Comments on: Democrats assemble the circular firing-squad on the Public Option

By: Bill Dupray - American Conservative – Senate Committee drives a stake through Public Option - True/Slant

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:05:06 +0000

[...] writing was on the wall, but it is official. The Senate Finance Committee voted to kill the public option in ObamaCare. [...]

By: kramer

kramer — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:15:55 +0000

So these Senators are responding to the wishes of their constituents, and you find that “kind of funny”? I thought I was a cynic, but my cynicism cannot compare; I doff my cap to you, sir. Why do you hate democracy?

By: Bill Dupray

Bill Dupray — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 03:43:35 +0000

Not sure where you are getting your facts. Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden seems to think half a trillion is coming out of Medicare.

A House reform plan proposes across-the-board cuts in Medicare, and that will be "very harsh" on Oregon, said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which also is producing a health care reform plan. "I will fight it as hard as I can," he said. . . . The health care bill written by House Democrats calls for $500 billion in Medicare cuts over 10 years to help offset the enormous cost of providing care to 45 million uninsured Americans. The Senate is also likely to slice deeply into Medicare to pay for its proposal.

By: libtree09

libtree09 — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 01:19:32 +0000

The cuts you are referring to are targeted to the Medicare Advantage program because it costs the government more each and every year while providing more problems with dropped doctors and emergency aid. This year it will cost us over 11 billion dollars extra over traditional medicare. The program was initiated to lower costs by allowing the private insurance companies to sign up eligible elders. The idea, like the philosophy now being proposed, is that only the private sector can reduce costs so heath insurers should get taxpayers money. The experiment failed. Other cuts were proposed in wasteful management but the savings were not to disappear but go back into the program. AARP supports these “cuts”. What you did not mention was that these savings are to be over five years and are supposed to be made up by doing what Republicans have supported over the years: find the money in waste and fraud.

By: Brian In NYC

Brian In NYC — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:55:49 +0000

No one is going to cut Medicare benefits, stop trying to scare people, it’s not working, and please spare us the repug hypocrisy of claiming to be Medicare’s champion.

By: Bill Dupray

Bill Dupray — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:02:29 +0000

Do you support cutting Medicare by 1/2 trillion dollars?

By: libtree09

libtree09 — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:45:44 +0000

This is the strategy that Johnston used to get Medicare passed, you remember Medicare…its that program that your party has recently discovered, the one they now want to protect after voting time and again for cuts.

By: Brian In NYC

Brian In NYC — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:50:39 +0000

Throwing popcorn is fine, but tell your whackos to leave their guns at home, thanks.

By: davidlosangeles

davidlosangeles — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:37:14 +0000

Mr. Dupray,

The key variable in this equation is attitude of the constituents of the Democrats in question. If the public option amendment is introduced and if the Democrats on the committee vote it down, then those Democrats are only trouble if their constituents favor the public option. If their constituents do not favor the public option, there is no down side for them. What Mr. Rockefeller and Mr. Schummer are betting is that the opposite is the case. If they are correct, then their maneuver will not help the Republicans as any Republican opponent who might run against these Democrats would be against the public option and since the constituents in question favor the public option, well, nothing lost.

By: Bill Dupray

Bill Dupray — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:09:04 +0000

We Republicans are just in the bleachers throwing popcorn. Don’t mind us. Carry on as you were.