Posted on 08/16/2009 9:20:30 AM PDT by Smokeyblue
Apparently ready to abandon the idea, President Barack Obama's health secretary said Sunday a government alternative to private health insurance is "not the essential element" of the administration's health care overhaul.
The White House indicated it could jettison the contentious public option and settle on insurance cooperatives as an acceptable alternative, a move embraced by some Republicans lawmakers who have strongly opposed the administration's approach so far.
Officials from both political parties reached across the aisle in an effort to find compromises on proposals they left behind when they returned to their districts for an August recess. Obama has been pressing for the government to run a health insurance organization to help cover the nation's almost 50 million uninsured.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the White House would be open to co-ops instead of a government-run public option, a sign Democrats want a compromise so they can declare a victory on the must-win showdown.
"I think there will be a competitor to private insurers," she said. "That's really the essential part, is you don't turn over the whole new marketplace to private insurance companies and trust them to do the right thing. We need some choices, we need some competition."
Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said co-ops might be a politically acceptable alternative as "a step away from the government takeover of the health care system" that the GOP has assailed.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
This is not about a frivolous question of which provisions are acceptable and which are unacceptable. This is about a power struggle between the principles the founding generation were willing to stake their "lives, property, and sacred honor" for, and those who, throughout the history of civilization have arrogated unto themselves power over other people's lives.
The current "issue" called "health care reform," or its equally obnoxious semantic twin "health insurance reform," is just the invasion of liberty by arrogant elected officials which has finally aroused citizens who, heretofore, ignored the decades-long power grab by those who were supposed to protect "We, the People's" constitutional principles.
Now, citizens are seeing that it is a matter of "principle," not an issue of semantics over wording.
They should not allow their elected representatives to be coopted by "blue dogs" or any other "wolf in sheep's clothing" that would allow what may turn out to be the most important watershed moment in the history of American liberty to be further threatened. Now, Conrad and Sebelius, and others, sensing the voter mood are throwing out "compromise" talk this weekend, all to punt for better position down the road. Seize the moment for the sake of posterity and just say, "no"!
A word from the author of our Declaration of Independence regarding citizens and oppressive government might give some backbone to today's citizens:
"The most effectual means of preventing the perversion of power into tyranny are to illuminate . . . the minds of the people at large, and more especially to give them knowledge of those facts which history exhibits, that they may. . . know ambition under all its shapes, and . . . exert their natural power to defeat its purposes." - Thomas Jefferson
And, for more wisdom from the same source:
" . . . this is a tendency of all human governments. A departure from principle in one instance becomes a precedent for a second, that second for a third, and so on, till the bulk of the society is reduced to be mere automatons of misery, to have no sensibilities left but for sin and suffering. Then begins, indeed, the bellum omnium in omnia, which some philosophers. . . have mistaken it for the natural, instead of the abusive state of man. And the forehorse of this frightful team is public debt. Taxation follws that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression."- Thomas Jefferson
Don’t trust, verify.
Shouldn’t they check with Nancy Pelosi first? She said she had the votes to pass it.
‘Git yer grubby hands outta MY pockets.’
It’s that simple. My sign for Obama. I know he’ll relate to the slack English grammar, speaking Ebonics the way he does when necessary.
They may make it virtually impossible for insurance companies to make any money by imposing expensive regulations and then bring the "public option" in later, after all the Health Carriers follow in the footsteps of Chrysler and GM.
This is a ruse, simply government care by another name, except with double speak terminology. This is a move to confuse the issue, and appear like they are being “flexible”.
This is a dangerous move, and shows very like movement off of the monstrosity they have proposed. I trust most people will see right through it.
Waterloo.
You are exactly right.
ANY compromise on the overall bill and the philosophy behind it, will make it look like a victory from a newly moderated Democratic Party. THey will thus be emboldened to push other aspects of the bill they think they can and will “win” on. We’ll be left with something very similar to the monstrosity they proposed initially -—1017 pages of Social Engineering gobbledygook that would make a perfect bookend to the Tax Code. NO COMPROMISE!
ANY “concession” the Dems make should be highlighted again and again as NOT THEIR IDEA, therefore a LOSS for them, not a gain.
I don’t buy it. The Dems are probably trying to quiet the “rubes, nazis, crazy right wingers...” so they won’t protest anymore.
Drop the whole thing. Government, keep your laws off of my body.
Doesn't matter....They just want something passed. It's not about Health Care...it's about creating another "pocket" to rob from every year.
Remember, it’s the skinny end of the wedge that goes in first.
This is a dangerous move, and shows very like movement off of the monstrosity they have proposed. I trust most people will see right through it.
The legislation that sets up and defines the "co-ops" will have details, just like the current disaster has, I presume.
Watch for Obama and his flying-monkey supporters to lash out at middle America after this. If you wake up one morning and notice a brand new section-8 slum apartment building at the end of your suburban street, you'll know how it got there.
Too Late!... The door has already gained too much momentum in the process of being slammed in their face!
it’s not going to be dropped. The way the snakes in congress get what they want is to either put something in that opens the door for it or they’ll sneak it in during committee when no one is looking.
This is Obama’s crown jewel. He’s not going to let it go quietly into the thuggish Chicago night...
Truth has never been the strong suit of this President or Congress. When the legislation dies and the incumbents leave office; then we can start to look for ways to improve Health Care. The Federal Government should be looking at what the Commerce Clause of the Constitution is about. With further reading they might find out that running the Post Office, not Health Care is their Constitutional mandate.
I don’t want it public option or not. Anything they drop will simply be put back into it later. Conservatives had better keep the pressure on and kill this thing dead! Any politician who votes for this in ANY form should be voted out next election.
What would stop the democrats from creating a ‘public option’ after they get most of what they want in this ‘compromise’ bill? I say kill the bill!
“Remember, it’s the skinny end of the wedge that goes in first.”
Brilliant analogy. I really like it. So accurate in this case.
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