she's a little tea pot...

oh, "lady" in pink, where to start...in the words of comedian, adele givens, "she's such a f*ckin' lady".

h/t joe.my.god

oh, snap! Rep. Alan Grayson (D-cojones) smacks down obstructionist republiCAN'Ts

health care plan in 4 minutes...

...if only the rhetoric from the speech was reinforced by the president at every opportunity available, instead of seeming to acquiesce to every whim of resistance.

FINALLY! Learning from republicans... define the message and HAMMER IT HOME repeatedly!

best. universal. healthcare. explanation...EVAR.

thanks for depressing me, rachel:

rachel raised a good point yesterday: if health-related stocks SOAR on a day when the market is DOWN, "they" know something "we" don't.



PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN!!!

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...take that, sean!

never in a million years did i think i would see even 1:45 of reality on FAUX SPEWS GNEWS!

a righteous rant from keith o':

...i'm sure this is all over the toobz, but it's worth posting, sans comment...other than, keep up the good work, keith!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Blue Dogs, You Have Been Warned...

...and while olbermann's commentary was directed at the health care reform issue, progressives are going all the way in opposition. if you cast your lot with the republiCONS, you WILL be targeted for replacement in the primaries.

if you don't have time to read the full transcript or watch the full special comment (both of which i highly recommend), here's the "money" portion:

But I think you get the point. We don't need to call the Democrats holding this up Blue Dogs. That one word "Dogs" is perfectly sufficient. But let me speak to them collectively, anyway.I warn you all. You were not elected to create a Democratic majority. You were elected to restore this country. You were not elected to serve the corporations and the trusts who the government has enabled for the last eight years.

You were elected to serve the people. And if you fail to pass or support this legislation, the full wrath of the progressive and the moderate movements in this country will come down on your heads. Explain yourselves not to me, but to them. They elected you, and in the blink of an eye, they will replace you.

If you will behave as if you are Republicans — as if you are the prostitutes of our system —you will be judged as such. And you will lose not merely our respect. You will lose your jobs!

Every poll, every analysis, every vote, every region of this country supports health care reform, and the essential great leveling agent of a government-funded alternative to the unchecked duopoly of profiteering private insurance corporations. Cross us all at your peril.

and now, presented without comment, olbermann's "special comment":

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

the full transcript (the names have not been changed, but they have been placed in bold, as have the health care lobby dollars secured by these crooks, to protect the guilty and links within the special comment are retained from the transcript at MSNBC):

Finally tonight, as promised, a Special Comment on Health Care Reform in this country, and in particular, the "public insurance option." In March of 1911, after a wave of minor factory fires in New York City, the City's Fire Commissioner issued emergency rules about fire prevention, protection, escape, sprinklers. The City's Manufacturers Association in turn called an emergency meeting to attack the Fire Commissioner and his 'interference with commerce.'

The new rules were delayed. Just days later, a fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. The door to the fire escape was bolted shut to keep the employees from leaving prematurely. One hundred and fifty of those employees died, many by jumping from the seventh floor windows to avoid the flames. Firefighters setting up their ladders literally had to dodge the falling, often burning, women. This was the spirit of the American corporation then. It is the spirit of the American corporation now. It is what the corporation will do, when it is left alone, for a week. You know the drill. We all know the drill.

You get something done, at a doctor's, at a dentist's, at an emergency room and the bills are in your hands before the pain medication wears off. And if you're one of the lucky ones, and you have insurance, you submit the endless paperwork and no matter whether it's insurance through your company, or your union, or your non-profit, or on your own dime, you then get your turn… at the roulette wheel.

How much of it is the insurance company going to pay this time? How much of it is the insurance company — about which you have next to no choice, and against which you have virtually no appeal — how much is this giant corporation going to give you back? What small percentage of what they told you they were going to pay you, will they actually pay you? You know the answer. And, you know the answer if you don't have insurance. But do you know why that's the answer?

Because the insurance industry owns the Republican Party. Not exclusively. Pharma owns part of it, too. Hospitals and HMO's, another part. Nursing homes — they have a share. You name a Republican, any Republican, and he is literally brought to you by... campaign donations from the Health Sector. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota? You gave the Republican rebuttal to the President's weekly address day before yesterday. You said the Democrats' plan was for"…government run health care that would disrupt our current system, and force millions of Americans who currently enjoy their employer-based coverage into a new health care plan run by government bureaucrats."

That's a bald-faced lie, Senator. And you're a bald-faced liar, whose bald face is covered by…your own health care plan run by government bureaucrats. Nobody would be forced into anything; and the Public Insurance Option is no more a disruption than letting the government sell you water, and not just Poland Spring and Sparkletts. But, as corrupt hypocrites go, Senator, at least you're well paid. What was that one statement worth to you in contributions from the Health Sector, Sen. Thune?

Five thousand dollars? Ten? We know what you are, Sir, we're arguing about the price. What about your other quote? "We can accomplish health care reform while keeping patients and their doctors in charge, not bureaucrats and politicians." Wow, Senator — this illustrates how desperate you and the other Republicans are, right? Because Sen. Thune, if you really think "bureaucrats and politicians" need to get out of the way of "patients and their doctors," then you support a woman patient's right to get an abortion, and you supported Michael Schiavo's right to take his wife off life support, and you oppose "bureaucrats and politicians" getting in the way, and we'll just mark you down on the pro-choice list. That's a rare misstep for you Sen. Thune. No twelve-thousand dollar payoff for that statement! I am not being hyperbolic, am I, Senator? On the money?

Sen. Thune has thus far received from the Health Sector, campaign contributions — and all these numbers tonight are from "The Center For Responsive Politics" — campaign contributions amounting to one million, $206,176. So much for Sen. Thune. How about Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite? Good evening Ma'am. You are the Florida representative who claimed on the Floor that Democrats had…"…released a health care bill which essentially said to America's seniors: drop dead."

Now those are strong, terrorizing, words — that's exactly what your Insurance and Medical Overlords wanted to hear. But are you truly worth every dollar of the $369,000,255 of them you have received over the years from the Health Sector? I'd reed the rest of the operative part of your speech myself, but your rendition actually cannot be matched:

Listen up, America, seniors have special needs. This bill ignored the, ignores the needs of Florida's health care system. We should be fixing what is broke. Not disseminate, disseminating, decimating, the care of our senior population. -- July 21, 2009

You can always tell, can't you, Congresswoman, when the hostage is reading her own ransom note, and when she is reading one written for her? So much for Rep. Brown-Waite. There are so many other Republicans, bought and sold — like the unfortunate Congresswoman there —by the Health Sector. Minority Leader McConnell of the Senate.

Rep. Bart Gordon of Tennessee. Congressman? Undecided on the public option? At $1,173,000 in donations from the Health Sector, I'm surprised. You should have already said no — and loudly. The only thing you should be "undecided" about, is whether or not you're really a Democrat. So much for Rep. Gordon. Sen. Max Baucus of Montana. Good evening, Senator.

So you're supposed to be negotiating all this out with the Republicans and hesitant Democrats? To gain bi-partisanship with a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Health Sector? Bi-partisanship that will get you, what? A total of no votes? And your price has been, let's see $414,000 in donations from Hospitals. About $667,000 from the insurance companies and just over a million from Big Pharma. There was a $1,300,000 from other health professional and $237,000 from Nursing Homes.

When you think of getting $237,000 in campaign contributions from nursing homes, Sen. Baucus, do you ever think about whether they subtract that amount of money evenly from all the patients suffering and dying in the lousy ones, or just from a few of the lousy ones? So much for Sen. Baucus. Sadly, this list could go on almost all night, too.

I could ask Blue Dog Congressman, Democrat John Tanner of Tennessee, if, since he's gotten $215,000 from hospitals over the years, if I and the appropriate number of my friends were willing to make it $216,000, if we could buy his vote — or would there have to be an auction?

We could bring up Senator Hagan, and Congressman Pomeroy, who, at 628-thousand, appears to represent the Insurance Industry and not North Dakota. I could bring up Sen. Carper, and Sen.Blanche Lincoln.

Senator Lincoln? By the way, considering how you're obstructing health care reform, how do you feel... every time you actually see Sen. Kennedy? I could bring up all the other Democrats doing their masters' bidding in the House or the Senate, all the others who will get an extra thousand from somebody if they just postpone the vote another year, another month, another week, because right now without the competition of a government-funded insurance company, in one hour the health care industries can make so much money that they'd kill you for that extra hour of profit, I could call them all out by name.

But I think you get the point. We don't need to call the Democrats holding this up Blue Dogs. That one word "Dogs" is perfectly sufficient. But let me speak to them collectively, anyway.I warn you all. You were not elected to create a Democratic majority. You were elected to restore this country. You were not elected to serve the corporations and the trusts who the government has enabled for the last eight years.

You were elected to serve the people. And if you fail to pass or support this legislation, the full wrath of the progressive and the moderate movements in this country will come down on your heads. Explain yourselves not to me, but to them. They elected you, and in the blink of an eye, they will replace you.

If you will behave as if you are Republicans — as if you are the prostitutes of our system —you will be judged as such. And you will lose not merely our respect. You will lose your jobs!

Every poll, every analysis, every vote, every region of this country supports health care reform, and the essential great leveling agent of a government-funded alternative to the unchecked duopoly of profiteering private insurance corporations. Cross us all at your peril.

Because, Rep. Ross, you are not the Representative from Blue Cross.

And Mr. Baucus, you are not the Senator from Schering-Plough Global Health Care even if they have already given you $76,000 towards your re-election. And Ms. Lincoln, you are not the Senator from DaVita Dialysis.

Because, ladies and gentlemen, President Lincoln did not promise that this nation shall have a new death of freedom, and that government of the corporation, by the corporation, for the corporation, shall not perish from this earth.

Good night and good luck.

best. quote. evar. regarding Senator Thune:

we know what you are, sir. we're arguing over the price.

that's gonna leave a big mark!

"town hall" meetings under the Shrub Regime were carefully screened to weed out dissent...

what a difference a "change" makes. now, look at the civility of the birthers, freepers, wingnuts, et. al...





these folks really need to be carrying pitchforks with amerikkkan flags attached to them:

OMG! OBAMA WANTS TO KILL THE OLD PEOPLE...AND WORSE!!!1!!11!!!

these people should be publicly flogged (start with laura friggin' ingraham):



srsly. this is what they're being told! don't believe ME? this is an e-mail i received today from a dear, misguided senior citizen republican friend (yes, i have them). i'm her "truth-o-meter" on these things and yet she continues to fall for the lies every time...and doesn't realize she's being played.

what's ironically amusing, in a sad and befuddling way, is that this friend has shared that she's planning to move to a retirement village in MEXICO. this is the same person that forwards me the most vile and xenophobic e-mails about "illegal immigrants taking over america".

the name has been removed to protect the innocent (misguided). i felt no qualms about not deleting the e-mail of the a$hole that has my sweet friend scared sh*tless):

-----Original Message-----
From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx
Sent: Friday, July 31, 2009 10:24 AM
To: 'David M. Greer'
Subject: FW: Peek Inside The ObamaCare Bill: Esp. see pgs. 425, 427, 429

David, I am sending this to you because I don't have time to read through the original HR 3200 bill and I know you are in the know about all of this stuff. I am not forwarding this stuff to anyone else because I don't know for sure it this is going to be passed or if what they are saying here is true. I am so out of the political stuff right now that I really don't know anything that is going on anymore.

What is your take on this bill? Do you think we need to be concerned? I am worried because I am a senior and from what I have heard, people over 59 cannot have heart surgery and that a lot of age related problems (the elderly) will be untreatable and we will just have to deal with getting older and won't be able to be treated by a doctor, and it will be determined who and who cannot be treated. Is this hogwash or is there truth to this?

I think I mentioned I am looking at moving to a retirement community in Mexico after my mom and Muffin passes, but if my mom and I cannot get the healthcare we need, I need to go ahead and look into moving my mom with me if she is still living and not waiting until she passes.

I am especially concerned about the following, as well as many others listed below. Does this 1st paragraph mean that Medicare that I now have will be under ACORN and Americorps? Also, it is stating that AARP members (the elderly - over 55) will be rationed on treatments they can receive. This scares the hell out of me if all this is true.

I don't want to ask anyone else because they are so far on one side and will just scare me more, so this is why I am asking you?



Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Government will use groups, i.e.; ACORN & Americorps, to sign up individuals for Government HC plan.

Pg 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill Government will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor affected.

PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill — Specifics of Benefit Levels for Plans. AARP members — your Health care WILL be rationed.




-----Original Message-----
From: jo.n.haynes@exxonmobil.com [mailto:jo.n.haynes@exxonmobil.com]
Sent: Friday, July 31, 2009 7:41 AM
Subject: Fw: Peek Inside The ObamaCare Bill: Esp. see pgs. 425, 427, 429




Looks like “change”!

A peek inside The ObamaCare Bill: Is reading it before they vote too much to ask Congress? See link at the end....... After reading this, if you feel like passing it on......... Be my guest.. Many folks should know of the plans in store for them.


Some examples, from a quick inventory by Family Security Matters:

Pg 22 of the HC Bill mandates the Government will audit books of all employers that self-insure.

Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill — a Government committee (good luck with that!) will decide what treatments/benefits a person may receive.

Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill — YOUR HEALTHCARE WILL BE RATIONED!

Pg 42 of HC Bill — The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your HC Benefits for you.

PG 50 Section 152 in HC bill — HC will be provided to ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise.

Pg 58 HC Bill — Government will have real-time access to individual's f inances and a National ID Healthcard will be issued!

Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Government will have direct access to your bank accounts for election funds transfer.

PG 65 Sec 164 is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in Unions & community organizations (read: ACORN).

Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Government will create an HC Exchange to bring private HC plans under Government control.

PG 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill — Government mandates linguistic appropriate services. Example — Translation for illegal aliens.

Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Government will use groups, i.e.; ACORN & Americorps, to sign up individuals for Government HC plan.

PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill — Specifics of Benefit Levels for Plans. AARP members — your Health care WILL be rationed.

PG 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill — Medicaid Eligible Individuals will be automatically enrolled in Medicaid. No choice.

pg 124 lines 24-25 HC No company can sue Government on price fixing. No "judicial review" against Government Monopoly.

pg 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill — Doctors/ AMA — The Government will tell YOU what you can earn.

Pg 145 Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into public option plan. NO CHOICE.

Pg 126 Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay for HC for part time employees AND their families.

Pg 170 Lines 1-3 HC Bill Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual
taxes.=2 0(Americans will pay.)

Pg 195 HC Bill -officers & em ployees of HC Admin (the GOVERNMENT) will have access to ALL Americans' finances and personal records.

PG 203 Line 14-15 HC — "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax" Yes, it says that.

Pg 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill Government will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor affected.

Pg 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill — Doctors — doesn't matter what specialty — will all be paid the same.

PG 253 Line 10-18 Government sets value of Doctor's time, professional judgment, etc. Literally, value of humans.

PG 265 Sec 1131 Government mandates & controls productivity for private HC industries.

Pg 317 L 13-20 OMG!! PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. Government tells Doctors what/how much they can own..

Pg 317-318 lines 21-25,1-3 PROHIBITION on expansion — Government will mandate hospitals cannot expand.

Pg 354 Sec 1177 — Government will RESTRICT enrollment of Special needs people!

PG 425 Lines 4-12 Government mandates Advance Care Planning Consultations.
Think Senior Citizens end of life prodding.

PG 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Government provides approved list of end of life resources, guiding you in how to die.

PG 427 Lines 15-24 Government mandates program for orders for end of life.
The Government has a say in how your life ends.

PG 429 Lines 10-12 "advanced care consultation" may include an ORDER for end of life plans. AN ORDER from the Government to end a life!

Page 472 Lines 14-17 PAYMENT TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION. 1 monthly payment to a community-based organization. (Like ACORN?)

Here's HR 3200 as of 7/14/09:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h3200ih.pdf

these people have no shame.

herein lies the problem...

from the hill (emphasis added):

In an apparent warning to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), some liberal Democrats have suggested a secret-ballot vote every two years on whether or not to strip committee chairmen of their gavels.

Baucus, who is more conservative than most of the Democratic Conference, has frustrated many of his liberal colleagues by negotiating for weeks with Republicans over healthcare reform without producing a bill or even much detail about the policies he is considering.

sounds good, right? well, until you get to this part:

Harkin and Baucus are on different sides of the question of whether to create a government-run insurance plan.

While Harkin, a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, wants a strong public option, Baucus has favored a more modest proposal to set up a co-op program.

Some senators suggest privately that Baucus might be more open to persuasion if his chairmanship is subject to regular votes.

Another senior Democratic senator endorsed Harkin’s suggestion but declined to speak on the record for fear of angering Baucus.

“Put me down as a yes, but if you use my name I’ll send a SWAT team after you,” said the lawmaker when asked about a biennial referendum on chairmen.

Some Democrats have pushed back against criticism of Baucus.

A Senate source argued that critics do not have a realistic view of what it takes to enact an overhaul of the nation’s healthcare system.

senate/house dems don't even have the testicular fortitude to stand up to their own, how can we expect them to ever stand up to the REAL enemies: republicans, the uber wealthy at the expense of the good of the majority, lobbyists, multinational corporations, wall st., CEO's, ad nauseum.

WHO KNEW THAT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S BALLS, BOTH OF 'EM...WERE IN MAXINE WATERS' PURSE ALL ALONG!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

it's about time rahm emmanuel was exposed for the blue dog enabler he has been all along. remember, folks, this is probably the most powerful man with the president's ear (and, NO, that doesn't excuse the "fierce advocate's" lack of spinal fortitude!).

could we be witnissing the birth of a third party?

...the "blue dogs" are certainly making a case with their unwillingness to support health care reform in favor of health insurance reform.

via huffpost:
(emphasis added)

In the House, Democratic leaders continued to negotiate with conservative and moderate rank-and-file party members with time running out for a vote before lawmakers leave Friday for a monthlong vacation.

The fiscally conservative Blue Dogs were at odds with the leadership over how to pay providers in a government-run health plan that would compete with private insurance. The House bill models the payments based on Medicare, but the so-called Blue Dogs want a negotiated rate similar to private insurance. Other issues remain sticking points for the Democrats.

"We're not ready to support a bill yet," said Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ind., a member of the Blue Dog group, who added: "We'll get there. We are going to pass a health care bill, whether it's now or in the fall remains to be seen."

Without the backing of the 52-member Blue Dogs, it would be difficult for Democratic leaders to pass a bill, especially since no Republican supports the legislation.

if this isn't a complete abdication of party loyalty and betrayal of their constituent's wishes, i don't know what is...oh, wait, the blue dog's constituents are the lobbyists, insurance companies and big business...you know, REPUBLICON LITE.

color me freaking surprised.

"fierce advocate" is just another spineless politician unwilling to take on pharma, health insurance companies and their minions of lobbyists (despite LYING TO US to get elected).

from the wall street journal:
(outraged emphasis added)

WASHINGTON -- The pharmaceuticals industry, which President Barack Obama promised to "take on" during his campaign, is winning most of what it wants in the health-care overhaul.

The final contours of the legislation are far from settled, but the industry, led by a onetime powerful congressman, has notched a string of victories.

Legislation expected soon in the powerful Senate Finance Committee will leave out cost-cutting steps as part of an agreement with the industry and the White House, according to Congressional aides, industry lobbyists and others involved in the talks.

The missing items include two planks of Mr. Obama's campaign platform: allowing cheaper drugs to be imported from Canada and giving the federal government the right to negotiate Medicare drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies.

way to go, O, you really showed 'em but good, din'cha?

the lion of the senate, senator kennedy, is back in the den!

now THIS is change i can believe in!

thanks to senators ted kennedy and chris dodd, we may actually be getting health care reform with an acceptable price tag ($600B over ten years) and that will cover 97% of all americans, with a robust public option.

what did we have on the table before?: a $1TRILLION dollar program and the "possibility" of a public option that might or might not kick in at some unspecified time in the future.

By contrast, an earlier, incomplete proposal carried a price tag of roughly $1 trillion and would have left millions uninsured, CBO analysts said in mid-June.

The letter indicated the cost and coverage improvements resulted from two changes. The first calls for a government-run health insurance option to compete with private coverage plans, an option that has drawn intense opposition from Republicans.

i *heart* bernie sanders

he's spot on time and again, issue after issue. the vermont independent out "democrats" even the most progressive of democrats.

he's at it again on healthcare reform. basically saying, screw the threat of a filibuster. it's time to advance real reform and play a game of high stakes "chicken" with the party of no.

read the full article here:

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), called on the White House and Democratic leadership in Congress to ensure that party members agree unanimously to support cloture on legislation that would revamp the nation's health care system. Democratic senators on the fence, he added, could still oppose the bill. But at the very least they should be required to let the legislation come to an up-or-down vote.

snip

"I think the idea of going to conservative Republicans, who are essentially representing the insurance companies and the drug companies, and watering down this bill substantially, rather than demanding we get 60 votes to stop the filibuster, I think that is a very wrong political strategy," Sanders added.

snip

"I think it would be great if we could have 100 senators voting for this, but what is important is the product that you get, not bipartisanship," Sanders went on. "So we should ask Republicans to support it. If they choose not to they do so at their own political risk. The focus should be on a strong bill trying to get Republican support rather than a weak bipartisan bill."

how many "whits" does it take to make a dollar?

diane feinstein: criticism from left on health care "doesn't move me one whit"

Senator Dianne Feinstein has already taken a hammering from Dems and health care reform advocates for casting doubts on the prospects of President Obama’s health care reform efforts. MoveOn, for instance, aired an ad against her in California, demanding she show some leadership and fight harder to get the president’s reform plan passed.

Now Feinstein has hit back at the criticism from the left in an article about lefty groups targeting Dems for waffling on key components of health care reform:

“I do not think this is helpful. It doesn’t move me one whit,” she said. “They are spending a lot of money on something that is not productive.”

That sharply dismissive tone won’t exactly smooth over tensions.

Feinstein’s claim that criticism from the left is “not productive” also raises an important question: What does the White House think of the lefty criticism? Do White House advisers agree with Feinstein, and want the liberal groups to muzzle themselves, or are they tacitly happy about it?

wow, diane. talk about a kick in the teeth to your constituents. you might wanna rethink your public statement and while you're at it, you might have a little conversation about "constituent dismissal" with the "fierce advocate" while you're at it.

why the insurance and pharma lobbies need to have their seat at the table removed...

...in the words of one that used to reside in the belly of the beast:

I know from personal experience that members of Congress and the public have good reason to question the honesty and trustworthiness of the insurance industry. Insurers make promises they have no intention of keeping, they flout regulations designed to protect consumers, and they make it nearly impossible to understand -- or even to obtain -- information we need. As you hold hearings and discuss legislative proposals over the coming weeks, I encourage you to look very closely at the role for-profit insurance companies play in making our health care system both the most expensive and one of the most dysfunctional in the world.

~ Wendell Potter, former CIGNA executive
in testimony to the Senate Commerce Committe re: Health Care Reform

thanks, chuck...

from the AP, via huffpost:
(emphasis added)

Schumer told The Associated Press Sunday night that those efforts have proved frustrating, saying that he and his Democratic colleagues now may have to go it alone.

The co-ops were seen as perhaps the last hope for compromise on the notion of a public health care option, a contentious issue that threatens any remaining prospects of bipartisan support for President Barack Obama's sweeping plan to remake the health care system.

"I don't think I could say with a straight face that this (co-op proposal) is at all close to a nationwide public option," Schumer, D-N.Y., said Sunday. "Right now, this co-op idea doesn't come close to satisfying anyone who wants a public plan."

"may now have to go it alone". schumer is stating the obvious...unfortunately, "fierce advocate" and the vast majority of dem's on the hill think they're still wandering in the desert. WAKE UP D.C. DEMS. you have a HUGE mandate from the vast majority of americans...it's time to start spending capital! that capital doesn't have an unlimited shelf-life. use it or lose it.

72% in favor of universal health care
70% in favor of repealing DADT

those numbers don't sound anything like a "center right" populous...not even a "center left" populous.

why can't elected democrats get it through their thick skulls! defy the conservative majority. STOP talking about "we must have 60 votes". on that meme, i call BS. if you never force them to filibuster, congressional dems will never have any power.

one failed filibuster and the repoobliCONS would learn their place.

it's about time to replace the dem. donkey with a jellyfish.