Mary Landrieu says shes voting no on a Public Option

[Thrill]

"I am not open to a public option, however I will remain open to a compromise - a full compromise," Landrieu told reporters Tuesday. "A public option is not something I support i don't think its the right way to go."


Unreal. Watch how many of these Democrats follow. You know the bunch that will follow her.

And people wonder why Obama isn't pushing single payer? Obama knows damn well what he's got in Congress. Look how tough its going to be to get a public option. You wouldn't get 50 votes in this Senate for single payer.



The realist among us, know just how much of a pipe dream single payer is.

[Teaser]

1. 51 votes is all we need

.

[Thrill]

2. I seriously wonder if they even have that.

[Jennicut]

39. LOL. Be real. Obama would never get close to that.

Some here are living in a dream world when it comes to the Senate. It leans conservative even with the Dems in control.
I am just happy Obama is sticking to his guns on the public option.

[stevietheman]

60. No, all we need is 50 Senators, and Biden will break the tie. n/t

n/t

[kirby]

3. 50 votes?

I dont think you would get 10 votes for a single payer in the Senate.

[grantcart]

6. public option will

[kirby]

12. I dont think so...

I hope so, but I dont think so. The lobbyists seem to have convinced Senators that a recent 'study' from a 'think tank' indicates that if a public option was available, 130 million people would chose it. That would only leave 50 million in the current private market. With only 50 million in the private market, rates would increase on them. The talking point is that Obama pledged to allow people to keep their existing plan if they like it, but that the resulting rate increase on the smaller private pool would go counter to that.

[redqueen]

36. What a lame talking point.

We're all paying more, every year.

[grantcart]

38. only 2 Democratic Senators have announced they are against Public option

[Thrill]

22. I'm concerned. I think I can count the ones who will go along with her

Bayh, Nelson, Nelson, Lincoln, Pryor, Conrad, Johnson, Tester, Carper, Baucus, and I'm not sure we can count on McCaskill.

Obama is going to have to use his supporters hard to get it done.

[vaberella]

8. Maybe 5 max (maybe). Congress is something else entirely.

The Senate damn.

[redqueen]

35. The senate was always intended as a check on the people's power.

Works very well, I must say.

[vaberella]

4. That's my problem. People bash Obama...but the Senate is a set of dirty dealers.

I really can't stand them. And the fact that they will not support the plan says a lot about how they don't care about the American people. Can anyone please tell me her number and what is the most conservative district zip code for her state.

[HopeOverFear]

5. This is why we need Al Franken...

and the repubs know it too, that's why they're stalling.

[vaberella]

10. Al is but one man, although I agree we need him. n/t

[grantcart]

7. do you have a link for that - thks

[Thrill]

13. Here

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/09/mary-landrieu-opposed-to_n_213211.html

[DJ13]

9. This is where a President that truly wanted his position to pass would get out front

.....of the issue and verbally shame congress into doing things his way.

The most popular President in recent times, with a majority in both Houses of Congress, and he happens to posses oratory skills unseen since Abraham Lincoln, and yet he cant seem to find the time to push through one of his most desired campaign promises.

[Better Believe It]

14. He's been on the sidelines or the wrong side on most big issues but he's starting to move on this

Just hope it isn't too little, too late.

[vaberella]

16. Don't diverge the blame to Obama...you should know better than that.

When it came to saving the bank sure...we can get that done since most of the Senate has stock in banks and wouldn't want that shit to go to hell. Don't think they supported the stimulus because they wanted too..they supported it when they realized their stock would go down---the conservadems that is. The Republicans don't give a fuck who gets burned. In the case of health care-----Republicans have ALWAYS been against a public option and they don't care what they're constituents say. As for Dems....if they're in the take like Bayh...then don't think that anything Obama says will get things done.

[DJ13]

20. If he doesnt try does he deserve any blame for it failing?

[vaberella]

23. He's been pushing for ages.

Primaries remember. He's pushed it for two years during the primaries, he's pushed it during the debates and he continued to push it during his presidency. He had a health summit on health care reform for Christ's sake. He's always been pushing it from where I am.

[DJ13]

27. he's pushing for Public option like he said he would

Well, he's not pushing very hard.

How many public option speeches has he given since winning the WH?

Oh, and just in case you dont know, many Dems were early supporters of Obama because he supported single payer when he ran for the Senate, so its not really accurate to say he never supported single payer.

[vaberella]

32. See I don't know what people want. I really don't.

Between the Economy, LGBT rights, Health Care, and countless others causes calling for his attention he'd be on television 24/7 because people need to know he's pushing this or that. His health summit therefore meant nothing is what you're saying. He was hoping he'd get a deal out of the insurance and pharmaceutical companies. Instead he got a lot of empty promises and then hit attacks ads now on television----for the public option. It's not his duty alone to push this.


He doesn't even have a lot of the left supporting him on the public option. Most are screaming for the unrealistic single payer option. I can only name a few people and now Dean really pushing the public option here on DU and outside in the public. You must like so many other people want O to wave a wand and tada. We have to make things happen----yet the public option is getting hit on two ends.

Single payer people don't want a public option since single payer gives no room for concessions or compromise with insurance companies---it just says to hell with them. If the single payer people got a clue and stood behind the public option and truly enforced it along with us measly public option people then the public option would meet with some pretty weak resistance.

Instead he's getting shafted on this plan on two fronts and for you to say he's not pushing very hard says to me you haven't been paying attention to what's been going on in regards to this. By the way as for speeches in the WH---he's given about 2-3 of them. Health summitt was one, there was a recent one and an earlier one in the one he had in front of all the Senators and Congress with Pelosi and Biden jumping like jack rabbits to applaud him---ie the non-State of the Union address.

Oh I'm fully aware of Obama's position for single payer. That was before his presidential run---where his campaign was 100% Public option. As for Dems---Dems in congress or in City Council are not Dems in Senate. You need to realize the difference.

[sandnsea]

40. He was never for single payer

Thank you for your rational post and I agree with it all, well, 99.9% of it. I do not know where this myth that Obama supported single payer and then backed away from it is coming from. He has always, always, said single payer is the way he would go if we were starting from scratch. Kennedy's plan has a public option, Obama wrote Kennedy and Baucus and sent the message that he strongly supports a public option. Obama had the DNC create the Organizing Health Care groups to start mobilizing and pushing for the public option. I think he's done exactly what he said he would.

Like you, I wish the single payer people would at least learn to multitask. I don't know why they can't push for the public option and continue fighting for single payer hearings at the same time.

[DJ13]

44. The video is in the video section

Yes he said "if I was starting from scratch", but he also said doing it now would require "the Democrats retaking all of Congress and the WH".

So he was in support of it.......at least he was before his goals actually came to pass.

[sandnsea]

46. *sigh* "if I was starting from scratch"

What the hell do you think that means? We are not starting from scratch.

[DJ13]

49. Why in the hell do you think he outlined the neccesary conditions to pass it

...if he wasnt in support of it back then?

[sandnsea]

51. He didn't, that's crazy

You guys just totally made that up out of thin air. He laid out his proposal clearly and it was never single payer.

[DJ13]

55. "I am a proponent of a single-payer universal healthcare program."

In 2003, a young Illinois state senator named Barack Obama told an AFL-CIO meeting, "I am a proponent of a single-payer universal healthcare program."

Single payer. Universal. That's health coverage, like Medicare, but for everyone who wants it. Single payer eliminates insurance companies as pricey middlemen. The government pays care providers directly. It's a system that polls consistently have shown the American people favoring by as much as 2-to-1.

There was only one thing standing in the way, Obama said six years ago: "All of you know we might not get there immediately because first we have to take back the White House, we have to take back the Senate and we have to take back the House."

Fast-forward six years. President Obama has everything he said was needed -- Democrats in control of the executive branch and both chambers of Congress. So what's happened to single payer?

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/05/22/moyers/
Rx and the single payer | Salon

[Thrill]

53. Obama as a Presidential Candidate was never for Single Payer. Thats the bottom line

His Healthcare was clear during the campaign. There were several debates. Where he made his plan clear

[DJ13]

42. Most are screaming for the unrealistic single payer option.

See, thats where our party (and President Obama) fucked up.

You dont go into a political fight caving in on your highest goal from the start.

If single payer was touted as a viable possibility in the lead up to Congress debating health care then the resulting compromise might not end up as a giveaway to the insurance industry.

That opportunity was lost because too many (even those who really want single payer) have caved in to the PR coming out of the health care lobby and the Republicans/DLC blue dogs.

Now were going to end up with no real reform, outside of forcing people to pay for health insurance.

[Thrill]

18. He's going to start pushing it. The problem is

People like Landrieu won't be shamed. Because they are from parts of the country where going against Obama won't hurt them.

This is going to be tough. We clearly are going to have to use reconciliation now.

[Better Believe It]

11. Start with single payer than compromise "down" to a strong public option.

That would have been a smarter and more principled strategy.

Now we are starting with a public option and compromising down to no public option!

[Sebastian Doyle]

30. Exactly

Pisses me off that Landrieu and the other traitors are talking about "compromise". The public option IS the fucking compromise. And by that, I mean an actual public option. Not partially subsidized manadatory corporatism.

[Jennicut]

41. Starting with single payer? There is no negotiation down.

Its stuck at like maybe 4 or 5 senators. There never was any negotiating.
The problem is congress is full of cowards more concerned with saving their butts and raking in the money from insurance companies then doing the right thing. This type of problem (money being more important then their constituents) has been around for years. Politicians are easily bought off.

[mvd]

50. This might have worked, despite initial scoffing

They always say, negotiate down.

[uponit7771]

65. Yeap, aim high...

[Cha]

15. Does she say why it's not the way to go?

Or is it just NO.

[vaberella]

17. Do they ever say why? n/t

[Thrill]

19. Because she just got that check in the mail

from the Healthcare industry. Thats why

[vaberella]

26. Oh, maybe it was her cut from Bayh's portion. n/t

[sandnsea]

31. Because of where the hell she lives

And how brainwashed her particular set of constituents are.

When somebody organized to go into these districts and educate the people - then we'll make some headway. Protesting on the streets of San Francisco and New York and Portland OR is never going to change the votes that we must get changed.

[vaberella]

33. Can you give me the info?

And the zip code of the most conservative part of the city. I need to call this woman.

[sandnsea]

52. Landrieu represents all of Louisiana

If that's what you're referring to. I wouldn't be surprised to find out she votes with Republicans more than Democrats. And I remember pulling for her during her run-off to get into office. :crazy:

[Raineyb]

57. Because her corporate masters say so?

:shrug:

I doubt she'd deign to tell us rabble the reasons for her screwing us over.

[bluestateguy]

21. That's why we do reconciliation

Write her off. Let her have her temper tantrum, as we steamroll on.

[Thrill]

24. Do we even have fifty. Think of the ones who usually follow her.

Bayh, Nelson, Nelson, Lincoln, Pryor, Conrad, Johnson, Tester, Carper, and Baucus

[vaberella]

28. All the Repubs...oy. Oh and you're missing 2 others since there are 13 Conservadems.

Not to mention any other Dem who's invested in hospitals.

[WeDidIt]

25. Public Option is DOA

I'm just talking straight. By releasing the first draft of the bill today without the public option, Chris Dodd essentially killed the public option. All that coan possibly pass now is a public option wiht a "trigger" that is so odious they might just as well not have included it in the first place.

So the public option is just as dead as single payer.

They're going to line the pockets of Insurance company CEOs now.

[Sebastian Doyle]

29. Did you hear Thom Hartmann call her out for this today?

"A disgrace to the Democratic party. Probably a disgrace to the country."

Actually I thought he was far too polite.

Has she EVER voted correctly on anything? Why is she allowed to pose as a "Democrat"?

[Jennicut]

43. Sadly that is about all that can win in Louisiana.

The South is pretty much Repub or conservadem.

[democrat2thecore]

62. THIS shouldn't be about winning and losing elections

This healthcare issue is, without question, the defining issue of our times. It's worth losing an election over a "yes" vote for sanity in health care.

[Hieronymus]

66. I called her office and called her a DINO...and the insurance company's

Saturday night girl.

[zulchzulu]

34. Mary Landrieu has FANTASTIC healthcare coverage that YOU PAY FOR. Neener! Neener! Neener!

I guess she thinks we're stupid...

[TheCoxwain]

37. Shame on her .. she is a POS

Fuck her

[high density]

45. I would like to vote NO on giving the Senators access to a healthcare plan.

That's a Ted Stevens NO!!!!

[Oregone]

47. The public option ALREADY IS A COMPROMISE!

Wow...if this shouldn't be a learning experience for the Democrats, I don't know what will be.

[mvd]

48. Single payer isn't a pipe dream.. but for now, I'll take the public option

We're probably not going to get single payer right away. It's really sad that Louisiana could use the public option even more than usual, yet she is opposed.

I hope the President not only works on the public plan, but insists on it.

[avaistheone1]

54. Mary Landrieu alway votes Republican. I have been watching her for years she is about as worthless

a Democrat as you can get.

Louisana should kick her on her fat ass out of office!!

[annabanana]

56. Why doesn't she want people to have a CHOICE?....

Doesn't she believe in competition?

[Thrill]

58. She believes in money

Which has been put in her pocket by the healthcare industry

[Phx_Dem]

59. Go away Mary. In fact, go home and take care of your Katrina survivors.

[democrat2thecore]

61. Bought. And. Paid. For. ......nt

[SoCalDem]

63. Mary's never been a progressive person, she's a DINO

from a republican state, so she has to kowtow to the ones who vote for her.

[AtomicKitten]

64. FFS. She could use a primary challenge. n/t

[Pushed To The Left]

67. I'm starting to feel that the Democratic majority was just an illusion. Lots of people with D's next

to their name, but not enough true Democrats. I've never been one of those "no difference between the parties" people, but I'm starting to understand why they feel the way they do. We just need to continue to crush the conservative movement--the movement that has brainwashed people into being against their own self interest and health, and has brainwashed too many so-called Democrats in Congress into going against real health care reform.

[Kaleva]

68. Not surprising

[Canuckistanian]

69. Gee. What a surprise.

What I AM surprised at is that she's called herself a Democrat while acting as a Republican.

Nothing new here.

[MasonJar]

70. Why, Mary? How many dollars did your campaign get from the insurance/

phartmaceutical duo? It certainly cannot be the economy of the USA in general or the health and welfare of your constitutents you are considering, because if it is you need more lessons in what the public plan does. Businesses would benefit, as would the uninsured of which Louisiana has many and so would the insured public in general who have been cheated and mistreated by a for profit cadre for way too long.