The Senate Health Reform Bill - Summary
mcJoan of the Daily Kos has a good summary of the current Senate health reform bill.
The Senate bill is a pig in a poke compared to what it ought to be, and it will unjustly swell the coffers of the insurance companies and pharmaceutical corporations at taxpayer expense. But it looks very much like something will ultimately pass and be enacted into law. Whatever passes will require much improvement over the next few years, but at least there will be something to improve.
The Republicans know this, so expect them to oppose unanimously any health care reform bill, no matter how bipartisan the drafting process has been. When every single Senate Republican votes against the final bill, the Democrats will be finally and fully justified in telling the Republicans to go to Hell and using the reconciliation process to enact important legislation. It’s clear that (1) the Republican “constituency” is Wall Street, big business, and the extremely wealthy—but not the rest of us; and, (2) they will not negotiate in good faith when the interests of their true constituents are affected.
As for Mississippi....
If there were ever a state that desperately needs affordable health care, it would be Mississippi. Yet our senators and representatives have—with only one exception—demonstrated over and over that their loyalties lie elsewhere. If Mississippi were a sovereign nation, they would be guilty of treason.
And a large percentage of voters in this benighted state are too blinded by right-wing bullshit to figure that out, even as they drive their uninsured asses to the local emergency room because they can’t afford a regular doctor.
Exactly what does it take to wake people to reality?
The Senate bill is a pig in a poke compared to what it ought to be, and it will unjustly swell the coffers of the insurance companies and pharmaceutical corporations at taxpayer expense. But it looks very much like something will ultimately pass and be enacted into law. Whatever passes will require much improvement over the next few years, but at least there will be something to improve.
The Republicans know this, so expect them to oppose unanimously any health care reform bill, no matter how bipartisan the drafting process has been. When every single Senate Republican votes against the final bill, the Democrats will be finally and fully justified in telling the Republicans to go to Hell and using the reconciliation process to enact important legislation. It’s clear that (1) the Republican “constituency” is Wall Street, big business, and the extremely wealthy—but not the rest of us; and, (2) they will not negotiate in good faith when the interests of their true constituents are affected.
As for Mississippi....
If there were ever a state that desperately needs affordable health care, it would be Mississippi. Yet our senators and representatives have—with only one exception—demonstrated over and over that their loyalties lie elsewhere. If Mississippi were a sovereign nation, they would be guilty of treason.
And a large percentage of voters in this benighted state are too blinded by right-wing bullshit to figure that out, even as they drive their uninsured asses to the local emergency room because they can’t afford a regular doctor.
Exactly what does it take to wake people to reality?
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