Cracks Already Forming in Healthcare Reform Law

I didn't think this would be happening so soon.

Why Obama Should Have Worked Harder On Economy

Forcing healthcare through Congress at a time when the issue was not a top priority for most Americans will likely cost the Democrats come November....as I have already mentioned. Obama & Co. should have at least been much more aggressive on plans for job growth while pushing for healthcare reform.... this would have helped in making them look less out of touch. His team of advisers are definitely not the most competent.

Now they want to tackle immigration... thinking (mistakenly) that the healthcare victory has somehow given them momentum for dealing with an issue even more contentious. Obama will end up wasting what little political capital he has left on Immigration Reform. Clueless doesn't seem adequate for describing Emanuel, Axelrod, Plouffe and all the rest.

There is still a little bit of time between now and November. Alot can change in that time. It looks like the economy may finally be creating jobs again.... after losing millions over the last two years. But it will take a long time to change the public's perception... especially when there are TV networks and radio stations dedicated to telling Americans that Barack Obama and the Democrats are devils, socialists, and that they are to blame for the economic collapse. (Americans are incredibly gullible and unfortunately they listen to the nonsense from Faux News and the rest).

Health Insurance Mandate Was A Republican Idea for Decades

The mandate in the Healthcare legislation was actually a Republican idea for decades. Now all of a sudden Republicans are pointing to the mandate in order to demonize the bill.

Classic Republican trickery.... and their followers just eat this stuff up.

The Fight For Health Care Reform Is Not Over Yet - U.S. Supreme Court Likely To Have Last Word

The U.S. Supreme Court will likely have the last word on the Health Care Reform legislation that was signed by President Obama today. John Roberts, along with Scalia and Alito are salivating right now.... especially Roberts. He loves being in this position at this moment. At the very least for Roberts, it's a chance to make Obama sweat. He has made it no secret that he is not fond of the Obama Administration, particularly after the spat about comments made by Obama at the last State of the Union address, criticizing the court for its ruling on campaign finance regulations in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Uncle Clarence probably can't wait either.

The lawsuits by State Attorneys General from across the Country (most of them Republican) will drag on for months. Writing in the Washington Post, Georgetown University constitutional law professor Randy E. Barnett breaks down the potential areas for legal challenges and the potential for their success. He concludes the U.S. Supreme Court isn’t likely to overturn the legislation - however, he admits that it is not out of the realm of possibility.

The courts won't be the only avenue that Republicans will use to try to kill the legislation. They will also try to interfere with the passage of reconciliation "fixes". If they can't find any traction there, they plan to continue to scare and misinform voters about the legislation. Yesterday, on one of St. Louis' local Right wing radio stations, callers were suggesting a move towards violence (with the host playing right along). On NPR last night... angry callers, brainwashed completely by the propaganda, talked about going to prison and the death camps they may have to endure because of the legislation (Ohhh yes, the Right has brainwashed the Hell out of Americans. You can do anything when you control media). Listen to the March, 22nd discussion on Healthcare from NPR's On Point. The GOP and Right wing media have been extremely effective at ginning up fear and using propaganda to turn public opinion clearly against Health Care Reform.

This will be a serious problem for Obama and the Democrats. They act as if this is a real victory... and it may be. But it may be an even bigger victory for Republicans who still control the debate... in fact, they control public opinion. Progressives have failed monumentally in the information war.... and it is showing. They have time to debunk the lies and recover somewhat.... but I don't think they have a clue regarding how to do it, and I don't think there is even a willingness on their part to do it, and because of that they will pay dearly in November.

The Democrats still have the problem of the economy, which was destroyed by Bush & Co. The public....real folks down on the ground... are concerned more about the economy and jobs than anything else. This is why Obama and the Democrats should have been more focused on jobs over the past year. Their interest in jobs and the economy have been luke warm...and people have noticed. This is why voters, misguided and vulnerable to Republican propaganda, will choose Republicans this Fall.... the same Party that is largely responsible for getting the Country into its current economic mess.

The Republicans will now run their campaigns using Health Care as their rallying cry. They will run on repealing it....and stupid voters (the targets of Right wing propaganda/lies) will respond by punishing Democrats. Of course Republicans won't be able to repeal it as long as the Democrats are in the White House. But a President Mitt Romney (or some other Republican President) is likely to sign legislation repealing it in 2013, before the bill has a chance to kick in completely. Stupid American voters are likely to give us a Republican House and Republican Senate (possibly this year) and a Republican in the White House in the 2012 elections.

Could they do this realistically? I don't think so.... but it all depends on how well they maintain their brainwashing. If they can continue to effectively misinform the public and continue to win the argument.... then a repeal is a possibility. Republicans have undisputed control over information and public opinion in this Country.... despite the fact that most evidence shows that their core principles and values are losing propositions. Their theories on politics, social policy, economics, and foreign policy have been proven failures. Yet, because they control the battlefield in terms of PR and information.... they can continue to be successful. It pisses me off that Progressives seem to be unable to understand the importance of winning the information war. They don't seem to get it.... even after all of these years... after 2000, and after John Kerry in 2003-04... they still don't understand what the Hell is going on. You can have the best policies in the World...and you could have better programs for improving the lives of voters...but none of that matters if you can't win the information war.

So all of this celebrating might be premature.

The Right Attacks 11 Year Old Boy and His Family, Slamming His Effort To Support Health Care Reform In Mothers Memory

But the Right found a reason to attack Marcelas Owens and his family....
Lawrence O'Donnell talks to The Nation's Chris Hayes.

From Media Matters:

Right-wing media set sights on family of 11-year-old who spoke about his mother's death at health care event:
Right-wing media have recently targeted 11-year-old Marcelas Owens and his family for attacks after he appeared at a health care reform event to speak about his mother, who reportedly died after losing her health insurance. These attacks follow a history of media conservatives attacking or mocking the uninsured, and previous attacks by right-wing media on the family of a 12-year-old who spoke in support of SCHIP.
Read on...

Will CBO Report Be Enough to Convince Reluctant Democrats to Vote for Health Care Bill?

As of yesterday, Congressional insiders were reporting that Pelosi was about 4 or 5 votes short.

Health Insurance Company Targeted HIV Patients

An example of the kinds of abuses that Health Care Reform (Reorganization) is supposed to stop.

The story of Natoma Canfield was also pretty troubling. Of course I knew of these kinds of abuses.... but the scale of the corporate insanity in the Canfield story was pretty bad....even for the insurance industry. You would think that the CEO's would be embarrassed.

Health Care Re-organization Bill Headed For Vote

I think it's probably better than nothing. But it could turn out to be a flop as well. It will be a few years before we will know the verdict on the legislation.
With few federal workers to monitor and enforce the provisions in this Bill...and with insurance companies left in charge...and with them knowing that no one is guarding the hen house... I suspect the results will be a mixed bag.

But Dems have to pass it first. Pelosi is a little on the inept side...so I won't believe it until I see it. Sometimes i'm not sure if she can even count to 216. Luckily she has James Clyburn. But even if it passes this weekend... the Republicans aren't giving up. They are revealing their mafia tendencies.

Michael Moore, in his appearance on Countdown, spelled out pretty well why Progressives are not exactly jumping for joy.

Nothing from nothing leaves healthcare reform?

The great pianist and songwriter Billy Preston once sang, "nothing from nothing leaves nothing." Although as 15 to 16 months, I've seen the promise of health care reform start with single-payer then morph into some sort of public option which, if it is robust should be able to contain health-care costs. This is kind of what they House passed. The Senate, on the other hand, is one confusing mess. Senator Max Baucus was given the keys to the city. I'm not sure what he came up with. As chairman of the finance committee, he was in charge of coming up with a health care bill that was attractive to at least a couple of Republicans. Olympia Snowe and others were courted with sweeteners which seem to eat away at the core of health care reform. Senator Kent Conrad decided that he would introduce his own health-care legislation which was some sort of co-op. Although he sold this idea on the Sunday talk shows and pushed it hard for 6-8 weeks, thankfully (hopefully), it is died a quick death.

The public option is been tossed around like a medicine ball. In Junior high school we were asked to throw a medicine ball in order to build up muscle strength and coordination. Every other throw, the ball was dropped, kicked and then picked up and thrown again. This is exactly what has happened with the public option. What was once a robust counterweight to private health insurance has turned into something that states can opt in or opt out depending upon the whims of their legislature. Oh, and it seems that opposing healthcare is a great way to get on TV and increase your image/status like Bart Stupak.

I have stated both on my radio show and on my blog that health-care reform must include something that is cost-effective, portable and increases access to healthcare. Currently, we are looking at a health-care bill that seems to do none of this. Many progressives have decided that they cannot support this bill. They want something else done. I understand the sentiment. I find this whole process extremely frustrating. Democrats seem to be completely unable to stick to their principles and stand up for the middle class. It seems like the only difference between Republicans and Democrats is that Democrats know what is right but can't do it. Republicans have no idea what is right and won't do it. BTW, President Barack Obama is leader come lately. Look I love this man but I'm telling the truth. Where was he in the middle of the heat of the summer when healthcare was taking the big hits? He needed to be out of front stating that we HAD to have a robust public option but alias, he wasn't out there.

Here's my problem. Washington seems to be controlled by big business. Lobbyists from K St. seem to surround the Capital like locusts. If we scrapped the health-care bill and start all over, how are we going to come up with a different outcome? We're going to have the same politicians, the same White House and the same lobbyists. As a matter of fact, the lobbyists will be better armed to combat arguments they've already heard. They will probably be armed with more money. I'm afraid that starting over will leave us with a bill that's even worse than what we're looking at now -- if that is possible.

We're spending $2.4 trillion on health care every year (we spent that much in 2008). Isn't that enough money? Why do we need to pay any more? Everyone agrees that insurance does not add any value to healthcare. Why is Washington cobbling the insurance companies? Their whole reason for their existence is not to improve health care or help doctors deliver better care or help increase access to doctors by patients. Instead, their whole deal is to simply make money. They make money by not paying claims.

$2.4 trillion is enough money to take care of all 300 million Americans. Combine Medicare and Medicaid and SCHiP and all of the state run programs into one program. Medicare for All! The government will set up a system to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies and medical device/product manufacturers. Premiums are paid out of our taxes in a graduated fashion. The more you make, the more you pay. Let's extend patent protection for pharmaceutical companies by 2-5 years. Since the government is negotiating drug prices, pharmaceutical companies can recoup some of their losses through this mechanism. Doctors will be awarded for opening early and staying open late and on the weekends. This way, Americans can go to their physicians without having to take off from work. This increases access. Anyway, Medicare for All, at least for now, is a pipe dream. Right now, I'm good to try to work with my congressional representatives to try to get the best bill possible.

Billy Preston was right. Nothing from Nothing leaves nothing. The Senate is trying to sell us nothing and tell us it is something. They need to do better.

Keith Olbermann's Special Comment on Father

Keith Olbermann's Special Comment on Struggle with Father and Healthcare.

House Votes to Repeal Antitrust Exemption for Insurers

The House of Representatives voted 406-19 yesterday to repeal the antitrust exemption for the insurance industry, putting more pressure on insurers to be more competitive. Unfortunately, it will be much harder for this to pass in the Senate.

Although comprehensive Healthcare Reform is dead.. and has been dead for months, the Democrats may be able to get smaller pieces of good legislation passed. This is a strategy that I have mentioned before, and the Dems should have used it months ago. Next, they should put a bill on the floor for Pre-existing Conditions.

Once you simplify these bills, it plays in favor of the Democrats. Republicans have taken advantage of the complex nature of the larger bills to basically confuse Americans. Making these bills much smaller..simplifies them and makes it much harder for the Republicans to distort facts and put out misinformation.