Lawrence O'Donnell is making me suicidal watching him on MSNBC right now

[LeftyAndProud60]

There is nowhere to go w/ Health Care according to him. Apparently Reconciliation is more complicated than some have made it out to be.

[playboyj305]

1. HCR IS DEAD!! The media said so....

[IndianaGreen]

3. The people wanted a public option, not the crap the Senate passed

You pass crap, and you will get crapped.

[still_one]

12. I don't think they want healthcare reform period. Too many people have drank the kookaide

and they believe the right wing nonesense how socialism is bad, we can't afford healthcare reform

There won't be any HCR for a long long time in my view

[golfguru]

15. People DO want Health care reform NOT rewards to Private insurance

The current bill sets no upper limits on insurance premiums.
So they can't cancel you or refuse you but they can screw you with
unaffordable premiums. The mandates are also not popular.

[leftynyc]

25. Sorry, I think you're wrong

There were things in the bill that people want - but what they saw on the TV machine was deals being made with the insurance and pharma companies, mandates to buy insurance without a public option. Put forth smaller, easier to understand bills on popular things (get rid of pre-existing condition exemptions, etc) and make it clear it's not a gift to the insurance companies. Populism is what is popular right now - not anything that smacks of protecting the big guys (whether on Wall Street or the health care companies).

[WinkyDink]

38. People became disenchanted when the plan seemed to require payments and not added benefits.

[ncteechur]

35. a public option would not pass the senate

[TreasonousBastard]

2. I would suggest, then, that you not watch.

[LeftyAndProud60]

4. This guy knows his stuff, and he's on our side. NT

[FrenchieCat]

6. He's kind of more on his own side.....

or else he would be coming up with constructive alternatives,
instead of proclaiming Health Care Reform as dead.

[LeftyAndProud60]

8. I have to google the way reconciliation works later. He said something about needing 60 votes

every day to pass certain parts of a bill. I don't get that.

[quiller4]

28. You want him to be a Pollyanna? He is right. There is no easy way

to do health care now and reconcilliation has been poorly portrayed as an option by many who failed to realize that you still need 60 votes each and every day to deal with parliamentary questions if you want to advance a policy using that process. It was designed to be a difficult last resort.

[Cha]

5. Step away from the tv.

[BunkerHill24]

7. He's right

He known what he's talking about;

From Wiki:

"O'Donnell is widely known as an outspoken television political commentator, and was the Democratic Chief of Staff of the United States Senate Committee on Finance from 1993 through 1995. In 1992, he was Chief of Staff of the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works."

[Clio the Leo]

9. Yep and he hasn't been wrong yet but....

... apparently Harry Reid disagrees with him (or there wouldn't still be chatter that "Plan B" is how Reid wants to proceed.) And while Larry definitely knows about how the Senate works, he was NOT in the meetings that Reid, Pelosi and others had with the President tonight WHILE we were watching election results.

Harry may know some things Larry doesn't.

[flamingdem]

13. i hope so... nt

[kayla9170]

10. Well, I believe him...........

No health care, ever!!!!!! I hope the so-called Democrats that did not get what they wanted will be happy with getting nothing at all..........

[zaj]

11. Please read this thread...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7502597

[JamesA1102]

14. I like O'Donnell but

he has been totally negative about Healthcare since the beginning. I think it is mostly ego on his part. He keeps saying that since he couldn't do it in '94, it can't be done.

[ErinBerin84]

21. totally agree

his defeatist attitude about this from him has always pissed me off. He never was even "We NEED to have a public option", just "We won't get anything. It can't be done. I know, I was there." It especially pisses me off that he may turn out to be right , but a little positive coaxing would have been nice, especially in the face of the Morning Joe crowd's constant negativity.

[CTyankee]

22. Actually, he didn't say "It can't be done." He said "I don't know how to do it."

He corrected that statement on Morning Joe a few weeks ago. I heard it firsthand...

[ErinBerin84]

26. thanks for the correction

I wasn't doing a direct quote though, just paraphrasing. In terms of the vibe he has given for months.

[Cosmocat]

23. I also like O'Donnell A LOT ...

but there is something about the health care bill that I can see some kind of personal bias against it in him ...

[CTyankee]

27. No, I just think he's mad that he's seeing the same damn scenario of liberals

screwing up health care reform over again...

[mzmolly]

16. That's not quite what he said. He said we're in uncharted

territory. He did say that reconciliation is more complex than many realize, but that doesn't mean HC is dead.

Welcome.

[Clio the Leo]

18. and that we'd have to have 60 votes to end cloture "several times a day"

... during the reconciliation process although I DO like your take on what he said better, he said it TWICE yesterday (in two different interviews.)

Ugh.

[mzmolly]

29. Yes. A very important point about reconciliation

that most seem unaware of. Thanks Clio. :hi:

[CreekDog]

17. Then pass the damned Senate Bill and use reconciliation for something easier

by using it to do what the Senate Bill does not.

[treestar]

19. We're not going to get HCR or anything at all

Because the progressives did not get what they wanted within one year, they made sure we will get nothing.

We aren't good enough for the progressives and can't get them what they want fast enough.

[DCBob]

20. Is he talking about bill reconciliation or budget reconciliation?

Two very very different things. One needs 60 votes, the other does not.

[harkadog]

24. It's funny how many experts we have at DU on reconciliation.

A process 99% of people here had not even heard of two months ago. I think these experts should travel to DC and tell our Senators what to do.

[Phx_Dem]

30. If HRC is dead, I will forever blame the progressives. They tried to get

cute, just like they did in 2000 by voting for Nader to "teach the Dems a lesson."

The only lesson I learned is that progressives are disloyal morons who cannot be trusted. And Arianna made my point last night by saying "it was for the best." Really bitch? Handing Ted Kennedy's seat to a Republican is for the best? Fuck you.

[xxqqqzme]

31. Progressives are to blame?

lieberman, Nelson, Lincoln, Landreau, Bayh none of these Senators are 'progressive' by any stretch of the imagination. How have Sanders, Franks, the House Progressive Caucus been so 'cute' by 10 as to be labeled disloyal by you.

Arianna has no power and no vote.

BTW, Gore won Florida - the votes were not counted!

[Phx_Dem]

33. Yes. Just ask Howard Dean.

As he stated on Hardball, alot of Dems voted for Brown.

[yurbud]

32. Obama could do an exec order expanding medicare and admit Congress failed miserably because of

epic corruption.

[ncteechur]

34. and pay for it how? He doesn't appropriate funds.

[NorthCarolina]

36. If you expand Medicare by allowing those aged 50 or 55 to 64 to buy into it

there will be healthier younger folks paying in to the system and not drawing the system down. In later years they could lower the buy-in eligibility age incrementally, further improving the bottom line.

[yurbud]

37. would you want to be the congressman or senator who didn't vote to fund that?

What do you think the political life expectancy would be, especially of a Democrat, who tied to defund that?