Some quotes correcting the record about "liar liar pants on fire" attacks toward Howard Dean

madfloridian

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Wed Jul-22-09 05:32 PM
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Some quotes correcting the record about "liar liar pants on fire" attacks toward Howard Dean

Some quotes correcting the record about "liar liar pants on fire" attacks toward Howard Dean.

It is one thing to disagree with the approach someone is taking on a topic like health care. It is quite another to call them a liar and say they are not speaking truth. President Obama has all along called for a "robust public option." Howard Dean has spoken out in support of that option.

Many physicians' group support Obama's idea of a public option. Here are some of them.

Eight physician groups issue support for Obama’s ‘public option’

According to the joint statement issued June 15:

“As doctors, we see patients every day who are more afraid of their medical bills than their illnesses. It frustrates and saddens us to care for patients with what began as a simple and inexpensive medical problem, but has developed into a life-threatening condition. It makes us angry to see children suffering from treatable illnesses, like asthma, in the Emergency Room because they literally have nowhere else to go.

All doctors need to work together to solve our health care crisis. Part of this solution should be the inclusion of a high-quality public health insurance option that competes fairly with private plans. Having the choice of a public health insurance plan will help make health care more affordable for patients, foster greater competition in the insurance market, and guarantee that quality, affordable coverage will be there for our patients no matter what happens.

We believe that the creation of a public health insurance option can break the stranglehold that out-of-control healthcare costs have on our patients by fostering choice and competition. As the American Medical Association first reported, 94% of insurance markets are now highly concentrated—and as a result, premiums have skyrocketed -- increasing more than 87%, on average, over the past six years.”

The statement was signed by:

* The American Academy of Family Physicians
* The American Medical Student Association
* The Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare
* Doctors Council/SEIU Healthcare
* Doctors for America
* The National Doctors Alliance/SEIU Healthcare
* The National Physicians Alliance
* The Student National Medical Association

Amazingly enough those are the words used by Dean nearly all the time of his advocacy for the issue.

I am very angry that a physician with PNHP called Howard Dean a liar about the public option and single payer. I won't link, it is in this forum and easy to find.

I am going to post some words and statements and comments by Dean in interviews. He has been upfront and to the point about his views. I don't agree with all of them, I don't agree with anyone 100% of the time. I was even nearly accused of lying when I said Dean had often said single payer should be at the table.

You do NOT call an honest man a liar because you disagree.

Some thoughts:

Dean on single payer

I asked Howard Dean if he felt that public option was getting a fair hearing from Sen. Baucus. He felt it was, but he was concerned that single-payer was not, because "I don't care what you say about single payer. It is much cheaper."

Was public option a stepping stone to single payer? "Well that depends on what the American people want. You know a lot of people already have a public system. It's called Medicare." He went on to say that people were fairly happy with Medicare, and if after using "cheaper and more reliable" government plans caused a large migration of accounts, he would be fine with that, but it was up to the people to decide.

Here is more on his view of the public option:

"Public Option" plans maintain our existing for-profit health coverage, but allow individuals to opt into a government sponsored system if they choose. As Dr. Dean was quick to illustrate, Medicare is an example of how the plan is already in place for many Americans. By making the option universal, D.F.A. hopes to expose more people to the efficiencies of insurance plans unfettered by attachment to a particular employer or burdened by the high profit and overhead of the private insurers. Proponents of the plan say that even customers of existing providers will benefit from the increased competitive pressures, and of course that same competition is driving stiff opposition from industry lobbyists.

Agree, disagree, but it is clear and honest.

Here is a statement from Dean in an interview from 2008 apparently with Time. The link is from PNHP. He is saying almost the same things he says now. He is being honest about his views, whether you agree or not.

10 questions for Dean

May 22, 2008

Question: As a former physician, what are your thoughts on the Democratic candidates’ health-care plans vs. a single-payer system?

Howard Dean: I think while someday we may end up with a single-payer system, it’s clear that we’re not going to do it all at once, so I think both candidates’ health-care plans are a big step forward. Certainly compared to Senator McCain, who represents a big step backward.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1808614,00.html

Even then the PNHP article was disagreeing and saying that single payer was the only way to go. Dean's statement then was opposed by them.

Here is an interview in which expressed concern about divisions that were arising between some single payer groups and those who supported public option.

Blog interview with Dean on health care option supporters working together.

I asked the Governor about single-payer, and the heavy advocacy it's receiving at town halls and other places from Oregonians. Governor Dean noted that some single-payer advocates aren't interested in dialogue and disrupt events, which is counterproductive. But he said he believes that Obama made a crucial error at the outset of the conversation. "The Administration made a mistake by not bringing them (single-payer advocates) to the table. That's the best way to have real dialogue".

Dean also said that single-payer is pretty tough to differentiate from the public option. "Public option is like single payer. It gives consumers the choice. There's no such thing as a pure single-payer plan anywhere." Dean went on to say that there's absolutely no reason for a wedge between single payer advocates and those who support the public option. In fact, Dean said he believes that it's a recipe for disaster. "It's a mistake to drive that wedge. It's how reform has been killed in the past.", Dean said.

This united advocacy is crucial, Dean said, because without the public option, it's "fake reform".

Dean and I also talked about Senator Wyden's plan. The Governor said that he will not support a plan without a public option, no matter the plan. The choice should be made by the people which option they want, public or private.

Someone here today asked for proof that Dean had said Obama was wrong in not bring single payer advocates to the table. There is your proof.

In a recent interview Dean went further by supporting the rights of states to decide on a single payer program. I disagree with him because I live in Florida, and our state leaders can't handle planning anything. But though I disagree it does not make me wrong, just differing.

Dean has been instrumental in catching and pointing out slippery slope options being stuck in quietly....like Ben Nelson's "trigger" option."

Sen. Ben Nelson has proposed a "trigger", where instead of adopting the reform, Congress would set goals for the insurance industry for seven years. As long as the goals were met, there would be no competing public plan. "That's a terrible idea," Dean said, "They will just change their behavior until the trigger runs out and go back to how they were."

Calling it "fake public option," Dean said that D.F.A. would actively fight against any such plan as being no public plan at all. The same went for any other plan that did not include a public option. "It wouldn't be reform. If we put more into a private system, we are just going to lose money."

Very few were outspoken here in his defense today in that awful thread. The doctor who called Dean liar was equally critical of Obama. Neither deserved that kind of criticism.

Dean was clear and outspoken in a recent interview with Esquire.

The interviewer mentions the high number who would enroll in the public option and asks if that is a concern. Dean does not go easy on the Senate. He says they are in the process of self-destructing.

ESQ: But isn't that a threat to the insurance companies? Especially at a time when we want to keep businesses healthy and people employed?

HD: This is one of the many problems the Senate is now having. They are focused on anything but the American people. But the insurance companies will be fine. It won't happen overnight, and they'll make plenty of money. But this is not a matter of making the insurance companies happy. This is a matter of making the 72 percent of the people who want a public option happy, including the 50 percent of Republicans who want a public option.

ESQ: Fifty percent of Republicans want a public option?

HD: Yeah. That's in a Kaiser poll and in a New York Times/CBS poll last week. The Senate is in the process of self-destructing. They are talking about managing health-care reform to make sure that a relatively small sliver of American industry is satisfied at the expense of 72 percent of their constituents. That's unbelievable.

Agree, disagree, demand what you wish. I demand our Democrats stand up for women's rights. Will I get my wish? Probably not. I will be vastly disappointed.

Agree, disagree, but don't call names...don't use the liar word.