Say 'No' to the Medicare Bill-Hillary Clinton's health care dream could soon come true.

Wall St Journal ^ | November 21, 2003 | DICK ARMEY

[SJackson]

I have great respect for my friend and former colleague Newt Gingrich. But on the Medicare prescription drug legislation currently pending in Congress, he is dead wrong. The deal on prescription drugs struck this week is in fact bad news for senior citizens and possibly even worse political news for the Republican Party.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Wed Nov 19, 4:41 PM ET

U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (news - web sites) (D-NY) makes a point while offering her support to the Alliance for Retired Americans who oppose the Medicare Reform Bill negotiated by the Republican leadership in Congress on Capitol Hill, November 19, 2003. The Alliance is concerned seniors will pay higher premiums for health care under the proposed Republican plan. REUTERS/Larry Downing

[randita]

I would take Armey's analysis over Gingrich's any day.

I hope the middle that supports this legislation gets so squeezed by the right and the left, that there aren't enough votes in the middle left to pass it.

[uncbob]

Best thing that coukld happen is that the Dems in the senate filibuster

Stops this madness and gets AARP Poed at the dems

Then maybe nothing gets done next year

[freedomcrusader]

I am much more optimistic about the chances of this bill dying now that I know that Armey opposes it. That gives cover to a lot of conservatives who haven't been in the House of Reps very long.

May it die a long, slow, and tortured death.

[OXENinFLA]

Hillary Clinton Senate Floor 1-19-03 [Page: S15175] GPO's PDF

This (medicare) bill has too many flaws for us to go forward. The privatization scheme that is tied into this bill, in a box with a big bow saying prescription drugs, is one that will make structural changes to this program which has been the bedrock of protecting our seniors and guaranteeing them the health care they have needed.

--------At least she didn't say lock box.

[OXENinFLA]

whoops, that should be 11-19-03

[Wait4Truth]

The the prescription drug plan fails, the headline in the papers will be the following:

BUSH TO SENIORS: DROP DEAD

I don't want to see that.

[Wait4Truth]

Should have said 'IF the prescription drug plan fails", not "the the"...sheesh.

[Capitalism2003]

Looks like the so-called 'conservatives' are abandoning us again.

[OXENinFLA]

Yeah, I'm still on the fence w/ this bill, I'd like to see more debate on it and really understand what is in it and how things will be affected.

[petercooper]

What is the voting process? If the Senate votes first it can die and spare the House reps from voting on it.

[Wait4Truth]

I may be in the minority on this particular thread, but the ramifications of having Republicans defeat President Bush's main domestic agenda item will be massive. The RATS will use it to bash the President from now until the election. On the other hand, if it is a REPUBLICAN president that finally delivers a prescription drug benefit to seniors when the RATS failed time after time, this is a huge win. I don't know why people can't see the big picture.

[goldstategop]

I agree with Dickey Armey. However, the thing that is propelling the Medicare behemoth forward isn't bad politics, its the perception that it will help politicians win over the geezer vote in an election year. Dick's up against one of the fundamental realities of Washington, that its hard to say NO to a politically influential constituency. Which is mobilized to turn out to vote its interests as opposed to conservatives who at best are ambivalent about what's pending. Sure we should kill the Medicare bill as I think it stinks but its harder to get the job done in the face of an election year when every politician will be calculating not, if this is what my principles are all about but basically, is this going to help keep my job? We'll see.

[petercooper]

The big picture is 70% of seniors already have drug coverage. They are the wealthiest segment of the population and I should not be paying for Grandpa's viagra.

Let the bill die!

[petercooper]

W will lose my vote if this passes.

[Wait4Truth]

Then he never had it in the first place.

[DustyMoment]

I would love to see this issue die once and for all. Why are the rest of us responsible for prescription drug for older folks? Should I also be responsible for buying their food? Paying their mortgage (or rent)? Maybe, I should be required to send them all on that 3 month vacation trip to Europe that they've always wanted but couldn't afford?

Where does the pandering stop and who decides it?

The Declaration of Independence predicated this nation onthe government guarantee of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, NOT Health. We were sold a bill of goods by LBJ when he pushed Medicare on us in the 60s and now we're buying another one. Medicare has proven to be one of the most expensive taxpayer funded boondoggles yet. However, this prescription drug bill could top it.

I have a hard time understanding why this is even being discussed as a reasonable topic on this forum.

[q_an_a]

as a person that has lived in mr armey's district for years I can tell you he is less than a jerk. he knows almost nothing about getting elected, because he ran unopposed for years. he never tried to fix any of the major infastructure problems like the interstate going through his district to Oklahoma. he stabbed newt in the back.

so other than the fact that he had one issue, closing bases, try to show what he DID in alll his years in washington? talk is cheap, if he was any good at anything, name a couple of significant bills that the whole world remembers for the second most powerful man in the House for 6 years.

[Charlotte Corday]

If some Congressthing from Florida or Arizona were to draft a bill that simply says, "Take everything that everyone under 40 owns, and divvy it all up for everyone over 65", would there be enough votes to defeat it???

[Charlotte Corday]

the headline in the papers will be the following: BUSH TO SENIORS: DROP DEAD

If you want the newspapers to determine national policy, you should probably be voting Democrat.