Find Your Valentine
Slog
News & ArtsWednesday, March 17, 2010
Health Welcome Back, Congressman Kucinich
Posted by Eli Sanders on Wed, Mar 17, 2010 at 9:26 AM
Dennis Kucinich—he of the Department of Peace and the failed presidential run—has decided, after a private conversation with President Obama aboard Air Force One, that he can now set aside his insistence on single-payer-or-nothing and vote for the Democrats' health care reform bill.
That's one less Democrat to fret about. Still on the list of possible bill killers: Washington Congressman Brian Baird (D-Vancouver).
1
at least obama actually got to hear that his left flank is fucking pissed about his wasted year of pointless bipartisan effort.
2
Thanks for agreeing to force us to buy a defective product (w/ taxpayer subsidies no less!) from the criminals who got us into this mess to begin with, Kucinich!
3
Sure as hell beats the status quo. Good on him for realizing nothing happens for a generation if this bill doesn't pass.
4
@2 in 1957 "well they desgregated voting rights with this Voting rights act -- but it's defective, what about housing and public accommodations waaaah!"
@2 in 1965: "well they gave health care to the elderly with this Medicare thing, but that's not good enough, what about everyone under 65, this piece of crap is defective, waaaah!!!"
@2 in New England in the 1800's "well it's nice they ended the property requirements for white males to vote, but women still can't vote, waaaaah this is defective!!"
@2 in 1972, "well sure the clean air act takes care of point source pollution but it's not enough!!!! what about all the people driving cars!!! this is defective waaaah!"
[@2's great great great etc. gradfather, in the year 1000 in England..."well they're ending serfdom, but what about marriage for gay people and ending this meat eating thing, this scheme is a defective shell game, waaaaaah!"]
@2 in 1965: "well they gave health care to the elderly with this Medicare thing, but that's not good enough, what about everyone under 65, this piece of crap is defective, waaaah!!!"
@2 in New England in the 1800's "well it's nice they ended the property requirements for white males to vote, but women still can't vote, waaaaah this is defective!!"
@2 in 1972, "well sure the clean air act takes care of point source pollution but it's not enough!!!! what about all the people driving cars!!! this is defective waaaah!"
[@2's great great great etc. gradfather, in the year 1000 in England..."well they're ending serfdom, but what about marriage for gay people and ending this meat eating thing, this scheme is a defective shell game, waaaaaah!"]
5
Nice interview on NPR yesterday of Marjorie Mezvinsky, the Pennsylvania congresswoman whose vote for Clinton's budget in 1993 (which led to budget surpluses, for all you young 'uns out there) was blamed for her defeat in 1994. She spoke about doing the right thing despite knowing the political cost in advance, a lesson any wavering congressional Democrats should pay close attention to. History judges her correct, and courageous.
6
After this year, I am now more than ever convinced that American politics is nothing but a trivial distraction from the power elite's hidden agenda for the world. <|;D
7
I hope the Olympia (southward to Vancouver) folks in Baird's district are reading and responding. It's hard to have leverage with a guy ot running again. But, hopefully, he will listen to folks who have voted, worked for and live in the district. I wonder if local central committees are facing the challenge with phone banks.
10
kinda disappointed in Kucinich but he got to fly on the magic carpet with the prez so maybe a good deal was cut, Dennis has spoken up like few elected officials have in the past 10 years...i guess i'm okay with it. we will amend it more and add on later but we need to get it passed, begrudgingly...
#5--thanks for bringing it up..i remember that vote well and she deserves a round of applause for doing the right thing.
however i'd like everyone to also remember that one of the major ways the budget was balanced was the sell-off of the people's airwaves, leading to the explosion of broadcast technical advances.
Everyone been to broadband.gov to tattle on their internet provider?
#5--thanks for bringing it up..i remember that vote well and she deserves a round of applause for doing the right thing.
however i'd like everyone to also remember that one of the major ways the budget was balanced was the sell-off of the people's airwaves, leading to the explosion of broadcast technical advances.
Everyone been to broadband.gov to tattle on their internet provider?
12
Geocrackr @2:
Geocrackr, multiple choice question for you. Are you (A) a double-agent writing on behalf of the insurance companies, a.k.a. "criminals," or are you (B) really, really that stupid?
Responding to rob! @5 about Marjorie Mezvinsky doing the right thing in voting for Clinton's budget and then paying the political price... I'm not sure if this qualifies as irony, but you know Mezvinsky's son is now engaged to Chelsea Clinton.
Thanks for agreeing to force us to buy a defective product (w/ taxpayer subsidies no less!) from the criminals who got us into this mess to begin with, Kucinich!
Geocrackr, multiple choice question for you. Are you (A) a double-agent writing on behalf of the insurance companies, a.k.a. "criminals," or are you (B) really, really that stupid?
Responding to rob! @5 about Marjorie Mezvinsky doing the right thing in voting for Clinton's budget and then paying the political price... I'm not sure if this qualifies as irony, but you know Mezvinsky's son is now engaged to Chelsea Clinton.
13
Can't resist taking a shot at the guy who probably reflects your views more than any other member of Congress, can you, Eli?
14
Indeed, @12 (re: the Mezvinskys)--I think they've been pals for a long time, maybe since childhood. If memory serves, Marc Mezvinsky and Chelsea Clinton are both kind of moths to the investment-banking flame right now, but maybe one or both will break away into a life of public service after gaining some essential knowledge about the way the world's financial machinery works.
15
@12: Characterizing everybody who disagrees with this deeply flawed bill as either an industry shill or brain damaged. Nice.
This bill enshrines the private insurance industry as another arm of government, just as surely as our military supply system does that with private defense contractors.
This bill enshrines the private insurance industry as another arm of government, just as surely as our military supply system does that with private defense contractors.
16
Only half of the country supports this bill and of that group many only moderately support it. I hate to find out what happens when they learn more details about the bill. The democrats are taking a serious gamble and could lose big, handing a huge corporate give away to republicans who will blame democrats for it while making it worse. And #4 none of the bills you mentioned can be compared to the proposed health care reform bill other than it being revolutionary. If passed, this bill will institute a government mandate that people do direct business with private entities that will turn around and take those same consumer dollars and lobby that same government to work against the obligated consumers. Up until this point the government has done that indirectly. Now they are planning on doing it right in our faces.
17
@12: Characterizing everybody who disagrees with this deeply flawed bill as either an industry shill or brain damaged. Nice.
Progressives are in a panic about this bill and I don't blame them. If it does not pass Republicans will probably win in the next elections. Much of the debate is not really around providing people with health care. We can wait a few more sessions for a better bill since nothing will be implemented soon anyway. But we can't risk losing the elections this fall. If Obama looks like a loser the dems will lose. However, what I am really afraid of is this bill is so bad that if it does pass Obama will look like a loser this fall. However, lets be honest. At this point the nasty turn in the debate is not about health care it is about the potential for the Republicans to come back in power. That would be a lot worse than this bill passing.
Progressives are in a panic about this bill and I don't blame them. If it does not pass Republicans will probably win in the next elections. Much of the debate is not really around providing people with health care. We can wait a few more sessions for a better bill since nothing will be implemented soon anyway. But we can't risk losing the elections this fall. If Obama looks like a loser the dems will lose. However, what I am really afraid of is this bill is so bad that if it does pass Obama will look like a loser this fall. However, lets be honest. At this point the nasty turn in the debate is not about health care it is about the potential for the Republicans to come back in power. That would be a lot worse than this bill passing.
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
SL Letter of the Day: Life Sentence by Dan Savage
-
SL Letter of the Day: Daddy Loves Who? by Dan Savage
-
Required Listening: Howard Stern on Ellen, JC Penney, Bullied Gay Kids, Rosie, Santorum, Bachmann, et al by Dan Savage
-
Crowdsourcing Uncut Police Video from the Dec. 12 Occupy Protest at the Port of Seattle by Eli Sanders
-
State Legislator Testifies That His Opposition to Same-Sex Marriage Came to Him from a Commercial for Jack in the Box by Christopher Frizzelle
-
The AP Is Reporting That Whitney Houston Is Dead by Paul Constant
-
"Let me be the first one to say: My business will refuse to participate in a same-sex marriage ceremony," by Republican Representative Matt Shea of the Spokane Valley by Eli Sanders
-
The Onion Is on a Roll: "Iran Worried U.S. Might Be Building 8,500th Nuclear Weapon" by Charles Mudede
-
Slog Bible Study: Deuteronomy 21:10-14 by Goldy
-
"I don't know if I want to be here [if gay marriage passes]," by Republican State Senator Jay Rodne of North Bend by Eli Sanders
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (17) RSS