I agree with Howard Dean: It would be better for everyone if the court nixes the individual healthcare mandate. It smacks me as being unconstitutional and always has. Plus many on the Left are correct to assert that the end of the mandate would create a rallying cry for a single payer system once and for all.
Single payer would, of course, be essentially impossible to pass at this point. (Obama had the chance in 2009 with Dem majorities in both houses but, alas, he caved at the behest of insurance companies.) This difficulty is beside the point, though. The Left itself should never have cravenly signed onto Obamacare. If the mandate goes down a concerted push for single payer would return a smidge of principle to the Obama-era Left.
I take issue with your statement that Obama “caved to the insurance companies” – to me that implies that he supported single-payer but changed his mind under pressure. That was certainly never the case (yes, I know that back when he was a nobody he made some vague statements in support of single-payer, but that doesn’t really count). In the campaign, he never actually proposed any sort of detailed health care plan (with the exception of a statement that he intended to give insurance companies “a seat at the table”). As Krugman pointed out, he was really the only major Democratic contender who didn’t. Little wonder that, once in office, he backed a plan that was essentially written by a former insurance company lobbyist, Liz Fowler. He never “caved” to them – he was their loyal servant from day one.
Neither he nor the Democratic Congressional leadership ever had any intention of allowing single-payer to be considered seriously.
^^This^^
You are correct. I stand corrected. Also: Check out the paid Romney hecklers…it ain’t 2008 anymore.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/anti-romney-protesters-say-theyre-paid-to-heckle
I do note happily that one of the gaggle in Michigan is wearing a Lakers jersey.
Did you catch that the men say they’re getting $10 an hour more than the women?
As a matter of fact, the day that the group of physicians and healthcare people who were pressing for single payer hc were scheduled to arrive at the WH (with ample notice given to the same WH) Obama left town and closed the door to single payer —- before the meetings ever took place. He did not permit the single payer supporters/representatives a seat at the tabel – literally.
http://www.pnhp.org/ is the link to the Physicians for a National Health Program. This is the group who caravanned across the country to meet with the pResident at the WH several years ago.IIRC, they were turned back without a meeting and without access to the decision makers.
“Neither he nor the Democratic Congressional leadership ever had any intention of allowing single-payer to be considered seriously.”
********
IMO, the health care/anyone but Hillary fix was in before Obama was selected to be president. James Roosevelt was made chair of the rules committee to guarantee a result favorable for the health care industry. Also Sec. Sebelius said early in the process that Obama would make sure that any legislation would be written so that it could never evolve into a “single payer” system. Obama never caved, he was just acting as the stooge to front for the deals that had been made.
Obama was also a known quantity for the insurance industry; as IL. state senator, he gutted state health insurance “reform” .
Obama has been a stooge for whoever was the highest bidder and who could get him the farthest. And in turn, TPTB, knew a “sure” thing when they saw it.
Obama never caved, he was just acting as the stooge to front for the deals that had been made.
what he does best
Single Payer Action http://singlepayeraction.org/ was banned from testifying at the congressional hearings. They got revenge by submitting a devastating amicus brief to the SC against the mandate.
Wowie zowie! Obama has claimed executive privilege over the mass of documents not produced by Holder. This is BIG, I believe. As Tamer has always maintained, Fast & Furious goes up very high in the WH. Well, the assertion of this privilege implies it probably goes all the way up to the guy behind the Oval Office desk.
How does he plan on playing the part of Shultz “I See Nothing” while claiming that the documents are privileged WH property?
My in house law advisor says this is a misuse of Ecec Priv….I replied ‘if it’s Obie doing it, the msm will say it’s perfectly legal, and point to Clinton.,..hmm
“How does he plan on playing the part of Shultz “I See Nothing” while claiming that the documents are privileged WH property?”
His WH Counsel (and his well-staffed office) can be viewed as conducting the review for privilege and making the determination. Of course, we all know BO was involved.
The interesting thing about the single payer issue is that there is more conservative support for it now that the mandate was forced down our throats. I’ve talked to conservative who want to combine all the gov. HC programs (medicare, medicaid, CHIP programs, even VA, etc) into one, and let people buy in if they want to. That’s single payer.
don’t let any of the obots talk you into believing that was TehOnce’s plan all along.
Don’t let any obot tell you this was TehOnce’s plan all along.
I follow the rule of never letting an Obot tell me squat.
oops. I’m at a new computer and It wouldn’t originally allow me to comment. Hence the duplicate message. sorry.
We just spent a couple of days packing up the tents and moving North with the camels. And we thought Fl was Hot !!! ouch !
“Ex. Privilege” my patootie, this move throws the cover up into the courts and stalls action until after the election. We all heard him tell the Russian Pres. he would have more ‘leeway’ then.. Is this his idea of leeway ?
If it weren’t for all those inconveniently dead bodies, including an American, F & F would have been a blip on the screen. Funny John started his post with John Dean, who could have told those amateurs a thing or two..
Drat, I have Watergate on the brain lately, and confused Howard and John.
Thanks for nothing Howard. We coulda had Hillary’s health care plan, but no, you had to play with the boyz in 2008.
That’s what I was thinking.
Wait, I thought Hillary’s policy included an individual mandate too. (Candidate Obama had, of course, criticized her for the mandate….). Is my recollection incorrect?
Hillary’s plan mandated coverage, Obama’s did not. (He’s a liar.)
But Hillary’s plan offered Americans options, so although it was like telling Americans they have to eat their vegetables it didn’t require everybody buy broccoli at the price private corporations set:
1. If you like your current coverage you could keep it.
2. New private insurance would be made available to all Americans from the same plans available to federal employees and members of Congress.
3. You could opt for a public plan similar to Medicare. (The “public option.”)
4. Insurance premiums would be limited to a percentage of income.
5. Tax credits to offset health insurance cost would be would be available, including to those who owe no income tax.
I don’t remember it all, there were a lot more elements to HIllary’s plan that made it actual reform, and more defendable in court; ideas intended to lower the cost and increase the efficiency of health care for us, not simply force us to buy whatever private insurance corporations conjured up.
BTW, Obama said his plan didn’t mandate coverage because it wasn’t necessary, that the reason people don’t have health insurance is because it’s too expensive and his plan would lower costs so significantly everybody would want to buy it. I don’t know about any of you, but my husband’s and my health insurance premiums have gone up the past three years, not down – never mind significantly.
Plus, because same sex marriage is now legal in New York and Connecticut, we were forced (by the employer we have our insurance through) to get married if we want to keep our couple plan. Otherwise, we were told, it wouldn’t be fair to heterosexual unmarried couples. (Boo fucking hoo.) So most of my life I wasn’t allowed to marry the man I love, and then I had to whether or not I wanted to.
And being a married gay couple is double the fun at tax time if you want to file Married Jointly (which has advantages in state filing – and we file in two states) – we have to file as single and as married, doing all the calculations two ways, because New York and Connecticut recognize us as married but Uncle Sam says we’re single.
Howard Dean seems barely above plant life in the smarts dept. He graduated from the school of ‘he who yells loudest wins’.
He’s just never looked right to me without pom poms in his hands. A meth crazed cheerleader. Too bad, since he held so many of my views.