Obama: "I didn't campaign on the public option"

[amborin]

Obama said the public option "has become a source of ideological contention between the left and right." But, he added, "I didn't campaign on the public option"

snip

In the 2008 Obama-Biden health care plan on the campaign’s website, candidate Obama promised that "any American will have the opportunity to enroll in new public plan." <2008>

– During a speech at the American Medical Association, President Obama told thousands of doctors that one of the plans included in the new health insurance exchanges "needs to be a public option that will give people a broader range of choices and inject competition into the health care market." <6/15/09>

– While speaking to the nation during his weekly address, the President said that "any plan" he signs "must include...a public option." <7/17/09>

– During a conference call with progressive bloggers, the President said he continues "to believe that a robust public option would be the best way to go." <7/20/09>

– Obama told NBC’s David Gregory that a public option "should be a part of this ," while rebuking claims that the plan was "dead." <9/20/09>

snip

"My plan builds on and improves our current insurance system, which most Americans continue to rely upon, and creates a new public health plan for those currently without coverage. Under my plan, Americans will be able to choose to maintain their current coverage if they choose to. For those without health insurance I will establish a new public insurance program, and provide subsides to afford care for those who need them. "

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/12/22/818090/-President-Obama:-I-Didnt-Campaign-on-the-Public-Option.-


video of Sept 29, 2009 speech to Congress here:

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/

[AllentownJake]

1. WHAT THE FUCK!

:wow:

[shadowknows69]

62. Believe me not your lying eyes. Wasn't that the mantra of another administration?

[The Hope Mobile]

305. Link to video with Obama stating he will require public option

and that a mandate doesn't make sense (moving this upthread- sorry for the dupe).

https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/obamapromise?refcode=sbjt_prom

[live love laugh]

354. Was Obama campaigning in 2009 when those statements were made? nt

[Billsmile]

109. The President is Quite Right!

His campaign definitely had a placating mantra. Don't you forgetful folks remember?

It was "SAME You Won't Believe In!"

He's been delivering so far!

[AllyCat]

148. That Obama! Such a hypnosis he had over you, eh?

Hey, I don't like what he's doing either, but this "he's hypnotized us" garbage is just that...crap. Enjoy your stay.

[mikesm]

144. Call the White House at 202-456-1414 and tell them that

you are no longer to to write any checks to them, or campaign for them, or vote for them because of this lie, and that you are not senile and you won't forget!

[Sherman A1]

182. I just responded to another in the endless stream of emails from the

Democratic Party with "Unsubscribe" and added my thoughts on what a failure I believe the Party to be.

[davidwparker]

272. This is what I've been doing. As they come in, I unsubscribe.

[SergeStorms]

190. Why would they care?

When they can get one check from BIG HEALTH that would dwarf the amount thousands of small donors could write? :shrug:

As always, it seems it's about the money, and we little folk can't compete with huge corporations that have the same (or better) constitutional rights as we do. The only cure for this ill is honest campaign finance reform, and it's quite clear that neither party is going to kill the golden goose that keeps laying big, fat eggs for them.

[davidwparker]

273. funny, but the money they are getting now won't get them the Dems the

votes they need in 2010/12.

[valerief]

286. No, electronic voting machines will do that. nt

[SergeStorms]

342. I don't believe.......

they ever think that far ahead. It's what's in front of them at the moment that catches their eyes. Two years into the future? The future is NOW to these boneheads. They believe cash in hand is IS the future. After all, the rapture could come at any moment. ;)

[Enthusiast]

196. I would imagine

they have already noticed.

[jgraz]

2. And the weak sauce excuses just keep on coming

:banghead:

[truedelphi]

343. They do keep coming, don't they

Almost like some large scale organization has figured out the Talking Points.

[ixion]

3. and there it is, then

'nuff said. Promise broken.

[Cant trust em]

4. Seems like a semantic argument to me.

Like everything before the election was campaigning. After that it's not campaigning, it's just publicly supporting something.

[Stinky The Clown]

13. It is a "meaning of is" argument. File it under "who the fuck cares"?

[Cant trust em]

14. Totally agree. This story is a non-issue to me.

This doesn't effect any of the bottom line.

[tavalon]

117. It's a credibility issue for me

Obama really needed to come out and say something. I didn't realize he needed outside coaching on WHAT he needed to say.

[ThomCat]

188. It is Absolutely a credibility issue.

Obama is bleeding credibility at a rapid rate. x(

He doesn't have much left.

[walldude]

39. In my house we call that LYING YOUR ASS OFF

Semantics my ass. When you say something, then go and do the opposite, then say "I never said that" we call that being a LIAR. We used to call Republicans on it all the time, used to laugh about how they were so stupid to try and lie about something that any 10 year old could dispute with a 3 second search on You Tube. Sorry but I never expected that shit from Obama.

[chimpymustgo]

64. Exactly. Our President is a practiced and facile LIAR.

[liberation]

245. Well... he is a lawyer, isn't he?

[bertman]

102. Excellent, walldude!! Thank you. nt

[ChiciB1]

215. Both My Daughter (Critical Care Cardiac Nurse) & My Son-In-Law

(Advanced Emergency Room Nurse) have been telling me for some time now how much GRUMBLING there is going on! Doctors who were mostly (I) say they won't support Obama again, and many other health care workers. So many feel betrayed like so many of us! They TOO, felt he campaigned on a Public Option and think is is basically backing away as fast as he can!

We as a family got out and worked hard for him, got others involved and did much of the pounding the pavement work too! I WILL say they had to "twist" my arm to get my boots on and campaign for Obama, but I did it! It was some very HOT work here in Florida, with many long hours given up to get him in office! I thought we WON, but then I see we must not have! One reason I worked hard was because of Palin, that was the big push for me to STOP McCain! Obama wasn't even my 2nd choice, neither was Hillary... but I'm a Liberal, so what does one expect? I NEVER saw Obama as anything more than Moderate (AT BEST) but thought he would "try" to keep "some" of his promises! So many have fell by the wayside! He's lost THIS family's support, there will be another person we will support the next time out! He should start mending a LOT OF FENCES NOW, or he won't even be a CHOICE! Oh, sorry... he WILL probably be the choice, we will be fooling ourselves if we think not! IT'S THE MONEY that will make sure!

Yep, it quite a 180 turn or even more than that! However, writing, calling, signing petitions and all the other stuff just is futile to me because in my gut I KNOW all of it just gets a passing glance! The system doesn't want CHANGE! They don't really want to hear from us! They are intent on putting a BIG SMILEY face on it and say... That's, that's ALL FOLKS!

[tavalon]

127. I never expected that specific form of lying from him, either

While Howard Dean was a pioneer with mobilizing the netroots, the Obama campaign took it to new levels of savvy. Did he fire his internet staff when he moved to the White House? I just mentioned to my husband that the Obama administration should know better and then I corrected myself and said the Obama campaign did know better. I'm learning each and every day that the Obama campaign and the Obama administration are two very different animals.

[snagglepuss]

191. That's an interesting fact. nt

[defendandprotect]

255. Simply using people -- as they used the liberals/progressives -- until they get

where they want to be --

OTOH, obviously most of us here have heard that corporations have been buying our

government and agencies for 40 years . . . Pre-BRIBING and Pre-OWNING candidates and

elected officials?

How could anyone look at Obama corporate loot and not get the message???

How could you fail to understand what was going on -- especially after he eloped

into the WH with Rahm Emmanuel . . . !!!

:)

[DKRC]

130. +1

:yourock:

[MissDeeds]

138. +1

A lie is a lie. Period. It is disgusting, it's unethical, and it's unacceptable.

[dflprincess]

139. It reminds me of Martin Short's shady character that he played on SNL

in the 80s. In a skit or two where he was being interviewed by 60 Minutes the character would make a statement, the person playing Mike Wallace would throw it back at him and Short's chain smoking, sweating character would say something like "I never said that!"

[MrMickeysMom]

208. "I never said that... did I say that?"

Yeah, I recall that shady character. That's why it struck a bell with a lot of viewers.

I wonder what you have to do to "get ready" to play a character like that? Personally, I'd say, go to the creepy, dark side that every human being is capable of doing... even the ones who try to convince themselves that the ends justify the means.

No... he never promised that... did he say that?

[Babel_17]

243. Google search

listed your post plus this.

:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc2o8ywKqos

[dflprincess]

340. I tried to find a link to one of those and couldn't

my "googling" powers weren't working so well last night.

Great find!

[Babel_17]

341. Another

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98MNisZJyFI&NR=1

[NoUsername]

154. Tell it like it is.

I pegged him as a liar and total sellout from the get-go. IOW, this is exactly what I expected from him. Which is why I never even remotely considered voting for him. I went third-party and have absolutely no regrets. I voted my conscience. Obama can suck it.

Fucking "change you can believe in" my ass. More like "change we want you to believe is good for you while we royally screw you over. Again."

Are people finally catching on to the charade or is "party loyalty" more important? If the latter, I have to ask, "loyalty to what, exactly?" Loyalty to a party that has sold you out long ago to corporate interests? Why?

Face it. We don't have a "two party" system of government. There is only one party. The Party of the Rich. They're not on our side and never will be. Theyr'e the real opposition.

[KrR]

170. Wrong messageboard? n/t

[Name removed]

189. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[snagglepuss]

192. With so few posts who are you to be questioning anyone's right to be here?

[davidwparker]

275. Probably not. Just someone who has woken up to the fact: "Not a dimes

worth of difference between the two."

This is a HEALTHY realization. Maybe when more realize this, we will be able to do what is needed to get the change we can believe in.

Like, work butts off from someone who talks the PROGRESSIVE TALK from day one of his/her campaign. Not buy into this BS of about running on the right to pick up independents.

Obama will not get another vote from me.

[Enthusiast]

198. Did you feel that

way from 2000 to 2008 while the Republicans ruined the country? Did you peg G W Bush as a sellout and liar from the get-go?

[Ticonderoga]

233. Absolutely

George W. Schmuck tipped his hand the moment he mocked that woman on death row who plead for her life. Disgusting.

[Ticonderoga]

232. Bingo

We have us a winner.

[defendandprotect]

257. Liberals/progressives have to come together as a voting bloc . . .

I think Skinner also has to change the name of the website from big "D" Democratic Underground

to small "d" democratic underground . . . ???

:evilgrin:

[davidwparker]

276. No need. Periodically, the rules get posted by someone here to remind

the 'bots that this is a left board and is no way a part of the Democratic party.

If you are looking for such a board, then democrats.com is exactly the same, with the "d" instead of "D."

I agree with your part about those on the left coming together and nominating someone on the left as well.

Silky Smooth won't see a second term.

[peace frog]

207. We denounced Bush/Cheney

for their many deceptions. Obama is quickly joining their ranks.

[Barack_America]

147. Also, "campaigning ON" versus "campaigning FOR".

One campaigns FOR policy; one campaigns ON buses, planes and platforms.

:eyes:

[Joe Chi Minh]

223. on = on the basis of = for (in this context)

[Toasterlad]

332. Seems Like Both You and Obama Need To Watch That Brady Bunch Episode About "Exact Words"

Greg Brady learned his lessons. Think you and Obama are smart enough to?

[JVS]

346. Technically possible, but a pattern of "rejecting and renouncing" what you've said earlier...

is problematic.

[crappyjazz]

5. And the hits just keep on coming

Bah

[bahrbearian]

6. I don't remember him campaigning to go against the will of the people either.

[laughingliberal]

18. +1 nt

[lame54]

7. At least he kept his Afghanistan promise

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

311. Exactly!

Lord knows he needs to kill people to appease the RW Hawks.

[Yuugal]

8. I'll turn you into me....I'll turn you into me.....

"I'll hide behind a smile and understanding eyes
And I'll tell you things that you already know so you can say:
I really identify with you, so much
And all the time that you're needing me is just the time
That I'm bleeding you, don't you get it yet?
I'll come to you like an affliction then I'll leave you like an addiction
You'll never forget me... wou wanna know why? "


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBeRmjDrxXM

[mdmc]

9. Where does he stand on access to affordable healthcare

Cause I am fully insured and can't afford access to medical treatment.

[bertman]

107. That is THE relevant question and THE relevant point in all of this. Buried under a landslide

of lies, excuses, rationalizations, obfuscations, and exceptions.

I appreciate you injecting that moment of REAL into the debate over healthcare reform on DU, mdmc.

[mdmc]

213. Thank you for the reply

peace and low stress..

[Edweird]

10. "we've never been 'stay the course'"

[Karmadillo]

11. I had no idea we had elected Tommy Flanagan. "I never ran on the public option. Yeah! That's the

ticket!"

[FLAprogressive]

41. proves that the Republicans aren't the only ones who attempt revisionist history

[AllyCat]

149. I'll be with my girlfriend...Morgan Fairchild! yeah, dat's it.

[AllyCat]

150. I'll be with my girlfriend...Morgan Fairchild! yeah, dat's it.

[dana_b]

12. east is west, left is right

up is down and black is white
Inside-out, wrong is right
it's back to front and I'm all uptight

-Ray Davies

That is how his recent statements make me feel.

[bvar22]

15. Uh-Oh....caught fibbing again.

Doesn't he know we have youtube?

THIS will leave another mark.

I noticed the True Hopers were working very hard to spin this.
Don't they ever get dizzy?

This isn't even as close as "Depends on what the definition of 'is' is".

This is the inevitable results of embracing Triangulation as a Political Philosophy.
It is totally devoid of a foundation based on Principles.

I'm waiting for the number of campaign youtubes where Obama is caught on video campaigning on a Public Option "like Medicare".

[saracat]

16. I think I may be ill. Next he will say he didn't campaign against mandates!

Candidate Obama seems to have had a different belief system than president Obama. Just like the attack on Dean, after he had asked people to hold his feet to the fire, this isn't going to go down well.

[Christa]

17. WTF?

Does he think we are idiots?

[IndianaGreen]

56. Yes, he thinks we are idiots that won't do anything about it.

[MissDeeds]

143. Agreed

And we ARE idiots if we don't do something about it. It's becoming apparent that Obama misrepresented a lot of his positions to get elected.

[davidwparker]

277. +1

[pokercat999]

184. So what CAN you do about it? Don't vote, don't donate

don't work for them? Don't make me laugh, they don't need your vote or your money they get all the money they need from corporations and with that they can buy the votes. The MSM owned by corporations marginalize the other candidates so the corporations provide you with a choice between one of their two approved candidates.

We cannot have a violent revolution, the army is too powerful and our fire power is too limited as they have taken away our second amendment rights when they limited us to semi-automatic weapons.

The only thing we have left and it's fading fast is our economic power. The only thing we have to use against them is our debt and taxes. Collectively our debt is enormous, it is owed to the powers that be, the corporations and banks. If we increase that debt as much as possible over the next several months then collectively we refuse to pay any debt or any taxes we can bring them to their knees. The taxes are the only risky part as any fraud could land you in jail. But several millions not paying any debt and using exemptions to lower our payroll withholding could force the issue of who controls America....it is all that is left to us.

Does anyone see another way....please don't be stupid enough to say vote, in that direction lies madness. (doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result)

[Goldstein1984]

209. We would have to be very organized, but if we all just stopped

buying anything that isn't absolutely essential for survival, including buying as little food as possible, it would have an impact on the economy. They understand the economy.

Yes, we would suffer casualties as part of such an action, but that is the nature of war.

Whether anyone recognizes it or not, or whether they want to use the vocabulary or not, we ARE in a class war.

[davidwparker]

281. +1000. That's it. Peaceful resistance.

With your dollars.

Support local business, rather than large chains.
Pay with cash, not credit or debit.
Buy what is made in the USA as much as you can.
Consider transferring you account to a credit union or at least a regional bank.

Both party leadership is out of control and NOT doing what we elect them to do.

I'm hoping there will be a rise in the next election of an independent, pro-USA people's party. Throw all of them out.

[dgibby]

306. I would add to that by saying:

Buy gently used whenever possible. I've been able to furnish my house from Goodwill, the Kidney Foundation, and Habitat. I won't shop at the Salvation Army resale stores due to their unchristian stance toward immigrants, LGBT, etc. I've also shopped Craig's list. I get good stuff, save money, and help these organizations help others. It's a win/win all the way.

[erpowers]

316. Same Thing People Did For Obama

People should do the same things they did for Obama, but for someone else. These candidates do need donations from individuals. Obama did not get all his money from corporations; a large amount of his money came from individuals. Individuals need to organize and pick a candidate they support, fund that campaign, and vote for that person. I think people really have the ability to influence political decisions in this country. However, they have to pick people who seem to have the ability to support their ideas.

[tnlefty]

125. I never really thought this before, but don't they

all? I remember that Sen. Jeffords, years ago when he switched parties, wrote an op-ed that was even printed in our local paper entitled 'Do they think we're stupid?', or something similar...

Yes, I think that they do. Of course that op-ed was about Dimson**, but I'm thinking that they all think we're stupid.

[kenny blankenship]

19. Reagan at least could claim Alzheimer's

[jonnyblitz]

21. ..

:rofl:

[chill_wind]

20. From the WAPO link:

President Obama rejected in an interview Tuesday the criticism that he has compromised too much in order to secure health-care reform legislation, challenging his critics to identify any "gap" between what he campaigned on last year and what Congress is on the verge of passing.

"Nowhere has there been a bigger gap between the perceptions of compromise and the realities of compromise than in the health-care bill," Obama said in an Oval Office interview with The Washington Post about his legislative record this year. "Every single criteria for reform I put forward is in this bill."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/22/AR2009122202101_2.html?hpid=topnews

[chimpymustgo]

69. Christ. Is he INSANE?

[CoffeeCat]

158. Dealing with the heavy-handed corporations...

...has made Obama delirious. He's so used to backing down and kow towing to their
intimidation and reminders of how much money they donated to his campaign--that he'll
say anything just to get the public off of his back.

When will these politicians realize that these corporations and the rest of the corporatists
are not his friends? They'll bend him until he breaks--so they can enrich themselves, and
they know this will hurt him politically.

These people are not Obama's friends. They're thugs who will strip Obama of everything
just to get their way. When Obama has finally figured out how the game is played, he
will have lost most of the people who voted for him. It will be too late.

[pokercat999]

186. Please, he knew the game long before the election. He was

purchased and is owned by the corporations and banks. He is a shill and his predecessor was and the person that follows him into office will be a shill for the corporations.....you think your vote counts

:rofl:

[defendandprotect]

259. Agree . . . looks like he was a long time in the line up?

How anyone could fail to understand the consequences of the corporate money

behind him amazes me --

Think Skinner should now change the name of the website to small "d" democratic underground!

[SergeStorms]

193. Yeah, the idea that Obama........

was a babe in the woods and that he was completely flummoxed by the big, bad, evil corporations is laughable. He knew - and knows - exactly how things work in Washington. He promised us that it wouldn't be business as usual in Washington. He promised "change we could believe in". :eyes:

I said all along that Obama was a Madison Avenue creation. His campaign was a work of art, a sales tour de force slicker than any commercial campaign ever seen. I hate to say "I told you so", but............

[chimpymustgo]

204. I felt that way too, but I was thrilled by his election and the historical moment.

It meant constantly pushing back the demons...suspending belief for the soaring rhetoric of his empty speeches...letting emotion rule over thought.

Celebration vs. cerebration.

[defendandprotect]

260. Yeah . . . but we didn't get it in writing . . . !!!!

Did we need a pre-nup?

Think Skinner should now change the name of the website to small "d" democratic underground --??




:evilgrin:

[truedelphi]

344. No I am sure that his payoff, whatever it is, keeps the shrinks from

Labeling him insane.

But for us to believe in either of the two Parties, we have to be insane.

We have watched the Democratic Party bring us:

1) NAFTA and GATT
2) FCC Telecommunications Act of 1996
3) War fought using NATO for USA interests, against the third world nation of Serbia
4) Use of Uranium Depleted materials in Serbia, in Iraq and in Afghanistan, ensuring that our enemies die not only now but for ten generations
5) The scuttling of Glass Steagall protections in banking
6) Banking Reform and Credit Modernization Acts of 1999
7) Not a single Democrat complained about the mysterious circumstances of JFK Jr's plane going down, nor did any Dem complain about the circumstances of Wellstone's plane crash either.
8) Continual support for the finances needed to run the War In Iraq, against a nation that had done us no harm
9) The destruction of free elections in terms of knowing the real vote count, with the electronic machinery more omnipresent than ever
10) The Big Bank Bailout, courtesy of Obama, Hillary Clinton and George Bush
11) Democratic support for finance criminal Bernanke, weasel Tim Geithner, Summers and Rubin
as they destroy the middle incomed
12) An expansion of the war in Afghanistan
13) Dubious and unconstitutional Health Care Reform, which is merely a further pillage of the middle incomed

[chill_wind]

302. And how does he get around the mandate in his own mind

that he campaigned against as part of his deal? That is irrefutable.

[golddigger]

22. Wow, this is not going to turn out good.

[defendandprotect]

262. It's kinda like Nixon's . . . "I am not a crook" . . . . . . . . . .. wow!

Like a spontaneous confession --

[WVRICK13]

23. Typical Politician

Not sure why we expected anything different. Our political system needs a total revamp from top to bottom. Term limits for all offices is a good place to start with annually staggered elections to insure continuity of government. Then maybe seats in Congress should be doled out according to all parties according to the percentage of votes the party receives in the elections. That would create a multi-party system making the government much harder to manipulate. I know it means we would end up with representatives from the far right and the far left but it would end up moderating the actions of our lawmakers toward the center. I can handle the center derived from a diverse base but damn it is getting hard to settle for the right coming from those who are supposedly moderate or slightly left.

[gleaner]

24. Hello?

He lied. About more than just this. If you did the research you would find him spinning on just about every issue he campaigned on to get our support. All the better to dump us with. Thanks for setting it all down in writing in one place. K&R.

[CoffeeCat]

160. I'm very upset about Habeas Corpus...

In Obama's "Blueprint for America" he specifically mentions Habeas and how he will restore it. This was a huge
issue for me.

Obama has thrashed Habeas in the face. Even worse than the Bush Administration. When Bush found out that he had
to give Guantanamo detainees due process, Bush got around that glitch by taking prisoners to a US holding facility
in Afghanistan. A judge ruled that this was unconstitutional--and the Obama administration is fighting this. They
are suggesting that the U.S. should be able to swoop up people, detain them in Afghanistan--without a trial or without
any due process. The government doesn't have to produce any evidence against them. They can be held indefinitely.

So, not only did Obama fail to restore Habeas--as he PROMISED. He is fighting to maintain the Bush sickness.

It's just so egregious, I can barely stand it. We were told that he was a "Constitutional scholar" and that we should
trust that he wouldn't behave like Bush.

Bush had no respect for the Constitution. I'm wondering how in the hell a man can teach Constitutional Law at the college
level, then turn around and go against the Constitution as POTUS? That's WORSE THAN BUSH, because Obama damn well knows
better. Horrendous behavior...just horrendous.

[gleaner]

175. I agree with you .....

I saw a thread over the weekend where OP had quoted and linked to an article which stated that the Obama Administration had already been to court to try and prevent prosecution on torture and crimes against humanity as defined by the Geneva Conventions. The judge had given them the decision they wanted, with virtually no public fanfare because all of the noise and attention had been drawn to the health care issue. That is very Bush like too.

The decision left torture in place as an "acceptable" method of interrogation and denied prosecution on either the criminal or civil level. It also said that the President or his "authorized" representatives could declare anyone an unlawful combatant and hold them indefinitely without due process or any type of legal proceedings. As the article put it, they would cease to he human and have human rights including the right to due process as defined by our Constitution. There may have been other nuances as well but I was sufficiently horrified by what I was reading to take them all in.

We are now officially and under our court system, a nation which can legally torture, declare anyone an unlawful combatant (it did not limit the status only to those from a foreign country) on the say so of whomever is President, and have people disappear into prisons with no legal counsel, no trial and no explanation for as long as the government wants to keep them there. Bush started this, he framed it and found the rationalizations that were as thin as a tissue which kept it in place. Obama took it to court and solidified it and made it all perfectly legal.

As a Constitutional scholar he would know just which buttons to push and how to manipulate arguments to sway a judge to do this. I think it is venial beyond words, and it apparently was nothing more than a day at work to this administration. I had hoped for a prosecution of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Gonzalez, Woo and anyone else who had perpetrated these atrocities. Now I have to hope that a foreign nation which is still practicing humanity holds up a light and shows the whole world what people like these are about. That includes Obama, one of the biggest and most hypocritical liars on earth.

[KoKo]

228. Saw that article posted here, too. It didn't get much attention because of HCR

taking up the discussion on DU...but it was another dreadful thing done in the dark of cover. Has anyone even seen or heard from Eric Holder on anything? Look at all the criminality on Wall St., too. Anyone seen anyone but Madoff be prosecuted? What about that Stanford guy that people thought was drug running for CIA while swindling people. Haven't heard a peep about how his case is going.

Criminal Enterprise we have here for a country, it seems.

[gleaner]

335. It does seem so ...

I checked and it was a Supreme Court ruling for the Obama administration. I guess since Bush packed the Supreme Court as well as he could that was a no brainer. Of course they will cover it all up. But it won't go away. It will just keep getting bigger and uglier and more oppressive. If you take your analogy of Criminal Enterprise, I think this decision helped to enable the intelligence communities as Murder for Hire.

HCR is still making so much noise that I have not heard this decision mentioned on any media outlet. My husband is bedridden due to a serious illness last year and watches a lot of news. The first he heard of this was when I showed him the thread on DU. He was absolutely stunned and sickened. He used to run a peace board with me during the Bush years. He researched and wrote our article on Rendition. He still checks from time to time to see what is happening with the four individuals who had the courage to speak out against the US. It literally cost them everything. Their physical well being, emotional well being ability to live without fear, and one disappeared into an Egyptian prison never to be heard from again. As nearly as we could tell, none of them were terrorists. One was kidnapped from Italy where he was a car salesman with a young family who lived a very quiet life.

So they were either taken because of mistaken identity or because Bush needed some trophies for his endless wars and they were handy. Knowing Bush I choose the second option. Now it is Obama who will be doing the kidnapping. But thanks to his careful preparation it will all be perfectly legal.

[Goldstein1984]

210. The Constitution is becoming increasingly inconvenient to the

Ruling Class.

We will be seeing, I predict, an increasing use of police and military force against dissent.

Is it only me, or is our government increasingly dealing with constitutional challenges by using secrecy and obfuscation, or just by refusing to address the issue?

[rudy23]

25. Obama, Rahm --- you can't triangulate in 2009, because we have GOOGLE NOW!

Not only is Rahm a backstabber, but a stupid one.

[mikesm]

35. Rahm didn't give the quote to the WAPO!

Obama himself did. Don't try and spin this as Rahm talking - the President is out and out lying! How can you deny that???

Do these people think we are morons with no memory?

[rudy23]

47. Rahm is part of his general political strategy of triangulation. I was making a general comment

which applied also to Obama's statement to the WaPo.

I appreciate where you're coming from though--we shouldn't let Obama get away with using Rahm as his bad cop.

[Ignis]

49. No kidding. See post #26. (nt)

[Ignis]

26. From the Democratic Party platform, 2008:

Covering All Americans and Providing Real Choices of Affordable Health Insurance Options.

Families and individuals should have the option of keeping the coverage they have or choosing from a wide array of health insurance plans, including many private health insurance options and a public plan. Coverage should be made affordable for all Americans with subsidies provided through tax credits and other means.

Platform here: http://www.democrats.org/a/party/platform.html
PDF download: http://www.democrats.org/pdfs/2004platform.pdf

[SergeStorms]

194. Well, he DID give the public a plan.

A plan to enrich health care insurers, but a plan, nonetheless. A plan to mandate purchasing insurance from private insurers or face fines or jail time, but still, a plan. I wonder.........was that the Plan all along? :shrug:

We've been had, and it looks like this POS bill is going to pass. I'm not confident that much will be changed in the bill while in conference. Not changed in any way that benefits Americans, that is. It may change somewhat to further benefit the health insurers, or it may change somewhat to further deny women's rights, but I don't see anything on the horizon that benefits the public.

And I am DAMNED unhappy about it! :grr:

[Babel_17]

247. Party platform mostly = what you're campaigning on (nt)

[femrap]

27. How soon they forget....

fucking amazing.

[pleah]

28. Change you can believe in alright.

:sarcasm:

[FLAprogressive]

67. from "change we can believe in" to "bullshit you can take a bath in"

[Raine]

29. WHAT?!?!?!

:wtf: :wow: ... such a LIE!

[TK421]

30. Come on....what happened to feeling all hopey and changey people?

how about some optimism here? :sarcasm:

[SergeStorms]

195. Yeah.......

and where the hell is my PONY? x(

[IndianaGreen]

31. We can't trust anything this guy says!

His reelection is just a sliver among all the more serious problems we are going to be facing.

[swilton]

241. Obama Scares Me

If this is just in the first year, what is it going to look like three years from now?

Blatant lieing - why does Obama think he can get away with this - what does he know and why doesn't he care?

[chimpymustgo]

256. +1. "What does he know and why doesn't he care?

[Bluenorthwest]

32. Does he know about Google?

This is a stark raving lie. Obama claims to follow a faith that demands that he hold prejudice against his neighbors, but that self same faith absolutely does not allow one to lie, parse words, spin, or in any manner evade the truth, or even seem to be doing so. So his utter disregard for the very commands that he wishes to spit at others is typical of that faith, of his profession, and his area of study.
"Let your yes be yes, and your no be no."

[KoKo]

229. Chris Matthews calls us the "Netroots" and spits it out when he says it...so Googlers are idiots

in the minds of the MSM and the Washington Beltway. People who sit home in p.j's and type out stuff...who don't vote, run for office or donate. (according to Matthews)

:rofl:

[Neecy]

33. What's next?

That he didn't campaign on overturning DADT?

Kind of soon to be rewriting history, isn't it? Most of us can remember last year.

[n2doc]

34. Seems like he didn't learn anything from the Bush admin's mistakes

By 2008, Bush was the political equivalent of Joe Iszzu, completely laughed at because he had lied so much. Obama is going down the same path. How someone so smart can be so stupid is beyond me.

[sojourner]

99. he did learn something...it's something a politician can get away with. but he

doesn't realize we're not like republican sheeples. too bad.

[Enthusiast]

200. Look at your post.

The key here is 'by 2008'. President Obama might not have to confront the Joe Iszzu realities of failure until 2012 or 2016.

[n2doc]

203. Except we are sensitized to it

If anything he will have to be more truthful than the average prez because of his predecessor. Doesn't seem to be happening.

[Enthusiast]

205. Yes, President Obama's

supporters were very hopeful. We hoped for honesty, humility and transparency. And is it any wonder after the worst administration in the history of the nation? So we will hold Obama to high standards. This should have been obvious to him from the start. I think he is 'playing dumb'.

[FLAprogressive]

36. Liar liar pants on fire.

[omega minimo]

37. Ignorance is Strength

[FiveGoodMen]

43. War is Peace...

Freedom is...

Freedom is...

...gone.

[Cant trust em]

57. Isn't the opposite of ignorance knowledge? nt

[Uncle Joe]

60. Specifically yes but I believe the underlying general message promoted in one form or another by

the corporate media has been ignorance is strength.

Ie; Bush's ignorance was portrayed as a strength.

[omega minimo]

92. We have always been at war with Eurasia

[Hannah Bell]

185. not when it's 1984.

Nineteen Eighty-Four - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia... leader of the Brotherhood, which explains the perpetual war and the slogans, WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, and IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH. ...

History and title - Story - Characters - The world in 1984
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four - Cached

[Odin2005]

38. EPIC FAIL! I WORKED MY ASS OFF for you, Barack because you promised it!

[FLAprogressive]

40. He never campaigned on a public option. The man said it himself. Why is that not good enough for you

:sarcasm:

[pokercat999]

338. Actually he may be somewhat correct. I saw him at a rally

(on tv) of one the unions and he said he was in favor of SINGLE PAYER!

[L0oniX]

42. K & R ...Kucinich 2012

[winyanstaz]

152. Kucinich/Dean.....Warriors for the People...

[liquid diamond]

167. Bullshit.

[L0oniX]

249. Go away troll.

[pundaint]

176. Your post bugs me

[phasma ex machina]

44. Your eyelids are getting heavy. After I count to 3 you will forget all about any public option.

[jillan]

45. WHY is he flat out lying? WHY couldn't he just say - we couldn't get it done - that would've

been more honest.

How insulting, Obama!

[Jim Sagle]

71. And miss an opportunity to lie? C'mon.

;)

[SergeStorms]

197. It's all part of his grand chess game.

The one where he's thinking 10 moves ahead of everyone else. Remember? And BOY, will we ever be surprised when everything turns out exactly as he originally promised. We'll all feel pretty foolish then, won't we? The egg we'll have to wipe off our faces then, right? :sarcasm:

[closeupready]

225. Because he's irresponsible.

n/t

[TheWebHead]

46. "must include...a public option."

uh, so what's in between the dots? The quotes above use words like "believe" and "should be"... logical words to use if he could count votes.

added:

what he really said is must include an insurance exchange
– While speaking to the nation during his weekly address, the President said that "any plan" he signs "must include an insurance exchange, a one-stop shopping marketplace where you can compare the benefits, cost and track record of a variety of plans, including a public option to increase competition and keep insurance companies honest." <7/17/09>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83FvLjsUOJg

[rateyes]

48. OK, apologists, let's hear from you. Tell us all how Obama is not now lying

through his teeth.

[hughee99]

58. He's not lying now, because...

eh, he um... he's not lying now because he didn't mean it then. Yeah, we'll go with that until Rahm sends me something better. He's telling you the truth now, but he HAD to lie during the campaign to get elected. He lied to you for your own good when he promised the public option, but now he's telling the truth, he never really intended to do it. How's that?

[rateyes]

95. You should run for office.

:D

[unc70]

181. Not lying "now" because, uh, ... he's sleeping now. Yeah.

That's the ticket.

[ShortnFiery]

50. It's just a continuation of our beloved "American Crusade 2001+"

[PFunk]

51. And that is why Obama (and the dems) will have a nasty surprise in '10 and '12.

And alot more folks just tuning out of the democratic process. Thanks alot idiots.

[rudy23]

52. I'm voting for Dems in '10 to spite them---I think they want to lose in '10.

Think about it--then the Republican Congress could leave them "no choice" but to pass these piece of shit DLC/corporate bills.

[FLAprogressive]

55. when they realize that triangulation doesn't work in the google era

[defendandprotect]

263. Don't just wander off alone . . . we need liberals/progressives to come together as a voting bloc .

and discussion here of what to do next . . .

[TornadoTN]

274. I know what I'm doing

I'll be voting for third parties and write-in's primarily, but I will support Democrats who have a demonstrable track record of doing what they say (which are few and far in between). No longer will I be voting for the "lesser of the two evils" or just to "keep Republicans out of office".

[defendandprotect]

280. Agree with you . . .

all I'm saying is many will probably be joining you --

you're not alone!!

Happy New Year!!

[loudsue]

288. We need to declare a third party, and we need to make our platform clear.

The leaders are in place: Dean, Sanders, Boxer, Kucinich, Lee, Waters, Conyers.... we just need to get our shit together.

[Orangepeel]

53. Well that was a stupid thing to say.

He should have said that he supports a public option and it was part of what he advocated during the campaign, but he was always open to other ideas that would accomplish the same goals (whether they *would* accomplish the same goals or not is, of course, open to debate).

That would have been a much less disingenuous thing to say. As many have pointed out, he never really pushed hard for a public option, not even when he was campaigning, although he absolutely said he supported it and it was in the published campaign literature.

[defendandprotect]

266. Like Nixon, what he's saying is: "I am not a crook" . . .. !!!

:evilgrin:

[IndianaGreen]

54. K&R n/t

:kick:

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

59. Healthcare was/is a major, big deal issue that affects all of us

It was right after the War in Irag as THE major issue. I know it was/is for me. I left a job and was on a Cobra plan that is running out. You better believe that I paid attention. We all followed the issue very, very closely. Hillary was hammered by Obama over mandates. He most certainly DID run on a public option "similar to Medicare".

I read the Obama Biden healthcare package very closely during the campaign. I think that site has been scrubbed since then to remove most of the public plan references. If you read it now, it seems strange because it refers very briefly to "the public plan" that is not referenced or explained elsewhere.* I recall a brief synopsis that included the words " a public plan similar to Medicare". The reason I recall it so clearly is because of a lengthy debate I had at one point with another poster right here on DU about why a whole different public option "similar to Medicare" - why not just Medicare? If I had the time or was a better searcher, I think I could use that wayback website to prove that the campaign materials now are different than they were then. And it would be interesting to see exactly when changes were made.


*In fact, someone should check it right now to see if they have removed the last vestiages of "the public plan"

And now this incredible statement. It is a mistatement, a falsehood, a misrepresentation, a mispeak, a . . . . . . lie.

[suffragette]

285. ABC has a factcheck list of Obama references to the "new public plan"

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/12/from-the-fact-check-desk-president-obama-says-i-didnt-campaign-on-the-public-option.html

His statement in the video clip from his 2007 speech to Planned Parenthood is very clear on that. Be sure to watch. The clip is brief.

So is the candidate statement he gave to the Washington Post:

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/issues/candidates/barack-obama/
DO YOU HAVE A PLAN TO MAKE HEALTH CARE MORE ACCESSIBLE TO AMERICANS? IF SO, HOW WOULD YOU DO IT?
Every American has the right to affordable, comprehensive and portable health coverage. My plan will ensure that all Americans have health care coverage through their employers, private health plans, the federal government, or the states. My plan builds on and improves our current insurance system, which most Americans continue to rely upon, and creates a new public health plan for those currently without coverage. Under my plan, Americans will be able to choose to maintain their current coverage if they choose to. For those without health insurance I will establish a new public insurance program, and provide subsides to afford care for those who need them. My plan includes a mandate that all children have health care coverage and I will expand eligibility for the Medicaid and SCHIP programs to help ensure we cover all kids. My plan requires all employers to contribute towards health coverage for their employees or towards the cost of the public plan. Under my plan a typical family will save $2,500 each year. We will realize tremendous savings within the health care system from improving efficiency and quality and reducing wasted expenditures system-wide. Specifically, these savings will result from investments in health information technology, improvements in prevention and management of chronic conditions, increased insurance industry competition and reduced industry overhead, the provision of federal reinsurance for catastrophic coverage, and reduced spending on uncompensated care.


And from the PDF, there are several references to the "new public plan" including this:
http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/issues/HealthCareFullPlan.pdf

(2) NEW AFFORDABLE, ACCESSIBLE HEALTH INSURANCE OPTIONS. The Obama-Biden plan will create a
National Health Insurance Exchange to help individuals purchase new affordable health care options if they are
uninsured or want new health insurance. Through the Exchange, any American will have the opportunity to
enroll in the new public plan or an approved private plan, and income-based sliding scale tax credits will beprovided for people and families who need it. Insurers would have to issue every applicant a policy and charge
fair and stable premiums that will not depend upon health status. The Exchange will require that all the plans
offered are at least as generous as the new public plan and meet the same standards for quality and efficiency.
Insurers would be required to justify an above-average premium increase to the Exchange. The Exchange
would evaluate plans and make the differences among the plans, including cost of services, transparent.


He cited the "new public plan" repeatedly. Nothing he can say now will erase that.

[Individualist]

61. K&R

[rhett o rick]

63. And he didnt campaign on ending the wars, or repealing the Patriot Act, or

ending torture, or fixing health insurance, or fixing DADT, or stopping the jobs going overseas.

Damn, what the hell did he campaign on?

[xchrom]

65. Obama is the man I thought he was.

I need to start being stingier with my votes.

[Mari333]

66. oooo he is lying worse than a thousand whores

shame on him.

[SergeStorms]

199. Take that back!

"Whores" (and I despise that term) are basically honest. They offer a service for a stated price and seldom deviate from that inferred contract. Politicians, on the other hand, cannot be trusted from one sentence to the next. So I consider "whores" to be infinitely more trustworthy than politicians. I've yet to be proved wrong on that. :shrug:

[twitomy]

314. LOL! Thats basically what Jim Traficant said in the well of

congress about his colleauges years ago...

[G_j]

68. he had his fingers crossed

:think:

[Vinnie From Indy]

70. Obama's "read my lips" moment!

It killed G HW Bush even after his numbers were stratospheric after the first Gulf War. It is remarkable that Obama would so openly, blatantly and verifiably lie with this statement. He should have just kept his piehole shut. At least he wouldn't be pissing all over us after lying and then DENYING he said it. I am simply in awe of the political miscalculation.

[Ken Burch]

73. Of course, GHWB had an excuse...he HAS no lips!

n/t.

[winyanstaz]

153. heheh

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

84. You just called it correctly. This will be the RMLs moment for a lot of supporters.

Don't insult us and tell us up is down.

This shreds his credibility factor, in case he doesn't realize that yet.

[newspeak]

231. yeah, and what a sad thing that war makes a president popular

I believe that is one reason * baby got his war hard on because he believed that daddy wouldn't have lost if he hadn't gotten out of Iraq. Now, isn't it sad that there is part of the public that will vote for someone that will get you into a war (even though it's based on lies), destroy the economy for said war, kill civilians and put our troops in harm's way--and that sociopath will get elected. What does that say about us as a country?

[Skittles]

72. LOL

oh man, it just gets better and better, doesn't it? :rofl:

[Hatchling]

74. Lying SOS! nt

[change_notfinetuning]

75. Hope & change. I HOPE he tells the truth for a CHANGE! n/t

[rollingrock]

76. Channeling Bush again?

[ipaint]

77. Wow are they spinning this. They've got their talking points out

along with the regurgitators here and elsewhere. Huffington has a new article, a re-write of very recent history, about how obama didn't really campaign on the public option. Message discipline.


Did Obama Campaign On The Public Option? Yes But Not Entirely
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/22/did-obama-campaign-on-the_n_401204.html




Some links from the kos link in the op proving obama did campaign on a public option.



Covering All Americans and Providing Real Choices of Affordable Health Insurance Options.

Families and individuals should have the option of keeping the coverage they have or choosing from a wide array of health insurance plans, including many private health insurance options and a public plan. Coverage should be made affordable for all Americans with subsidies provided through tax credits and other means.

http://www.democrats.org/a/party/platform.html


In the 2008 Obama-Biden health care plan on the campaign’s website, candidate Obama promised that “any American will have the opportunity to enroll in new public plan.”

http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/issues/HealthCareFullPlan.pdf


Every American has the right to affordable, comprehensive and portable health coverage. My plan will ensure that all Americans have health care coverage through their employers, private health plans, the federal government, or the states. My plan builds on and improves our current insurance system, which most Americans continue to rely upon, and creates a new public health plan for those currently without coverage. Under my plan, Americans will be able to choose to maintain their current coverage if they choose to. For those without health insurance I will establish a new public insurance program, and provide subsides to afford care for those who need them. My plan includes a mandate that all children have health care coverage and I will expand eligibility for the Medicaid and SCHIP programs to help ensure we cover all kids. My plan requires all employers to contribute towards health coverage for their employees or towards the cost of the public plan. Under my plan a typical family will save $2,500 each year. We will realize tremendous savings within the health care system from improving efficiency and quality and reducing wasted expenditures system-wide. Specifically, these savings will result from investments in health information technology, improvements in prevention and management of chronic conditions, increased insurance industry competition and reduced industry overhead, the provision of federal reinsurance for catastrophic coverage, and reduced spending on uncompensated care.

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/issues/candidates/barack-obama/

NPR interview 2007-

Obama: Senator Clinton’s plan for healthcare, my plan, John Edward’s plan are all similar in the sense that we set up a government plan alongside the private plans that people have. And people can buy in. And we all subsidize participation in that plan.

Laura Knoy: So it’s not universal, single payer healthcare such as Dennis Kucinich<'s plan>?

Obama: Exactly. It’s not single payer, it’s a transitional system building on the existing systems that we have.

cont.-

Require all children to have health insurance, and employers to offer employee health benefits or contribute to the cost of the new public program. Expand Medicaid and SCHIP and create the National Health Insurance Exchange through which small businesses and individuals without access to other public programs or employer-based coverage could enroll in a new public plan, like Medicare, or in a range of approved private plans.

http://www.verumserum.com/?p=8554

More examples at the kos link in the op.

This re-framing and lying by obama and his mouthpieces is just so cowardly.

[Political Heretic]

81. On this specific issue, Obama is appropriately called a LIAR. Post #77 has the links.

[grahamhgreen]

217. +1

[peoli]

78. The campaign was pre 2009 not after. He DID NOT CAMPAIGN on the Public Option ever.

You guys are whack!

[ipaint]

79. The links in my post right above yours prove otherwise. n/t

[peoli]

103. He always said if he could start from scratch he would favor public option

that's a fact.

[ShamelessHussy]

108. actually he was referring to UNIVERSAL/NATIONAL HC

FYI

[grahamhgreen]

218. He said if he could start from scratchhe would institute SINGLE PAYER. nt

[Toasterlad]

333. A Simple "I Apologize For Being Clueless and Wrong" Will Suffice.

Although, if you'd also like to promise to actually pay attention to what your politicians are saying instead of blindly sucking down every dixie cup of kool-aid they hand you, it would make you a better person.

[mcablue]

85. He promised it in 2008, as Thinkprogress noted (link)

"In the 2008 Obama-Biden health care plan on the campaign’s website, candidate Obama promised that “any American will have the opportunity to enroll in new public plan.”

Also, "In response to a questionnaire from the Washington Post, then-candidate Obama said, “My plan builds on and improves our current insurance system, which most Americans continue to rely upon, and creates a new public health plan for those currently without coverage.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/12/22/obama-repeatedly-touted-public/

[piratefish08]

94. So there is a statute of limitations on truth? Interesting.........

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

90. You're completely uninformed.

"He did not campaign on the public option ever"- Right.

And yet how confidently you say that and even call people who disagree (with reality) "whacks"!

Google just a tiny bit. Easy stuff - Healthcare Presidential campaign candidates - something like that for beginners.

[peoli]

104. I'm sorry I followed his campaign closely and he always said

that if he could start from scratch he would favor a public option.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

106. He said that in reference to 'single payer' not 'public option' nt.

[peoli]

118. you're right. my bad.

[Toasterlad]

334. Was That So Hard?

[Kansas Wyatt]

114. Hell, he didn't even FAVOR Public Option for one moment!

He USED the American People and then threw them to the Insurance Vultures.

[eridani]

115. He said he would favor SINGLE PAYER if starting from scratch

Huge difference.

[Jamastiene]

120. We have always been at war with Eastasia.

We have always been at war with Eastasia.
We have always been at war with Eastasia.
We have always been at war with Eastasia.
We have always been at war with Eastasia.

:wtf: ever. :eyes:

[Political Heretic]

80. Right. And he also didn't campaign against mandates.

:eyes:

[KoKo]

82. I think that Obama is claiming much he didn't "Run On" that he's now saying was Bogus...

Frankly speaking...every word out of his mouth for the past few months screams: "Liar...Liar...Pants on FIRE!

But, I realize that there are many here who don't see what I see about how he has lied to us ...yet, many DU'ers post "You Tubes" of the EXACT LANGUAGE in his SPEECHES where he is saying ONE THING...and Now he is ELECTED and he RECANTS...assuming the MAINSTREAM MEDIA will VERIFY his "Mis-Speak, Mis-Statements ...or WERE THEY DIRECT LIES!

Whatever. The "ONE PARTY MEDIA" will LIE AND LIE AND LIE.

Those of us who voted for OBAMA will REMEMBER EVERY STATEMENT HE MADE! WE HUNG ON EVERY WORD OF HIS EXCELLENT AND SOARING RHETORIC.... WE SAW HIM AS THE "POSITIVE"...THE FUTURE OF AMERICA WITHOUT SKIN COLOR, CIRCUMSTANCE OF BIRTH and THE NEW WAY FORWARD!

CRASH AND BURN.... How FAST can one PRESIDENT SELL OUT ...ALL HOPES FOR THE IDEALISTS WHO VOTED FOR HIM?

HOW FAST? Even JIMMY CARTER didn't CRASH AND SELL OUT THAT FAST....In Spite of what MSM SAID ABOUT HIM!

[Indenturedebtor]

83. Wow he just told his base to go *f* itself

He knows damn well that we have the internets and um what's that thing called again that likes to hang out behind eyes and in between ears... oh yeah BRAINS!

So... he told us to collectively go fuck ourselves. He pointed right at the tv screen and said "Hey you! Yeah you with the 'Hope and Change' button you paid 1/10th of your salary for... GO FUCK YOURSELF!"

[earcandle]

86. Obama, you should be ashamed of yourself. Pumping us up and duping us is a crime in our minds.

[Swamp Rat]

87. I don't give a flying fuck what you "said," Barack.

We the People want REAL HEALTHCARE reform, and some sort of PUBLIC OPTION that will cover everybody.

Now, DO IT!!!

[pleah]

89. +1

:thumbsup:

[ima_sinnic]

88. if anybody remembers, he'll also deny that he said everybody would "have a seat at the table"

in negotiating health reform:

"I'm going to have all the negotiations around a big table. We'll have doctors and nurses and hospital administrators. Insurance companies, drug companies -- they'll get a seat at the table, they just won't be able to buy every chair. But what we will do is, we'll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies. And so, that approach, I think is what is going to allow people to stay involved in this process." --Town hall meeting on Aug. 21, 2008, in Chester, Va.

After I heard this, I was excited and ecstatic; it was like a dream come true--surely this would lead to a single-payer system, or at least something equitable and sensible.

Well, we all know how that went, and how doctors and nurses were actually arrested for trying to speak about single-payer, for having the audacity to think they could "trespass" in Congress, where our "public servants" "serve" "us." And how the used-car salesman didn't say shit about it. I was stunned at the whole summer, frankly--the complete absence of leadership so the teabaggers took over and got to monopolize and distort the whole thing, not a peep about the fact that Max Baucus closed the door on the "hearings" with insurance companies, his contemptuous attitude toward single-payer, like it was a necessary evil like turds in a toilet that could be quickly flushed--his "negotiations around a big table" was as phony as a $9 bill and just more glib words to reel in the suckers. His "public option" was always vague and undefined--I truly lost it this summer as this unfolded. I'm not surprised at anything now--we've been had, bad.

I can truly say I will never NEVER vote for someone who does not have a PROVEN RECORD of progressive leadership. If there are no suitable candidates, there are several worthy of being written in.

[pundaint]

177. I agree with voting only for proven progressives, but if one isn't available

I shall vote against the incumbent. At least the corruptors will have to start all over again with a new office holder.

[leftstreet]

91. He said a Public Option would keep the Insurance companies HONEST

So what's the backup plan?

:shrug:

[piratefish08]

93. Either he's completely brainwashed or is flat out fucking lying. If this is the new face of the

leadership, we're fucked.

[Nikki Stone1]

96. Those "public option" promises came when he was dating you. Now that you're married

he hits, he punches, and he farts incessantly.

[CLANG]

97. Very interesting..... but not very funny!

[Jamastiene]

98. Remind me never to stand near him in a thunderstorm.

:wow:

[Libertas1776]

100. Well,

I certainly wasted my vote. :grr:

[Tim01]

101. Wow, just wow. I HATE liars. nt

[the blues]

105. K&R... Disgusting. n/t

[unkachuck]

110. colin....

....'gas' powell must be advising the Prez on the fine art of public bullshitting....

[donheld]

111. So he's a flat out liar. We got punked

[bertman]

112. SHHHHHHH. .............You're killing my buzz, dood!

rec.

[tavalon]

113. Well, I guess that depends on what the definition of "is" is

I was already having flashbacks to the Clinton administration. Nice parsing, Attorney Obama.

[Starry Messenger]

116. Great.

Three more years of the Semantics Presidency. Hey, maybe we should just change the same to the Semantic Party.

[SandWalker1984]

119. Guess we owe Rep Joe Wilson an apology........

when we all jumped on him for saying "You lie!" to President Obama.

[tblue]

179. Why? He'll just ignore us. nt

[slipslidingaway]

121. Very sad n/t

[dysfunctional press]

122. i guess that somebody has already decided NOT to run for re-selection in 2012.

either that, or he's decided to help the opposition get an early start on their campaign plans. :shrug:

[Barack_America]

123. This is getting insulting.

[AllentownJake]

128. Swallow the Red Pill

It's been insulting since Rick Warren.

[Barack_America]

133. It's been stuck in my throat.

I'll try and wash it down again with some beer.

[AllentownJake]

136. When he invited the Dominionist Bastard to the party

I was insulted not only as an American but as a Christian. Hey Rick what part of this world is not our home did you not understand.

[Barack_America]

140. I probably would have been more insulted by that if I were Christian.

It was a poor move to be sure. I took it at the time to be a conciliatory gesture and not the harbinger of things to come it apparently was.

[AllentownJake]

141. I was also insulted because I have a great deal of friends in the gay community

But as a Christian, I was fucking furious.

[newspeak]

240. remember that there are democrats who are a part of the C street gang

and there were democrats at the Moon coronation. I think we got some ideological wack jobs on both sides of the aisle.

[defendandprotect]

269. And they're still pushing the FAKE rw religious movement into Dem Party . . .

[joeybee12]

250. That's what bothers me most...does he think we're that stupid? n/t

[defendandprotect]

270. Think he felt compelled to lie . . . like Nixon: "I am not a crook" . . . !!!

:evilgrin:

[JohnnyHardhat]

124. Disgusted Dem

For the record I supported Hillary because of healthcare, but when Obama won the primary I became an ardent supporter as his message was one of hope and change. Now there is neither hope nor change. Healthcare reform has always been my biggest issue and I am disgusted by the way the White House mucked up this battle from the start. Now to add insult to injury we're getting "Bush" tactics to boot. When presidents (and most politicians) lie in public they know they are lying. They don't forget what was said in the recent past. Axelrod, Rham and staff have all the sound bites and speeches (like we do) and know what's been promised.

It is a calculated maneuver to re-frame the discussion and the president's position, a re-write of his platform. It is cynical politics at its worst. It is intended to let everyone know where he stands today (not back during the campaign) and to move people like us away from bashing him for abandoning his principles and campaign promises - the very ones we cared about and voted for. If the White House is doing this stuff now we'll see more of it in the future on other important policy goals as well. I have no word for what I feel other than disgusted. Ok maybe brokenhearted.

[katkat]

169. Johnny

How was Hillary different on healthcare than what we've got? Cause she was at least obviously DLC.

[JohnnyHardhat]

291. Hi Katkat-Clinton and Healthcare

Not a DLC fan but my belief at the time was that Hillary had a set of fundamental principles on healthcare that were set in stone and hard won knowledge of the relationship between the presidency and congress. I felt that she had made healthcare a primary policy goal for her presidency. The fact that I met her and she spoke on the issue to me directly made me feel good about her grasp and determination on the issue. Her proposal was identical to what progressives have been calling for- a robust, affordable public option, in addition to access to the federal healthcare insurance program, covering all 47 million uninsured, caps on insurance company expenditures, cuts in wasteful medicare spending.

These are all the things and more that I would have liked to see in a healthcare bill for our country. I also thought that most legislators knew where she stood on the issue and would be better informed as to what she would expect in a healthcare bill. On the other hand, I felt Obama distanced himself from comprehensive healthcare reform during the campaign and spoke about working with private insurance companies to make changes-it was not a strong point of his platform. In fact I felt his platform on healthcare came off more as an afterthought and not as an essential part of his campaign. That said, he was the primary candidate and I did support him energetically and looked forward to his leadership. So far he has let me down on this and other issues.

[Zhade]

337. Yeah, but... clinton lies just as much. Tuzla, anyone?

NT!

[Bluebear]

353. yup

[swilton]

251. My wor is frightened

[Toasterlad]

126. "We Have Always Been At War With Eastasia!"

The fact that politician don't even bother to disguise their lies anymore - and that no one seems to give a fuck - is the biggest indicator that this country is well and truly fucked.

There is no hope for this nation.

[mikesm]

142. They only LIE like this because they think they can get away with it

and that we will keep writing checks for them and voting for them and working for them because they think we have no other option. Well, I say EAST MY SHORTS!

No more checks, no more campaigning, no more turning out the vote work in CRAPPY weather, and no more VOTES. For Obama and for all the sellouts who got special pork barrel projects to buy their vote!

I am calling my two senators tomorrow to tell them that, as well as calling the whitehouse switchboard too! You should too - 202-456-1414! Let's flood it with calls!

[pundaint]

178. It's been flooded, haven't been able to get through lately.

[Canuckistanian]

129. Lieberman must have hyp-mo-tized him

And got him to drop the public option.

[NBachers]

131. This is turning into an Ed Sullivan "Spinning Plates" routine

[WT Fuheck]

132. He never promised NOTHIN!

And you can't prove (to his defenders) that he did!

[Clear Blue Sky]

134. "I never inhaled..."

[Justyce]

135. I recall a lot of people getting banned during the primaries for predicting

exactly what's been happening. What a waste.

Oh what I'd give to someday have a President Dean.

[Bluebear]

137. So, so, so true.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

145. He campaign on a hybrid of expanded Medicare and Subsidized Insurance

The Senate has offered up only one half of what he wanted.

[Hawkowl]

146. I'm an official hater now.

I absolutely can't believe President Dickweed.

[winyanstaz]

151. It is easy enough to see he is lying about what he said or didn't say.......

But that alone means little to me.
What I am saying is...it matters NOT what HE ran on or didn't run on.
What matters is what the American public wanted him to do...and he is NOT listening to us..he is NOT representing us...and neither are those other traitors in Congress.

[janedum]

162. Obama's a ONE TERMER. LYING, Deceitful MF.

[CoffeeCat]

155. Yeah buddy, but you didn't tell us you would do THIS!

Obama has the audacity to say he didn't campaign on the public option.

Ok, whatever.

Maybe the point needs to be that he NEVER was honest about what he would do: "Yes, my fellow Americans!
The time is now to take campaign contributions from health insurance companies. And in the coming days,
after I am elected, I will return the favor to those health-insurance companies and I will not even
consider a single-payer system! That's right. I will also not allow a public option! I will meet
with lobbyists from big pharma and I will listen to them when they demand that Americans be prevented
from accessing affordable drugs through Canada! I will sell you out America! You will not get real
reform. You will be mandated to buy insurance through the companies that paid me millions. They
enrich me...I enrich them. See how that is? It's called hope and no more change in your pocket!"

He may have danced around exactly what his plan would look like--but NEVER, EVER did he state that
he would do what he just did. NEVER. Not even close.

[BigBearJohn]

156. Thou shalt not doubt the word of the Lord thy God.

:sarcasm:

[robdogbucky]

157. And the only thing I hoped he was lying about

was his position on Afghanistan during his campaign. I kept my fingers crossed and hoped against hope that he was only doing it to appease the eternal war folks now that the Iraq debacle has run its predictable course.

But no, he wasn't lying about his position on Afghanistan, he was lying on DADT, HCR, FISA, Gitmo, and so much else.

Why couldn't he have been lying only on Afghanistan?

We got suckered and all of our disgust with the corrupt Washington system was only verified and intensified by this first year.

I guess it's like Babylonsister said in another thread I just read here tonight, "You voted for him, it's your fault," or something comforting like that.

WTF has happened to DU and the change and hope we thought we could believe in?

In the prostitution racket there is a name for this bait and switch technique, when the john gets lured into the alley for the bang and instead gets rolled by her toughs.

We got Murphied.


Just my dos centavos


robdogbucky

[change_notfinetuning]

237. In the political prostitution racket, I'd say we got Rahmed. n/t

[Techn0Girl]

159. Obama Lied. People Died.

How many uninsured people or people with worthless policies will die during the upcoming years?

He lost my vote long ago over this dishonesty.

[jillan]

161. Guess his definition of a public option and my definition are 2 different things.

Because I sure as heck heard him say the only way to force insurance companies to keep costs down was by having a public option.

[sabrina 1]

163. Sad. I thought he was smarter than this.

Sad because he doesn't remember. Which means he was just saying whatever he thought would get votes. Is Dick Morris advising him now? 'I did not have sexual relations with that woman .... Mz Lewinsky. I heard it was Dick Morris who advised Clinton to say that. 'I did not campaign on the PO'.

[inna]

164. i'll say it, what an asshole.

damn.

[EndElectoral]

165. I just can't support this man in 2012. sorry.

[dschmott]

166. Compromises are especially painful in a broken system

Come on guys is it really difficult to see that we have a very broken system and that Obama is doing an incredible job navigating minefields rigged on all sides of the aisle? This is not a fight that will be won with one bill (or even healthcare reform itself). In a utopia maybe the smartest and best intentioned politician with the best ideas would get everything he wanted on the merits of his ideas. Unfortunately we don't live in a utopia and positive change is very hard. That is just a fact. In our system it is far easier for an idiot to get elected, put the country into two wars, fail to protect our financial system, ignore and manipulate scientific fact, avoid doing anything about healthcare, dismantle long standing treaties, etc... And line the pockets of his big supporters and their uncontrolled greed all along the way.

[katkat]

168. liar, liar, pants on fire. n/t

[KrR]

171. A healthcare Plan is not a Promise...

He promised to work for a PO... and he did.

[SergeStorms]

201. You can't be serious.

Can you point out exactly WHEN he supposedly worked for a public option? I guess it must have been in those few minutes before his first meeting with the opposition, because he caved immediately on it. Worked for a PO........please! :puke:

[Divine Discontent]

172. bb bu but, you're just all racist, closed-minded freepers posing as Liberal Democrats!

:sarcasm:



I didn't like it when Reagan did it, I didn't like it when GHWB did it, I didn't like it when Bill did it, I sure as heaven and hell didn't like it when GWB did it repeatedly, and I ain't likin' it one bit coming from someone that promised to be something different...

[Major Hogwash]

173. What the hell did he campaign on? Well, don't ask him, he's developed Potamic fever and has amnesia

And can't remember anything right now.

[ima_sinnic]

187. I guess it was vague generic "reform" of some sort

kind of ambiguous and undefined, like everything else about him and his "platform," apparently--I mean, nobody said "change" meant change for the better, and "Yes We Can" can mean anything anybody wants it to mean--I guess we should have known it meant, yes we can do anything we want and what are you going to do about it?

the "eloquence" is actually highly skilled weasel-wording--saying things in such a way that the ass can always be covered with simple semantic arguments later.

[Terra Alta]

174. and I thought Obama would be different.

but I guess he is just like any other lying politician out there. *sigh* isn't there anyone we can trust??

[JustinL]

180. he also campaigned on drug reimportation

From pg. 45-46 of Change We Can Believe In, published in September 2008:

For those who do not have health insurance or who do not like their health insurance, they will have a range of private insurance options--accessible through a new National Health Insurance Exchange that is similar to what members of Congress have--as well as a public plan. The public plan will cover all essential medical services--including preventive, maternity, disease management, and mental health care.

Further down on pg. 46:

To bring down the costs of prescription drugs, an Obama Administration will: Allow Americans to import inexpensive and safe prescription drugs from countries where the same medicines are cheaper.

The book from which I typed the above excerpts is now sitting in my trash can.

[Wardoc]

183. I was furious before, but now salt in the wound? What is the next level beyond furious?

:grr:

It is like Congress and the White House are having a fucking contest to see who can piss their people off the most.

2010 is going to be fucking ugly for the party if others are feeling like I am right now.

[Faryn Balyncd]

202. K&R

[bowens43]

206. President George W Obama....

Lies, distortions, misleading statements.....where have I heard these things before?

What a huge disappointment this man has become.

[Goldstein1984]

211. "Those who control the present..."

"...control the past." - Orwell (1984)

He will deal with the past by continuing to rewrite it.

As for Google and the rest of the Internet, when it becomes too inconvenient we'll start seeing the same kind of manipulation we already see in China and Iran.

[Goldstein1984]

212. It's becoming more and more difficult to

give Obama unqualified support.

2010 and 2012 are going to be bloodbaths if this continues.

[newspeak]

230. and it won't be a bloodbath if the democrats vote for

a viable candidate in the primary. Just don't allow the MSM to choose your candidate for you. Because, there is no way in hell that I will ever vote for a repuke or a lite repuke. It's the gift that keeps on giving. Ya know, us plebes we really don't know about the real world like those that God has chosen to lead us.(sarcasm) I want a shite stirrer, not someone who wants to play well with crooks. I want someone who listens and helps mainstreet, not grovel at the feet of wallstreet. And, I want someone to tell me the truth, even though I may not like what they're saying. Because, it's time folks, as adults, that we acknowledge the truth no matter how painful it is.

[Goldstein1984]

301. Yes, the primaries are key.

We shouldn't settle for the proverbial lesser of two evils during the primaries.

And you described the perfect candidate--someone not afraid to stir the pot and challenge the status quo.

The trick is going to be distinguishing between someone willing to wage war with a corrupted system and someone who just campaigns on that platform to get the progressive vote.

[freddie mertz]

214. A shocking glimpse into the true character of this man.

I don't have words to express my revulsion.

[RetroLounge]

216. Oh, Geez....

:facepalm:

RL

[blindpig]

219. Yep

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7296160

[Echo In Light]

220. Yes, the puppet lies like every and any US president would since that's their job

[Moochy]

226. shhh

its all about Necessary Illusions. Play along, here is your team pennant.

[DisgustedInMN]

221. And yet TPTB pretend that voter apathy is caused by "voters."

Shame on you, Barack Obama. You proved Rush Limbaugh to be correct, FFS.

[newspeak]

242. yeah, well good ol jeff christy

to me, is one that has enabled what has come down in this country--from corporate corruption to the lies getting us into Iraq. He spins like he's a real honest to god laborer, laboring in the trenches with y'all--the man was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and could care less about his ditto heads. I remember when one of his followers called in and told him that he had lost his decent job and couldn't find work--he basically told him to quit moaning and Walmart was hiring. Or the rant I find really amusing is that those that use drugs should be thrown in jail and throw away the key, except when it comes to the likes of him or Noel Bush or any other of their ilk. Complete illogical scumbag in my book.

[orbitalman]

222. If.... "Even so," He called for "reform" and "change."

Idiot. It is correct to say that you can't "triangulate." It definately makes you a weasel.

[closeupready]

224. Got any used cars for sale?

:sarcasm:

[Frank Cannon]

227. WTF? There really is nothing more to say about this n/t

[earth mom]

234. Wow, that's some bald face lying if I ever saw it. There's a ton of You Tube videos

that prove that Obama did campaign on the public option!

Sorry Obama, you can't weasel out of this one so easily!

Oh and people are smart enough in this country to know that War is NOT Peace too.

:grr:

[Romulox]

235. Obama is a lousy liar. He's like Bill Clinton with a better speech writer (but much less charisma).

:puke:

[Joe Chi Minh]

236. If he claimed to be 'for' something, but didn't specifically campaign

on it in the presidental election, he nevertheless did, indeed, campaign on it, because a politician's prior record, specifically in this context, in terms of his stated positions on issues, are rightly taken to be extant, unless he has publicly stated otherwise, so that people know he's changed his stance. But the positions he proclaimed that he espoused were so enlightened, they attracted massive, nationwide approval, and to have openly renounced them would have terminated his Democratic career there and them. As if Roosevelt had said, 'Forget the New Deal, they were right all along.'

The quote about his wanting everyone around a big table to negotiate it all, doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, insurance companies, and drug companies, is a knock-out blow to his crediblity. Note the sequence, with the corporations coming last. Instead of expansiveness, it's the iron fist - and little in the way of a velvet glove. You WILL buy insurance, and from 'our' companies, and you will NOT buy cheaper drugs elsewhere!

Free enterprise? As far as I'm aware the USA is the only country in the world whose citizens are forced to purchase anything from private companies from their own pay-packet. The Neocons imposed so-called 'free enterprise' on the Iraqis, nationalising their public companies, but I don't think even they had the chuzpah to force people to purchase anything from a private company directly from their own pay-packets net of tax. (Insurance companies, moreover, whose ethos has been as close to that of organised-crime as can be imagined, short of formal membership). Nothing would be beyond the dreams of avarice of the Republicans, but that must come close to it.

[Name removed]

238. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[newspeak]

246. gee why should we impeach him?

Georgie porgie did much worse--lying us into Iraq, torture, suspending habeas corpus, not protecting us 9/11 even with the PDB report, Katrina. Let me know if he was impeached or tried for harm against this nation.

[Ticonderoga]

253. And most, if not all

of these policies you mention continue under the Rahm administration. Still thirsty?

[newspeak]

258. nah, just that first we need to go after those who made this mess

for eight fekkin long years. If you don't, then I'd say they are complicit.

[donco6]

239. You all MADE him lie, cuz you're just all HATERS 'n stuff.

:eyes:

[bvar22]

268. Besides...

Jane Hampshire is a RACIST!!!!!!
Im series!!!!111!!

/sarcasm

[donco6]

303. Lol! Yes, that too.

And, and, you're just all PUMAS! Bitter PUMAS! And, and this was all Bill Clinton's fault anyway.

[Mari333]

244. .....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMXGSP_nPyY

[bamacrat]

248. Uh seems like I remember that is exactly what he called for.

Losing me man, losing me.

[chowder66]

252. Wow...bigger picture

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/22/did-obama-campaign-on-the_n_401204.html


".....The public option was not his number one talking point on the trail. Hell, it wasn't even number 12. The public option didn't become the "central" part of health care reform until after ."

[Hell Hath No Fury]

278. Sorry, no sale --

There are many, many posts here documenting his position on the role of the Public Option during the campaign.

[defendandprotect]

254. That is . . . "You jerks forgot to read the fine print" . . . !!!

[Bluebear]

352. --

[nc4bo]

261. oh dear. oh dear. oh dear.

:wtf: Barack, uh? :wtf:

[blueworld]

264. I didn't vote under a private mandate with fines. n/t

[closeupready]

283. That was a VERY huge difference between him and Hillary; a primary reason for my vote

for him, and NOT her.

[dpbrown]

265. "I was for it before I was against it" - wasn't this what got Kerry in trouble?

How is this different from that? People elected Obama on "change we can believe in" and a big payday for the insurance lobby isn't change, it's a reinforcement of the status quo.

[hulka38]

267. It's clear to me that Obama was being careful to imply that he was all about the PO but

all the while and at every opportunity being careful to avoid explicitly saying it. In other words, he wanted to fool us, which he did successfully. I'm a fool but I'm also honest with myself. Preying on people's hopes is a very bad thing, even for a politician.

[davidwparker]

271. When Bush was in office, he was likened to a monkey. Obama, he is more

of a chameleon. He can just blend into whatever is going on around him.

This is Obama. A chameleon.

I cannot wait to get the next ballot in my hand.

[golddigger]

279. Come on Obama...

Tell us the truth for once. Tell us that this bill is nothing but a big fat "Health Insurance Company" bailout!

I know you can to it!

[ThomWV]

282. K&R

[xiamiam]

284. he is slick..very lawyer like..what is is?...50/50 because words and implied actions

are two totally different things...he'll get away with this one just because of word choice...i feel the bigger lies were in the afghanistan war speech...i'm still stunned over that one because i just sat here with my mouth hanging open listening to the same speech i heard before..only difference was that it was delivered by obama...to me..that was the first time, i knew he was outright lying to me..implied or otherwise..

[hfojvt]

287. interesting group of quotes

since four of them are not from the CAMPAIGN, but they are from 2009 when Obama was fighting to get the public option included in the bill. Not exactly campaign promises.

[ThomWV]

289. What would you call it then? "Idle bullshit" might do.

Is that what you think that is the value of what he says when he's not on the campaign trail - is it all just idle bullshit unless he says he's currently running for office?

[hfojvt]

294. Why would you call it that?

He seemingly spent months pushing for a public option. Why shouldn't he get some credit for that? Just because he backed down and took what he could get when it turned out we could not push hard enough? For a sports analogy, even if you have first and goal, usually after three tries to get in the end zone, you settle for a field goal, because 3 points is better than nothing.

[Uncle Joe]

290. What about the 2008 website, wasn't that part of the campaign? n/t

[xiamiam]

293. lol...like i said in the post just before yours...this one wont stick but not because it wasn't

implied..you know it as well..

[ipaint]

296. Another interesting group of quotes from the campaign.

Covering All Americans and Providing Real Choices of Affordable Health Insurance Options.

Families and individuals should have the option of keeping the coverage they have or choosing from a wide array of health insurance plans, including many private health insurance options and a public plan. Coverage should be made affordable for all Americans with subsidies provided through tax credits and other means.

http://www.democrats.org/a/party/platform.html


In the 2008 Obama-Biden health care plan on the campaign’s website, candidate Obama promised that “any American will have the opportunity to enroll in new public plan.”

http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/issues/HealthCareFullPlan.pdf


Every American has the right to affordable, comprehensive and portable health coverage. My plan will ensure that all Americans have health care coverage through their employers, private health plans, the federal government, or the states. My plan builds on and improves our current insurance system, which most Americans continue to rely upon, and creates a new public health plan for those currently without coverage. Under my plan, Americans will be able to choose to maintain their current coverage if they choose to. For those without health insurance I will establish a new public insurance program, and provide subsides to afford care for those who need them. My plan includes a mandate that all children have health care coverage and I will expand eligibility for the Medicaid and SCHIP programs to help ensure we cover all kids. My plan requires all employers to contribute towards health coverage for their employees or towards the cost of the public plan. Under my plan a typical family will save $2,500 each year. We will realize tremendous savings Covering All Americans and Providing Real Choices of Affordable Health Insurance Options.

Families and individuals should have the option of keeping the coverage they have or choosing from a wide array of health insurance plans, including many private health insurance options and a public plan. Coverage should be made affordable for all Americans with subsidies provided through tax credits and other means.

http://www.democrats.org/a/party/platform.html


In the 2008 Obama-Biden health care plan on the campaign’s website, candidate Obama promised that “any American will have the opportunity to enroll in new public plan.”

http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/issues/HealthCareFullPlan.pdf


Every American has the right to affordable, comprehensive and portable health coverage. My plan will ensure that all Americans have health care coverage through their employers, private health plans, the federal government, or the states. My plan builds on and improves our current insurance system, which most Americans continue to rely upon, and creates a new public health plan for those currently without coverage. Under my plan, Americans will be able to choose to maintain their current coverage if they choose to. For those without health insurance I will establish a new public insurance program, and provide subsides to afford care for those who need them. My plan includes a mandate that all children have health care coverage and I will expand eligibility for the Medicaid and SCHIP programs to help ensure we cover all kids. My plan requires all employers to contribute towards health coverage for their employees or towards the cost of the public plan. Under my plan a typical family will save $2,500 each year. We will realize tremendous savings within the health care system from improving efficiency and quality and reducing wasted expenditures system-wide. Specifically, these savings will result from investments in health information technology, improvements in prevention and management of chronic conditions, increased insurance industry competition and reduced industry overhead, the provision of federal reinsurance for catastrophic coverage, and reduced spending on uncompensated care.

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/issues/candidates/barack-obama/

NPR interview 2007-

Obama: Senator Clinton’s plan for healthcare, my plan, John Edward’s plan are all similar in the sense that we set up a government plan alongside the private plans that people have. And people can buy in. And we all subsidize participation in that plan.

Laura Knoy: So it’s not universal, single payer healthcare such as Dennis Kucinich<'s plan>?

Obama: Exactly. It’s not single payer, it’s a transitional system building on the existing systems that we have.

cont.-

Require all children to have health insurance, and employers to offer employee health benefits or contribute to the cost of the new public program. Expand Medicaid and SCHIP and create the National Health Insurance Exchange through which small businesses and individuals without access to other public programs or employer-based coverage could enroll in a new public plan, like Medicare, or in a range of approved private plans.

http://www.verumserum.com/?p=8554

This side-by-side comparison of the candidates' positions on health care was prepared by the Kaiser Family Foundation with the assistance of Health Policy Alternatives, Inc. and is based on information appearing on the candidates' websites as supplemented by information from candidate speeches, the campaign debates and news reports. The sources of information are identified for each candidate's summary (with links to the Internet). The comparison highlights information on the candidates' positions related to access to health care coverage, cost containment, improving the quality of care and financing. Information will be updated regularly as the campaign unfolds.

snip-
Barack Obama-

Create a new public plan so that small businesses and individuals without access to other public programs or employer-based coverage could purchase insurance. Plan coverage would offer comprehensive benefits similar to those available through FEHBP.

http://www.health08.org/sidebyside_results.cfm?c=5&c=16


May 2007-

Mr. Obama would create a new public plan open to individuals who cannot get group coverage through work or the existing government programs, like Medicaid or the State Childrens Health Insurance Program. He would also create a National Health Insurance Exchange, a regulated marketplace of competing private health plans that would aim at “reforming” the private insurance market and giving individuals other, more affordable options for coverage.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/29/us/politics/29CND-OBAMA.html?_r=2




http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/12/22/818090/-President-Obama:-I-Didnt-Campaign-on-the-Public-Option.-

[tranche]

292. INPEACH!

[phleshdef]

299. You shouldn't use words that you can't spell.

[Techn0Girl]

319. Margharita ?

[w4rma]

295. I knew 100% that the country was in trouble, the moment he chose Rahm as his Chief of Staff. (nt)

[harun]

297. Agree, it signaled he was DLC friendly. Down hill from there.

[sellitman]

298. Believing a Politician always leaves a bad taste in my mouth

For some reason I keep on trying to though.

That definition of insanity keeps playing through my mind.....

[quark219]

300. Contact PolitiFact!

In a late-breaking upset, BARACK OBAMA has trumped Sarah Palin and undoubtedly won the LIE OF THE YEAR.

Woohoo!

[The Hope Mobile]

304. Link to video with Obama stating he will require public option

and that mandates don't make sense.

https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/obamapromise?refcode=sbjt_prom

[Yuugal]

307. good ad

just gave a few bucks to push it along

[ClarkUSA]

308. Politifact backs him up and negates the Obama Outrage Meme of the Day.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/subjects/health-care/

[leftstreet]

309. Do you have another link? There's nothing there about a public option

The public option he directly referred to, in the OP

[ClarkUSA]

312. That's correct. Politifact shows he never promised a public option.

"referred to" is not campaigning on a promise to deliver a public option.

In fact, he's said time and again that the public option is a small part of HCR.

[ima_sinnic]

350. bullshit. now who else is lying? look at the bottom of pg 4, no. 518

Barack Obama Campaign Promise No. 518:

Create a public option health plan for a new National Health Insurance Exchange.

"The exchange will require that all the plans offered are at least as generous as the new public plan and meet the same standards for quality and efficiency."

Sources: Obama health care plan

Subjects: Health Care

As of August 19, 2009, it was rated "in the works," but I guess they haven't updated it yet to "Promise BROKEN."

[ima_sinnic]

351. look on pg 4, no. 518: "Create a public option health plan for a new National Health Insurance

Exchange"--rated as "in the works" in August 2009, but needs updating to "total bullshit."

[grahamhgreen]

310. Right. Do not believe what you just read that is indisputable... look at the pretty pictures.....

[ClarkUSA]

313. Guess Pulitzer Prize winning Politifact is full of shit but anonymous bitter bloggers are not?

Fuck that.

[grahamhgreen]

321. How can you reconcile these statements?

"I didn't campaign on the public option"
----------

"In the 2008 Obama-Biden health care plan on the campaign’s website, candidate Obama promised that “any American will have the opportunity to enroll in new public plan.”

Also, "In response to a questionnaire from the Washington Post, then-candidate Obama said, “My plan builds on and improves our current insurance system, which most Americans continue to rely upon, and creates a new public health plan for those currently without coverage.”


http://thinkprogress.org/2009/12/22/obama-repeatedly-touted-public/

[ClarkUSA]

324. See reply #323.

Keep ignoring the real human reality that the passage of HCR will help millions while you're Outraged.

[grahamhgreen]

320. OOPS

"I didn't campaign on the public option"
----------

"In the 2008 Obama-Biden health care plan on the campaign’s website, candidate Obama promised that “any American will have the opportunity to enroll in new public plan.”

Also, "In response to a questionnaire from the Washington Post, then-candidate Obama said, “My plan builds on and improves our current insurance system, which most Americans continue to rely upon, and creates a new public health plan for those currently without coverage.”


http://thinkprogress.org/2009/12/22/obama-repeatedly-touted-public/

[ClarkUSA]

323. You're grasping at straws. He never made a campaign promise to enact a public option as prez.

Filling out a questionnaire for WaPo and an Obama 08 website sentence?

That's all you've got? Was either even written by him? Oh, the Outrage!!!!!!!!!

:rofl:

[grahamhgreen]

325. Who filled out the questionnaire? Dick Cheney? The buck stops where?

[ClarkUSA]

327. You're pinning all your Outrage on a WaPo questionnaire answer? How bitterly pathetic that is.

Keep whining and nursing your bitterness while the rest of us cheer the passage of landmark legislation
that is the first in U.S. history to make health insurance a right, not a privilege.

[grahamhgreen]

336. What? Buy insurance or get fined? What kind of right is that? it's not a right it's a con-game.

45,000,000 customers

x $375/month

= 16.875 billion per month

= 202 billion/year

= 1.01 Trillion Dollars every 5 years

Think of the lobbying they will do with that!

We should kill the mandate in committee, or bring back the PO or Medicare. IMHO.

In addition, pay or punish crapsurance will be a burden on the working poor who will be forced to buy crummy insurance from fly-by-night subsidiaries that will never pay out if the patient gets sick. A 2,000 page bill begs for the gaming of health insurance. It is the Health Insurance equivalent of the Financial Services Modernization Act.

[Toasterlad]

331. Grasping At Straws Indeed.

Besides the fact that the Public Option was IRREFUTABLY POSTED ON CANDIDATE OBAMA'S WEBSITE, the Great Orator made it quite clear his plan included a public option whenever he spoke of health care. If YOUR whole case rest on the basis of, "Candidate Obama never actually said 'I promise that healthcare reform will contain a public option'", then you have no real argument whatsoever, and are merely a brainless drone.

Candidate Obama promised a public option (in those words) on his website. PRESIDENT Obama promised a public option a dozen times. Trying to pretend that Obama isn't a liar is beyond pathetic...as proved by a major lack of your fellow Obamabots spamming this thread. Unlike you, the majority of them, apparently, are wise enough to pick a battle where there's even a remote chance they could have a real point.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

315. video and please sign the PETITION

Great thread, amborin! :thumbsup:

Watch him deliver his well written and rehearsed promise to the camera.


video and please sign the petition

http://yeswestillcan.org/


video
Obama promised a public option (July 17, 2009)

"Any plan I sign must include an insurance exchange -- a one-stop shopping marketplace where you can compare the benefits, costs, and track records of a variety of plans -- including a public option to increase competition and keep insurance companies honest."

Obama said mandates weren't the answer (February 5, 2008)

"I mean, if a mandate was the solution, we can try that to solve homelessness by mandating everybody to buy a house. The reason they don’t buy a house is they don’t have the money."

[erpowers]

317. The Lies Keep Coming n/t

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

318. Big Eddie is raking Obama over the coals...

...saying shit like, we're supposed to hold him accountable or we're no better than the Bush adm; and he's losing the demographic that put him into office, 20-30-something y/o's.

OUCH!

[white_wolf]

322. Blah...

I'm not really suprised about this though I am disappointed. I wish Hilary had won or we could get Bill back.

[Toasterlad]

330. I Hate to Remind You, But Bill & Hillary Already Had Their Crack At Healthcare Reform

I seriously doubt they would have been any more successful than Obama.

[ThePhilosopher04]

326. Cue Joe Wilson

nm

[Name removed]

328. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Toasterlad]

329. It's Not an "Attack" If It's True.

Obama is a proven liar. Joe Wilson just found out before the rest of us, apparently.

[bvar22]

339. Boy, Jon Stewart is going to have fun with all the video of Obama...

...campaigning on the Public Option.
It won't be pretty.

Too bad Jon is off this week.

[andyrowe]

345. Indeed

hmm...

[thotzRthingz]

347. Look at this however you want, but I choose to:

look upon it as OBAMA allowing CONGRESS to do its job (i.e., draft legislation). I also see OBAMA as allowing every AMERICAN to voice their will (and I don't think we've been heard, thus far).

Yes, OBAMA was once (and likely still is, a supporter of single-payer). Yes, OBAMA campaigned on UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE. But, at the same time, OBAMA has said time & time again... the election 2008 victory was only a beginning. It is up to *we the people* to insist upon the path which this nation shall follow.

There are already more than 50 votes in the U.S. Senate, in support of a PUBLIC OPTION. The HOUSE has already passed their version, with a PUBLIC OPTION being front & center. PELOSI's hand were tied, as 60+ House members *insisted* NO PUBLIC OPTION = NO DEAL. The HOUSE version passed by the narrowest of margins (220 to 215).

All we need do is let those 60+, in the HOUSE, know that we have their backs. Only a handful of them need STAND UP for a PUBLIC OPTION (the only real means of competition & cost containment). If a handful refuse to BACK DOWN, unless a PUBLIC OPTION is part of the final package... there is NO WAY that OBAMA and the U.S. SENATE will allow this thing to fail.

Ref: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7320157

A few more days, a few more phone calls, letters, and emails to HOUSE MEMBERS, HOUSE LEADERSHIP, SENATORS, and the WHITE HOUSE ... letters to editors would be welcomed as well ... and a PUBLIC OPTION will pass, and become the law of the land. Please, do not give up... please join this noble effort... AMERICA needs YOU, will you answer her call?

Peace & Light!

[ima_sinnic]

348. +1 great post, even I feel inspired--seriously!

your post reminds me that there could be hope yet--though I'm a cynic, I always want to be proven wrong.

I'm not real sure about "there is NO WAY that OBAMA and the U.S. SENATE will allow this thing to fail," but your passion is contagious, and that is a great gift.

welcome to DU! stick around, we need more rallying around common objectives and less mindless acceptance of whatever "democrats" do.

:yourock:

[TicketyBoo]

349. It ain't over 'til it's over.

Can't we wait until the thing actually passes before we start griping about it?

We don't have a final version yet.