Looking For Reconciliation

Since senate Democrats will be able to push through health-care reform without them, Republicans should try participating in the legislation instead of just obstructing.

By Eleanor Clift | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Apr 3, 2009

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  • Posted By: gregcovert @ 04/18/2009 10:16:47 AM

    It's worth noting how Canadian health care failed to save the life of actress Natasha Richardson after a recent ski accident. The nearby hospital had no scanning equipment or neurosurgeon, and there was no helicopter
    to fly her to a trauma center. By the time she arrived at one, she was brain dead. Why wasn't proper treatment and equipment at hand? Government had decided not to pay for them.

  • Posted By: BG.Bryan @ 04/15/2009 11:31:04 AM

    This "parlimentary maneuver" was often employed by the Republicans when they held sway, so "turnabout is fair play". I really don't care if the Democrats resort to such tactics if can provide our country with some way-way-overdue reform. Our health care system is so obviously broken who could stand in the way of drastic solutions? Why should so many hard-working people be just one serious illness away from financial ruin? In a country with as much wealth and talent, why should anyone be forced to choose between feeding their family or ignoring health issues until they far worse than if affordable care were available? I knew a co-worker who had to hold a full time and a part-time job just to pay the insurance costs for his family because his daughter had lesions on her brain--how can that be allowed??? The Republicans want to do nothing, they seem content with the status quo. Many employers have resorted to outrageous tactics to avoid paying health benefits--part-time workers, etc., Why?--because it has become prohibitively expensive to pay the insurance premiums. The Republicans offer no solutions, only opposition to change--screw them, let them be consigned to the dust-bin of history when Universal/Socialized/National health care is a reality over their objections, and millions of Americans are living higher quality lives as businesses are saving billions of dollars on premiums and obtaining higher output from healthier, happier employees. I don't care if the Democrats and the Obama administration run rough-shod over the Republicans--they have the opportunity to participate in the crafting of this and other policy/reform and instead choose to throw out the same old crap that they know has no support or basis in reality

  • Posted By: ploughman @ 04/14/2009 11:23:28 PM

    The current health-care system is so badly broken that it's fundamentally unsustainable, and even some Republicans are realizing that. Simply put, there's no way we can afford to just keep on paying. Whenever something increases at 2X or 3X the rate of wages year after year, for DECADES, it's only a matter of time before it swallows up your economy. In the case of health care it's eating 16% of GDP and growing, whereas in Canada it's only about 10%. And the Canadians live longer and have better measured outcomes!

    We'll either get a health-care system where government guarantees access and affordability and thus makes universal care the priority, or it will collapse into a third-world system where people who can't pay won't even get treated. If the latter, the U.S. will have become a third-world country, as that's where the dividing line is.

  • Posted By: Mattberg @ 04/13/2009 3:06:29 PM

    Now our dear gal eleanor wants cooperation-OK.
    You will get the same measure that Obamy, Reid, Pelosi, Rahm, Kennedy and Schumer gave President Bush.....

    Sounds Fair to me..........

  • Posted By: RO in Reno @ 04/12/2009 9:52:16 PM

    I say get it done by any means possible. The fact is the Republicans will do anything to block it to protect the insurance company's profits.
    To a Republican those profits are more important than nearly 50 million uninsured people, and the ongoing economic damage those exorbitant costs do to all businesses in this country big or small.

  • Posted By: oilbaby @ 04/03/2009 3:59:39 PM

    Everbody needs to take a deep breath. Congress can not even opreate the Welcome Area at the Captial much less a national health system. Gov. is your worst nightmare in regards to health care. We have the most advance health system in the world but the dems don't like it cause it does not get them votes. Them are willing to sacrifice the best system in the world to socialize america. Take a real look around. Who is hurting for the lack of health care? Even the illegals get free health care. You iidoits who want socialize med should go to Canada so you can wait 6 month for a bypass. Their solution is you will probably die before you get service, but it is covered by insurance.

    • Posted By: mac101 @ 04/03/2009 8:22:03 PM

      We do not have the best health care system in the world, that is a myth. Our people are overweight, don't live as long, our infant mortality rate is higher, our infection rates are higher, our complication rates after surgery are higher, we take more medication, and we have more unnecessary surgery than several industrialized countries, and - here's the kicker - we pay higher prices for it all. We are sicker, poorer, and dying younger.

      It is time we recognized that our health care system is broken. Until we understand that health care received in an emergency room (what you call free health care for illegals) is bankrupting us, until we start paying for preventative care and stop paying for expensive but unproven surgeries (like the majority of coronary bypass surgeries, not necessary and not effective) until we stop advertising for drugs we don't need and are in fact dangerous but do a great job of driving up pharmaceutical stock dividends (like statins for cholesterol) we will continue to have a broken health care system that emphasizes profits over health.

      It is not the budget that will bankrupt our country, it is our health care system. If we don't fix it now, there won't be anything left for our children and our grandchildren to inherit - they will be too busy trying to take care of us in our old age.

      • Posted By: lib-fascist @ 04/07/2009 1:45:31 AM

        Preventative care? How do you preventate disease anyway?

      • Posted By: lib-fascist @ 04/07/2009 1:44:23 AM

        Dumbest argument ever for socialized medicine! We are obese because we eat like pigs,not because the health care system made us fat. Our infant mortality rate is higher because we try to save premies whereas other socialist nations like Holland throw them in the toilet and don't count them as infants. If America's health care system was as bad as Russians, our men would be dying in theiir 50s, not their 80s. THe libaeral fascists want government to own the health care system so they can control who gets to be a doctor, who gets to see a doctor who gets treated, and who dies. It's all about power, not health care. The Muslims are taking over teh UK health care system and systematically killing europeans. We're next.

      • Posted By: CharInOhio @ 04/03/2009 8:34:07 PM

    • Posted By: Bamajim1 @ 04/03/2009 4:52:19 PM

      AMEN, I spent some time in CANADA and I can tell you the picture is not good!!!!!

  • Posted By: Mwalimu @ 04/05/2009 6:18:30 PM

    I should remind Chromehawk of one reality. Health insurance is currently out of reach for millions of Americans. Most of the employees of Wal=-Mart rely on the emergency ward for their medical care. Corporations off-shore jobs overseas because they do not want to pay for health care costs here. We have the most expensive medical system in the world and the most inefficient. Overwhelming evidence proves that a universal health care system is far cheaper than our current dysfunctional system. The less people have to pay for health insurance, the more money they can spend. The more people have to pay for health insurance, the less money they have for anything else, and more people lose jobs.

  • Posted By: Mwalimu @ 04/05/2009 6:13:57 PM

    While the Republicans in the Senate are trying to destroy Obama through a bunch of Byzantine Senatorial rules, the planet is getting warmer. A recent scientific report released last week by the Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere and Ocean and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory warns us that global warming is proceeding faster than we had previously believed. Go to Google and in the search engine type in "Siberia," "Methane", and "permafrost", and you'll discover scientific reports warning us that millions of tons of methane now trapped in Siberian perma frost could escape when Siberian perma-frost begins to melt. In short, the Russians have a secret weapon of mass destruction as terrifying as our current nuclear arsenal, but no one seems to notice.

    The Chairman of the RNC, Michael Steele denies that global warming exists. So do many Republican Senators. Republican loudmouth Michelle Bachmann insists that climate change is the result of solar flares, and although Sarah Palin has finally decided the climate is changing, she is unable to connect the dots between greenhouse gases and climate change.

    In short, the GOP is an assortment of irresponsible, criminally insane, religious fanatics and we are allowing a handful of these madmen in the Senate to hold the whole world as a hostage - just like the Somali pirates. We have a choice - we can either demand immediate action to shift to green technology - and pay for it by cap and trade or some alternative mechanism. Or we can watch the planet die.

  • Posted By: Chromehawk @ 04/05/2009 3:24:27 PM

    If that means using a parliamentary maneuver known as reconciliation, which allows the party in power to roll over the minority, Republicans will cry foul, but will anybody care about their hurt feelings?

    -- This depends. Does the launching of a health care initiative help the economy or make it worse? More importantly, what is the unemployment? IF unemployment was below 8% when Obama became president and is pushing 10-12%. Yes. And there will be hell to pay in 2010. People do not re-elect administrations when they are out of work. Nor do they give them 2 more years time to let their policies come to fruition. They are out of work NOW ... so the people in power are going to join them.

    "If we're running ads in November 2010 about health care for 11 million children and the Republicans are running ads about Robert's Rules of Order, I think we're going to get some pickups,"

    That depends. Again. Health care for 11 million and people are employed? Yes the Democrats will see gains. Health care for 11 million children but 20 million children's parents are now unemployed who weren't when the Democrats took power? Nope. The people will vote to find someone who can get them work, so they can afford their OWN health insurance

    But the ads will be. This economy is so much worse since the Democrats steam rolled us. Do you want MORE of bad policy? Bad policy passed COMPLETELY by the Democrats. Bad policy that will CONTINUE to be pushed by Democrats, without listening to any other views. Why? As Speaker Pelosi said. "We won, you lost. Now shut up!"
    How can you the voter stop this steamrolling of bad policy?
    Give us control of the house back. Just with that, the Democrats will be forced to always listen to the filibuster and make policy that includes ALL Americans views.


    Basic summary:
    If unemployment is between 10-12%. The Democrats lose. Pretty much no matter what.
    If in addition they passed this entire platform using budget reconciliation, they OWN whatever happens. And if it is bad ... they pay FULL price.
    Calling the republican party the "Party of NO" only works well ... if the majority of the people aren't thinking "Damn, I wish someone said no!"
    And if the people are thinking "I wish someone said NO!" and the Democrats forced this through via budget reconciliation? The Democrats will pay twice as hard.
    Finally, Anything passed via budget reconciliation is fair game to be CANCELED via budget reconciliation. The day Pres. Obama steps out of office ( be it 2012 or 2016 ) he can count on his ENTIRE legacy and policy proposals to be dead and nullified within 30 days.
    Energy change policy? Canceled. Budget of $0.
    Education? Canceled. Budget of $0.
    Universal Health care? Canceled. Budget of $0.
    Oh and to add insult to injury? There will be 100 oil wells punched into the ground of Anwar within a week of his leaving office.
    Sorry. No filibuster by Democrats. Oil = revenue =

  • Posted By: austin c @ 04/04/2009 10:51:33 AM

    The United States is spending twice as much money on health care per capita than other developed countries practicing universal health care. The key is the cost of each service. In Japan, the cost of Cat scan or one night hospital stay is less than one hundred dollars while in US, it is way over a thousand dollars. In Japan, the government set up standard fee and is the only payer for the medical services. They have no need for health care insurance industries to play the role of gatekeeper and profit maker of medical service

    • Posted By: lib-fascist @ 04/05/2009 2:16:01 PM

      The reason the USSA is so expensive is government meddling. Get the government out of health and the problems are solved.

  • Posted By: trogers @ 04/04/2009 11:26:55 AM

    Health Care is dragging down companies and individuals throughout the country and the majority of voters have expressed support for a national system which covers everyone. Yet the Republican party clings to the false message that the private sector works best. Most of the private health care system in this country survives by ripping off government health care programs. They earn their profits by overchearging medicare or medicade or the VA for their products and services. Somehow the Republicans consider this to be a 'private' health care system that operates in a 'free market' way. The truth is that the government already runs health care , and would be able to run it alot better if it could eliminate the vultures from the private sector who inflate costs, cheat the system and contribute to Republican members of Congress in a big way to prevent change.. I would rather have a 'socialist' system for health care than the corrupt system in place which is controlled, exploited and protected by the Republican party.

    • Posted By: lib-fascist @ 04/05/2009 2:14:36 PM

      The majority of voters support a giant room full of free money and a Rock Candy Mountain with no cavities and unlimited beer with no hangover. They worship politicians like Obama who have never done an honest day's work in their life and whose lips have never let an honest statement pass over them. They want communism, go ahead, but keep your commie hands off my property and tax yourself, not me.

  • Posted By: Mwalimu @ 04/05/2009 11:37:49 AM

    Last month, Barbara Bush had surgery. who paid for this phenomenally expensive operation? The taxpayers. Congress already enjoys "socialized medicine." Why can't the rest of us. In terms of cost, we have the most expensive and most inefficient medical system in the world. France which has the highest rated medical system pays less for medical care than we do.
    An article by Jamie Court published last January in the Los Angeles Times pointed out that allowing any one and everyone to enroll in Medicare would be the cheapest way to guarantee medical care to everyone. An article published in the UTLA bulletin (a union newpaper), pointed out that LAUSD alone would save $ 100 to $ 200 million dollars a year if it could enroll its employees in a single-payer system like Medicare. How much would we save if we enrolled Congress and all federal employees in Medicare.
    We are supposed to be a "Christian" nation. Jesus spent most of his time healing the sick. He never once asked about their health insurance. We need to follow Jesus' example.

  • Posted By: conlawprize @ 04/05/2009 11:02:36 AM

    here is where the debate starts and ends for me: how are we going to pay for government gauranteed health care?

    according to obama's budget, it was supposed to paid for by a cap and trade program, which basically amounted to a huge new tax on EVERYTHING. and, actually, this only would have paid for a "down payment" on the huge heatlh care bill. now that its clear that cap-and-trade wont get passed, we dont even have a down payment.

    theres a word for when you dont have money for a dow-payment but want to buy anyway: SUB-PRIME

    thanks, but no thanks

  • Posted By: lib-fascist @ 04/05/2009 10:40:30 AM

    The GOP is smart to boycottany discussion of socialized government health care. Government can't run a lemonade stand, let alone health care. You can bet that Congress and the liberal fascist elites like Eleanor Clift will have their own plan while the suckers get rationed non-care. The oldsters and the boomers are going to get turned into Soylent Green under Obama.

  • Posted By: confirmednutz @ 04/03/2009 4:33:30 PM

    Oh my this has to be the funniest thing I have read in a while. Ms. Cliff please go back and look at your history. It seems you have left quite a few facts out.

    • Posted By: inyourjase @ 04/03/2009 4:35:19 PM

      What might those "facts" be? Be thorough, now. Don't go leaving anything out.

      • Posted By: Charlie Horse @ 04/05/2009 10:30:19 AM

        OOOOO.....you and izageek sound like a pair of Progressive Tough Guys.

        I regret lowering myself to your level of insulting speech but this morning I'll enter your pig pen. I have a vision of your "type" shuffling out to your mailbox out front of your subsidised housing, to retrieve your government check. Hope you figured how to hit the pause so you'll not miss "Days of Our Lives".

        As far as I'm concerned, the conservative 47% of the voting public has appeased the "Progressives" way more than we should have for way too long. Enought ground has been retreated from over the years for us to realize that the folks who want something for nothing will never have enough till they have it all. You argue like a ten year old at "Toys are Us". I want, I want, I want...........Enough!!!!

        Arguing that folks like me should shut-up and lay on the porch by my dish is so 5th grade. World and national events will insure that the conservative movement will return.........what passes for a ground swell now will fade just as all movements have in the past. Time will tell.

        Remember that the Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government. I'd guess they didn't offer Civics and Social Studies when you got your GED.

        Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. Wake Up.

  • Posted By: pomoc @ 04/05/2009 9:09:06 AM

    I wan't MS.Clift to be the first person to drop her existing health plan and sign up for the obama plan and we shall follow her and all her family members as they all receive the same story from there doc sorry we are out of that med or Yes you can have that life saving treatment we will began that in 18 months or may be you can swimm to england where there are less people so the line must be shorter HMMMMMMMMMMMM

  • Posted By: MrDuffin @ 04/05/2009 8:55:43 AM

    "Looking For Reconciliation" means to "give up trying". That will never happen on my watch! And I hate it if you don't like it!

  • Posted By: Omaar @ 04/04/2009 11:21:05 AM

    The Wasilla Hill Billy [[Follies]] Continues...

    1st it was Palin Grandstanding, with their Money a few weeks ago in Anchorage, saying that she'd Only Accept [Half] Of the President's Stimulus Money, until it Outraged the People of her State, who Protested Very Loudly, that they did Not Appreciate Palin Playing Politics with their Money and Placing her [2012 Aspirations] above the Needs of the People of Alaska.

    2ndly Palin's Ex-Son in Law, Levi and his Brood were on Tyra Banks Show, Today...

    Yacking it up....

    3rdly Palin Ticking Off, Her Poorly Organized "Sarah Pac" by Promising she would be the Guest Speaker at the Republican Event, only to say later on, that she Never Agreed to this Gathering, Forcing a Newt Gingrich Guest Speaker, as Replacement Speaker in her Instead.

    An Now Palin's Sister In Law, is Accused of Breaking Into a Home !!

    She will Not be [Re-Elected] as Governor Of Alaska..

    Sarah Palin, Always has and Always will be a...

    Note: [Hollow, Floating Bubble]

    No Substance Whatsoever.
    ----------

    Can you Really Imagine Sarah Palin on a Stage Debating with Gingrich on National & International Policy ?

    Or Governor Tim Pawlenty, Fellow Alaskan Sen.Lisa Murkowski, Or Congress Woman and Soon to be the 2nd Female Governor of Texas, Kay Bailey Hutchison Debating with any of these Far More Qualified Politicians.

    It would be Disastrous in Every Way Imaginable !!

  • Posted By: Omaar @ 04/04/2009 11:16:20 AM

    Someone said [Sarah Palin] will ...

    "Wipe The Floor for Obama"

    I will Agree with that, she's already Wiping her Own Gubernatorial Floor, I Mean [Career] and its Ugly and she hasn't had her 1st debate with other Presidential Hopefuls form her own Republican Party...

    Sarah Palin is a [Hollow, Floating Bubble]

    If you have Faith that this Wasilla Hill Billy can Go through...

    Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Senator Lisa Murkowski, from Alaska, Congress Woman Kay Bailey Hutchison, who will be the 2nd Female Governor of Texas....

    Can you see that Wasilla Hill Billy Debating these Seasoned Politicians and making it all the way, as the Republican Nominee for Pres. Of The USA...

    Then You are just as Hollow a Floating Bubble as the Hollow, Floating Bubble known as ...

    Sarah Palin !!!

  • Posted By: Omaar @ 04/04/2009 11:04:31 AM

    @demarvin :"socialism ... Soviet style socialism....Marxist "....

    This is a Parliamentary Procedure is Legal and is the Federal Law ...

    For Dummies like You, it means its [Federal & Legal] to use.

    Your Beloved George W. Bush & Dick Cheney used the Same [Parliamentary Procedure] Several Times in their 8 Years to Push their Agenda and Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, Dennis Praeger, Greta Van Susteren, Anne Coulter had No Problems with them using it....

    But when it comes to our President Obama doing such a Federally Legal Act, its ...

    [Marxism, Socialism, Stalinism, Leninism, Communism, Socialism] an any other Damn [Ism] you..

    Low Life's can Think Of

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