Senator Kennedy should be most remembered for the creation of welfare state, which he helped to implement in the 1960’s. The same welfare state which has bankrupted this country. Future generations of Americans will have to make the tough fiscal decisions he refused to make during his lifetime.

The Federal debt, TRIPLED!!!, under Ronald Reagan’s presidency. How did it TRIPLE!!!?

Because he implemented welfare to the rich and corporations, by tax cuts (welfare) and wasting massive amounts on a missile defense system (Star Wars) which he imagined!? and which still does not work (in reality) to this day.

Not to mention the billions, his successor had to spend to bailout the banks ( Savings & Loan crisis ) due to a collossal failure of deregulation implemented by the Reagan administration.

The Federal budget was in a surplus when George W. took office, he left office with 1.3 TRILLION!!!………..
Let me repeat… A 1.3 TRILLION dollar deficit.
How did this happen?

Let me repeat, tax cuts (welfare) to the rich and corporations, and a TRILLION dollar FIASCO in his crusade to Baghdad.

Not to mention the TRILLIONS spent to bailout the banks.

Don’t give me that crap, about the Senator. Especially when you have no facts, and frankly have no clue what you are talking about. Show some respect for the deceased Senator. Who lost three brothers in service to this country, and whose body is not even cold yet, nor buried.

P.S. HOW DO YOU LIKE THOSE APPLES!!?

P.S.S. I say we make them fillibuster, on the Senate floor in honor of the Great Senator Ted Kennedy, from the greatest state in the Union. Health care is a right not a privilege for all citizens.

Can I get a Amen people?

What do you consider welfare?

Toxic Formeldahyde trailers to poor homeless people, who lost their homes from a Federal Government built levy in New Orleans which broke because of negligence?

OR,

No bid contracts to KBR a prior subsidiary to Halliburton to build showers that electricute and kill servicemen taking a shower in a warzone.

HMMM?

Amen, brother!

Or maybe its Medicare that you consider your so-called “Welfare state which has bankrupted this country” signed into law in 1965 a mere three years after the late Senator had first gone to Washington to represent the state of Massachusetts.

But perhaps you did not know that every other country in the western world, has a far more welfare style of healthcare and spends half of the percentage of GDP on the healthcare sector.

And perhaps you did not know that currently, Medicare is in a surplus, yes it is true demographcially it will run a deficit in the near future but it has not contribute to the current debt and deficits yet. And if we can out flank the ignorant demogogues in the current healthcare legislation and implement real reform, we can begin to address these problems. Or wer can continue to subsidize (welfare) the Insurance companies, the Drug companies, the For Profit Hospitals, and the Lexus Country Club Doctors and leave the poor people to die in bankruptcy with nothing in the gutter. Yeah some welfare Sir!

Deficits and debts percentage of GDP are less of a problem than who owns that debt. In the first half of the 20th century it was American citizens owning American debt.

But now, after decades of Neo-liberal economic policies we run massive trade deficits. And here in lies the problem because it is foreign lenders that we owe.

The question people need to ask is what kind of society do we want to live in. Ted Kennedy or should I say Sir Ted Kennedy was working for a society in which people of lesser means had more of a stake and could contribute and grow. Coming from an extremely wealthy family he was well aware of how money worked in our society. He fought for the rights and dignity of the working people of his state and country.

As aj has already pointed out a lot of this is about how money is distributed.

It says a lot about a person who picks on the weakest people in the society and makes them scapegoats for a political agenda. We don’t have a real welfare society.
France, Germany and the Netherlands are good examples of that. Notice how they have weathered the recession better than we have. They have larger safety nets.

We do not. Our unemployment compensation is a joke.
The French get 65% of their salary and they have a real health care system.

In our country you lose your job and chances are your going to be homeless in less than a year.

I have to ask, is it better for people to be on the streets or given a helping hand to stay in their homes and keep their families together while they look for a new job. Once your homeless the chances of coming back into the fold of society are very low. If your over 45 they are almost impossible.

I ask again, what kind of society do we want to live in?

The fed is printing money like never before in post-modern history because of the financial crash caused by, wait for it… not liberals like Senator Kennedy but neo-liberals and conservative idealogues who turned the entire economy into a ponzi scheme to enrich themselves.

Think Enron on a national scale, and inflation is going to shrink these deficits at the behest of responsible savers, and we will all suffer the consequences.

Talk about starving the beast.

Let them fillibuster!!!

right on aj,

just yesterday Michael Steele in the logic only he could understand got pawned on morning edition when actually asked to clarify his answers i.e. talking points

The GOP is a joke acting as if they care about medi-care when the pass 40 years have been trying to destory it.

gotta listen to Steele double talk and contradicts himself over and over again in the same interview

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2009/08/rncs_michael_steele_tangles_wi.html

Republicans in the last 30 to 40 years has dumb down debates, to soundbites, all answers are tax cut and if a corporation screws you it’s your own fault in there mind example Mickey comment. or the use of the sky is falling tactics, just look at the torture issue, they want to debate something that is morally wrong, against treaties, and against the law. As in the past republicans fought government and corporations but Reagan changed that to only government while they take it from behind by corporate interest.

or this
fear trumps logic

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112315433

Great peace NPR. Yesterday, there was a segment about “what really happened on the day of Katrina” for the anniversary.

How about, What Really Happened on the day of 09/11/2001? I am sure, Ted Kennedy would have love to hear this.

Amen aj.

Of course, the stuff you have listed would happen… because the Media is sleeping and we just don’t question what they are doing to us.

Amen Felipe, Gracias.

I am also a believer of listening to Richard Gage.

What if…..what if WTC7 was brought down by controlled explosives? Just think about the implications? It is so easy to prove this. Just ask a structural/civil engineer or an Architect.

Looking at what really happened on 9/11 is the “only” ticket for getting out of Afghanistan.

Enough of arms and legs are lost!!!!

Amen for aj’s points.

As for Mr Steele, of the hospital for the mentally confused Republican Party (see Bill Maher), read Steven Pearlstein”s column:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/25/AR2009082503136.html

The column is a bit over the top, but that is the only way to put Mr. Steele’s OpEd in perspective.

A Brit, Rory Stewart, currently at Harvard, has a good discussion of why we need to go slow in Afghanistan in the London Review of Books.

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n13/stew01_.html

You can tell that none of the panel, especially Jack, have bothered to read the documents released this week with respect to CIA interrogation program. The news was that the program was thoughtful, defined, communicated to Congress and productive. Next.

Debt in the hands of foreigners is better than in the hands of Americans because we can afford to stiff them. In any case, let’s close our borders to foreign goods. I don’t mind paying $10 for gas and $50 for a t-shirt, we’ll just pay everyone more.

@Jeff:
That would be nice, but we simply so not have the capability to close our borders and maintain our economy as currently constructed.

1) Peak oil has come and gone for the U.S. Less than 1 in 3 barrels of oil come from U.S. territories; all the oil in ANWR would be burned in 6 months IF we could pump it instantly. It will take a LOT longer than a year to build a oil-free economy that would provide an acceptable life-style for most Americans; it can, must and will be done but not by closing the borders.

Yeah AJ! Nice comments! Keep up the good fight!

What is going on in Afghanistan? American troop deaths are rising exponentially and noone knows why we are there, what our goal is and, based on the poor results, why bringing in more troops was necessary. When are our troops going to get a Cape Cod vacation and have the opportunity to wear shorts at the Grand Canyon?!

It is my sincere hope that moderate/conservative Democrats and the GOP are successful in sustaining a filibuster to any health care reform that contains a public option, which will be paid for through higher deficits. Unfortunately, most middle class Americans are probably philosophically conservative, but operationally liberal, meaning that they want more from the government in form of benefits, but want to send the bill to someone else.

AJ, While reasonable people can disagree regarding the proper role of government, I can no comprehend how any rational human being can equate tax cuts (eg. a person earns his or her income) and welfare (which is not earned). Those of us Americans who earn higher incomes are able to do so because we have either a skill, product, or service, for which someone else is willing to pay based on their own free will. During my career, every interaction in the business world with various parties (e.g. customers, suppliers, employees, potential employers, etc…) has been based on the free marketplace concept of mutual consent where all parties are looking to maximize his or her own personal self interest and are free to deal (or not deal) with another person or firm.

On another note, during the first +-40 years of my life, I have engaged in many interesting endeavors, starting with military service during the first Gulf War in January 1991 when I was a young student in college. On another note, I never referred to myself as a “grunt” and would respectfully ask others to refrain from using such a condescending term in reference to those who served our great nation. Military service helped shaped my personal and professional growth as I have been involved in many interesting business endeavors (some which succeeded and others that failed).

Rob, you’re right that reasonable people may disagree about the proper role of government, but I assume that to be consistent in your adoration of an “ownership society,” you have quantified all of the benefits you’ve accrued over the years from local, state, and federal government expenditures that were done for the public good, and then paid back the taxpayers who footed the bill for you. That park you played in as a kid, the clean air and water you enjoyed, the immunizations that protected you, the regulations that kept your pajamas from bursting into flames, and your food from being contaminated, the public school where you learned to read, the hospital that might have saved you, the public university you went to, the roads on which you drive, the subsidies that built the infrastructure of the internet (allowing you to post here)… This is a tiny fraction of course.

Our health care system is inefficient and immoral. The market has had its chance, and it has failed. It just doesn’t work. Overhead is 20-30% in the health insurance industry; it’s 3% for Medicare. Profit is maximized by denying claims, even legitimate ones. People who get sick and lose their job lose their health care. About 20,000 people DIE each year because of our broken system. 50,000 have no health care. Many more are underinsured. The labor market is far less efficient than it should be because people are afraid to change jobs for fear of losing their health care. Small businesses and startups (where ALL of the new jobs are created) are at an enormous competitive disadvantage because they don’t have the money to provide health care for their employees.

You know Rob, I’m assuming that you’re a real person, and not an insurance company public relations employee (unencumbered by moral scruples). I hope you are a propagandist, because if you really believe YOU are purely responsible for your success, you’re deluded — and if you’re comfortable with our current health care system, you don’t give a damn about all of the people who are dying and/or losing everything because they had the bad sense to get cancer, or get hit by a drunk driver, or…

Okay Rob, now it’s your turn. Have you paid back those taxpayers? What!!!! You’re a freeloader? No, it’s called a society. We’re all stronger because of efforts to foster THE PUBLIC GOOD. That’s why you had a school to go to!! So, are you going to get on board, or be a freeloader and continue with the “I got mine and that’s all that matters” attitude? Finally, do you have market-based answers to all of our health care problems? Can you explain why Europeans get BETTER, UNIVERSAL care for about half as much as we pay? Waiting…

“most middle class Americans are probably philosophically conservative, but operationally liberal, meaning that they want more from the government in form of benefits, but want to send the bill to someone else.”

People want more from the government because the government sends people the bill every year for a good chunk of their pay check. I easily pay 30-35% of my income to local, state and federal government in various taxes, fees and withholdings. I am watching my money being shipped to various corporations in a form of bailouts, tax breaks, subsidies, etc. Where is my cut? Of course, I want benefits. Your assertion that I want to send the bill to someone else would have been kinda ok if this was a tax free society. But it is not.

“What is going on in Afghanistan? American troop deaths are rising exponentially and noone knows why we are there, what our goal is and, based on the poor results, why bringing in more troops was necessary. When are our troops going to get a Cape Cod vacation and have the opportunity to wear shorts at the Grand Canyon?!”

-Posted by Arnold

**

Ooh, Arnold. You sneaky bastard! Don’t you know that such inconvenient facts are only to be mentioned when a Republican is at the helm? What are you, a bigot and a racist, for daring to criticize the first African-American President?

Cindy Sheehan is awesome and wonderful and brave and all that, but only till she speaks truth to the Republicans in power. Now, her protests are a joke which we need to stay away from, and we don’t need to give her any publicity. Besides, it’s all Bush’s fault.

/very much tongue-in-cheek

I think, a lot of Obama supportes are unhappy with his policies in Afghanistan. This sarcasm misses the mark, because I don’t hear liberal media or people cheerleading him on that, the way “concervative” media and people did for Bush. It wasn’t that long ago. We remember.

Look at the federal budget, or state and local, and see where the real welfare is: entitlement programs and employee pension and h/c costs. Bailouts and tax subsidies don’t amount to a fraction.

The percentage of American adults who have no federal income-tax liability is 49% (CBO) under Mr. Obama’s tax plan. Another 11% will pay less than 5% of their income in federal income taxes and less than $1,000 in total.

The new data shows that the top-earning 25% of taxpayers (AGI over $62,068) earned 67.5% of the nation’s income, but they paid 86% of dollars collected by the federal income tax. The top 1% of taxpayers (AGI over $364,657) earned approximately 21% of the nation’s income, yet paid 39% of all federal income taxes. That means the top 1% of tax returns paid about the same amount of federal individual income taxes as the bottom 95% of tax returns.

The people who want more from the gov want more because it’s all free to them.

Nothing is free in this country. The bill come right back to my family every time. My heart goes out to poor rich people and corporations who must pay taxes, but it’s in the Constitution. Federal government has the power to lay and collect taxes and provide for the general welfare. Talk to framers, if you are unhappy. GOPers are not the only ones paying into the pot here.

It’s certainly free to those who have nothing invested in it.

Democrat and media cheerleading takes the form of ignoring what’s going on so we can focus on what’s not important.

Everybody pays their fair share. Rich people, of course, have much greater capacity to cause harm to this country in terms of financial, economic and environmental disasters. In the end, history shows, they make out all right, while all of us suffer. If they pay more, it is only fair.

People who do not pay taxes because of ill health or old age are not to be written off from the society. It is something Nazis would do. Sure, it costs money, but we already spend 16% of the GDP on healthcare.

As far as Afghanistan, Obama will suffer for it in the polls. He is rapidly losing my vote, that’s for sure. I just hope it is not a Republican who benefits come elections time.

You could tax the top 2% of all wage earners at 100% of all their income, it still would not be nearly enough to pay for President Obama’s welfare state. You liberals who want the federal goverment to care for you from cradle to grave (because you can’t make it on your own), you’re in for a huge letdown.

We want that damn Public Option you greedy bastards. We won’t settle, give us that damn Public Option or take that bill and shove it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAe7Dkf8lNY
” Tear it Up! ”

Let them fillibuster, we should go to the mats on this one. Let em fillibuster!!!!
We may be a man short but your gonna
give us that damn Public Option you greedy bastards!!!
We won’t budge, you can fillibuster till Christmas for all we care. We are gonna get that damn Public Option!

Give em hell 54th!!! Win one for Teddy!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSpXAdThXsk

aj, it’s intersting to note that in your rants, you never mention Barack Obama, after all, he is the President. However, since President Obama has taken office: more than 2 million jobs have been lost, the deficit will grow between 7-9 trillion when President Obama leaves office, more Americans are dying in Afganistan now than ever before. No wonder you don’t want to talk about President Obama’s negative accomplishments. It serves your cause to look to the past rather than living in the present.

Aw Hell, Mickey, I respect your opinion, and you make some good points, but we’re hurtin here, and that’s what we do at an Irish Wake, we let off steam, and set it straight.

I’m not carrying water for the President.

AJ, I would like to see every American have health care. I was letting off some steam as well. I hope both Democrats and Republicans can work together so that Every American can have health care. God Bless Senator Kennedy. He was a great American. R.I.P.

Here, Here!

You heard that Rob, the old grunt Teddy was a GREAT AMERICAN! How bout them apples?

Liberal Lioness, let’s hear you roar.

meow.

What’s with the hypocrisy regarding naming Kennedy’s replacement? Gov couldn’t choose in 2004 and now he should? How long do we have to wait until another Kennedy takes Teddy’s place? King George got nothing on these guys.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUV69LZbCNQ

Yeah it stinks no doubt, but that’s classic old school Massachusetts democratic knock down drag out politics for you. It will be interesting any how.

Mitt made it official, he won’t seek the seat from the GOP side, not that anyone thought he would.

He’s gunning to be top dawg. Obama v. Romney. Could be a fight.

The municipal elections are on Nov 3, we’ll see if they run the primaries then, but the general vote will be Jan 16 or 23 pending yet another change in the law. Can’t rule it out though can we?

Screw it, we can win this a man down. Let em fillibuster.

“What’s with the hypocrisy regarding naming Kennedy’s replacement? Gov couldn’t choose in 2004 and now he should? How long do we have to wait until another Kennedy takes Teddy’s place? King George got nothing on these guys.”

Macchiavelli would have been proud if they did that. Plus, there is so much hypocrisy in today’s politics on every side that this charge does not impress anyone anymore. I am afraid they don’t have the guts to do it, though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9AdOqhaKVw

Now that’s a roar.

Here’s a yawn, (yawn)

Ted was great at spending “other people’s money” and like all liberals results did not matter..just intentions. He was a good guy to go chase girls with or get sloppy drunk, but not a someone you want around your daughter. Good bye!

Mike in WI, My comment above was purely in reference to the earlier note in this discussion thread equating tax cuts to welfare, rather than providing a long dissertation with my opinion as to the proper role of our federal government.

As I started typing this response, I realize that Arnold already provided the latest CBO/ US Department of Treasury statistics regarding who pays federal income taxes that I was about to post. Thanks Arnold. I would only add that it is not healthy for our democracy when a ever growing percentage of Americans are paying little or nothing to support government. I would also note that approximately 70% of the federal budget is now spent either on these various entitlement programs that are effectively transfer payments from people who earned income to those who in many cases did not or the interest on our national debt While I have no problem with limited federal (or state/local) government programs related to essential public functions, such as national defense, basic infrastructure, schools, public safety, court system, and limited regulation (primarily related to financial markets and the environment), I do have major problems with these government programs that attempt to transfer income from those who create wealth to those who do not.

As a side note, I do not have work related experience in the health insurance industry. I am also somewhat curious regarding how you infer that anyone who opposes a government option as part of this health reform is some secret industry operative. I also choose not to respond to your comments that include childish name calling, etc… Good night all as I am heading out to dinner with family.

“Ted was great at spending “other people’s money” and like all liberals results did not matter.”

They all like spending other people’s money. And results usually don’t matter. I’d say Republicans even more so than Democrats. They don’t even know where the money goes a lot of the time. GOPers are just mad it’s not them who gets to do the spending.

God Bless Ted Kennedy.

I would just like to comment on Jack Beatty’s comment on Obama cutting Medicare. I am usually impressed by his commentary, but on this one, he is off by a mile. It is a common misconception that the insurance industry propagates to promote their cause. Obama is NOT cutting Medicare. Rather he is trying to save it by cutting the subsidies that Medicare is paying out to insurance companies running Medicare Advantage programs, which is costing 12-18% MORE per enrollee than traditional Medicare without offering any meaningful benefit. Commonly cited additional benefits are gym memberships, which seniors rarely use, and preventive care measures, which physicians already commonly do for ALL patients, including traditionally Medicare patients, without discrimination.

And the dream lives on…

P.S. Let those greedy bastard SOB’s FILLIBUSTER!!! till hell freezes over. We’re gonna win this one for TEDDY!

If Mickey Foster can give a mea culpa, then so can I. This whole health care debate has caused me to let off some steam as well. So I’ll echo the words Mickey, “God Bless Ted Kennedy, he was a great American, R.I.P.

Remembering our Teddy….

I wish Teddy were here and he could serve this country as the uncorruptable Secretary of the Treasury, and as the Chairman of the Fed, and also as the uncorruptable CEO of Goldman Sachs… and also Founded AIG.

Indeed. :>

It’s too difficult to get Washington to cut back on spending. No matter how much money it taken it, they refused to cut spending. Now the idea of universal healthcare is being pushed, but with no way to pay for it.

Its always funny listening to republicans talk about, people spending others money, when they dominated all three branchs of government, and let billions go unaccounted for in iraq, afgan( guess that’s the meaning of a fiscal conservative)And spent like a drunken sailor but with very little to show for it.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0127/dailyUpdate.html

Don’t forget outsourcing Military, CIA, jobs to third parties with immunity to U.S. laws along with iraqi,a afghan.(guess this is how republicans are strong in national defense when they try to outsource our U.S. military, CIA jobs to mercenaries) along with overpaying for that on top of that. For a party who states there the pro military its odd that there would outsource military jobs and work to third parties such as black water.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124511068419617063.html

Or how Republicans allowed and promoted hedge funds managers pay less than 25 percent on there income, and promote a idea it was fine to deny health care to make a profit, even when one is paying for health care.(i guess that the social aspect of the Republican party ration health care as long as it is the private market doing such)Dont forget the people who were bailed out on wall street started with President Bush,before that S&L by bush the first(who made great risk with our money and received all the gains but when it failed the taxes payers flipped the bill)

http://www.epi.org/publications/entry/pm120/

Or When Republican wail about keeping government out of their lives, unless it’s a woman’s body i.e. abortion, gay rights, smoking weed,stem cells research, what is moral based on there beliefs, or pushing religions in schools i.e. creationism as opposed to evolution,

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/on-education/2009/03/30/texas-schools-face-the-evolution-debate.html

Republican cry out how government is so bad,yet believe all court systems, and police don’t abuse there powers than get elected into office and as we have seen mismanaged, starve or attempt to all public programs, except defense, and military spending in which there always tons of unaccounted waste.

A republicans thinking “is as if there had a car for years and didn’t what to repair anything on there car and with run it to the ground than when finally they take it in to the shop the repair bill is in the thousands and cant understand why” And this is the thinking of the republicans to starve government in a attempt to make it small, yet when the repair bill comes in for say infrastructure, state, local governments, they can’t understand why it cost so much.

So therefore republican logic

starve your neighbor, starve your friends, starve your customers, starve the consumers, starve the homeowner, starve your government, starve the poor, starve the weak,starve the sick, but overfed the police and military for when the crap hits the fan which of course it will since orders, power and money trumps social injustices( not always).

And than state that they did everything for themselves and everybody should do the same, yet in reality they had help and support from friends, family, mentors or believe that the selfish made this country great not the ones who sacrifice their lives for our freedoms (not just soldiers, but civil rights leaders,political leaders people in government who work hard to help the U.S. in a whole and anyone fighting for others that cannot).

thanks to foxs news and if the far-right republican had there way we can look forward to far more sound bites, and opinion instead of facts and in depth coverage and the likes of this below where logic is void in our country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13Hzn3AvOXA

I think Ted Kennedy spent his last years in the Senate repenting for the crime he committed back in the 60’s on Mary Jo Kopech. Anyone but a Kennedy would have ended up in jail.

Abolitionists in the 19th century were bothered that people all over the USA were profiting from slavery. I’m not an historian, but the rerun of the show about the privateers in the American revolution morphing into the great Triangle Trade, with slaves being a crucial leg of that certainly reminds me.
Should American investors be profiting from health insurance? Are not the profits in that sixth of our economy hurting the sick or injured, and stifling those trying to get businesses and lives started?
If investments/profits are thwarting part of our economy and vast numbers of our people, isn’t it time to make a change?
Surely there are ways to make a profit in this country, so poised for change, so in need of new ventures. Surely we can disinvest from insurers the way we disinvested in South Africa, holding that sector in some way hostage until they create their own solution.
I can well imagine the way monied interests would not care to help. People — individuals — with their money might be able to help, not by signs and demonstrations but by effectively leaning on that corner of the market till it straightens itself with the common interests of us all.
Right now, profits (mostly for big funds, I understand) go up, up, up, and affordability of care goes down, down, down. We ration our own care because the cost of insurance, even with pared-down plans, way dominates the normal budget, which means we can’t afford the basics in health care; those basics are carefully carved into patches where the insured pays a third. That sort of thing.
We should be allies of the insurers, not pawns from whom the maximum profit is to be dragged. What am I, an animal? Profit should not be part of this.

Ellen you should watch the Bill Moyers Journal.
The documentary Money Driven Medicine is an eye opener.

I did not know that doctors can threaten too sue patents who refuse treatment, this is a new one.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/08282009/profile.html

Researchers Ellen Nolte and Martin McKee of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that the U.S. is falling even further behind in preventable deaths. The researchers tracked deaths they deemed preventable by access to timely and effective health care in 1997 and 1998 and 2000 and 2003. The U.S. dropped to last among the 19 industrialized nations studied. The research estimates that if the U.S. health care system performed as well as those of those top three countries (France, Japan and Australia), there would be 101,000 fewer deaths in the United States per year.

A report by the Commonwealth Fund also ranks the U.S. highest in total cost of care and last among industrialized countries “in preventing deaths through use of timely and effective medical care.” In a recent FRONTLINE report comparing the health care systems of five other capitalist democracies, “Sick Around the World,” WASHINGTON POST reporter T.R. Reid notes that, “The World Health Organization says the U.S. health care system rates 37th in the world in terms of quality and fairness. All the other rich countries do better than we do, and yet they spend a heck of a lot less.”

Michael, you really crack me up. Democrats control the Senate, the House, and the Executive branch and you want to blame Fox News and Republicans for the pathetic performance of the Democratic party. Democrats can pass any legislation they want without a single Republican vote. It’s your Democrat party that can’t even support the legislation Obama is offering up because it’s so radical and harmful to the country. According to a recent Zogby poll, Obama’s approval rating is at 45%!! How’s that “Hope and Change” working for you?

I’m further to the left on many issues, and I agree with Louise above. What exactly is stopping Democrats – who have control of both houses in the Congress and the WH – from implementing their agenda? Blaming the Republicans – who don’t even have enough numbers in the Senate to filibuster – and the Fox News at this point is simply grasping at straws, and shows an inability to face up to the reality of Democrats and their lack of a backbone. Call your Democrat Representative and Senator!

Orin Hatch says Republicans just can’t support a bill with a public option – as a Democrat, I just can’t support a bill without one. How can we compromise? What would Teddy do?

We need to change the law in Mass. regarding giving the governor the power to appoint an interim senator that will not be allowed to run for the seat, as the Senator requested. Can’t we also add that the governor would be required to appoint someone that is of the same party as the person that has vacated the seat? i.e., if a Democrat was voted in and dies/vacates the seat, another Democrat would need to be appointed as interim, and,the opposite would also be true. I’m going to call all my reps this week, as well as Deleo and Murray, and put my two cents in. MA deserves to have two votes, and as someone that voted for Teddy, I want someone to replace him of the same ideology.

here, here, aj!
right on, Michael!
thanks, Louise!

Linda

“If Mickey Foster can give a mea culpa, then so can I. This whole health care debate has caused me to let off some steam as well. So I’ll echo the words Mickey, “God Bless Ted Kennedy, he was a great American, R.I.P.”

Posted by Louise, on August 29th

Louise, thanks for this. As with many great Americans -Democrats and Republicans – he wasn’t perfect, but he loved our state and this country and served it for many years in the best way he knew how.

“What exactly is stopping Democrats – who have control of both houses in the Congress and the WH – from implementing their agenda? Blaming the Republicans”

Indeed. They have to do better than that. In fairness, Republicans were handed control of the entire government and yet, it did not become smaller, spending was not reduced, foreign policy did not become any more effective, the government’s involvement in personal lives of Americans has increased. Seems to be a recurring theme nowadays. It is a very fair comment by Louise.

Louise I was just on the Zogby site and they said Obama had a 51% approval rating.

As an independent I’m not happy at all with the Democrats. That said I loath the Republicans as they seemed to have done a lot of damage to this country. For me it’s a matter of picking the lesser of two evils or just not voting.

Which is starting too look like a real good option.

It seem the real issue is how dysfunctional government is in general.

Take the whole financial crisis. Well it started with deregulation under Reagen and then Clinton did the worse thing by allowing Default Swaps to be legal. Something that was not until 2000. The deregulation’s were also championed by Alan Greenspan who had way to much power and is a Libertarian so his free market ideas were put into play. We are paying the price for all this, the Great Recession. Plenty of blame to go around here.

My question is what kind of society do we want?
Not too many seem to want to answer this.
It’s easier to scream and yell and call Obama a socialist and call his health care ideas a government take over then ask some real hard questions on how move forward with health care in this country.
Health care is at a crisis now, not 10 years down the road, but now. If we don’t fix this then we are doomed here. The insurance and pharmaceutical corporations are not interested in our well being, they are interested in their profits.

Health care in this country needs to rebuilt from the ground up. Anything less is a lot joke and it will not do a thing too change how things are done.
Personally I don’t care if have a single payer or a system like they have in Switzerland, but I just want this mess cleaned up.

Well it seems I was wrong on the poll numbers; Zogby has one poll that Louise quoted, 45% and in another section of their site it has a poll that was 51%. Go figure.

Polls while they are an overview are also not giving us the whole picture. That said, I say this as an Obama supporter who is not going too vote for him when he runs again in 2012.

One thing is for sure he is spending his political capital real fast.

Thank you Linda. I have always admired the Kennedy family. J.F.K. was my favorite Kennedy. He was centrist, practical, fair-minded, and honest. Everything I thought candidate Obama would be as president.

It seems pretty obvious to me the government is paralyzed because both executive and legislature depend on huge money to get elected. They will face great belching TV ads that can only be answered with equal and opposite TV financing. Banks and insurers and so on, to cover their behinds, end up financing both parties. Here in my corner of Massachusetts, where insurers remain because they are still raking in money from self-employed like me, and being profitable are paying huge taxes (I assume; Senator Kerry assured Senator Hatch on Sunday that no, insurers are not leaving Massachusetts, and so reform is apparently not so bad). Here a regional newspaper explained that the representative who is not on board with single payer is the one with a large and struggling insurer as well as many hospitals in his district.
So since that is my rep in Washington, I tried to e-mail him. I spent a few hours, fortunately wisened-up enough to save my text before hitting “send.” “Send” does a total and immediate wipe-out. Apparently that’s the only way to reach him. So I sought out the Ways and Means Committee site, where he sits, and sent my missive to Congressman Rangel, the chair. I had also e-mailed Kerry; also the White House. Rangel’s site bounced back thank you very much right away.
The Senate Finance Committe — I think I know who all the members are who are working on health care, and I haven’t thought of any bright things to try to say to them. Chris Dodd, Max Baucis, Senator Grassley, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins… Right?
For someone nonpolitical, not terribly well-read, all I have to offer is over a decade of living in the trenches with this warp in the body politic, worrying why. Showing up loudly at rallies is one thing, but you might be rallying “Stop This Change,” where the status quo you are up against is the financial structure of the election process.
I noticed that Obama was playing golf with some honcho from AIG. He’s got to understand where AIG is coming from, but I’m afraid he needs the support of the dollars from all of AIG’s various dimensions. The government is bought and paid for. I don’t really blame it. But how to get around it?
It makes me miss Teddy Kennedy, yes.

Our government is dysfunctional. It does not work due too the special interest and how they influence the outcomes of everything done in Washington. As Paul Krugman stateed in his OPED today: “America is a better country in many ways than it was 35 years ago, but our political system’s ability to deal with real problems has been degraded to such an extent that I sometimes wonder whether the country is still governable.” I have too agree with this. It seems that nothing can be done without lobbyist and corporate money influencing the outcome.

Nixon’s health care plan is better than what the Democrats are proposing today! Nixon wanted to embraced tighter regulation of insurers, calling on states to approve specific plans, oversee rates, ensure adequate disclosure, require an annual audit and take other appropriate measures to insure a better health care system for all Americans. Can anyone imagine one Republican coming up with a plan like this today?

We can sit here all day going back and forth about reforming health care, the bottom line is the special interest have already got what they wanted. We are going to be throwing good money after bad.

“Nixon’s health care plan is better than what the Democrats are proposing today! Nixon wanted to embraced tighter regulation of insurers, calling on states to approve specific plans, oversee rates, ensure adequate disclosure, require an annual audit and take other appropriate measures to insure a better health care system for all Americans. Can anyone imagine one Republican coming up with a plan like this today?”
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Good point, PS. Nixon is demonized a lot for Watergate – and rightly so, but what’s ignored by the (new generation of) liberals today is that many of the liberal laws on health, environment etc. were signed by Nixon. I was surprised to find that out when I decided to go beyond what the mainstream media regularly shouts about him. Whether he did that of his own initiative or because of a strong Congress is irrelevant when it comes to the positive consequences of all such laws he passed.
And can you imagine that the Democrats would come up with such a plan today? Sadly, they are in the pockets of big businesses and corrupt, just like the Republicans.

millard-fillmore just my point. Nixon’s health care reforms make the Democrat’s look like conservatives.

He makes the Republican’s look like extremist.

This is why Ted Kennedy had regrets when he fought the plan all those years ago. Alas, hindsight is 20/20.