Key Dem Calls Party Moderates "Brain Dead"

Rep. Pete Stark Says Blue Dogs Are Just Looking for Campaign Donations from Insurance Companies

(AP)  A key House liberal suggested Thursday that party moderates who've pushed for changes in health care legislation are "brain dead" and out for insurance company campaign donations.

Moderate Blue Dog Democrats "just want to cause trouble," said Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., who heads the health subcommittee on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.

"They're for the most part, I hate to say brain dead, but they're just looking to raise money from insurance companies and promote a right-wing agenda that is not really very useful in this whole process," Stark told reporters on a conference call.

Kristen Hawn, spokeswoman for the Blue Dog coalition, said in response that the lawmakers "have played an active and productive role in this important debate" and "believe it's more important to get it right than to rush legislation on this complicated and critical issue."

CBSNews.com Special Report: Health Care

Thursday's call was hosted by the liberal group Campaign for America's Future to release a report making the case for a strong new public health insurance plan to compete with private insurers as part of any health overhaul legislation.

Health care legislation introduced in the House included a public plan with payment rates to providers modeled on Medicare rates. Doctors and hospitals say those rates are too low, but Stark and other liberals support the model, saying it would result in lower costs to the public.

Stark's Ways and Means Committee passed a version of the bill with Medicare-style rates. But in the Energy and Commerce Committee, Blue Dogs pushed successfully for changes that would have a public plan with payment rates negotiated by the Health and Human Services secretary.

The Blue Dogs said this would mean fairer rates to providers but Stark and others say it would be more expensive to the government and costlier to patients.

Versions of the health care bill passed by the Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor committees must be reconciled once Congress returns from its summer recess after Labor Day.

House Democratic leaders might have trouble nailing down support from the 52-member Blue Dog Coalition if the resulting bill has a public plan with Medicare-based instead of negotiated rates. But Stark and Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., a member of House leadership who was also on Thursday's call, said that was their preference — suggesting the deal made with Blue Dogs to get the health bill through the Energy and Commerce Committee might not hold.

"I do think that we'll stick with our rate structure," Stark said, referring to Medicare-based rates.

Any bill the House eventually passes would have to be meshed with legislation from the Senate. In the Senate the public plan faces tougher odds partly because minority Republicans who oppose it hold greater sway. A compromise being floated there would create nonprofit, member-owned health co-ops instead, along the lines of agricultural or electrical co-ops.

The Obama administration has indicated some openness to this idea, but Stark dismissed it, saying there was no indication it would work and it was "a sop" to a few senators from largely rural states.

"You might as well talk about unicorns," Stark said.

[libertyanne]

I wish people who state the correct facts would stop aplologizing. Maybe "brain dead" wasn't nice to say but Stark is absolutely right on congress being in bed with the insurance companies.

What other explanation could there be for wanting to preserve a system that plays NO role in providing health care? NO MEDS, NO BEDS NO DOCTORS?
The man is speaking truth to power. There is nothing outrageous about what he says. What's OUTRAGEOUS is allowing the diminishing of the quality of life of hard-working Americans who are being bankrupt by insurance companies. And by the way Baucus is an IDIOT as well.

[libertyanne]

I wish people who state the correct facts would stop aplologizing. Maybe "brain dead" wasn't nice to say but Stark is absolutely right on congress being in bed with the insurance companies.

What other explanation could there be for wanting to preserve a system that plays NO role in providing health care? NO MEDS, NO BEDS NO DOCTORS?
The man is speaking truth to power. There is nothing outrageous about what he says. What's OUTRAGEOUS is allowing the diminishing of the quality of life of hard-working Americans who are being bankrupt by insurance companies. And by the way Baucus is an IDIOT as well.

[trapbreaking]

Its the economy, stupid.

Obama approval rating has dropped from 69% in February to 50%

Consumer Confidence has dropped to 39% believe it is getting better 55% beleive it is getting worse

Only 12% believe the economic conditions in the country are good.

Unemployment is 9.6% Weekly job loses are over 500,000 per week.

Source: Gallup

[trapbreaking]

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows that 32% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty percent (40%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -8.

Support for the health care reform package proposed by the President and Congressional Democrats find most voters are still opposed.

[AK-47_Justice]

by j_mcdonald-2009:

"Could we stop bringing up red herrings and debate the actual bills being advanced? While an excellent case can be made for a government takeover (remind me again why I should divert thousands of dollars of my money each year away from medical care and into the pockets of an insurance company CEO), for better or worse that's not what is being proposed."
**************************************



It certainly is quite amazing how these braindead idiots keep parroting the same, old, tired MYTHS, but this can be expected as business as usual from the foxnewsus propagandus network.

It is just plain insanity to watch as these GREEDY for-profit insurance companies that ADD NOTHING to health care, continue to take the cream off the top of the $2.5 Trillion spent annually.

[hungry1968-16]

by User_00000000002945496845 August 28, 2009 8:11 AM EDT
These so-called "blue dog" Democrats are just in bed with the insurance companies just like the entire Limbaughrican party is.






Exactly.

It's not democrats or republicans.

It's CONSERVATIVES, and their continued "war on America".

[the_majesty]

In a poll that ask if you approve of a government takeover
of the health care system, 87% answered - NO ...

[j_mcdonald-2009]

I'll bet an even larger percentage don't want death panels, and a similar percentage wouldn't want to be forced to wait 5 years for appendectomies, and very, very few people would like to see their taxes quadrupled.

Could we stop bringing up red herrings and debate the actual bills being advanced? While an excellent case can be made for a government takeover (remind me again why I should divert thousands of dollars of my money each year away from medical care and into the pockets of an insurance company CEO), for better or worse that's not what is being proposed.

[searingtruth]

We must end the predatory Health Destruction Industry in one fell swoop, lest one more innocent life than already condemned be sacrificed to profit.

Single payer health care for all Americans is the only just practice, and solution.
ST


"Predators are defined by the weakest of their victims."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

[searingtruth]

"Our children's blood looks the same upon the ground."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

[searingtruth]

"Our children suffered all we had proclaimed just."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

[searingtruth]

"Sorry, didn't have my sarcasm-lock on. I was responding to some idiot that thinks people don't like socialized medicine. Probably a relative of the loon who yelled out at a townhall meeting that he didn't want government running his medicare."
by j_mcdonald-2009 August 28, 2009 12:57 AM EDT


Fellow citizen, if your post is directed to me then please don't worry. We're on the same side, and I greatly appreciate your posts.

As you mentioned, CBS has implemented a difficult to understand and follow threading system, and I hope they'll change it back soon, as there was nothing wrong with it in the first place.
ST


"We let them suffer and die because they didn't have money."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

[searingtruth]

"We embraced a reasonable cost for life.

Discounting the unreasonable cost of death."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

[searingtruth]

My infant son suffered unconscionable cruelty, my mother insufferable death, and my father simple murder by Kaiser, clean and simple in all cases by our Health Destruction Industry.

I would much rather that someone compassionate from the government be assigned to oversee health care than someone assigned to oversee the maximization of corporate profit.
ST


"I could only hold her in my arms and exclaim my most desperate undying love, as her last breath was taken. All I had learned, all I had hoped, all I had known, meant nothing. I had failed in my one most fundamental responsibility to humankind, and the first and most dear price I was to pay was the life of my own beloved mother."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

[searingtruth]

Ahhhh .... Truth.

Become a rare word barely recognised.
ST

"Truth is defined by the weakest of us who must suffer through it."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

[kansas1946]

I think that type of rhetoric "brain dead" is very counter-productive and will accomplish nothing. The Republicans have been at each others throats and look where they are. There are legitimate concerns about health care reform, cost, implimentation, etc., and I think adults should be able to set down and talk about those issues without name calling. I was hoping some of these issues would be addressed at the town hall meetings but those have turned into a platform for whackos that just want to scream and call names. It would behoove the Democrats to put themselves above this hysterical rhetoric and understand that every Democrat is not the same nor is every Democrat's constituency the same. Come on guys. Grow up.

[ProfElwood]

Is there anyone out there that does NOT believe that the public option is a ploy to help establish single payer? Every liberal blog that I've read seems to think it is. So does every conservative one. Heck, I've never heard or read from anyone who doesn't think that it is!
Just curious.

[gboyd41]

I agree, the administration approachs this "public option" as an insurance "option". The end result will be a solo govt. program because no one can compete with the spending power of the federal govt. Even though I strongly disagee with some of the insurance industries policies, you still have the legal system to rectify the problem. With the one payer policy, which I believe the intention is, the govt. will be judge and jury. Good will and health to everyone!

[j_mcdonald-2009]

Red herring.

When you can't argue against something, pretend the debate is about something else.

Once we have a public option, people can debate having single payer. If it's a good idea, we can then choose it. If it's not, or if we don't need it, then we can choose not to have it. In the meantime, fewer people will die and less money will be wasted.

[caliguy55]

Medicare, Medicaid, and the VA Health System are all government run health care systems that are considered by analyst to be much better than private insurer systems. Being disabled, I was able to get Medicare coverage approximately 4 years ago. Since then, I've been happier with my Medicare coverage than I ever was with coverage obtained from private insurance companies. If I ever had to make the choice, I would definitely choose Medicare over private insurance coverage. I have to wonder when I see all these old, white people on television protesting against government run health care if they are covered by Medicare like most people over 65 years of age. Personally, I believe they have Medicare coverage, but are just too stupid to realize that it's a government run health care system.

[reveal5]

Socialism describes Medicare. Medicare seniors receive about 280% return on the money they paid into medicare. 65000 dollars in from average senior to Medicare...180000 dollars out to the average senior on Medicare. They are the most socialist group in America. They are also the majority of townhall protestors. Younger Americans are paying for Medicare and the 280% return received by Medicare seniors. That's a good deal for seniors. No wonder they are fighting against any kind of reform. They hit the mother lode of socialism in America and don't want anybody messing with their good thing. That's the real truth.

[aldon62]

You're just plain out lying. Truth be known, medicare has approximately a 4% overhead. Insurance companies have approximately 30% overhead. Who do you think run's it more efficently? The problem with medicare is that at present funding levels, it's in trouble. THAT's what needs to be addressed! Medicare is the most efficient, well run healthcare program in America, and it needs to be extended to all of us. Single payor is the only way for this country to advance it's healthcare program. A Public option is viable, but single payor is the direction we should be heading. I know, because I'm now on it!

[swin5]

To Representative Stark: Better to have a brain that died than to never have had a brain in the first place.

Oh, and if I ever wanted a lesson on fiscal sanity I would never ask a Democrat from California.

[reveal5]

Yo, READ THIS!

[rightbehind]

I just want the vote for public health care. I would rather a good bill fail than have a bad one pass. Besides we end up with a list of yellow dogs to send packing which is fine by me. They have been riding our coattails long enough. Let's see their colors.