A simple thanks

[Highway61]

30 million people will now have health insurance who otherwise would not. If you were one of the 30 mil you would be grateful. No, it is not what I expected. Far from it. However, this President was able to get this addressed after how many years and presidents gone by? I AM proud and this email was fired off this morning to tell him just that....

Dear Mr President,

A great accomplishment by our party and your administration. You all deserve the gratitude of the American people.

Time after time, the Democratic Party has been on the right side: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Unemployment Benefits, FDIC and on and on. This bill is just another example that our party is truly the People's Party.

Is this bill perfect? Far from it. That being said, this is a quantum leap forward for accessibility and affordability of health care in America.

As the late Senator, Ted Kennedy said; the work must continue. As soon as this passes we must move on to a real jobs bill for America. Our people need to be put back to work and infrastructure and renewable energy are the two areas we should focus on.

Finally, this health care reform is just the seed for the tree. Once you start your second term, I do hope that you will go right back at improving this bill with a strong and vibrant public option or expansion of Medicare. Opponents of progress and those who represent the special interests are tireless in their efforts in preventing needed change for the American people. We must be even more tireless in our efforts to bring progressive change that will improve the quality of life for our people.

Thank you Mr President for your energy and compassion in bringing this early Christmas gift to all of us.

This proves that "Yes We Can!".

[lamp_shade]

1. Beautiful letter. I'm very proud of my President too.

[Davis_X_Machina]

2. Oh dear. Another cadre displaying inadequate orientation...

...and insufficient attachment to the Party line.

This is not how the revolution is built.

[mdmc]

3. I still have insurance that I cannot afford to use for medical treatment

but that is another battle for another day..

[divineorder]

4. I feel very positive.

The hardest part of legislation is the first bill. The Civil Rights act of 1957 didn't do much, but it made the 1964 and 1965 Acts, which did, possible. Now it's a cornerstone of governance and we are getting closer to a time where the promise it had might just be fulfilled. So it will be with this health bill. With a different Congress filled with more progressive people, we will be able to amend and improve in areas where it needs fixing. And the extra money allocated for community clinics will help save lives now, when so many people are losing jobs and their insurance. Once the shock wears off that there is actually going to be a controversial bill enacted, it's easier to go back and get a better bill. Those who are invested in preventing change at all find themselves less enthused about turning back changes that are already benefiting some people. Change gets a constituency between first and second bills.

Kudos to Congress, too. Despite all of the demonization from right and left, they stuck together and are getting it done. Despite threats from teabaggers, lies from the insurance companies, and all of the lies spewed, they kept it up and actually created a not-to-bad bill. While there's still reconciliation to go before it hits Obama's desk, it will hit Obama's desk in January.

[lamp_shade]

10. BRAVO!!

[mdmc]

48. well that is all well and good..

but it in the end this bill will cost me money.
Perhaps I will benefit in the long run when real reform occurs.

But if I was a conservative, I would not like this bill. I am a liberal so I don't mind going without medical treatment just so someone poorer can get a small taste of the good stuff..

[AllentownJake]

5. I wrote a different letter yesterrday

Madame Secretary,

I apologize for things I said to volunteers and voters concerning your health care plan in the Democratic Primary for President in 2008. While I was no part of the Obama campaign's policy or talking point team, I repeated the Obama for America talking points on Mandates, and as such lied to voters and unfairly characterized your Health Care Plan vs. the Presidents. If one voter cast their vote for President Obama on this issue over you, they made a terrible mistake based on current events. I seriously apologize for my involvement in repeating this rhetoric. You are doing an excellent job as Secretary of State and I wish your entire family the best.

Sincerely,

[Hepburn]

6. Yes....

...I was for Edwards ~~ what a mistake there ~~ and then got on the Obama wagon against Hillary. I hear you.

[AllentownJake]

7. I told a lie, that I wasn't aware was a lie

Nothing to do with Hillary Clinton, she was the injured party of the lie, just apologizing for my involvement in the smear.

[Jersey Devil]

14. Someday they'll sing songs about you and the cherry tree

Sure, millions chose Obama because they were health care policy wonks during the campaign. And the moon is made of green cheese.

So if Hillary had won the nomination Lieberman and Nelson would have voted for a public option?

[AllentownJake]

17. It was a dishonest line of attack

I apologized for my involvement. What is your problem with owning up to doing something wrong to someone.

[Jersey Devil]

19. How would Hillary have changed LieberNelson's votes?

She wouldn't have and you know it.

Obama took what he could get because he is a pragmatist and so is Hillary.

[AllentownJake]

20. Mandates, Mandates, Mandates

but the apology letter has nothing to do with a Public Option, nor did it say I think your plan was better. It just says the President put out literature and volunteers talking about mandates, which he has accepted shortly after being elected, and now has reversed his position.

Elections matter.

[HughMoran]

34. Changing one's mind when facts point in a different direction is real leadership

Do you think he wantonly just changed his mind 'because he could', or do you think he contemplated both side of the issue and realized that the guarantees of coverage would be gamed without a mandate. Where I grew up, 'ya gotta beat the system' was a mantra I heard daily - I think we was very brave to change his mind on this issue and I think we was right.

[AllentownJake]

50. Yes sending out nasty campaign literature on an issue and than implementing it

Is a profile in courage.

[treestar]

53. They are on the same side now

It's over.

[AllentownJake]

54. I'm still pissed about the mandates

and it will not be over with me for a long time on that issue.

[treestar]

58. I could have sworn it was Hillary who wanted the mandates

Anyone who wanted her to be President should be fine with them.

[stevenleser]

70. LOL, of course! Because Hillary was always the most progressive person in the race!!

She made Kucinich look like Glenn Beck, didntchaknow?

[HughMoran]

16. Your showboating is laughable

You'll benefit from this bill - just like all the 'roadblock' Republicans - yet you'll criticize every imperfection 'till the bitter end. It's not heroic to take a rigid stand and throw most of the Dems under the bus; no, it's something far more sinister...

[AllentownJake]

18. Oh Hugh you are talking like a Cartoon superhero

:rofl:

[HughMoran]

22. ...and you're acting like one, so there :P. Personal snipes aside....

I can ask you this because, feelings of the moment aside, I know that you can 'turn it off' and give me an intellectually honest answer when pushed. So...

Do you believe in your heart that this bill will hurt more than it helps? (may be follow ups depending on your answer)

[AllentownJake]

25. I agree with everything Bernie Sanders said this morning

Until he got hopeful about the future. Having worked on 4 political campaigns, been the Treasurer of the local democratic party, and seeing how things work in a micro way by being in the back rooms locally.

I have the opposite view of Mr. Sanders about the future and that is my honest intellectual answer.

[HughMoran]

26. I'm at work

is there a video link so I can see what he actually said?

[AllentownJake]

27. It's on Morning Joe

He went off that the Insurance Industry bought this bill, went off on his conservative members, went off a little on the White House, talked about the good provisions, than he talked about how the bill is unsustainable in the long term and you can't have a system where both private insurance companies and pharma win and consumers win. Congress will eventually have to address that by cutting subsidies or regulating the industry's profits harder.

He than said he was hopeful that in the future, congress would address those issues.

If they bought this bill at the peak of popularity of a Democratic President and unpopularity of anything Republican, they'll easily buy things in the future.

[HughMoran]

28. OK, so the usual

Nothing to disagree with there - I'll fall completely in line with Sanders and show a little optimism for the future 'upgrades', though I really, really hope they iron out a few of the major ones in conference so the future tweaks are not as controversial. In fact, they really need to have 'automatic updates' turned on so that the Republicans can't block them.

[HughMoran]

29. By the way

why didn't you comment on my post here http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x84507 - I thought it was right up your alley...

[AllentownJake]

30. Probably because economic threads sink faster than an anchor these days

I don't even try to make them, even though I'm still paying attention.

[HughMoran]

32. Hmmm...

You you are an attention whore! :rofl:

Sorry, that was altogether too easy. :hi:

[AllentownJake]

40. Why post something no one will read?

:shrug:

[HughMoran]

42. I dunno - I do it all the time

:rofl:

[JVS]

33. That really isn't your fault. Mandates deserved the criticism.

[bigwillq]

8. Good post.

:thumbsup:

K and R

[firedupdem]

9. K&R n/t

[girl gone mad]

11. I can't agree..

that forcing people to buy loosely regulated health insurance policies is a good way to bring health costs down. Or even that it's an ethical or just idea.

[NJmaverick]

12. This is what it is all about, HELPING PEOPLE

:applause:

[Highway61]

65. Right?

Some just don't get that. It's all about "me". Well no it isn't. If it helps a few....it is a start. Repeat A START.

[get the red out]

13. I am grateful for many things regarding the President

That more people will be insured is huge. We are NOT in Iran right now, I can't imagine McCain wouldn't have used the recent unrest there as an excuse to "free" them and provide more "security" for Iraq (take everyone's oil, in other words).

We dodged a huge bullet on the Supreme Court, imagine what kind of Justice McCain would have appointed with Palin whispering in his ear? A woman's right to choose might already be gone, along with other rights, except those of huge corporations which would have gotten a huge boost.

Our country is no longer despised abroad as it was under Bush, other nations know we at least have rational leadership, there is no way to put a value on this it is so important.

I am grateful for President Obama every day.

[treestar]

24. Can you imagine what the news would look like under Pres. McWar?

Nothing like the headlines now. Nothing about health care at all. No bit, bad or indifferent or good or a start or anything. If there was a bill, it would not be in the news, just languishing.

[get the red out]

31. It makes me sick to go there.

How many human lives would have been ended in Iran by now. And no, health care reform of any kind would have been unthinkable, unless McDrool had decided that he simply needed more war money and had taxed the plans of everyone with work provided care and given NOTHING to society in return. We would still be in an even more hideous downward spiral economically too, with the Republicans saying that people who were put out of work were at fault for being "lazy" and wanting higher wages than those industrious workers in China and Mexico. I can't imagine there would be any extensions on unemployment.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

39. Thank you

You and the OP have captured my sentiments more eloquently than I ever could. But I wholeheartedly support them word for word

[HughMoran]

15. First major healthcare bill for "all" the people

...since, well, have we ever had a healthcare reform bill?

[treestar]

21. Major step forward

$$ spent on the people and not on wars to kill people in other countries. Too bad Republicans. Your days of destruction are over.

[Clio the Leo]

23. The Civil Rights Act didn't fix everything.....

... another bill had to be passed a year later.

A journey of a thousand steps.....

(great post btw!)

[gratefultobelib]

35. Thank you! A nice post to begin my day!

[Tom Rinaldo]

36. I am one of those 30 million Americans, and I am not grateful

And not only for so called "ideological reasons" Being forced to buy a low end insurance plans may cost me my home and it will prevent me from being able to afford any medical services.

[grantcart]

45. Is it not a fact that if your plan will cost more than 8% of your income

you can get a wavier?


How are you able to determine what your premiums are likely to be and how much subsidy you would qualify for? I have been looking for that myself.

[Tom Rinaldo]

47. I am self employed and in this economy

I can not afford to pre pay for annual or quarterly insurance and I can't be certain what my income will be in any month - it could run negative or it could be a good month. I don't know if you followed my link but I am barely scraping by. The plan that I supposedly should be buying with 7.9% of my income would have large deductibles and co-pays. After having to shell out for monthly insurance premiums that I often can't afford there is not money left for those also, without those premiums I can afford some preventive and small emergency care out of pocket. Some months there may not be enough money left for my mortgage but I am not mandated to pay that. It is perfectly legal for me to lose my home.

[grantcart]

49. I am in a similar situation

It seems that you would qualify for a wavier and we did lose our home due to health care bills.

[Tom Rinaldo]

51. I'm really sorry to hear that grantcart

Perhaps I would qualify as a waiver, but that is another hassle and source of uncertainty that I just don't need right now. But where ever the line is drawn for waivers, no matter how simple or hard that waiver process is to pursue, there will always be people falling close to but on the wrong side of that line. The core practical problem with mandating that individuals purchase "affordable insurance" from the private sector is that the plans that get offered as most affordable are also the plans that are most useless to those who barely are scraping by. Clearly they won't be free for people who are working, and they will remain a big hit on a very tight family budget. Working people are already losing their homes as their hours in many cases have been cut back and the option of getting a second job disappears while pay remains stagnent or even falls. If there is any money to spend on health issues, many of us would rather direct those funds toward direct treatment costs rather than buying insurance that we can't afford to use when we need it. Employees for the most part remain locked into the plans that Employers offer, and co-shares keep rising.

[Skittles]

71. TOM KNOWS

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HEALTH INSURANCE AND HEALTH CARE; I WOULD ADVISE THE OP TO LEARN THE SAME

[Kind of Blue]

37. Thanks, Highway61.

I want heaven on earth and can't have it. But this bill will help so many people and that's a step in the right direction.
KnR

[Highway61]

62. Thank you

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. YOU. GET. IT. :)

[RFKHumphreyObama]

38. Thank you for this post. It made my day

So wonderful to see such a positive, uplifting and accurate post on here

[Highway61]

63. I may not post often

But I am from the DU I signed up for.

[impik]

41. Well said, well done, well deserve

Happy Holidays.

[Highway61]

64. Happy holiday's to you as well!

n/t

[NYC_SKP]

43. K and R!

Still proud of our president and those millions of us who still love him.

:patriot:

[grantcart]

44. kick

[brentspeak]

46. Signed, the Insurance Cartel Propaganda Dissemination Splinter Cell n/t

[Cha]

52. Thank you, Highway 61 for

writing such an eloquently expressive letter to the President for getting the Health Care "seed" in the ground as it were.

[JimWis]

55. K&R

[apocalypsehow]

56. Kick & Rec. n/t

[Born_A_Truman]

57. At least it is a start!

K&R!

[Spazito]

59. Well said!

:thumbsup:

Recommended.

[Aramchek]

60. Where can this Healthcare Reform be very easily done? Just pass it down on Highway 61!

:)

[Phx_Dem]

61. Yes We Can = Yes We Did. n.t

[Fire1]

66. Beautiful letter Highway. Glad you sent it. n/t

[Silver Gaia]

67. K & R! n/t

[goclark]

68. Beautiful and thoughtful letter K and R

[eridani]

69. I am NOT grateful for mandated shitty insurance with no guarantee of actual health care

I'd be fine with a mandated $125/month under single payer.

[Hekate]

72. KnR. Very nice. nt

[silverweb]

73. Well done.

K&R