Boston Globe Op-Ed: Kucinich is right on healthcare

[Totally Committed]

Kucinich is right on healthcare
By Derrick Z. Jackson | August 29, 2007

DENNIS KUCINICH rarely gets much airtime in Democratic presidential debates. That was underscored recently when ABC's George Stephanopoulos called on him in an Iowa forum to talk about God. Kucinich said, "George, I've been standing here for the last 45 minutes praying to God you were going to call on me."

With poll numbers at 1 or 2 percent, the Ohio congressman is the nudge kicking at the knees of the Democratic Party to offer more than incremental change. He deserves more attention than he gets. On healthcare, he says what Americans believe, even as his rivals rake in contributions from the industry.

In a CNN poll this spring, 64 percent of respondents said the government should "provide a national insurance program for all Americans, even if this would require higher taxes," and 73 percent approve of higher taxes to insure children under 18. Those results track New York Times and Gallup polls last year, in which about two-thirds of respondents said it is the federal government's responsibility to guarantee health coverage to all Americans. Such polls allow Kucinich to joke that, far from being in the loony left, "I'm in the center. Everyone else is to the right of me." More seriously, in a recent visit to the Globe, he accused the other Democratic candidates of faking it on healthcare reform.

>snip

The hold of the healthcare industry on the top candidates is already apparent. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the top recipient of campaign contributions so far from the pharmaceutical and health products industry is Republican Mitt Romney ($228,260). But the next two are Democrats Barack Obama ($161,124) and Hillary Clinton ($146,000). The top recipient of contributions from health professionals is Clinton ($990,611). Romney is second at $806,837, and Obama third at $748,637. The top recipient of cash from the insurance industry, which includes health insurers, is another Democrat, Connecticut's Christopher Dodd, at $605,950. Romney and Republican Rudolph Giuliani are second and third, with Clinton and Obama fourth and fifth. Even though Obama is in fifth place, he still has collected $269,750 from insurance companies. In a category that is relatively small in money thus far, but huge in terms of healthcare morality, Democratic presidential candidates occupy four of the top six spots in receiving money from death-dealing tobacco companies. After Giuliani's $69,500 from tobacco companies, Dodd has received $45,400, Clinton $32,300, Romney $31,400, Obama $7,885, and Democrat Joe Biden, $4,000.


More at:

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/08/29/kucinich_is_right_on_healthcare/


TC

[LWolf]

1. Of course he's right on health care.

He made his case really well on that video I watched last night, posted here at DU, where he's asked about why people in other countries come here for health care.

His response, that we have great medicine, but that not everybody has access to it. "Somebody can come from Europe to get care, but too many citizens who live here can't."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x50272

[Totally Committed]

3. I loved this quote from him:

"I'm in the center. Everyone else is to the right of me."

That is about the reality of it, at the moment in this Party, isn't it?

TC

[LWolf]

4. Yes, it is.

An unfortunate reality.

It makes selecting a candidate for my primary vote pretty easy, though.

:hi:

[Totally Committed]

5. Yup. It does, for sure!

:hi:

TC

[MethuenProgressive]

2. Are nurses "health professionals"?

"The top recipient of contributions from health professionals is Clinton"
That's the only catorgory she "leads" in.
So DU is wrong when DU says she's "owned," Right?

[JTFrog]

6. If nurses are

health professionals and Clinton is the top recipient of their money... THEN WHY did the nurses have to put up a PAID ad to get Clinton's attention on universal health care. You know, the one where the nurse is asking about universal health care and it turns out she's talking to a CARDBOARD Hillary?

Guess that lobbying is paying off for THEM and not the INSURANCE companies, right?

[MethuenProgressive]

7. So, you say nurses *are not* health professionals?

What catagory would they be under, then?

[JTFrog]

8. No I am

saying that if they are included in that category and Clinton gets most of their money, they got screwed.

[MethuenProgressive]

9. You're smarter than the nurses?

They're not smart enough?

[JTFrog]

10. THEY are the

ones paying for those ads and confronting Clinton. I think they are plenty smart.

WTF don't you understand about the fact that she's getting their money but not giving anything in return? They are having to PAY for ads to TRY to get her to pay attention to them on top of what she is getting from the so called "good lobbyists".

[JTFrog]

11. Watch this

if you still don't get it. This is an example of what I'm talking about.

The nurses and physicians have to pay for this ad even tho they supposedly have lobbyist giving Clinton all that money on their behalf.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=bz9cm613Ox8

*edit - they also have ads directed at Edwards and Obama - but I wonder what their stances are about lobbyist money. :shrug:

DK is the only one that is right on this issue. Period.

[MethuenProgressive]

12. Then why don't they have a pro DK ad?

WHoever they really are, that is.

[Totally Committed]

13. Why don't you start your own thread about this?

Why does every thread about a candidate have to devolve into a "Defense of Hillary Clinton" thread? it's maddening.

Just my opinion, but there it is.

TC

[JTFrog]

15. Woah.

No worries. Out of this thread.

[Totally Committed]

17. That wasn't aimed at you....

I think you've been very informative and and gracious to answer these posts so politely!

TC

[JTFrog]

18. Ah.

I had just refreshed my page and saw that reply and thought maybe I was going the wrong direction there.

Thank you.

[Totally Committed]

19. No way... you are doing great!

You have an awesome grasp of this issue!

Sorry you took it that way.

TC

[JTFrog]

14. I have no idea.

Why are you now trying to steer away from your post saying that Clinton must be the best on the issue because health professionals, including our nurses, are giving her more money to her than other candidates?

[MethuenProgressive]

16. The facts in the OP said:

--"The top recipient of contributions from health professionals is Clinton"
----------
so I typed:
----------
--That's the only category she "leads" in.
--So DU is wrong when DU says she's "owned," Right?
----------
I apologize for reading what was in the OP, and thinking about it.
My bad, I thought that was what DU was about. Reading. Thinking.
Here's the response you obviously are more comfortable with:
Dennis ROCKS, Man!!