The 6 hour gathering is today discussing the future of OUR health and lives.
If you are watching and want to add your thoughts, enter here.
START YOUR TALKING POINTS! “SUMMIT” IS HERE!
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People Are Stupid
“Democratic republics are more likely to perish through misuse of power than through lack of it.” — Tocqueville Democracy in America . It’s as if Tocqueville looked into the future.
I’d like to thank everyone for live-blogging about the summit yesterday.
I followed the comments throughout the entire thing and you guys did an excellent job of relaying what was going on!
It was almost like watching it and I could feel the tension and hear the shouts of LIES and/or LIAR at certain Republican nimrods.
Great job, everyone!
We need to start a collection and get you a major feed line out to your house, j’avaz. A T-1,T-2 (or what ever T line they are up to.)
I figure a couple thousand dollars would do it. 🙂
Edit: I meant couple HUNDRED thousand dollars”
😆
Check my edit.
I like it!
Hey, maybe we could use that to launch dr’graz’s candidacy against McCain/Hayworth!
He’d be the first candidate from PPOV!
Ok now, I’ve spent most of my morning watching the “Summit” Part 1 on C-Span, slipping in and out of consciousness as the Repubs repeat points already clarified by the President, things already covered in the existing bill or just plain made-up lies as only members of the GOP are capable of doing with a straight face.
There is an afternoon Part 2 session and I wondered if anything dynamic occurred or if one stiff arsed, stiff lipped Repub shouted “You lie” or made any sense at all in the next 70 minutes. If not I could always save it to watch before bedtime, when it could serve the purpose of sending me to sleep.
The President was great and if I were the other side, I would feel so very embarrassed by the smarting sensation coming from my behind where the President had just given me and my colleagues a firm, royal spanking on national tv. Ouch!!
The president was like a cat playing with his food after devouring the GOP point by point from what I saw on line.
It simply amazes me how the media in this country goes out of it’s way trying to lower expectations for the Republicans. I mean the GOP had doctors in their ranks that knew less about the details of healthcare than the president.
I’m pretty dissapointed with the BBC as well because they seemed to miss the point. This summit was not about reaching any kind of agreement. It was about exposing the Republicans for what they are and refocusing Dems and the MSM back on HCR.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8536469.stm
Frankly no summits these days that are played out in front of the media are to hammer out details of agreements just like the Climate Change summit. Summits are political devises where ideas are presented by all sides. The heavy lifting is always behind closed doors but then again the MSM will complain that there is not enough transparency in the process.
I will watch Part 2 then, if only to relish when the President backs them into their “no ideas” corners, so I can see it with my own eyes before the Repubs and their lackey media outlets have a chance to distort it.
Listening to those droning RW voices of sham and doom has literally worn me out. They have no idea how ridiculous they looked and sounded. This doctor Coburn was only there for himself, trying to cover his own arse, what a bunch of overripe bananas.
For me listening to their bullshit that we have “the best healthcare system in the world” gets me angry because we have the worst access to that system. I think our level of care is very good for people that can afford it.
After just dealing with another six figure medical bill I can personally attest it’s the most overpriced system in the world.
The worst part is the idiot Republicans fail to realize with our broken system THEY probably paid for most of my bill because after I paid what I could the hospital had to write off the rest of the cost.
Yes, that phrase about having the best healthcare system in the world used to make me grind my teeth, as well as “America is #1” or that an American President is the leader of the free world, none of which are true of course. Now I just shake my head and think that the two countries defeated in WW2 could and have provided better universal healthcare for it’s citizens by slight increases in everyone’s taxes and everyone has national health coverage paying only 30% with the government picking up the 70% slack.
These old dinosaurs need to be put out to pasture or stuffed and mounted in a museum along with their outdated ideas which so far have never worked anyway.
They should of had a banner with this quote hanging in the room:
“Integrity is the lifeblood of democracy. Deceit is a poison in its veins.”
Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Source:Brookings Institution, April 5, 2004.
That would have made some of those repubs melt into a little toxic pool
Many moons ago I wrote this pertaing to selling Ins. across state lines. Many of the same questions (plus more) are still unanswered to me.
Great points the GOP can’t answer.
The president was exactly right. Millions of people would be buying “race to the bottom” coverage that would be cheaper but cover nothing when you needed it. It would be nothing more than giving people a false sense of security only to find out that the system will probably break them when they need their insurance to pay their provider.
It also takes away any benefits lower cost non-profit internal state systems would give you. For example a insurance company in Arizona can’t pool doctors in Georgia to accept less by assuring a certain volume of patients got to non-profit hospitals.
In an ironic twist even Republicans recognize this with their legislation that still leaves it up to states to govern the plans people can buy. Basically they added a loop who that contradicted their own talking point.
A conservative on NRO even points out their hypocrisy even though they do it based on a wrongheaded approach.
http://healthcare.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NzFlNTA5ZGY2NTg1MTdjY2Q1OTE1MWJjZDhkODA4ZWU=
What has AZ done to deserve to not only have McCain, but to have a senile McCain? I don’t think he remembers what he said yesterday. let alone last year. Oh, that’s right, John, the media doesn’t remember either.
Norman Goldman says the GOP is not the “Party of No.” It’s the “Party of Death.”
Nellie, I think you were watching that day when the house voted on their bill, weren’t you? I still vividly remember that one jerk who kept jumping up: “I object! I object!’ when the women’s caucus was speaking. That’s what I think of when I characterize their party.
I was watching. That was ridiculous!
I hope these “conferences” get people to watch congress more. It’s good citizenship — but it’s so entertaining, too.
I’m glad Nancy Pelosi called out the Republicans on their lies. I just wish we had a Senate leader as feisty as her.
You know, I was really pissed at her during the Tarp nonsense but I am beginning to really respect her. She is bright, has women’s needs in mind as well as all people. And she knows how to lay a stinger, this time in the right atmosphere.
I have to say the president’s command on the issues always amazes me. As big as HCR is it’s one issue. I’ve heard him get in the weeds on education, energy and foreign policy with the same acumen. He may not always make the decisions I would choose I’m never worried that he does not have the intellectual juice to analyze like even the most complex problems. I can only speak for my self but the only president I can remember who is as thoughtful as Obama was former President Carter. If we had listened to Carter years ago especially with regards to energy conservation and energy independence we would have simply not lost tens of millions of manufacturing jobs we have in the last 30 years. However like Carter as well I still don’t know if the country is ready for the truth that comes with a president who is a strategic thinker. Too many Americas still love to have smoke blown up their collective butts and consistently fail to accept the tough choices we need to make.
Where people make false assumptions is in their quiet manner. They equate quiet with mousy, but then there was Dubya and he set the bar really low for non-inquiring minds
I agree W was an easy act to follow based on his lack of intellectual curiosity, not of course with the mess he left behind. But I think Obama has the intellectual juice of a Bill Clinton in all areas while Clinton was more a great political mind. Policy wise many of Clinton’s policies lacked any strategic vision and that’s why we are living with so many negative, albeit unintended consequences of his policies.
I agree. Clinton may have been too brilliant to govern. Obama is a good “high second” to him.
I see a quality in Obama that Clinton lacked. I always got the impression from Clinton’s facial expressions that he was acting. Obama seems much more sincere and natural to me.
yeah, Clinton was always above the fray, except when he was defending his exploits under the oval office desk. but even then I found him likable
I liked Bill too. I just always wish I knew a little more about what made him tick.
I guess since I read both of Obama’s books during the primaries where he really did expose himself I just understood where he was coming from early on. We are about the same age and growing up one of my best friends reminds me allot of Obama. He was one of the few multiethic guys in our neighborhood and was always the organizer and diplomat within our group. His parents academic background was very similar to Obama’s. His father was a college professor and his mother was a math teacher.
There is a little actor in almost all politicians these days but you’re right Clinton was on all the time. You just never knew what he was really thinking or cared about. I can actually see when Obama is in his wonk mode and then when he goes back to his talking points. When he directly responds to what people said and did that’s the true Obama but he has to cover his talking points like any leader these days to get MSM attention, I can see the actor in him.
Usually the only time the true Bill Clinton came out was hen he was angry but I can say over half of upper management I have dealt with throughout my career usually wore their facades most of the time.
Clinton was a tactician not a strategist. I think both probably have very similar raw intelligence but dealing with many experts compared to more visionary people in my career I would pick a visionary any time. NAFTA and bank deregulation were two huge areas Clinton missed the unitentional negative consequences big time.
He cared more about personal success and micromanagement than the long term affects his policies would have on the country. I also got the same feeling escribacat got from him.
He was overall a good president and had to deal with a Republican Congress but he simply did not care about the people as much as he pretended to when he was in office.
I also think there’s another personality difference. Just my opinion, but I always got the impression that Clinton wanted to be one of the titans. And now he is one. I don’t think Obama has that impulse. It makes for a very different style of governance.
Hey I wasn’t clear, I was speaking intellect only, not governing
At the risk of sounding like a misanthrope, I think most people are too lazy to gain even a basic understanding of any of these issues. They develop their “opinions” based on sound bites and emotional pitches and snatches of conversations. Very few people actually follow politics or study the issues. The intelligence and wisdom of a person like Obama is more or less wasted on many folks. Too bad for democracy.
You are probably being too generous if anything.
I think garbage in, garbage out. People get so much garbage thrown at them, and so little high quality information — it’s no wonder they have a shallow understanding of things.
Good point, Nellie. The media does not live up to its responsibilities. In fact, I don’t think they even consider that they have responsibilities any more.
But people embrace the garbage without question, especially conservatives who accept GOP talking points. We just saw today examples of Republicans flat out lying but still their supporters believe the lies. Worse the MSM never calls out the lies.
There was a time in this country where if you lied your credibility was challenged by the American people. But right now Americans not only expect but tacitly accept Republican lies.
Hell Clinton was impeached because he lied but Republicans lie on daily basis and still the MSM gives them credibility.
Thanks everyone for all the insight, info and fun !
You are the BEST !
I’ll check in later…
Take it easy, see you later
Later Patsy. It was fun. I am out too. Bye everyone!
Later Patsy. These live threads are always fun!
Wow, almost 500 comments from this morning.
Yeah, none of us hold back here, as it should be
I think you’re a little shy, Sue. 😆
No, you don’t LOL
Good call on posting the thread, bito. I managed to pop in once in a while after all.
Gergen saying Republicans won because expectations were so low for them. No wonder nothing changes in this country. Republican voters simply expect nothing from their leaders.
What is that low expectations? I don’t ever remember winning anything because of low expectations. My little league simply lost.
we sucked. I don’t ever remember hearing that “well you really won, because you were supposed to lose.” “oh, OK, that 0-18 drubbing we just took, makes us winners.”
I know exactly what you mean my parents thankfully never have low expectations. But Republicans and the MSM have garnered most of their success on low expectations. Worse when a Democrat takes offices everything expects the world of them, even though a Democratic president has to deal with a much more hostile media and flimsy base. Face it Bush had a 6 year honeymoon from the MSM and when he spoke a coherent sentence he was praised. Not until Katrina did the media really turn on Bush. The MSM did not even attack him for starting an illegal war when all the reasons we went to war with Iraq were dispelled one by one.
President Obama has about a six day honeymoon. The MSM listened to GOP complaints on the stimulus and progressives complained the stimulus was not enough.
That’s what they said about the Palin Veep debate too.
I thought of that too. If the GOP put up a trained orangutan they would say it won the debate if it did not thow feces on the audience.
Even if it did. They would say that was its way of getting people to pay attention to the issues. After all, that’s what they did w Joe Wilson. 😉
Randi Rhodes is saying on her show that this is the time to write, make phone calls, and sign petitions.
She says there are two messages: Public Option and Reconciliation.
Pass the bill should be the message.
Yes– that’s what i am emailing.
Me too.
I think her pov is that there’s no doubt a bill will pass. She’s trying to get the best bill possible.
I wish I could be that optimistic. I still think passage is a long shot but at least today it probably went from a 1 in 10 to a 1 in 5 long shot. If I hear Dems whining again about leadership and wanting more specifics then I know that Dems are just trying to pass the buck up to Obama. The Repubs delay tactic has been to pull the start all over again card and the Dems delay tactic has been to ask for a more specific path forwar. Dems know how to pass legislation for fuckssake. The next 4-6 weeks has nothing to do with adding GOP plans to the bill. The next 4-6 weeks is all about getting enough Dem support to work out the details and pass the bill through reconciliation. The president has done his part he put together a specific compromise, added some new ideas and put the national spotlight back on HCR. Time for Dems to put up or shut up not Repubs.
Yep. The repubs are no longer relevant to the discussion (as if they ever were).
I am still eternally optimistic about this. I have always felt that they would pass a bill and I still think so.
I’m optimistic, too. The president strikes me as someone who puts his ego into what he does, and I don’t think he’s going to suffer a defeat on this. I also think he genuinely hates the plight of people whose lives are ruined by health care issues. He can relate to that because of his mom. He has a lot of personal and political stuff wound up in this. He’s not going to let it go down.
Yes. The story about his mom haggling with insurance companies while dying of cancer is very powerful. You know that had a huge impact on him.
I shouldn’t read people’s intentions but in Obama’s case I think his intentions have always been genuine with regards to HCR. He understands uniquely what people go through with our current system because of his mother’s situation when she fought cancer and reading dozens of letters from real people. His goal has always been to get as many people access to good healthcare as possible. I hate to go to my ant and elephant analogy again but many more people who have insurance now will be affected by healthcare reform than people who don’t have healthcare right now. Not as dramatically but more in raw numbers. Obama does not want to cure the ant by killing the elephant. Besides getting people covered the biggest thing the president is trying to do is lower costs for families and make sure people that have coverage are not screwed. Again if you are not going to be able to give everyone access to a public plan the goals change to getting the most people access and making current coverage more affordable and higher quality with standards.
Mcconnell barely said or added anything and now he and Boner are out there with same talking points. Scrap the bill, start over and Kyl is now the time keeper. Gawd I dislike Kyl!
even the reporters at their little press conference are now starting to call them on their double speak, saying the meeting was a waste of time and then saying a lot of worthwhile things were discussed.
Saw that Sanity. Wonder who that was? “you are saying the same things that you said before. What new?” (paraphrase)
I don’t know, the reporter was off camera but it shocked me and it appeared to shock McConnell and Boehner and Kyl, who immediately tried to backtrack and walked right in to the dbl talk trap.
Yes, that reporter really nailed him. The voice was familiar but I don’t know who it was.
Yeah that’s why I can’t get the disconnect with Gergen who is conservative but usually fair. This was the same ole same ole Republican bullshit and he’s spinning doing all he can to spin a Republican win. But then again when push comes to shove with conservatives they are never honest when they get their asses handed to them.
Reading through the posts here I’m surprised to hear how a few Republicans who called on C-SPAN could smell the GOP BS this time.
That was odd from Gergen.
I am generally appreciative of Gergen’s insights but that crosses the line of credulity.
I think this will go down as another brilliant political move by the WH. The concerted effort to expose the Rs and let them hang themselves by their own words is working wonderfully as evidenced by those callers. They need to keep that effort up
Now use the Senate rules to pass what the vast majority of the people have mandated be done.
I was pretty disapointed with him as well. But then again lately he’s stuck in the partisan rut like most conservatives.
When I listened, most of the GOP callers were pretty disgusted with the Republicans.
I heard a couple of those on CSPAN too. It was great.
Thanks for the insight. I missed most of the summit and the site was a good source for me to keep up.
Mary Matalin said it is Dems that are the true obstructionists.
The gymnastics was breathtaking from a spin yogi such as herself in its epic fail.
Kyl also crying like a schoolgirl who tripped into a mudpuddle in her Sunday best.
I found no reporting on the million faxes from MoveOn yesterday. Did anyone?
No reporting but I did get a move on email and Harry Reid supposedly had the info with him today
Unfortunately not enough drama and pictures for the MSM to report it at all. It’s reported on some progressive blogs but a story about a petition even with over 1,000,000 signatures does not pay for MSM ad time.
No ad, no coverage.
No tickee no shirtee. 😉
How are you doing? I try to send good vibes up for you allot these days.
OK, man. thanks for asking. How was the Doc thing today?
US News & World Report
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/washington-whispers/2010/02/24/moveonorg-virtual-protest-has-congress-scrambling.html
Not much, but at least a mention.
This shows all who were invited
http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/potus-notes/2009/Mar/05/list-of-attendees-at-white-house-healthcare-summit/
Thanks Sue, you’re a peach!
wrong, I will look further. This was last year. I asked Adlib to delete it.
http://whitehouse.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/02/24/full-list-of-health-care-summit-attendees/
this should be correct although it is from Fake News but it is current dated
and TPM
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/02/whos-going-list-of-health-care-summit-attendees.php
whitehouse.gov had it along with the invite.