Not the mainstream polls taken recently. I just heard a piece on NPR where McConnell kept saying that the American people don’t want health reform, and if Democrats pass it, reform will hurt their election chances in November. Not true.
According to a March 10, 2010 Benenson Strategy Group report, a large majority of Americans want reform, and if anything, they believe reform doesn’t go far enough.
He also said that “forcing” the bill through reconciliation is unprecedented and it denies the “majority” in the Senate the right to vote on the bill. Last time I checked, 59 out of 100 votes is a big majority. If McConnell has such a problem with reconciliation, why did he vote yea on reconciliation bills 13 times in the past? There have been 21 reconciliation bills over about the past 30 years. Sixteen were Republican bills. It’s not an unprecedented procedure at all.
Me thinks he dost protest too much. I believe the Republicans are obstructing, lying and posturing so much because they realize if health care reform passes, their asses are grass in the coming November mid-term election, and Democrats and Independents are the lawn mower.
One GOP talking point is that the Democrats will be in big trouble and lose their majorities in the House and/or Senate. Why would they give this legislation so much time and energy? Since when did the GOP care how the Democrats will do in an upcoming election as long as it’s worse than GOP candidates? It’s because they are terrified at how much passing health reform will boost Democrats in the mid-term election. If they believed their own rhetoric, they would get out of the way and let health reform pass, and reap the benefits of extremely poor Democratic policy.
Another talking point is health care reform will increase the budget deficit substantially. Also not true. According to the CBO, it will decrease the budget deficit substantially:
This bill isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination. I would like to see a lot of changes, and I believe over time, all the fixes, including a public option or single-payer system, will become part of the legislation. The problems will be fixed as needed in the future just like Medicare has been amended since it first passed. One thing is certain. Doing nothing is not an option.
What do you think?
budget reconciliation, federal budget, health care reform, public opinion on health care reform, Senate health reform bill of 2009
March 13th, 2010 at 12:40 am
[...] Which health reform polls is Mitch McConnell reading? » Being the … [...]
March 13th, 2010 at 12:40 am
[...] Which health reform polls is Mitch McConnell reading? » Being the … [...]
March 13th, 2010 at 6:38 am
[...] Which health reform polls is Mitch McConnell reading? » Being the … [...]
March 13th, 2010 at 8:35 am
[...] Which health reform polls is Mitch McConnell reading? » Being the … [...]
March 13th, 2010 at 10:26 am
Health or rather Sick Care reform must be passed and then worked on. It will never be perfect but just the change in the budget deficit would be worth it. The Government already has the sickest and poorest insured (medicare, medicaid and disabled). We need a sick care plan that will really address needs. I disagree with the way medical records are going to be used but we have to start and be more transparent.
.-= Bruce “the Mid-Life Mentor”´s last blog ..SKIN CANCER-5 FACTS TO KNOW =-.
March 22nd, 2010 at 2:06 am
Bruce,
I agree, the bill(s) are far from great, but they are a start. Today, I spent as much time as I could watching the House debates on C-SPAN, and it was interesting to note just how desperate the GOP members were and how tough the Dems finally decided to be.
The Senate bill passed and so did the Reconciliation package of changes. Those are already an improvement over the Senate bill. Like Medicare and Medicaid, there will be many changes over time that will make sick care better and cheaper, and maybe turn it into health care eventually. These bills will already help improve Medicare and Medicaid.
Thanks for the comment,
Sherri
March 25th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
I normally jump all over the internet because I have the tendancy to read too much (which isn’t always a great idea because many blogs just copy from each other) but I have to say that yours contains some genuine substance! Thanks for stopping the trend of just being another copycat site!
July 26th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
haha, great question! keep the articles coming
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