Hoyer on Senate Bill: ‘Better Than Nothing’

[Roland99]

SAY WHAT?!?!?!

http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/hoyer-senate-bill-better-than-nothing/

The House majority leader, Representative Steny H. Hoyer, Democrat of Maryland, offered a backhanded endorsement of the Senate health care bill on Monday, saying it was “better than nothing.’’

...

With opinion polls suggesting weak public support for the legislation, Mr. Hoyer was asked what Democrats could do differently. He said they needed to rebut Republican arguments that the bill would hurt older Americans on Medicare.

“Seniors believe we are going to devastate Medicare,’’ Mr. Hoyer said. “That’s not true. Medicare will not be adversely affected.’’

The House and Senate bills would squeeze more than $400 billion in savings from Medicare over the next 10 years. Mr. Obama has repeatedly said, “Nobody is talking about cutting Medicare benefits.’’ But Republicans say that is exactly what could happen.

Did D.C./Maryland pass some law legalizing marijuana or something because Hoyer is higher than a kite if he thinks that piece of corporate excrement called healthcare reform is "better than nothing."

[xchrom]

1. Better than nothing -- I get all fuhrklempt. Nt

[rockymountaindem]

2. That bar keeps getting lower and lower n/t

[dgibby]

12. Just doing the Congressional Limbo. n/t

[rockymountaindem]

14. Ha! I'll have to remember that one n/t

[joeybee12]

20. That is great...please be sure to use it often! n/t

[L0oniX]

3. Ah yes ...we should be thankful to be able to grovel at their feet for crumbs.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

4. Every Dem in the senate voted for it, so it's not exactly Hoyer's personal idea

One assumes all 60 senators who voted for cloture thought the bill was better than nothing.

So why is Hoyer the crazy one?

[SammyWinstonJack]

5. "Better than nothing" Nice.

:puke: Oh and I don't believe anything said from the 'Better than nothing' crowd, including that Medicare will not be adversely affected.


Lying Liars, the lot of them! x(

[90-percent]

6. Ask

Ask a working person today if they can keep a job if the work they perform is "better than nothing".

A working person with that kind of work ethic would loose three jobs a week, if they could find them in the first place.

Mediocrity.

-jim

[Hello_Kitty]

7. If 'better than nothing' is the best you can say about historic legislation, that ain't good. eom

[OHdem10]

8. To Pass that horrible Senate Bill, in anger, may damage the party

irreparably.

Sometimes you have to listen to the voters.

[BlueDemKev]

9. And Passing Nothing Will DESTROY the Party!

At least the Senate bill will prohibit denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions! The voters are skeptical of health care reform because of all the B.S. that conservatives have spread about it for seven (7) months. Death panels, trillions of dollars of debt, doctor shortages, government bureaucrats, blah, blah, blah.....no wonder people are concerned. But passing nothing at this point would be a horrendous sign of weakness and convey to voters that the Democratic Party is incapable of governing!

Ron Pollack has offered a "two-step" solution to getting the health reform bill passed without needing another vote to be taken in the Senate and would allow for changes to be made. Saw the article on CNN.com.

[Roland99]

10. No public option, Mandates, yeah....I'm lovin' it!

:sarcasm:

[BlueDemKev]

15. Well, you got your wish....

Looks like you won't have to worry about ANY health care bill passing Congress....for the next 50 years.

[Roland99]

17. Not *my* wish. HR 676 was very viable if only it wasn't derided by our "leadership"

[dflprincess]

16. Voters are skeptical about an insurance bill that requires they

continue to pay their hard earned money to for profit corporations while getting no guarantees that they still won't be faced with out of pocket expenses that are so high they still won't be able to access care.

[Roland99]

19. A little something on those pre-existing conditions (how insurers can game healthcare bill)

Whistleblower reveals how insurers can game healthcare bill
http://rawstory.com/2010/01/whisteblower-reveals-health-insurers-game-insurance-bill/

Though Senate bill cuts 'pre-existing conditions,' it still allows insurance companies to create 'pre-existing' categories to raise rates

The Democrats' healthcare overhaul, billed as a monumental game-changer for Americans' health insurance coverage, provides numerous loopholes for health insurance companies which will allow them to raise rates to protect profit margins, a health insurance whistleblower says.

Wendell Potter, a twenty-year veteran of the insurance industry and former vice president of communications for Cigna, warns that current healthcare legislation does nothing to prevent the insurance industry from continuing its ongoing practice of increasingly shifting healthcare costs to consumers.

A form of bait-and-switch, such practices often set up individuals, families and small businesses for inadequate or unaffordable access and a continued looming threat of financial ruin. The overlooked element, Potter says, is that insurance companies will be able to claim they are reducing premiums by forcing more Americans to pay higher deductibles and offering less coverage.

[Political Heretic]

11. I don't agree that it is better than nothing. Given its countless flaws and failues, it hurts us

in the long rung.

I hope this bill gets exactly what it deserves and corporate capitulating democrats feel the slap in the face they need to wake up and start returning to principle.

[invictus]

13. +1

[blues90]

18. Better than nothing? Tires with the steel belt sticking out are

better than no tires but not so good once you get on the freeway.

[kgnu_fan]

21. low self-esteem? Or arrogance?

[Vidar]

22. Hoyer "Worse than Nothing".