The six deadly hypocrites

[CatWoman]

Will the destructive center kill health care reform? It looks all too possible.

What’s especially galling is the hypocrisy of their claimed reason for delaying progress — concern about the fiscal burden. After all, in the past most of them have shown no concern at all for the nation’s long-term fiscal outlook.

Case in point: the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, which denied Medicare the right to bargain for lower drug prices, locked in overpayments to private insurance companies, and did nothing, nothing at all, to pay for its proposed outlays. How many of these six self-proclaimed defenders of solvency voted no on the crucial procedural vote? One. (Joe Lieberman, to my surprise.)

And let’s not forget that Ben Nelson, who appears to be the ringleader, has fought tooth and nail against competition from a public option — which would almost certainly save a significant amount of money, as well as providing much-needed competition.

If the Gang of Six really does kill reform, remember their names; they will bear the responsibility for vast, unnecessary suffering over the years to come.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/the-six-deadly-hypocrites/

[opihimoimoi]

1. Where O Where is the COUNTRY FIRST Button? [

:hi:

[CatWoman]

10. !!!

:hi:

[Uncle Joe]

2. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, CatWoman.

[Captain Hilts]

3. Off to the Greatest Page with you! nt

[waiting for hope]

4. Nice -

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.)
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.)
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

These three do not surprise me ...

Independent Joe Lieberman (Conn.),
Maine Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins

Being a former resident of Louisiana, I don't think the people there can afford not to have affordable Health Care.

[BlooInBloo]

5. It seems like the only thing that numbers in the Senate gets us...

is the prevention of destructive legislation. Doesn't seem like we get anywhere with Democrats in the Senate pushing GOOD legislation. No card check, trying to weasel out of health care. Fuckers.

The House actually puts out decent stuff.

[mzmolly]

6. Time for some serious activism

in regard to the six in question.

[cascadiance]

7. I really have to got to call my Senator Wyden on this! I can't see how he belongs in this group!

And earlier I was praising having two Democrats that I thought were cumulatively better than the pair of Democrats I had in California last year (Boxer good, Feinstein bad). But it sounds like Wyden has something we need to talk to him about here. I can't believe folks here in Oregon will put up with this crap! Is Baucus twisting his arm on the Finance Committee to vote in his stead?

They really should change the name of "corporation" to "centon". No kind of reference to Battlestar Galactica, mind you.

But then it will make it so that when they call themselves "centrists", they can be a bit more honest when they do so.

[timeforpeace]

8. I worry that if approval numbers for Congress and the president continue to fall,

this may not get passed at all at year's end as now scheduled. We need a vote now.

[G_j]

9. K&R

[Wednesdays]

11. K&R

:kick:

[Quantess]

12. kick.