Schedule for House Health Care Vote

Political Hotsheet

[rjgarfunkel]

The comments by the former Cuban refugee show a categorical ignorance regarding our history and how our laws are created. Any comparison to Castro's Cuba and communism to the Democratic Party or President Obama is insulting and ridiculous. In fact, our system does not exactly reward majority rule, and currently the Democrats hold a 60% majority in the House, and 59% in the Senate and won the presidency by the largest majority since Reagan's election. Therefore, even though the people spoke loudly in 2006 and 2008, its tough to get super majorities to pass anything! With regards to that national choice, President Obama promised health care reform, and our escalating costs demand that reform. Our largest budgetary problems regarding Medicare and Medicaid are basically demographic ones. This bill does not threaten one's own coverage, extends coverage to 31 million uninsured, keeps insurance companies from excluding the uninsured, eliminates caps, lowers costs to small businesses and will help slow down the runaway cost of insurance. With that in mind, the GOP and their lobbyists friends (4400 of them)have spent over a billion dollars to protect the interests of big money. Keep up with the crocodile tears and understand that this bill will not negatively impact 97% of all Americans. The fear mongering by big business, and the GOP right which carries its water, will be over soon, and come November, most Americans will learn the real truth about this new law. It isn't perfect, but in the face of such withering and moronic fear tactics, it is a remarkable step forward. I advise all of you luddite-thinking Tea Baggers to send back their Social Security checks, refuse Medicare reimbursement for their parents or themselves, and become join a survivalist militia in Idaho! Maybe you guys can arm yourselves and hold out like the Japanese on Guam or the Philippines.
People let's get real. The sky is not falling, 95% of you will not have your taxes going up and a moribund system must change, and will.

Richard J. Garfunkel
Host of The Advocates
wvox 1460 am radio
New Rochelle, NY
www.wvox.com

[NonPartisanPatriot]

Interstingly, I know you don't believe one word you say. When the debt hits $100 trillion which it will, when health care costs skyrocket which they will, when people die because instead of yelling and screaming at an insurance claim representative they now get told "that's the final decision of the health care cost control commission," when the dollar becomes more worthless, when permanent unemployment is 2 - 3% higher than the unemployment rates of the good times, when the American dream of becoming a millionaire has become replaced by a tremendous step towards mediocraty, when the government controls virtually everything we buy, sell, ingest, invest, or invent, and when taxe rates hit 60% and 70% for the most productive in the country, then what? It still won't be enough. And with Social Security, Medicare and Health Care spending by the government not being sustainable, the government will simply have to tax everyone some more. Perhaps those making $1 million or more should pay 90% in taxes and those making $10 million or more should pay 95%.

It's a closed system everyone. A dollar taken by the government over here, is a dollar that doesn't get invested over there, doesn't make it to small, innovative, job creating entrepreneurs, in search of the once admirable "American Dream" which was where those in search of liberty everywhere in the world once came, to the "Land of Opportunity."

This has no chance of being successful, and everyone knows it. Democrats know that once it's in place, and they have to have more money "for the good of the people" that there's no way to ever turn it back.

God help us all.

[mikaela3154]

It is really SAD & SHAMEFUL what is taking place w/this ADM. in our Nation. My faily fled Communist Cuba when i was fourteen yrs. old. After living here for fourty yrs. i am shocked about what i see happening to this GREAT NATION. The people's VOICE is not important anymore!Typical of communism! The people in Congress that were put there BY US have become TYRANTS and have SOLD THEIR SOULS TO THE DEVIL! When a Gov't IMPOSES ITSELF on people they become just like any other Communist Nation! INTRUDING AND FORCING THEMSELVES ON THE MAJORITY VOTE. i will close w/this quote from the GREATEST and many men that truly LOVED THIS NATION, their behavior was completely different from what i see today:John Adams; "But a Constitution of Goverments ONCE CHANGED from "FREEDOM",can NEVER be RESTORED.LIBERTY ONCE LOST, IS LOST FOR EVER!" Adolf Hitler; IT'S NOT THE TRUTH THAT MATTERS, BUT VICTORY!Benjamin Franklin;Those WILLING to GIVE UP A little LIBERTY for little SECURITY DESERVE NEITHER SECURITY NOR LIBERTY!!! Hello this is the only thing in obamas mind!THIS SO CALL CENTRALIZED" GOV'T has GONE ALL THE WAY TO THE LEFT IS NO OTHER THAN A TYRANT THAT WANTS TO TAKE OVER AND "ENSLAVED THE CITIZENS"!!! helena

[dluvsck]

The BEST part of this bill is 270 million Americans giving total control over health choices to 216 people. I feel very good about this because I know that the 216 are way smarter than the rest of the 270 million. They will set catch-all rules for everyone that make better decisions for me that I ever could with my own doctor. I don't need to worry or even think about my healthcare anymore!

[mikaela3154]

It is Sad & SHAMEFUL what this Adm. is setting out to do. The same people that WE THE PEOPLE HAD ELECTED have SOLD THIE SOULS TO THE DEVIL, for GREED DISREGARDING THE MAJORITY VOTE! But we will HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE and you will be VOTED OUT! i came to the USA in 1969 fleeing a TYRANY GOV'T. i'm overwhelmed w/grief by seeing this people in D.C trying to dress FREEDOM w/ a CAST IRON FIST! to changed what the FOUNDING FATHERS FOUGHT SO HARD FOR! It's about"CONTROL" and getting more & more CONTROL OF OUR PRIVATE LIVES, INTRUDING IN OUR LIBERTIES a given GIFT BY OUR CREATOR TO EVERY MEN!i will close w/this quotes made by our bright and FEARFUL MEN OF GOD.John Adams;But a CONSTITUTION of Gov't ONCE CHANGED from "FREEDOM", can NEVER BE RESTORED. LIBERTY, ONCE LOST, IS LOST FOR EVER!!"Benjamin Franklin;Those WILLING TO give up a little "LIBERTY"for a LITTLE SECURITY deserve NEITHER SECURITY NOR LIBERTY" From the mouth of a TYRANT MONSTER: Adolf Hitler;The MASSES are FAR MORE likely to BELIEVE A BIG LIE than several SMALL ONES" Adolf Hitler;"IT'S NOT THE TRUTH THAT MATTERS BUT "VICTORY"! This is what's in the mind of obama and his followers to WIN AT WHATEVER COST! Even if it goes AGAINST ABOUT WHAT THE MAJORITY IS SCREAMING ABOUT. America PLEASE, PLEASE WAKE UP BEFORE IS TOO LATE nad we end up just like the rest of the TYRANTS around the WORLD! Respectfully, helena

[HGOODGUY]

The same empty headed protests came as te Social Security Act, the Civil Rights Act and Medicare were inacted.

I have three questions for these NIMRODS!

WOULD YOU GIVE BACK YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY?
WOULD YOU GIVE BACK YOUR CIVIL RIGHTS?
WOULD ALL YOU SENIORS GIVE UP MEDICARE?

You are so caught up in verbal fallout that you really can't see the forest through the trees!!

It's new and the Republicans always deal with anything new the same way. First they attack it and then they make you afraid of it!!!

Sme crap--different day!!

[NonPartisanPatriot]

My social security statement says that I may get 77% of what was promised, so people in their 20's, 30's and 40's will get less. Social security is insolvent. Medicare is full of fraud and has $35 trillion in unfunded liabilities. Essentially, it's bankrupt. If healthcare legislation is passed, it's the end of this country as we know it. It cannot work and it will not work and it cannot be sustained. There's nothing wrong with Canada nor with European socialism. It's simply not the American way. The American dream is based on freedom and opportunity. Every time the government expands, a little of that freedom disappears. You must be able to see that. Worse yet, the entire argument has been on health insurance, whereas it should have been about health care. It never has been. It's always been about destroying insurance companies and a disdain for capitalism. Why were we talking about covering pre-existing conditions? By definition, that's not insurance. It's something else. Do we buy homeowners insurance after our house burns down? Do we buy auto insurance after the accident? The entire year has been disingenuous at best, an attack on liberty and capitalism at worst. I pray to god that the efforts in Congress today fail. We all should.

NonPartisanPatriot

[anath348]

Oh yes, some our steemed congressmen are retiring...why Bart Gordon from TN just landed a cushy job with NASA and will be retiring...right after he votes YES on this whorthless abortion. No coincidence there.

?A democracy is always temporary in nature;
it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government.
A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover
that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.
From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates
who promise the most benefits from the public treasury,
with the result that every democracy will finally collapse
due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship?

- Alexander Tytler 1787

[Starchy77]

+1

[mmerikson]

I have called my congressman and sent emails to my Senators and left wondering where "government by and for the people" somehow and gotten lost on Capitol Hill. There is a large voice in America expressing HUGE concern, doubt and anger over the cost, content and lack of debate that has surrounded the entre development of the Health Care Reform Bill over the past year. I realize as a Health Care Policy Analyst it is not an easy task and that the views are wide and there are wide differences of opinion but to sweep aside a whole political spectrum and ram it through will have huge implications for future generations. Yes you'll win a short win, and generate TAXES for generations to come, (not even sure what those implications will be, large, large government - who will run it all (inefficiency in government - we can't even get Medicare and Medicaid right and we are going to try to regulate healthcare and mandate it at a microlevel).

There has been no transparency here in this debate at all, no bipartisan debate, it has been a campaign run (it will be interesting to see how many states can afford to adopt it - given the state of the ecomony), my children who are a young adults don't have jobs that give them enough hours - live at home but don't qualify for free care or Medicaid because they live at home (catch 22 - and can't be on my health plan by the way - and aren't given enough hours at work to get health care - how will they pay for this mandated care or their employers? I am curious. We pay a tremendous amount in taxes now?

How will these backdoor taxes work? Will my grocery taxes, gas taxes, income taxes, highway taxes, will I be paying for each window, door, TV, car (oh I already do I live in VA)? Where will it stop? We have brilliant minds in this country but we continually instead of applying them to really solving problems, doing the easiest and fastest solution. For a quick return....WHY?

We live in the best country in the world, my husband served in the military and was promised free health care for life and that turned out to be a false hood - it isn't so. You must pay for that also. Nothing in life is guaranteed.

Study the models that do work worldwide and find out why. I realize they have different forms of governments and different tax models (they have higher tax rates and a probably a less critical public). However they also ration care and people also pay for care if they want specialized treatments outside what is generally considered standard and accepted, yet people are doing just fine. How much of their GDP are they spending on health care? I know these studies have been done, yet I have not heard that you called one committtee together to discuss (you may have but it wasn't publicly dicussed and debated).

That is a criticism (do you think we aren't capable of forming our own decisions) or smart enough to figure out a good decision our own. Or perhaps you are still figuring out the way forward yourselves? Because you want it so BAD we are going to get it BAD. Meaning that to meet a political agenda and cross of something on the Democratic agenda we will get what we get and spend the next quarter of a century trying to fix it through legislation and mandates.

Unless it never passes to begin with it. I think the American public has a right to be concerned. Just another concerned voter, waiting to be "see what is in the mystery bill" that Speaker Pelosi told us to wait and see. That is downright scary....

Concerned in Virginia

[MyDivineComedy]

@erich
You need a history lesson not to mention a lesson in what left and right are if you think that Obama is the MOST LEFT President we've ever had. Do you know ANYTHING about FDR? For that matter, Lincoln could give Obama a run for his money on the issue of being to the left of popular opinion in his age! You might not consider those guys 'left' in comparison to the sensibilities of the average voter today - but to make that statement mean anything you have to look at where those Presidents fell in the sensibilities of the average voter of their era. Despite the Republicans thunderous roar, this country has consistently (as most of the world) moved in the direction of being more tolerant which is more liberal in our history. It's certainly not come fast enough - women and African Americans and many other minority groups are still struggling with just being able to live their lives safely in this country much less pursuing an American dream.

FDR attempted to increase the number of judges on the Supreme Court in order to get them to make decisions to his liking! Not to mention passing those programs that are REMARKABLY similar to our current Health Care Reform (and he was chastised AT LEAST as much as you are attempting to chastise Obama now but by ALOT more people) - you know, those sacred cows, Medicare and Medicaid?

No doubt you are one of the loonies that complains about Socialism and how the Dems are taking us down that path? Tell me, do you know what Socialism even is? Cause if you did, I'd expect to see you and all those that agree with you protesting and picketing the public school system, the police departments and municipal fire departments of your cities and towns.. why? All of those are on Socialist models and everyone seems to recognize that they work pretty well.

Oh, by the by, can you name any other 'democracy' that doesn't have health care for their entire population? No? I didn't think so...

[pasmalltown]

I agree the term "socialism" is being tossed around all too lightly at the present time. I believe erich_1-2009 has some sense of what socialism is, however he/she is confusing this term with "being social" in this case. No doubt his/her mind has been altered by "Glenn Beckisms"...........

[nickleworth]

Advice for the Party out of Power... Just saying "NO" is not enough.

[ofacoin10]

Re Brown's election: Do you know what a correlation is?

[ofacoin10]

oops. That was supposed to be a reply to Erich

[erich_1-2009]

The Senate Bill! The one that cost General Attorney Coakley the election in Massachusetts? General Attorney Coakley had a 30% lead in December 2009, the Senate Bill passes, and in just one Month Senator Scott Brown was able to win the election by a 52% to 47% margin.

The same Senate Bill that was done in a totally Partisan fashion of not including one Republican, and not one Republican caving in on it to vote Yes. The same Senate Bill that contains the illegal deals of the Nebraska, and Louisina Senators. The same Senate Bill that ALLOWS for Federal Funding of Abortion. The Bill stinks!

This Health Care Reform Bill is a mistake by the Democrat Party! You are going TOO FAR LEFT, WITH THE MOST PARTISAN, THE MOST LEFT PRESIDENT WE HAVE EVER HAD IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ...and you aren't even giving us free medicine, not even lowering our Health Care Premiums!!!

I know that there are very few Political Leaders that are going to read my comments...but I don't care...you are not listening to WE THE PEOPLE!