the whole bill. That's what I've asked my representatives to vote for. It would be better to start over and stick with expanding Medicare and letting people buy in.

[gorfle]

51. You hit the nail on the head.

"NOT-FOR-PROFIT" means the co-op deal. They'll provide little if any competition to the rest of the health insurance industry. I don't even call them a "public option." The only people who do are politicians who want to switch them for a real public option. And they won't even be available to most people.

You hit the nail on the head. The bottom line is this: Our government won't destroy the health insurance industry. It is a multi-billion, if not multi-trillion dollar industry. I bet it dwarfs the automobile industry. If they won't let the auto industry fail, do you really think they are going to let the health insurance industry fail? After giving billions to insurance companies like AIG? Of course not.

Destroying the health insurance industry would destroy billions upon billions of dollars in people's invested money in these companies, including yours and my 401K. And of course it would destroy millions of insurance industry jobs.

So what they are going to do is make a "public option" for poor people. It will not be price-competitive with private insurance unless you are poor enough to get a subsidy to help pay for it. But your average person who is already paying for insurance will not find the government plan to be price competitive, and that is on purpose because they don't want everyone fleeing the private insurance industry to go and buy the government plan.

So all of us with insurance will continue to have to pay for private, for-profit insurance, IN ADDITION to footing the bill for the new welfare plan for everyone without health insurance.

I say fuck that noise. I want universal single payer. I want PROFIT taken out of health insurance. There is no reason why we should have some fucking middle man between us and medical care providers who's sole function is to see how much they can jack up the bill so that they can put the extra in their pockets.

[SandWalker1984]

58. Yeah, but Obama will have all that lobbyist money for next election.

At least, that's what Rahm told him. Why else have they totally backed off the insurance corporations, giving them everything they wanted back in December 2008.

This is all about killing health care reform in the name of health insurance profit.

Only one thing can stop them -- the corporations can't vote. We do.

[scentopine]

64. Wait - corporations may yet vote -

- wait for current supreme court ruling which may give corporations proxy power to vote by flooding their hand picked candidates with cash.

Your right wing supreme court looking after money and power. Your democratic leadership is, well, um..... hello? Anyone home?

[No Elephants]

112. Nice try, but a vote is still a vote and a vote is different from campaign spending.

[scentopine]

146. LOL! Creative response. Thanks for holding down the same.

Someone's gotta do it and I guess that is your burden to carry for for the corporates.

[dflprincess]

78. And he'll screw us while telling us he's giving us the reform Ted Kennedy wanted us to have

Senator Kennedy's goal was single payer and it looks like his trust in Obama was badly misplaced.

[MarjorieG]

84. Kennedy's goal in 2005 & 2007 was Medicare that failed. Believed cost containment & HELP bill best

chance now. Stop misinforming. You try to taking down corporatists all by yourself.

[No Elephants]

111. Your goal and what you think is doable may be two very different things.

For one thing, Obama said he would not support single payer. That does not mean single payer was not Kennedy's GOAL, though. It was.

[scentopine]

149. Democrats are selling out and the corporates are delighted

[No Elephants]

108. Agree. No bill is better than the bill Obama outlined.

[JerseygirlCT]

144. I was wondering what would happen if

someone did form a non-profit - and lined up lots of big donations to it. (Could definitely polish some images, couldn't it?)

Then what if this non-profit really did provide better insurance for a lower price? And what if people were willing to support that with donations as a way to put pressure on the greedy health insurers?

Just wondering about it - those middle of the night sort of wonderings...

[november3rd]

43. Script

Arlen Specter will fit right in with this crowd of Demi-crats. They go half way to real reform for their voters and then the big money always seems to rescue them from vicious, extreme liberalism at just the right time!

[wildbilln864]

44. k&r! nt

[salguine]

46. There's the address...sure be a shame of a mob of protesters showed up.

[flvegan]

47. I'm as shocked at this as I will be if the sun were to rise in the east tomorrow.

[Honeycombe8]

52. We've been had? I hope this turns out not to be true. Say it ain't so. nt

[bkkyosemite]

54. We were had when they refused Single Payer at the table.

[Honeycombe8]

57. Not really. We all knew from the start there was not going to be single payer.

No one lied about that. The two contenders for the nomination - Clinton and Obama - neither had single payer in its health care reform plan. It was never on the table, and never going to be. Those who thought so I think may have been supporting DK or someone else, and didn't know what the Obama and Clinton plans were.

[No Elephants]

110. Reply 54 is correct. Democrats were had when single payer was off the table, regardless of when

and how that occurred. For one thing, it should have been on the table. For another thing, you never enter a negotation taking
ANY position off the table. Then again, Democrats have been being had for a long time now.

[Honeycombe8]

141. Being "had" means leading one to think that something will be done, and then they don't do it.

There was no being "had" re single payer. Both candidates (Obama and Clinton) made it clear that they didn't think single payer was the way to go, so they devised plans that did NOT include single payer.

Now, if they had said that single payer should or would be considered, and they didn't consider it, that would mean we were "had" on that score. But Obama followed through with his plan, as he campaigned on, and has the public option on the table.

But we were "had" re the public option because although it has been considered, and approved by the House, the Dems (who had promised a public option) are compromising or selling out on that key component of the bill. We were tricked. We voted for a Democratic plan to include a public option. Then Baucus was put in charge of the task of drafting the bill...and he never had the public option as part of any draft, as far as we know. They got our votes deceptively. We were had.

[abq e streeter]

55. More conspiracy theorists--you think just because a politician gets huge amounts of $ from lobbyists

and then turns around and does their bidding... ( and because ya never know if it's needed::sarcasm: )

[AtheistCrusader]

59. Well shit.

Sorta saw this coming.

Maybe next session. Gotta keep fighting.

[countmyvote4real]

62. I don’t know who here is the biggest sucker?

1. I know I certainly feel like one. This doesn’t look good if you believe in following the money.

2. Maybe it’s the United Health lobbyist, Steve Elmendorf, and she is going to take their money without any return.

3. Yeah right. She’s too smart to be that dumb.

I have to say that those of us that supported the election of President Obama because we believed in the change he promised to our healthcare (and beyond) are the biggest suckers here.

And yet, I’m not surprised.

[Bette Noir]

63. Damn.

And I was just beginning to forgive her for failing to impeach B*sh.

[Eric J in MN]

65. She's disgusting. NT

NT

[lib2DaBone]

66. ..This is a joke.. right?

[Eric J in MN]

67. We can email Nancy Pelosi.

http://speaker.house.gov/contact/

[47of74]

72. Just did

I told her that she showed her true colors, those being that she's a paid shill for the insurance industry.

[joeycola]

132. [phone] please also call her.

[BunkerHill24]

68. This is hardly a surprise

Frankly, the entire American system of Government is based on bribe. You cannot be elected to office without bribe money, hence she's doing what she suppose to do to stay in office.


K&R for the gullible who still thinks their government is based on "We the People"!

[Amonester]

70. Yep. Their government is based on "We the Corporations".

But "We, the People" not supposed to know that.

[saracat]

73. Shhhh. We aren't supposed to talk about this here, or the fact that the president didn't promise a

real public option in the speech.Just be quiet and be happy he gave a good speech. Nothing to see here move along.

[joeycola]

215. very sad, but true.

[MisterP]

76. they're just gonna keep spitting in our faces

while we gasp orgasmically with delight, our mouth open to receive the wisdom of their moderation and compromise
why be right OR popular when you can be centrist?!
but, oh, they're Dems, they MUST have our best interests at heart! Nader! Reds under the bed!

[colsohlibgal]

79. Who Would Have Guessed?

A fine old movie is "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn" - but I'm ready for 'Democrats Grow A Spine In Washington". This news is as surprising as the sun coming up each day.

I would hope that by now all who were so schoolgirlishy happy about Obama's health care speech have started to have second thoughts.

[Vinnie From Indy]

82. You got to PAY to PLAY in America

[jeanpalmer]

95. +1

[Moochy]

86. Great $uccess for Pelo$i

Nothing $mell$ like the $weet $mell of Centri$t $ucce$$!

[democrat2thecore]

87. Also From Sirota

"The sequencing here is important: Pelosi makes her announcement and then just hours later, the fundraising invitation goes out. Coincidental? I'm guessing no - these things rarely ever are."

"I wrote a book a few years ago called Hostile Takeover whose premise was that corruption and legalized bribery has become so widespread that nobody in Washington even tries to hide it. This is about as good an example of that truism as I've ever seen."

David Sirota is so good.

There is NO WAY we can be surprised. This is just business as usual in Washington.
You don't get to be Speaker Of The House by being principled - you get to be SOTH by making and cutting deals.

[global1]

93. Which Proves Again - Everyone Has Their Price.......nt

[Bluenorthwest]

127. No, sorry, it proves nothing about everyone, it proves everything

about Nancy Pelosi.

[jeanpalmer]

96. This is the way it was planned from the start

Make a big fuss about a public option, and then back off and watch all the corporate campaign money flow in. It was a huge extortion scheme that worked.

[OneBlueSky]

99. our Congress -- bought, paid for, in the left hip pocket of the corporate whores . . . n/t

[coyotespaw]

101. Would that I had 8000 words to sum up my opinion

I'd pull a Spider Jerusalem and say: Fuck, 8000 times. Why the fuck do we keep supporting these crotch stains that continue to take our support for granted? I don't want to be cynical enough to say that neither party is worthy of fighting for, but what fucking option are these stupid soul sucking fucks giving us? Jesus fucking Christ, is it too much to ask of these rat fuckers to grow a spine and stand up for us dumb fuckers that gave them the majority? Hell, for fuck's sake; I'd rather be fucked over by the Repukes who are honest enough to say that they're going to fuck us over, then to be fucked over by supposed liberals who pretend to give a shit about us. Goddamit, why to we even fucking bother?

[No Elephants]

115. Please see Reply # 105.

[coyotespaw]

118. I understand your point

and would advocate genital self-mutilation before advocating a vote for a Repugnicant. At the same time, I'd rather have someone walk up to me and tell me he's going to kick me in the balls than to have someone pretend to be a friend, then a while later kick me in the balls while I'm hard at work helping him out. Never let it be said that I have said that anyone should vote for the G.O.P., I'm just saying that I'd be better off spending election day pulling my own lever as opposed to pulling the lever for any of these fake Democrats.

[OwnedByFerrets]

211. Fucking A

:rofl:

[lazzydaze]

114. WoW!!!!!

I may disagree with many on the public option here but I have to say the corruption shown here is just utterly disturbing. I mean I can agree to disagree and give why I disagree and so forth but I can't even begin to be able to put into words the kind of disrespect Pelosi is so onviously showing the American people with this being announced. I am shocked stunned disgusted and angry at the cess pool our nations capital has become on both the Democrat and Republican sides of the aisle.

[DonCoquixote]

116. Two things to keep in mind

ONE: this could be the media trying to set us against each other. Remember, this is a formula they have exploited quite well.

TWO: If this is real, and by that I mean that Pelosi is scrapping the Public Option, then I say that we need to scrap her and reid. The silver lining is that as mad as we can be at Obama, the fact is we cannot get jack done with Pelosi and Reid; if they were Apostles, instead of turning Water into Wine, Jesus would have turned water to Agent orange! There can be NO change in government without a change in Congress, period!

[Bluenorthwest]

126. Give me one other example of 'the Media' creating a fake document

with the name of an actual person as the author. A person who could deny it. Also this fake document of yours needs to have a major political figure named as guest and recipient, who could also deny it. Name one such instance of this 'formula'.
It is time to get over this notion that 'the media' -a plural word for a plural group of competitive and separate organizations- is a monolithic entity functioning with the intention of a single mind. It is a pitiful misreading of the realities. You speak of the media as 'they' and mention what 'they' do quiet well.
A single example, por favor?
Nancy is clearly corrupt to the core, allowing the announcements of bribery sessions with impunity. She is and always has been on the side of the right wing.

[emulatorloo]

170. How about Republican Operatives - Have they never created a fake document?

To me the whole thing feels like a Nixon "rat fuck" and so on.

I

[Hubert Flottz]

119. S-O-L-D

O-U-T!

[Joe Bacon]

124. I told you so!

They will stick us with worthless co-ops and Roy Rogers Baucus and Dale Evans Snowe are gonna stick the trigger in. Of course, there will be enough Krazy Glue squirted on the trigger that it will be worthless.

Now watch what happens when the Max Tax kicks in and people are forced to buy junk insurance that don't cover doodley squat. AND The Supreme Court (5-4) throws out the parts of the law that require preexisting conditions to be covered and insurance companies can't deny claims. We know that the Whore Court will throw those parts of the law out.

What next? hey, remember back in 1991, all those senior citizen protests throwing out Medicare's Catastrophic Care? Multiply that by thousands and you will see Tea Parties all over the country demanding repeal of this mess. The GOP will step right in and get back into office. They will repeal this and you will hear such a cheer from the teabaggers and the Press Whores.

Single Payer will be effectively dead for a generation. Meanwhile Bill Mc Guire doubles his salary and his beancounters keep on stealing money and killing people. That is how this will play out.

Remember--I warned you. I told you so.

[Vinca]

129. Now this seriously pisses me off.

[joeycola]

136. Please get active and try to let them know this..........HERE

http://speaker.house.gov/contact/

[Vinca]

148. Trust me . . . I bug these people so much I'm surprised

there isn't a restraining order out against me.

[joeycola]

154. LOL

[stlsaxman]

130. Here's my letter to DCCC

Is UnitedHealth Lobbyist holding a Pelosi Fundraiser As She Begins Backing Off Pub Option? I would LOVE to attend but I don't have $2,400.00. Could you comp me a ticket?

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

From: Steve Elmendorf (mailto:[e-mail] )
Sent: Friday, September 11, 2009 8:31 AM
Subject: event with Speaker Pelosi at my home

You are cordially invited to a reception with

Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi

Thursday, September 24, 2009
6:30pm ~ 8:00pm

At the home of
Steve Elmendorf
2301 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Apt. 7B
Washington, D.C.

$5,000 PAC
$2,400 Individual

To RSVP or for additional information please contact
Carmela Clendening at [phone] or [e-mail]

Steve Elmendorf
ELMENDORF STRATEGIES
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS SOLUTIONS
900 7th Street NW Suite 750 Washington DC 20001
[phone]

[Gin]

133. must be a big appartment......say it isn't so Ms. Pelosi.

Steve Elmendorf
2301 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Apt. 7B
Washington, D.C.

[joeycola]

135. Here is my note to the DCCC...........

Can you raise money for me to help buy some health insurance. It sure would be appreciated.
Thank you,

xxxx

I sent the OP with the title in the subject line.

Lets all do it NOW please.

[ScottLand]

134. It's not about people, it's about money.

It's not about health, it's about profit. Healthcare is a business to make money, good health is only a possible bi-product.

[TankLV]

139. NO PUBLIC OPTION - NO MORE VOTES/SUPPORT FROM ME!!!

It's quite simple.

So they're LYING again.

If this is true - which I believe it is, then there is nothing to "support".

The "public option" is ALREAD the COMPROMISE POSITION!!!

Why can't these fuckers and the fuckers here trying to blow wind up our skirts, get this?!!!

This had better not be true - but the past RECORD doen't give us any hope at all...

[KyleA]

150. We need a new party that expresses our values

A grass roots movement of progressives that leads to a party of truth. It may be small at first but better to work towards a real oppurtunity for honest change.

[fascisthunter]

183. They are arrogantly stupid

[amb123]

140. Money Talks, Integrity Walks.

"It's the American Way: Survival of the Richest!"

:nuke:

[Lerkfish]

142. "impeachment is off the table"

after THAT statement, I know better than to trust Pelosi to do the right thing in every circumstance. Doesn't mean she won't do the right thing eventually, just means I don't expect her to automatically.

[KyleA]

151. When has she ever done the right thing...

a hack politician who knew about the Bush torture and tried to BS her way out of it. She and milk toast Reid are part of the problem,not part of the solution

[Lerkfish]

155. well, I was trying to be kind.

but what you said.

[laughingliberal]

143. My email to her today

Dear Speaker Pelosi,

I want you to know how much I admired your stand for the public option that was the only hope I saw to avoid another huge transfer of the last money of the working and middle class people of this country to greedy, profit driven corporations.
Last night I read you are backing off the public option and Steve Elmendorf is holding a big fundraiser for you. I am not so naive as to think the people of this country have much power over the process anymore given the influence of corporate money in our politics. But is there no one who went into public service to stand for us? A bill that mandates all of us to do business with the companies that have aided the stagnation of our wages and the financial ruin of many Americans (not to mention killed many Americans) that does not provide us with a real choice will be the end of the working class.
I do hope you will reconsider. You generally win your district with an overwhelming majority of the vote and I can't see that the money United Health raises for you is all that necessary.

[omega minimo]

145. I thought she announced it during the speech.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=6509346

[Vidar]

152. K&R

[liberal N proud]

156. American has been sold to the highest bidder.

FUCK!

[man4allcats]

161. I am at a loss to understand how this could come as a surprise to anyone.

As a single payer advocate, I don't see the public option as any great loss. Strong arguments for this contention can be found in brief here and in more detail here. That said, it is nevertheless true that many good progressives do support, albeit unwisely in my view, the public option, and this most recent revelation of a Pelosi sellout of the progressive Democratic base comes as no surprise to me. She sold us out on the Bush/Cheney criminal enterprise, and good progressives justifiably wanted her head on a platter for that. Then Obama was elected, and Pelosi said the public option was non-negotiable. For those progressives who then believed, and for the many who still believe in the public option, this sounded great. I even read posts by folks who said they were willing to forgive her for Bush/Cheney (though I personally never will) if she could work to push the public option through. But of course, as is always the case with Pelosi, it was all pure bullshit. Pelosi is out for Pelosi first and corporate America second. The American people don't even factor into her equation. She was a waste in dealing with the Bush crime family, and whether you support the public option or single payer, she is a waste on health care reform. As Speaker of the House, she is, quite simply, a complete and utter disaster.

[whistler162]

162. Is there a actual source or just a "commentator"?

[Flyover John]

163. I saw this coming a long time ago

Fire ALL politicians. It's time for non-political citizens to be in charge. professional politicians only care about themselves.

[BlueJac]

169. Everyone had to know this was coming.....

what else would these cowards do? Talking tough then backing down has been their policy for a long time now.

[emulatorloo]

171. EXCLUSIVE: JOHN MCCAIN FATHERED AN ILLEGITIMATE BLACK CHILD

Seriously folks, this smell like a Rove type "dirty trick" or a Nixon "Rat Fuck"

It just doesn't make any sense.

Let us assume for a minute it is "true". That would mean Pelosi is about the stupidest politician ever born. A smart politician does not "pretend" to be for the public option and heavy duty insurance regulation on one day and then authorize a United Health Care fundraiser the next. THAT WOULD BE STUPID, and NANCY PELOSI IS NOT A STUPID PERSON.

So this just does not pass the smell test.

[Hutzpa]

184. ta -- daaaaa

but you think they will want to hear this, not so much.

[liberation]

198. Right.... obviously Pelosi has such a "great" track record...

... that she deserves the utmost perennial benefit of the doubt, she's earned it!

[emulatorloo]

204. Proven correct on the "CIA lied" issue, despite a similar DU blow-up. This does not pass the smell

test for me.

[nightrain]

173. I saw a pertinent bumpersticker yesterday--"Outsource Congress"

[superconnected]

214. EXCELLENT!!!!

[bluesmail]

174. All I can hope for is that Nancy Pelosi is as surprised as I am. EOM

[tomm2thumbs]

175. I'm sure its coincidence - ice cream sales causes higher temperatures you know

sarcasm

[Hutzpa]

176. We need to stop being gullible

I am not buying this one iota, even if she shows up at the meeting it still does not tells
me she is against PO, I am not making that irrational judgment.

This is stupid.....he blasted an email, so what???? Article does not say whether she accepts
the invitation, but conveniently states the price of the invite, yet most here are already making
judgment.


:wtf:

[timo]

179. dirty

dirty dirty whore she does not give one drop a sweat off her filthy ass about the AMERICAN people, just lining her own pockets!!

[Hekate]

180. Has anyone called her office & asked if it is true? Or are we being played (again) by big corp's?

Are we being played by the big corporations yet again? This just does not seem likely -- the timing stinks.

Hekate

[flyarm]

199. yeah i did and i got switched over to the answering machine thing..got no answer

from the guy who answered the phone!! just got immediately switched ..

my take from the way the person reacted on the phone was ..they didn't want to answer the question!

[IndianaGreen]

181. 'What an innocent coincidence,' DU's Kool-Aid peddlers will say.

[Hekate]

202. I'm just asking if it's even true?I'm asking if we're being jerked around yet again, & not by Pelosi

I'm not saying Nancy Pelosi is a wide-eyed innocent -- after all, she was born and bred a hands-on politician's daughter and is as cunning as they come -- but I am asking what we should all be asking by now: Who does it serve to make us believe this, and who does it serve to divide us, and how much of this story is true and how much is false spin?

We need to learn to ask these questions FIRST before heating up the petroleum byproduct and plucking the chickens against our own.

Hekate

[otherlander]

182. In the event of a fascist takeover,

the fascists will shoot you.
The conservatives will pour out into the streets to cheer them on.
The moderates will stay at home to watch your execution on TV,
and the liberals will cry over your grave,
and feel very guilty about selling you out to the fascists.

[diamidue]

188. Sounds about right. n/t

[liberation]

194. Way to go blaming the victims...

... keep it up!

[flamingdem]

187. Does being 2 faced mean having to get 2 facelifts? nt

[2QT2BSTR8]

191. FIRED UP!! READY TO GO!!

[Lifelong Protester]

201. I asked her to verify this fundraiser

sent an email, and asked her office to speak to the veracity of this. I said I did not want the image of the SOH drinking champagne and rubbing elbows with those who don't give a damn about us the next time I see a jar on the counter of a convenience store asking me to donate for yet another family who is about to be wiped out by an illness they had no control over.

[superconnected]

213. Funded by the health companies.. oh wait they they're throwing fund raisers for her

how Democrat. Next the defense industry will do it for Bush, oh wait, they did when he visted places like united defense.

Dems are in bed with the health care industry, repugs are in bed with the defense. Who here doesn't understand that yet? You've only had 40 years to figure this one out.

And pelosi is always in bed with the other side. Come on people, how many times has she given lip service and yielded or just plain done the wrong thing, with, none the less, meetings with the other side reported during her flip flop? ALL OF THE TIME.

How many times can this woman stab us in the back before people catch on? Hello, anyone feel they even need to try to keep track anymore?

Looks like same old same old to me. Pelosi is the lipstick on a pig because she always give lip-service before doing the opposite thing.

[and-justice-for-all]

217. I think I am going to go break some shit now...nt