Health care issues: A 'trigger' or 'fallback' plan as a compromise to public optionOctober 14th, 2009 Health care issues: The 'trigger' public planA look at key issues in the health care debate:
THE ISSUE: Would a so-called "trigger" or "fallback" public plan win enough votes to get some sort of government-run insurance option in any health care legislation Congress may pass?
THE POLITICS: The trigger option is seen as a possible compromise that would replace the idea of allowing the government to sell insurance in competition with private insurance. Many Democrats want the so-called public option but Republicans oppose it.
Unions plan ad announcing opposition to Senate Finance Committee bill unless it's changedOctober 13th, 2009 Unions will oppose Baucus bill unless it's changedWASHINGTON — About 30 unions will run a full-page ad in newspapers Wednesday announcing their opposition to the Senate Finance Committee's health overhaul bill, a top labor lobbyist said. The ad will state that unions will oppose the measure on the Senate floor unless improvements are made, according to Chuck Loveless, legislative director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Obama presses health care plan at Congressional Black Caucus' annual conference in WashingtonSeptember 26th, 2009 Obama addresses black caucus on health careWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Saturday resumed his push to overhaul the health care system, telling a Congressional Black Caucus conference that there comes a time when "the cup of endurance runs over."
"We have been waiting for health reform since the days of Teddy Roosevelt. We've been waiting since the days of Harry Truman," he said in remarks at the caucus foundation's annual dinner.
Some Americans think opposition to Obama's policies is based on racismSeptember 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Some Americans, including former President Jimmy Carter, believe that those who are opposing US President Barrack Obama's policies have a racial element against him instead of simple disagreement. According to a recent Fox News poll, 65 percent Americans think that opposition to Obama's policies is based on honest disagreements, while 20 percent say it is mostly motivated by racism.
GOP Chairman Steele wary of health care cooperatives, calls them 'back door' to public optionSeptember 17th, 2009 GOP head calls co-ops 'backdoor' to public optionWASHINGTON — Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele says he fears the health insurance cooperatives envisioned in the bill the Senate Finance Committee is promoting amounts to a "back door to a public option."
Interviewed Thursday on CBS's "The Early Show," Steele also said he doubts Republicans will embrace the legislation produced by committee Chairman Max Baucus and the "Gang of Six," — Baucus, two other Democrats and three Republicans. Steele said he believes that the "co-ops in this bill represent government control.
White House calls new Senate Finance health plan a 'building block', not the end of debateSeptember 16th, 2009 White House: Senate health bill a 'building block'WASHINGTON — The White House says a health care reform bill from a key Senate committee is "an important building block" in getting closer to comprehensive health care reform. Sen. Max Baucus released the long-awaited version of the bill from his Senate Finance committee Wednesday.
Bill Clinton tells Democrats not to worry about grief from GOP over health care overhaulSeptember 8th, 2009 Clinton: GOP waiting for Democrats to 'mess up'WASHINGTON — Former President Bill Clinton says those in his party should ignore any grief from Republicans on health care reform, because the GOP is just waiting for Democrats to "mess up."
Clinton told Esquire magazine that lawmakers should put together the best health care measure for President Barack Obama, even if it must be fixed later. "All we have to worry about is getting things done and doing them as well as we can," Clinton said.
Obama holds health care conference call, talks to House liberals wary of president's next moveSeptember 4th, 2009 Obama talks to House liberals about health careWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama discussed health care in a conference call with House members, including liberals wary of his next move on the issue. Obama, who is at Camp David, spoke to leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus on Friday.
After Kennedy funeral, as many as 1,000 rally in NYC for health care reform billAugust 29th, 2009 Up to 1,000 rally in NYC for health care billNEW YORK — About a thousand people rallied in Manhattan on Saturday in support of federal health care reform legislation. The event near Times Square began shortly after the funeral for U.S.
GOP senator predicts Democrats will use rare voting procedure to try to pass health care billAugust 23rd, 2009 Talk of Senate voting maneuvers on health careWASHINGTON — A Republican senator predicts Democrats will turn to a little-used voting procedure to try get around GOP opposition and pass health care legislation. It takes 60 votes to shut down GOP opposition and move ahead to an up-or-down vote on a bill.
House speaker: House won't pass health overhaul bill without public planAugust 20th, 2009 Pelosi: House health bill needs public planSAN FRANCISCO — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says there's no way the House can pass a health overhaul bill that doesn't include a new public insurance plan. Her comments at a news conference Thursday in San Francisco come as the White House faces a liberal backlash for indicating openness to leaving a public plan out of a final health bill.
Former President Clinton says GOP promotes health care fears because it lacks political cloutAugust 14th, 2009 Bill Clinton: GOP promotes fear over health carePITTSBURGH — Republicans have turned to terrifying people in the debate over overhauling the health care system because the GOP has no political clout to fight it, former President Bill Clinton told a gathering of progressive bloggers on Thursday. Clinton was president when the Democrats made their last major effort to change the health care system.
Obama says he doesn't want bureaucratic meddling in health care decisionsAugust 11th, 2009 Obama defends health care effort against criticsPORTSMOUTH, N.H. — President Barack Obama is defending his health care overhaul against criticism that it would be a government takeover.
Republican lawmakers fail to strip government-run option from health care billJuly 16th, 2009 GOP fails to strip public option from health billWASHINGTON — Republicans have failed to strip a government-run benefits plan from the House bill overhauling health care. The House Ways and Means Committee voted 25-15 on Thursday to keep the government-run option in the bill, rejecting an amendment by Wisconsin Republican Rep.
GOP senators on key committee underscore opposition to public planJune 8th, 2009 GOP senators respond to Obama on health careWASHINGTON — Republicans on a key Senate committee are warning President Barack Obama that he's making a mistake on health care by supporting a government insurance option for the middle class. In a letter to Obama released Monday, all but one of the Republican senators on the Finance Committee reaffirmed their opposition to a public plan, suggesting that differences on the issue could doom chances for a bipartisan bill.
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September 22nd, 2009 at 11:17 am
It’s interesting. After last November’s election when the American people sent the first African American in history to the White House, the GOP decided it needed to undergo a bit of a face lift - actually a face dye - and hire a new RNC chairman.
So what did they do? True to character they just had to hire the dumbest black guy they could find.
Whenever the Republican party sets off to prove that they are not a party chock full of racists and fools or that they really give half-a-hoot-in-hell about poverty, they only end up reinforcing their utter contempt for the American people. It really is kind of funny when you think about it.
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY