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I'm so sick of this debate. Anyone who thinks that the government is the panacea needs mental care not medical care. The politicians arent listening to their constituents because if they were this would have been shot down in the house. I say put it up for the people to vote on. I'm tired of some people looking to the government to take care of all their needs rather than making the effort to go out and take care of yourselves. I know it's not easy working 2 jobs to try and afford healthcare, been there done that but I sure the hell dont believe that a bigger government in our business is the way to go. All of you able bodied Americans out there looking for a free handout get up off your asses and do for yourselves so we can help the people who really need it.

I do not know in Canada who your country had in opposition when a bill for health was introduced. This country has in our great house in Washington a bunch of republicans who never in their 8 years of control they never considered health care. These Senators are all about opposition to this President and this country; they would rather have a short vocabulary NO than to aid their fellow citizens and I am beginning to think that they do not care who continues to die without insurance. If you pick up a book, turn on the TV, God forbid the radio all you hear is hate, rhetoric, and opposition.

I work in the Healthcare Industry. When hospitals and Doctors do not get paid, they pass the dollars in bad debt (risk) onto the payors. The payors then increase our insuance rates to make up the difference. If everyone paid, the cost would be shared. What you do not realize is that we are already paying for everyone, just not in an effective and efficient way. Read the bill. It is extremely important that we pass healthcare reform now.

How confusing it is to comprehend that human beings are denied so much because of lack of income and/or being unemployed. The wealthy are pampered so much, and given so much because they have money. We give and give to help other countries, but turn our heads the other way and snub our own at home. How can we possibly feel good about this when we have folks in government having temper tantrums and hammering millions of excuses not to help our own at home? We simply look like 1st Class jack asses to other countries. Republicans, quit your constant whining and complaining and help the people of this country! Your scare tactics smell rancid.

The gentleman from Canada, thank you for your comment, we needed to hear another side.

I can assure you that if the Dems, all of them, refuse to pass a decent health care bill, they will be fighting for their political lives next time around.

Women are going to get these guys' butts out of office as fast as we can.

You will see women voting in record numbers against you.

My targets are Sen Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both senators from Oregon.

I will personally walk every precinct on the south Oregon coast to support their opponents.

Every poll I've seen lately says 54% of the voters do not want this boondoggle. We need reform, but not with the government as a competitor to legitimate legal business. Folks, what is being attempted here isn't anything to do with healthcare, it's about total control over 17% of the nations economy.

My family is NOT CATHOLIC and that church trying to turn this into dictating to women is a republican ploy.

Vote the radical religious zealots out – separation of church and state needs to be upheld now or it will force us ALL to become catholic republicans.

VOTE THEM OUT NOW

This is very simple: Vote yes and we will let you keep your day job, vote no and we will make sure you are finished. Vote yes for the American People or vote No for Corporate America. This is a NO BRAINER!!!

Passing this bill is a sure way to put the GOP in power next year. The democrats simply do not get it. Public option is death for the democrats. I worked for the government for 33 years and I can tell you the public option will not work.

This thing should be DOA. A stong public option is the worse thing about it. We cannot afford to keep spending like this. Inflation is coming like a bomb; be ready then the richer will get richer since they have money saved up and the poorer will be able to buy less due to increased prices. WAKE UP PEOPLE BEFORE IT IS TO LATE.

Roger Sherman forged the Great Compromise... makes the Senate responsible for representing the many States
Article X of the ratified bill of rights gave States the rights and protection to only be bound by the Constitution.

So what Amendment to the Constitution or what current article supports the Health care bill or many other bills the House and Senate have passed over the years?

Parties: corrupt power; corrupt the Constitution, corrupt the separation between the executive branches, corrupt the meaning of the Constitution, and make oaths of representative office meaningless when swearing to the President.

Disgusted Democrat, I'm with you. I do not regret a single penny I contributed to the Obama campaign, but it will be a cold day where the sun doesn't shine before I will contribute a penny to the Democratic Party in Virginia If they can't find anyone who can beat that anti-feminist who just won. If Harry Reid does not have the capability of garnering 60 votes in the Senate, can he get 50 and do a continuing resolution? If not, he needs to resign and as Pelosi to see if she can't take a temporary leave of absence from the House and show the man how to get the job done! And not next year. N O W!

These "Moderate Dems" don't have to support the bill, they just have to let the bill get debated and voted on. I don't see why the media calls them "Moderate" when they are threatening to filibuster reform legislation that most of us want.

thanks Canadian Dave. Great post.

If you feel any love for this country stop this bill.

that's just great. The moderates who represent the tiniest fraction of the country's people will decide. I sense disaster.

Government-run health care = a liberal's wet dream and a national nightmare for the rest of us...

Proud member just wishes she had health care.

Why would a "moderate" sign on to a bill drafted by the hard core leftists in the Senate? How will it EVER get reconciled with the hard core left bill that came out of the House? There are so many ways this train wreck of an idea could be deadlocked its ridiculous. I doubt there is going to be any way to make everybody happy. If people start selling out their principles for bridges to nowhere then the people of this country will get the screws put to them with this government takeover of healthcare.

'Repubs are united in opposition' to the bill now being assessed. Tell us something we don"t know. When were the Repubs united about anything except themselves.?These people don't care whether families with children have health care ,they don;t care if people are dying for lack of it. They have theirs and that's all that matters.Maybe a good plan for politicians in the future would be like some jobs in the private sector where you don't automatically have insurance.If they weren't getting so many benefits, maybe they'd be more willing to work for the little guy.{I doubt it}.

Fake Sniffit = Indiana Voter...it's like blog t-ball...snag someone's moniker who annoys you, put nonsense words in their mouth, then post later attacking it under a different name

If he can't get 60 votes 51 will do.

These Democrats are not moderate. Some of them are cowards and tools of the Right. That' s why Demcrats will never be able to hold power for any length of time. Take for example Joe Liberman, he caucuses with the Democrats, yet makes statements that he will vote with Republicans to filibuster the healthcare bill. I think, what we Democrats need to do is start the purge.

If there's a God in heaven this sorry excuse for healthcare reform will be thrown on the ash-heap of history.

Question: If healthcare reform is so urgently needed and according to democrats hundreds(or thousands or billions) of people are dying in the streets everyday because they don't have healthcare then why does it not kick in until 2013?

Answer: Because all of the democrat's numbers are a farce and because this is going to be such a disaster that Obama wants to run for re-election before the American people get sucker-punched by "national healthcare".

Moderate Dems will be the first people in the unemployment line,oh thats right ,they already have a job with the Death Asssurance Companies.

mjm wrote: "Doctor's got word today that Medicare is cutting reimbursement by 30% in 2010. The cost of doing business is still the same, but Medicare will pay less. That’s how the government run health care will go. Do the same work, just don’t expect to get paid.
Considering Medicare fees are already 66% below the usual and customary fee schedule for regional medical fees....I'd say doctors are screwed. Can't wait to see what the public option reimbursement schedule is like"

mjm is complaining that medicare – a government run health care program brought to you courtesy of Lyndon Johnson, Liberalism, and BIG GOVERNMENT – will be hurt because the government doesn't know how to administer a health program. He also feels some compassion for the poor physicians who will not be paid enough. He does not, apparently, worry much about poor people who cannot afford preventative care, treatment for chronic conditions, pre-natal care, birth control, et cetera.

I want my physician to be a happy guy, but I suspect that his life is not as bad as all that, when contrasted with the gal who took your order at the last burger place you visited. Now of course, she could save up her money and get a PhD in economics and earn a few million a year and so could you. But, she has a kid, an ex-husband who moved out of state to avoid paying $200 a month child support (she lives in Texas), a 1996 Ford Aspire with bald tires, and her electric bill is two months past due. And she doesn't know it, but the burger chain is going to close that store for remodeling next month. She will be told the day before they close.

it will but it will be stop in 2010

Moderate Dems? Call them what they really are–Republicans. If these "moderate Dems" fail the American people, their pictures should be plastered on billboards all over America with the caption" We care more about the Insurance cartel than we care about our constituents". They are beneath contempt.

These moderate Democrats will really pay for it if they cause health care reform to fail. They will go down in history as the spoilers and will probably cause the Democrats to lose their majority in the house. They need to think about this very carefully. They could be on the wrong side of history.

As a Canadian I am sick and tired of the way our Health Care system is being betrayed on American media. How can you go on deriding our system when ,first 70% of us are happy with our healthcare. Second, we have a longer life expectancy than Americans. Third we spend about half what you spend per person on healthcare. Fourth health care costs are a lower % of our GNP than in the USA. Finally we have a lower maximum tax rate than in the USA. Yes we have a single payer system and yes we pay more in taxes to support it, but given the alternatives it is a very good system. As a matter of a fact it has been proven by polls that should it be necessary, we would gladly pay more in taxes to better it… it’s not perfect by any means, but what system is. It is certainly much better than what you guys currently have. You have so, so many of your citizens going bankrupt because they cannot afford their medical bills. It is a true shame that you are the only country I believe, in the industrialized world that cannot provide universal health care for your citizens. It really all comes down to money, profit and power from the insurance companies. They are scared as hell to loose all that money and they are lobbying their Republican representatives very, very hard to veto any plans your president has.
I have been a recipient of our universal health care numerous times over the last 12 years. I needed a heart bypass 12 years ago and I was operated on in a matter of 4 days. I checked into the hospital, received my operation and was taken care of after the operation by some amazing nurses in the hospital and it didn’t cost me one cent. I have been back a few times since and because of our triage system in the hospitals I am seen immediately due to my past heart history. Two years ago I needed a shunt in one of my arteries, this again was done immediately and again it cost me nothing. Contrary to reports in the USA we have complete freedom to choose our family doctor and should we need to see a specialist our family doctor will suggest one. If for some reason we would like a second opinion on any subject we are completely free to choose who we will go.
PLEASE NEIGHBOURS , DON’T BELIEVE WHAT YOU ARE HEARING OR READING…. UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE IS NOT A MONKEY ON YOUR BACK..IT IS NOT THE EVIL DEVIL..WE HAVE LOST NO FREEDOMS HERE..OUR SYSTEM IS NOT PERFECT AND YES, SOME PEOPLE DO FALL BETWEEN THE CRACKS, BUT FROM MY EXPERIENCE IT IS GREAT AND I WOULDN’T CHANGE IT FOR THE WORLD AND I WILL FIGHT VERY, VERY HARD TO KEEP IT..EXACTLY THE WAY IT IS!

diridi...........If you were educated you would know what the term Blue Dog meant. It's only been around for decades.

Clinton was considered a Blue Dog, aka fiscal conservative.

If you were educated, you would know that 1300 + 1 does not equal competition.

If you were educated you would know that NOBODY competes with the Federal government.

How would the insurance industry compete against the government when the government regulates the insurance industry, can operate without making a profit and charge (tax) individuals who are not their customers $26000-$50000 (at least) to pay for their overhead?

If you were educated....you'd be a Republican.

When almost half the country doesn't want gov't controlled health care, how can you claim that a few people from the religious right are stopping this, Sniffit? Half the country isn't a few people.

We need health care reform, we just don't need the country to go bankrupt providing it. There are much more viable options than starting another gov't program to suck the country dry. Reform what already exists, which by the way offers coverage to ALL Americans in one form or another through health departments, medicaid, and public hospitals being required by law to treat people, even if they can't pay. Cut down the fraud in the current system and expand what exists. Cap the amount people can sue for in malpractice suits.

I am a small scale Tech producer for Semi-conductor company right here at Dallas. I got 18 people working for me with Medical benefits. Yes,there is room for 5 more to cover growing demand but healthcare cost is fast draining me plus am not the type to take loans. If this bill is NOT passed,my option is to relocate to Mexico/Laredo and export same to Dallas. Call me unpatriotic but I better serve my interest just like our leaders do in the House. I PROMISE THAT.

The Truth is that it will go through the Senate no matter what the GOP or Media do to spin it otherwise.
Keep in mind, just 30 days ago the Republicans and the media said the Public Option was dead.
So we know they haven't got a clue, but they just love those sound bites!

@Sniffit

The DINO's are the only Democrats with any common sense and intelligence... something you wouldn't understand.

What we will end up with is not an efficient, well planned out health care system based on patient needs or cost effectiveness. It will be a jumble of political compromises based on back room deals.
There are better ways to get everyone covered but this is so politically important for Obama, that's what Harry's marching orders are. I don't think that is a great reason to spend $1 trillion and then make a more expensive system for everyone from now on.

It's going forward.

The MODERATE DEMOCRATs are the KEY PEOPLE to be REPLACE if IT DOESN'T!!! They are the ONES SHOWING WEAKNESS on the Democratic Ticket.

The bill is reasonable, just make sure it fits the BUDGET EXPECTATIONs and don't loose sight of the BILL #1 intent. The distractions of ABORTION, DEATH PANELS, ALIEN INSURERs and TAXes haven't changed....

SO MODERATE SENATE DEMOCRATs vote it through and GET USE FOR WINNING...

i am sick of being dunned constantly for money by the DSCC only to get these lousy results. If these losers can't pass the health care everyone needs, the party gets none of my money - I'll donate directly to candidates who will make the changes the MAJORITY wants.

Moderate Democrats better make sure healthcare not only gets on the Senate floor but is passed quickly with a strong public option to provide the critical competition required to rein in the greed-based insurance industry.

ANY Senator who votes against real reform with the public option WILL LOSE their seat come re-election time. Democrats are going to work against any Democrat who betrays us. If Democrats are going to deliver any meaningful legislation then we will NOTdeliver you votes or any more funding.

We voted for change. We voted for healthcare reform, new energy technologies, climate change protection, and the ending of the disatrous Bush wars.

We did our part and now it time for the Democratic Party to do yours.

My husband's company insurance company just raised our premium rates for next year by 40%!!!! And some of you don't think these greed machines don't need solid, stiff competition to stop their abuses????

Give us a STRONG PUBLIC OPTION THAT ANY AMERICAN CAN CHOOSE OVER THEIR PRIVATE INSURER!! It is the only way costs will be lowered, quality of care increased and random denial of valid claims stopped.

The People may not be able to buy your votes like the insurance industry can – BUT – we can certainly use our VOTE to remove from office if you don't deliver healthcare NOW.

There aren't as many fools in the Senate as in the House. The bill will not pass. People that need health care coverage should go in the government plan (Medicaid). Leave the rest of us alone Obummie.

How about the part where it says if you don't purchase healthcare, you can be fined and jailed? Love that part.

Healthcare without the Public Option will not be reformed.

Public option or nothing

"Reid won't release the legislation until he knows the cost of the bill."

AHHH....Transparency.

$10 says it over a trillion.

Doctor's got word today that Medicare is cutting reimbursement by 30% in 2010. The cost of doing business is still the same, but Medicare will pay less.

That’s how the government run health care will go. Do the same work, just don’t expect to get paid.

Considering Medicare fees are already 66% below the usual and customary fee schedule for regional medical fees....I'd say doctors are screwed.

Can't wait to see what the public option reimbursement schedule is like

It just goes all over me that first of all, none of the Senators in my state will be voting in favor of health care reform and secondly, that some Senator from another state (like Arkansas) could block reform for me here in Georgia too.

I say just put the opt out provision in the bill. That way when those moderate Democratic Senators ruin the unemployed or under employed people in their states chances for getting proper medical attention by opting out of health care reform, they can vote them out of office when the next election comes around.

But don't make the entire country suffer...

Give 'em hell, Harry! Get this done.

what is this new names, confusing public??? I donot care whether moderate or bluge dog...or blue cat...they need to pass this much needed health care with public option....listen, for competition we need public option...tell these things to REPUBLICAN IDIOTS...ok...no more argument....writer is very shrewd...and educated....ok...

It has to be hard for Sen Nelson of Nebraska to support something for the American people when he gets so much money from the insurance industry.

These people must understand that we need HC reform in this country with a strong public option.