I Choose to See the Glass as Half-Full on Health Care

Hello Papamoka Bloggers! It's been a roller-coaster of a week trying to ride the ups and downs related to the health care debate in Washington and across the country right now. To be really honest, the reason it took me so long to post this week was due to extreme conflict within my own mind about how to react to events. I don't like to blog unless I feel well-informed and comfortable about an issue, and this one has pushed me to the limit.

First of all, I would like to say that I think the Republicans and a few bought-and-paid-for "conservative" Democrats are doing a great job lying about the health care debate. Like the president says, they are out there sewing fear hoping to terrorize the electorate. They are using every opportunity to skew the debate, distracting people from the real legislation.

It's sad to say that their tactics are working somewhat, since most of the national polls are showing a decline in support for the health care initiative overall, however, it's interesting to note that when the polls actually tell people what's in the primary legislation, the overwhelming majority of Americans favor it. It's also important to point out that most of the polls are misleading, manipulative and unworthy of reporting.

I don't wish to get into the nitty-gritty of the debate in this post seeing that I want to talk more about why we need to stay focused, but suffice it to say that after talking to a few Washington insiders this week I feel better about the delay and most of the legislation being debated in the House and Senate.

The bill forged by Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) led by Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Ted Kennedy (D-MA) are very positive. Their work along with a few other Senate committees provide some kind of public option and clean-up most of what is wrong with the health care system in America. Hopefully the Senators will be able to find common ground during their August break.

We should be highly skeptical about the legislation coming out of Senate Finance led by Baucus (D-MT) and Grassley (R-IA) pushing for eliminating employee health benefits in favor of ineffective health cooperatives, but the good news from what I hear is they do not have the support of the majority of Democrats in the Senate.

I also hear they've earned a bit of a bad rep lately. The other Senators fully realize just how much health care industry money has been pumped into that committee, so much so that it's been embarrassing for many in the Senate. FYI, after working up there, Senators do keep an eye on their colleagues and donations - often looking for motive before a vote. They don't always like it when committees sellout to overzealous industry profiteers.

Donations from lobbyists work best when the amounts donated to each politician remain secret. When the process takes time and legal reporting leads to open accounting (past legislation thanks to Democrats), it can create conflicts between officials. There are signs it is beginning to happen in relation to the Senate Finance Committee, as some Washington insiders report many are tiring of Baucus and his industry friends.

There is also the fact that most of the committee chairs and co-chairs receiving the bulk of the money represent less than 3% of all Americans - a fact that sticks-in-the-craw of many elected officials.

The other side of this debate is - of course - the Republican lies. They are bigger and better than ever. Again, despite the August delay, I'm hearing good news from my friends in Washington. There are signs the Republicans may have gone too far once again. They may have "jumped the shark" in their opposition to health care. Many are reporting that their latest lies - the elimination of Medicare, loss of personal health care choices, and forced living wills and early death - may be one step too far to say the least.

It doesn't matter if Hannity, Limbaugh and others repeat the lies ad nausea, as long as they can easily be disproved. In the end, the lies themselves can ruin the credibility of the opposition.

The polls show that when Americans learn about the primary legislation, they support it. The bulk of the legislation goes far enough to solve most of our health care problems. The special interest groups have been spending millions on ads and the polls haven't changed that much. Most important, the president and others are willing to sacrifice their valuable political capital (something most politicians won't do) to get a bill. If the legislators spend August learning about the options and informing their constituents, then we may just have a chance to change the system come Fall.

To me, the glass is half-full. To me, the signs are pointing in the right direction.

It's easy to get discouraged these days when it comes to Washington, politicians, corporate greed and especially all the Republican lies. It's harder to actually do the heavy lifting, oppose the "ends justify the means" crowd" and fight the good fight. That's what we need our politicians to do. We need them to stay focused, and to ignore the ignorant rants of the uninformed. We need them to follow the president's lead, stay strong, and pass real health care reform for the majority of Americans who support it.

PS - Please consider contacting your elected representatives often to remind them we support real health care reform with a strong and effective public option.

Michael Boh

Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Republican Slight of Hand

Hello Papamoka Readers! The news lately has been filled with both Republicans and Democrats screaming bloody murder over the completely unjust bonuses being paid by AIG. I agree there have been lots of mistakes made and that everything should be done to stop those payments, however, I also believe the right wing is driving the scandal to distract from the more important reforms.

Republicans haven't had a lot to crow about lately, so they're thrilled the Democrats dropped the ball involving something as controversial as bonus payouts to failing Wall Street bankers. Sure, AIG under the Obama Administration should have seen this coming, but it's still a GOP distraction.

The GOP operatives pushing this scandal are only interested in political gain. It's a scandal within a scandal. They are conveniently ignoring the fact that Bush and Paulson paid the first installment without any congressional involvement and without excluding bonuses the same way, because they too were afraid of employee lawsuits. Subsequent Capitol Hill and Treasury negotiators were also concerned about employee lawsuits. They were worried about increasing liabilities, something lawmakers care a lot about these days. They all had bigger fish to fry.

That's at the heart of the matter, yet nobody seems to have the balls to talk about it. It's all about politics now, and the Republican spin machine is doing its best to strum the last Democratic nerve. The only thing the Republicans are concerned about is a "gotcha" moment, and the Democrats on Capitol Hill are falling for it all hook, line and sinker. Only President Obama has had the nerve to take responsibility while asking us to focus on the big picture. I agree with him. Let's do it!

The AIG Financial Products Corporation, which is now being dismantled by government appointed executives, is the real scandal. The bonuses are horrible, but the real story is why the financial products division of AIG ever came into existence. Let's not forget the regulatory changes led by Senator Phil Gramm of Texas, Newt Gingrich, and the rest of the Republican Congress during the waning days of the Clinton Administration started this national nightmare. They know it, but for some reason rank and file Republicans ignore it, and average Americans never talk about it.

Sure, Clinton signed it under extreme pressure, and he was wrong to do it, but the real culprits were the Republicans who destroyed the walls that stood between banks, speculative investment brokerage firms, insurance companies, and the rest. Those protections were put in place after things went horribly wrong during the last Republican depression. They were designed to manage greed, PROTECT the free market from its darker side, and in the end keep the wolves out of the hen house. It was the REPUBLICANS WHO DESTROYED IT!

Of course, their deregulation was made worse by the fact that regulators were undermined by the Bush Administration. Oversight was weak at best. The Bush Administration was without a doubt a REACTIVE regulator. They didn't believe in the protections. They didn't do their job. I don't care what my right wing readers say, the Bush Administration could have done more to prevent the crisis. They had the data, they knew about AIG and the $50 TRILLION plus DERIVATIVES market, and they knew about the risk to the whole economy. They did NOTHING! They were at least negligent, and at worst conspiratorial.

My dinner party debates always feature a Republican blaming Congressman Barney Frank, Senator Christopher Dodd, and the usual Democrats for not reigning in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. What they never admit is how the Bush Administration had the authority, through dozens of regulatory agencies, to reign in the risk across the board. Many economists feel that most administrations would have done so. It was the Bush Administration, along with the Republican belief in small and unobtrusive government, that failed the American people.

Therefore, let's be angry about the greed on Wall Street, but I think it's more important to keep our eyes on the prize. Let's make sure the Democrats and the Obama Administration do everything necessary to reverse the regulatory changes that allowed the Bush Administration to look the other way. Let's FORCE future Republicans to regulate the risk by creating strong and principled new laws.

Let's reform until we can't reform any more. AIG is the critical patient that needs to be isolated and treated, but it's the Republicans and their broken philosophies about government and the market that represent the deadly contagion. Let's find a vaccine and a cure! Let's make sure we never become victims of their greed and stupidity again.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Bailout Quagmire Courtesy of John McCain

John McCain suspended his campaign to do what most legislators in Washington D.C. do, nothing! He could have done that from the campaign trail. Instead, he declares this banking industry and Wall Street crisis his top priority so he can go the White House and offer nothing to the equation. Did he or did he not say that he was going back to the capitol to end the bipartisan debate and fix the problem? Instead we get more of McSame only this time he’s not even taking sides with his President or the bipartisan group that has put together this bailout package.

Shaking my head in disbelief but this is what Reuters has to say on it…

Angry W. House meeting roils Wall St bailout talks
By Kevin Drawbaugh and Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Negotiations in the U.S. Congress toward a massive bailout for Wall Street fell into disarray on Thursday night after a contentious White House meeting, with lawmakers later offering conflicting reports about the position of presidential candidate Sen. John McCain.

The White House meeting -- attended by McCain, Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama, President George W. Bush and lawmakers from both parties -- "devolved into a contentious shouting match," according to a statement from the McCain campaign.
"At today's cabinet meeting, John McCain did not attack any proposal or endorse any plan," the statement said.

Senior Democrats said they came away from the afternoon White House session with the impression that McCain was backing an entirely new Wall Street rescue plan, one differing markedly from a Bush administration proposal under discussion for days.

Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee and a participant in the White House gathering, said negotiations could be set back by the confusion.

"House Republicans, in some kind of arrangement with McCain, went off to wherever. I don't know whether they're ready to negotiate this. Their thing was some totally different mortgage insurance plan ... that would clearly delay this for a week or more," Frank told reporters. - Reuters

Hold the freaking presses. Let me get this straight… President Bush, Senator Chris Dodd, Represenatative Barney Frank, Secretary Paulson, Fed Reserve Chairman Bernake had a working proposal pretty much agreeable to all parties and McCain stepped into the equation and squashed it? To back an insurance plan?

Anyone that knows insurance knows that it is always in favor of the house, just like the odds favor the house in Las Vegas! So we have the Maverick Senator from Arizona coming into the discussion, the Conservative right wing general of his party, the less government, less regulation is best candidate, and he backs a never ending mortgage insurance plan on the backs of the American people? How sweet of a big business, big banks deal is that? Let’s not only put the taxpayers in for $700 Billion Dollars but lets make this pig fest into a never ending feed trough!

John McCain has just shown where his loyalty is and it is not in the interest of homeowners or soon to be homeowners. Now on top of PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) you will get a double dipper with MMI (McCain Mortgage Insurance) because Wall Street has not raped the American people enough.

Mind you, this insurance that McCain is backing isn’t because you as a homeowner made bad decisions, it’s because the people making bad loans on Wall Street might continue making bad decisions and it’s only fair that all of us be punished for it. Pass out them golden parachutes and screw you Joe Q. Voter.

Vote Obama and vote often!

Papamoka

Republicans Selling Fear and Lies

Don’t tell anyone but the Republicans are blaming Bill Clinton for everything from the Black Death in the 1500’s to our current Military being over stretched. Let’s just add to the list of things to blame former President Bill Clinton like bread turning green with mold and lets blame him for $3.00 a gallon gas too!

You know what pisses me off about Republicans is the fact that they totally ignore the fact that President Clinton was the first President in modern times to balance the federal budget and show a surplus. President Clinton was a true American President and NOT an I’m busy with Iraq, I’ll call you back in 2008 President.

Did Bill Clinton trim the military budget, the answer to that question is yes and no. He proposed reductions in the military spending because our nation was at peace with the world and his State Department actually did diplomatic work rather than chucking the bird as the limo passed by. The Congress approved that budget which just happened to be led by Newt Gingrich who was the creator of the Contract with America.

I was over at Memeorandum today and found this great piece by the Carpet Bagger Report that is covering this same issue. President Clinton is not to blame for what the current resident of the White house has done for the last seven friging years! This is a must read for political junkies like me…

Republicans blame the wrong president for overstretched military
Posted November 10th, 2007 at 12:20 pm

Of all of Bush’s misstatements from the 2000 presidential election, one of the most obviously-false attacks was on military readiness. Indeed, then-Gov. Bush blamed Clinton and Gore directly for “hollowing out” the military. “If called on by the commander-in-chief today, two entire divisions of the Army would have to report, ‘Not ready for duty, sir.’” BC00 campaign aides later acknowledged it was a bogus charge, but that didn’t stop Bush from repeating it. A lot.

And now, seven years later, the next batch of Republican presidential hopefuls are doing the same thing.

Here’s the top story out of Iowa: Rudy Giuliani told an audience at Iowa State University that the American military needs to be bigger, and he lashed out at Bill Clinton for cutting the military during the 1990’s.

“Our military is too small to deal with the Islamic terrorism threats,” Giuliani said, “but it really is too small to deter would-be aggressors to even think of challenging us. And that’s due to Bill Clinton.”

Does this make any sense? What threats are we incapable of dealing with? And if they exist, why hasn’t Bush/Cheney done anything about it? We already spend more on the military than most of the world put together — who else does Giuliani want to invade? (Oh wait, don’t answer that.) - The Carpet Bagger Report

Let me get this straight in my head, Rudi Giuliani is selling fear and telling you what to be afraid of because of Bill Clinton? What year and what Presidential election is going on again? Wasn’t President Clinton seven years ago? Anyone else shaking there head on that one? What about George W. Bush Rudi? Rudi has a serious problem and it is called credibility. The only message he has is to tell the people what to be afraid of and how his private company going Federal from the White House can protect you. Anyone smell bovine gas? I’m smelling something and it isn’t something an air freshener can cover up.

I’m thinking that diplomacy from the Mini-Republicans like Rudi and Fred (I’m acting like a real candidate) Thompson is out of the question based on their comments on the campaign trail. In their minds the only solution is more war and more military action. The only problem with that theory is that our military is in fact stretched out to the max and none of them really care about the military and our men and women fighting for their lives for missions that they sent them on.

The Carpet Bagger Report has it right on the money. Rudi does not have anything new to offer other than telling you “Me Too!” from the Bush Doctrine of more war for the sake of more war.

Rudi Giuliani is a joke as a candidate for President. Get elected to the Senate before you want to play in the big kids playground Rudi. Maybe then people will actually take you serious.

Papamoka

Feel free to link to this post and we will respond in kind

I'm adding The Carpet Bagger Report to my favorite's on the site here and I hope he returns the courtesy.

Technorati Tags:
Bush, Cheney, Republicans, Right Wing, Christian Conservatives, Blame Bill Clinton, Iraq War, Afghanistan War, USMC, USN, USAF, ARMY, USCG, Military Support, Elections, Presidential Race, Race for President, 2008 Election, Giuliani is an Idiot, Democrats, Bush War, September 11 2001, Al Quida, Al Jezeer, Israel, Syria, Diplomacy, Iowa Politics, New Hampshire Politics, Fred Thompson, Richardson, Biden, Romney, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Politics, Middle East, Bush Lied