For the sake of our citizens this bill without a public option has to die.

I don't take their pronouncements as the last word, but it does mean that it is the opinion of the media herd, and that has a momentum of its own politically.

Rachel Maddow made the best point in saying that if the public option is gone, Obama has wasted a huge amount of political capital on very little health care reform.

But, Obama put her out there to reassure the insurance companies that any legislation written would foreclose the possibility of transition to single payer, so this also goes back to him.

He's more than willing to accept anything just so that he can claim victory.

He could make you cry. I heard this.

Humphrey was dying of cancer when he said this in Minnesota in 1977 at an AFL-CIO meeting
"You go bankrupt in wars.  No nation ever lost its life trying to save life.  You lose your life when you take life, and I ask the labor movement to really once again, become the idealistic conscience of American politics.

Too many people in politics today are afraid.  They are afraid, they say, 'Oh, they won't go for this.'  Well, I knew they wouldn't go for civil rights in 1948. I knew they wouldn't go for Medicare in 1949. I knew they wouldn't go for the Peace Corps in 1958. and I knew they wouldn't go, if you please, for the arms control and disarmament agency in 1959, but ultimately, they did."

1. create a mandate for individuals and businesses to provide coverage
   
2. anyone (small businesses, large businesses or individuals)  can buy into the already existing medicare plan. It has low overhead, is not for profit and lets you choose your doctor
   
3. private insurers that want to be players will have to follow the simple rule that once you insure someone you cannot remove them except for non payment and you cannot refuse to accept them because of pre-existing conditions.
   
4.  Change the rule so medicare can bargain with drug companies for price discounts (what sane capitialistic society would agree to that restriction in the first place?)
   
5. rescind the rule that allows drug comapnies to advertise on TV
   
6. cut costs by having medicare give better payouts to hospitals doctors, and other healthcare providers based on the Mayo and Cleveland clinic providers.

And there's more to look froward to:

Now it's Let's Make a Deal with hospital lobbyists.

First, the President was caught with his principles down, cutting a scuzzy back-room deal with pharmaceutical lobbyist Billy Tauzin to limit drug price savings to just 2% over 10 years (see attached, "Obama on Drugs: 98% Cheney?"), the New York Times today reports that another deal was sealed by lobbyist Chip Kahn of the American Hospital Association.

Here are the numbers they don't want you to see: Hospitals will be allowed to hike their prices and revenues by six trillion dollars ($5,853 billion) over the next ten years, only $155 billion less than they had projected before the Obama "reform."

In all, the Obama back-room deal will "reduce" our $26 trillion total hospital bill over the next decade by one-half of one percent.

Once again, the lobbyists got the gold mine, the public got the shaft.

Say it ain't so, Mr. President.

Iraq still festers.
Gitmo still festers.
Rendition still festers.
Afghanistan is boiling over.
Drones are still killing people.
The White House is withholding evidence from us.

I called Waxman's office and his committee office to try to learn where I could read the amended HR3200. I was told "they're still working on it," which seemed strange since the House was in recess and there couldn't be any votes. But apparently it takes quite a while to write the legislativese....

However, Lynn Woolsey was on the Diane Rehm Show on August 3, and she said that the Blue Dogs won $5 Billion for health co-ops, which did not have to be paid back; the public plan, whatever it was to be, received only $2 Billion funding--which did have to be paid back. See any favoritism here? Any moves to create a failed public plan?

I wrote up comments about the show, and since there are no transcripts I did listen again to make sure I'd heard correctly. I had. Comment and one following cover the show, plus I wrote another to confirm what I wrote earlier. (Audio available at link in comments)