Obama and Tiny Victories

[placton]

It appears clear now - what Obama is doing. He relies heavily (and rightfully) on his charisma to keep him popular. He relies (wrongfully) on giving up (oops - "negotiating") major campaign themes (end the wars/universal health care/openness in govt/make financial markets accountable) to keep him popular with the only america politicians (including Obama) see: the military/industrial complex Ike warned us about. He relies on tiny victories (all good) as a bone to those of us a bit more liberal than he: now we are gonna have a consumer protection agency!! wow!! great idea, but not what he told us he would put first.

So.... I guess it is up to us to look for tiny victories for the incredible shrinking Obama to seek. I suggest putting congress-critters on a private health care plan - the best, fully paid for. Tiny? Yep. Sensible? Yep. Popular? oh yeah!

[SemiCharmedQuark]

1. When was "universal healthcare" a campaign theme?

[kenny blankenship]

2. 2008

Shoulda been there.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

3. He absolutely did not promise universal healthcare. This was one of my disappointments

with his campaign.

Expanded health insurance does not equate to universal health care.

[kenny blankenship]

5. Oh?

this is posted from the Organizing For America website

Obama Offers Universal Health Care Plan
Newsday | May 29, 2007

By Mike Glover

Democrat Barack Obama is offering a sweeping plan that would provide every citizen a means to have health coverage and calls on government, businesses and consumers to share the costs of the program.

Obama said his plan could save the average consumer $2,500 a year and bring health care to all.

"The time has come for universal, affordable health care in America," Obama said in remarks prepared for delivery Tuesday in Iowa City.

Kicking it off in IOWA with the UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE.

Ok, you're right in that he has never offered a credibly universal plan for health care, but the man says "universal" plenty of times when speaking about his plan, and during the 2008 campaign univeral health care was a theme all the candidates tried to play. I can't believe anybody watched the 2008 campaign and didn't think universal healthcare was a central theme of the contest and that the winner was obliged to deliver on it.

[Oregone]

7. Although the term "universal" was co-opted and used as a theme

Most used it to describe a system like RomneyCare

[SemiCharmedQuark]

11. Exactly. The "universal healthcare" offered by the main candidates was not universal healthcare but

increased access to insurance.

It doesn't matter what he chose to call it, it wasn't "universal healthcare". And that was one of the things about his campaign that really angered me. He had never backed off the claim that the best system is single payer. He has repeatedly said that he would do single payer if we had to start from scratch. Since he isn't putting forth single payer, this suggests that he is allowing the insurance companies to lower the quality of our healthcare.

[placton]

13. suggests? you are too kind! n/t

[SemiCharmedQuark]

8. If you accept his definition of Universal Health Care as universal "access' to healthcare

Then even if he offers some absolute shit plan like "mandatory health insurance" he has not broken that promise.

Since the OP has counted the promise as broken already, it seems that he is implying the option has been ruled out. The only option completely ruled out is single payer.

[placton]

19. Obama - why?

Would he rule out the best option - according to his own self? Must be a reason? Tell me, please?

[kenny blankenship]

24. Who says we have to accept that. Once someone has promised "Universal Health Care"

Whatever they end up delivering can be judged against a common sense standard of UNIVERSALITY.

Does it really cover everyone? Can everyone really afford it?
If the answer to either of these is "No" then the plan was a failure and it was false advertising to bill the plan as universal health care. The big lie and lying liars who told it can be pointed out and punished. He WILL have broken his promise.

I agree with the OP that Obama appears to be keeping little promises in order to break big ones. Universal Health Care may be another case if we end up with either the nightmare scenario of mandatory insurance purchasing, or a Public Option that is so bad it does not attract employed people away from marginal private insurance and/or poor people can't afford it and their rent. He shouldn't sign any bills like that (however I expect he will feel that he must if that is the bill on his desk). If he signs a shitty healthcare bill and keeps up with the pattern the OP describes, I won't vote for him again.

[Oregone]

6. Despite what he promised or not

He would have to be stupid to not think this country needed radical health care reform including universal health care.

But Obama is not stupid, so now we have to figure out why he is falling short in this area so far. Some conclusions are not pleasant.

[AllentownJake]

9. 2 things

1) The country is broke and has no way to pay for it without raising taxes on the 80% of us still working. The Conservadems will not dare raise taxes on the wealthy because that would fuck up their campaign donations.

2) There is a giant lobby and traitor democrats ready to insert poison into any reform bill to destroy it and the President doesn't have the power to stop the traitor democrats from doing it.

Give you a clue Big Pharma is running ads thanking Harry Reid.

[placton]

12. sigh

the usual Obama excuse - keep that powder dry, cuz SOMEDAY we are gonna....

[AllentownJake]

18. Oh I'm pissed

I wish he would call a press conference and call all 10 of them traitors and bitches.

However, he doesn't do such things.

[Mari333]

20. stop both occupations and we can pay for it

[AllentownJake]

21. We gotta fight them over there or we'll be fighting them over here

:sarcasm:

[placton]

10. Occam's Razor

is a logical construct, which says: "the most likely answer to a mystery is likely the true one" Obama said one thing, is doing another. Most likely reason: best for the American People - but Obama says the opposite/ Next most likely: sellout to ricj - BINGO!!

[SemiCharmedQuark]

14. How is he doing another? He never advocated single payer. He advocated better access to insurance.

Or "insurance for all".

This is a bad policy. But it's a bad policy he's carried for a long time.

[placton]

15. didya read the thread?

even videos of Obama dont convince you?

[SemiCharmedQuark]

16. Him saying that single payer was the best system and him saying that he would implement single payer

are two very different things.

[Oregone]

17. As I referred to earlier, he may of never advocated for it, but he would be stupid to not want it

and see it as the best solution.

Is Obama stupid? Is that what you are saying?

[placton]

4. Here is what Obama and his campaign said

"Making sure every American has access to high quality health care is one of the most important challenges of our time. The number of uninsured Americans is growing, premiums are skyrocketing, and more people are being denied coverage every day. A moral imperative by any measure, a better system is also essential to rebuilding our economy -- we want to make health insurance work for people and businesses, not just insurance and drug companies."

“If I were designing a system from scratch, I would probably go ahead with a single-payer system,” Obama told some 1,800 people at a town-hall style meeting on the economy." http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/08/19/obama-touts-single-payer-system/

note: "every american" = universal health care by any stretch of the imagination - earlier he specifically called for single payer


btw Obama seems to have...fudged about this. From the horse's mouth: http://patterico.com/2009/05/21/democratic-healthcare-in-their-own-words/

Single payer is the best option - Obama says so - and most of us agree. But not the military industrial complex, I guess. Sigh

[Oregone]

23. BTW, why are you using a campaign to get elected as an excuse for not doing the right thing?

He also campaigned that he had good judgement, you know. If such good judgement makes him see solutions that benefit the entire society, even more so than a campaign promise, as a president, some would say he is obliged to seek them.

Either there is a reason (good or bad) he does not seek the best solution, or he is too stupid to see them. Take you pick.

[Jakes Progress]

22. Yeah. Tiny victories! Let's cheer for timidity. nt

[placton]

25. timidity - thy name is centrism

[ColbertWatcher]

26. Yay! We accept tiny victories now because we'll settle for less later!

Or, maybe more!?

Our political opponents promise to compensate us for the sacrifices we make now with big victories later!

Hooray!