Have the Sunday Morning Shows changed any minds about the bill?

[rucky]

I put value in the opinions of Bernie Sanders, Sherrod Brown and Howard Dean. I'm not sure how the Senators can stay so positive, but they seem to know what they're talking about. I was barely leaning toward passing the bill before this morning - and had to come around to that opinion. I'm wondering if - as more info and opinions trickle in - anybody else has been swayed of late.

[liberalmuse]

1. I've thought about it for the past week...

I was livid on Monday, disgusted on Tuesday, disillusioned on Wednesday, which is when I started reading and throwing out my preconceived notions. I decided to step back and quit allowing myself to get caught up in the lefty net hysteria (guilty - but I don't really have much of a voice on the net anyway). As a result, my mind was changed about 3 days ago after doing some research. Do I love this bill or even like it a lot? No. Do I think it's better than doing nothing? Yes.

[Jackpine Radical]

2. I would love to be persuaded that the bill we will get will be better

than the status quo. Actually, given how bad the status quo actually is, that is a very minimal standard for success.

But I haven't yet been so persuaded. I think the least they could do is to either drop the buy-in mandate or provide a MUCH better subsidization plan, one that doesn't absolutely suck the lifeblood out of the working poor and leave them with policies that are unusable because of high copays and deductibles.

[rucky]

5. I'm focusing on the people in the most dire need

and comparing it to the status quo. If more people can get covered with this + the public assistance being offered, then it's slightly better than the status quo - much better for those few it may benefit. It seems like a lot do do a little, but it's consistent with my stance on war, too: Bust your ass to save lives, even if the personal cost is great. Personally, I honestly have no idea if I could qualify for aid or not. I'm unemployed, but may have to drain my savings first. It sucks, but I guess I'll wait for the bill to come in before I think about that.

[bigwillq]

3. I watched a bit of Axelrod on ABC

with George S. but then I had to go shovel. Mind not changed. I hope, though, the bill works for the American people. The people deserve it. We will see what happens. I think our DEM leadership still caved.

[Yupster]

12. That's a funny line

I listened to Axelrod for a little while then had to shovel.

I feel that way whenever I listen to Axelrod a little while too.

[CTyankee]

4. I was so furious earlier this past week. Dean made excellent sense to me.

However, I listened carefully to what Bernie Sanders had to say. He was as tortured as I was or at least he sounded that way but it appeared to me that he was, at the end of the day, vote for the Senate bill and see what happened in conference. I believe and trust Bernie. He made the difference. I still want to throw up in my mouth when I even THINK about it, but I do have a tiny shred of hope for the conference...we've had so many twists and turns in this whole thing, who knows what might come along...

[tridim]

6. Just based on the general tone on DU this morning..

I think rationality is starting to sink in just a bit.

Most of the insane threads I saw yesterday on DU have been deleted. Thank gawd, they were so embarrassing for our forum and our party. Great work mods!

[ginnyinWI]

11. maybe the infiltraters are on Christmas break now. n/t

[joeybee12]

7. Not at all...they know the bill is crap, but a defeat would be politically

bad for Obama and the dems...all the MSM will do if it passes is herald it as a great victory...2012 is when it will come back to haunt them, when no more people are actually insured because the costs are too high and the economy is still in the toilet because they've done nothing to rein in skyrocketing healthcare costs.

[begin_within]

8. Not me.

[Fumesucker]

9. No one who goes on those shows is going to be personally effected by the bill..

They are all at least upper middle class and most of them are upper class, they have great coverage or can pay out of pocket and won't have to buy a policy with a high deductible, high copay and high premium and then have to forgo using it because they don't have enough money for the copay.

Put some real poor or lower middle class people on, those who will be personally effected and see what they think.

Edited to add words I left out..

[rucky]

14. What would really give me stronger support of this bill...

is if the people who are sick and dying and can't get access to healthcare tell me this will help them.

[Fumesucker]

16. It's so complex that the average person really doesn't have a clue..

The Canadian health care act is fourteen pages long and is in both English and French so it is really only seven pages.

That is something a mere mortal can wrap their head around, a thousand plus pages of legal gobbledegook, not so much.

[rucky]

18. Me neither.

and most of us here. That's a reason to defer to the judgement of Sens. Brown and Sanders, who have been there and on our side through this.

[ginnyinWI]

10. Tom Harkin on Rachael earlier this week.

He's from Iowa and a good guy and he favors passing it. And I'm an optimist rather than a pessimist--I see the glass as half full. There are others whose opinions I trust: Pat Leahy, John Kerry, Joe Biden, and of course Obama.

[coti]

13. Only very slightly.

The medical loss ratio of 85/80 was brought up and that is a significant restraint on the insurance companies' profit-taking, as Dean noted. But, as he also noted, they will find ways to get around that.

Further, Dean's main point remains- this bill signals the intention of our political leadership to reform insurance through the private sector. I think giving such a windfall to these private companies without imposing much more strict regulations is a serious mistake. Nor does this bill engender any significant competition between the insurance companies. Even their antitrust exemption stands.

As Dean said, without more, I would vote against this bill.

[Larkspur]

15. The Senate bill is still welfare for the health insurance industry

They health insurance lobby helped write large chunks of it and they will continue to gouge consumers. They may not drop you due to pre-existing conditions, but they will still bankrupt you. And regulations are also only as good as those who enforce them. If California is an indicator, the health insurance industry can still due recissions with impunity.

The problem progressive have is that Rahm sold this bill as a mandate on Obama's Prez chances, so it makes it difficult for progressives to not vote for this piece of crap, which Rahm the Corporate Whore wanted all along. Because of this pressure, I expect this bill to pass, but as a member of my town's Democratic Committee, I won't defend it. I'll work with progressive groups to fix the bad parts of the bill, but don't see any effective changes happening for a while.

The problem Democrats will have is that in the Senate bill, taxation starts right away but the so called benefits and regulations don't take affect until 2013 or 2014. In the meantime, the health insurance industry will jack up rates to benefit themselves.

[SoCalDem]

17. Still can't decide.. Lockdown Indiana, or Lockdown Arizona

:evilgrin: