Spinal Implant Needed

Democrats Grow Wary as Health Bill Advances

By ROBERT PEAR and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN (NYT)
Published: July 17, 2009

WASHINGTON — Three of the five Congressional committees working on legislation to reinvent the nation’s health care system delivered bills this week along the lines proposed by President Obama. But instead of celebrating their success, many Democrats were apprehensive, nervous and defensive.

Even as Democratic leaders and the White House insisted that the nation was closer than ever to landmark changes in the health care system, they faced basic questions about whether some of their proposals might do more harm than good.

And while senior Democrats vowed to press ahead to meet Mr. Obama’s deadline of having both chambers pass bills before the summer recess, some in their ranks, nervous about the prospect of raising taxes or proceeding without any Republican support, were pleading to slow down.

Let's not forget that every day that passes bears witness to more Americans suffering & dying because of a lack of access to even adequate healthcare. Or that with more folks joining the unemployed each week the number of Americans losing their health insurance grows ever more obscenely big. Perhaps Congress should consider forgoing the recess.

Remember, those in opposition to passing good legislation on healthcare reform before the recess were probably all too willing to drop their vacation plans to fly back and insert the government into Terry Schiavo's life & death. If that travesty of representation was so laudable, why not skip the vacation for the sake the remaining American citizens? After all, they are supposed to be working for us rather than for big pharma & health insurers, right?

Oh, snap! If they wait until after their summer recess, by then they'll have switched over to campaign mode. And of course all that big campaign money from their corporate masters will have even less influence over their actions then than now. Right? Wait a minute...am i saying that the calls for delays aren't based in some altruistic public servants' desires to craft a 'good bill'? Maaaayyyyyybe. Am i saying that the delaying tactics are intended to derail & weaken support for actual, effective, necessary healthcare reform?

Yes. That's exactly what i'm saying. What do you think?