BF's advice good for SBS PO: "We must all hang together or most assuredly we will hang separately"

[ddeclue]

Some people think that the state by state public option plan is a good idea.

I happen to know better.

Let me educate you, Governor Dean et.al. about state politics outside of New England:

I happen to personally know several state reps in FL and a few FL Congressmen as well and I also know a national lobbyist so I happen to know how the game is actually played up close from the front row seats.

My lobbyist friend goes around defending the Life Insurance Settlement Association against the lobbyists from the life insurance industry in a never ending battle that travels from state capital to state capital year after year session after session - a battle you never read or hear about in the news because it's "state" and not "national" news. The LI companies pour in national level resources into getting their way state by state though.

That is exactly what will happen with HEALTH insurance too. We'll forget about it because it's "state" level - it will never make the national news any more - but the insurance companies sure as hell won't forget and they'll spend huge amounts to make sure. They'll lobby and donate to campaigns and work to get Republicans elected and Democrats unelected so that they can get the vote they want.

Florida is the fourth largest state by population in the Union after NY, CA, and TX with 18 million residents.

Florida's state gov't has a Republican governor: Charlie Crist, 26 Republican Senators vs. 14 Democrats, and 78 Republican Representatives vs 42 Democrats. They will make sure we never ever see a public option and will probably do OTHER bad things to health insurance to help the insurance companies and hurt the little guy while they are at it.

Florida is not alone either.

Practically every Southern state and many Midwestern and Western states have GOP controlled legislatures.

We're gonna get screwed state by state on the public option if it is allowed to be up to individual states and this gives the insurance companies 50 under the radar chances to stick it to us.

It's called "divide and conquer".

State government is usually "the best that money can buy" - lobbyist money that is - and these legislators are notoriously afraid of pissing off the Chamber of Commerce and big corporations because they will find themselves outfundraised for re-election by an order of magnitude if they oppose the wrong business.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-florida-offshore-drilling-cannon-100509,0,7232184.story

Here's Dean Cannon (R-35FL) who suddenly decided this session that hey it'd be a good idea to start drilling offshore of Florida's beaches 3 to 10 miles off shore IN SIGHT of the touristas. I can't imagine why... I wonder if it was all the lobbyist money he got from the oil companies?

He's hardly unusual in the Florida legislature or any Southern state legislature for that matter.

That's the future of your state by state public option right there if you don't fight it right NOW and keep Congress from allowing it - we're ALL screwed.

As Benjamin Franklin famously once said regarding the Declaration of Independence: "We must all hang together or most assuredly we will hang separately."


Doug D.
Orlando, FL

[MNDemNY]

1. +1

[rudy23]

2. This needs to be spread far and wide. I know Jindal wouldn't hesitate to opt-out.

Since when do GOP state pols care about hurting their constituency? And since when did that translate into them not continuing to vote GOP.

Most red states believe in Supply Side Jesus, as Al Franken dubbed him in his cartoon illustrating their religious devotion to Reaganomics.

[SammyWinstonJack]

3. K&R

[BlooInBloo]

4. It's absolutely hilarious how many people don't recognize reverse psychology...

Even at that moment where it's working at its BEST.

:rofl:

[EC]

5. It's a lot harder for the repug pols to get rid of something than to

get something...rather they won't be able to get rid of the PO once people are enrolled and the fear factor is gone...people will not let them axe it....


That's the thing about this plan, it's not an opt-in, it's an opt-out plan. (after it's been enacted and in place for a certain period of time)

[ddeclue]

6. You clearly don't understand state level politics and the people don't "have" PO yet to know what

they are missing so your whole premise is wrong.

[EC]

7. The amendment being considered will

REQUIRE the public option NATIONALLY to begin with, then after a period of time if they find it unworkable for them, they can opt out...but there will be a public option to start with in all 50 states...if the state reps are stupid enough to try and get rid of it after people are already enrolled they'll fail and maybe loss their seats.

Yes, I would agree with you if it were the other way around and they could opt out before a public option was available and had to rely on getting implemented after going through state senates and signed in by the governor, but it's not that way. The public option would be mandatory to begin with and the state would have to present a case to opt out.

And yes I do know how local politics works, you're not understanding the amendment.

[ddeclue]

9. They will simply opt out at the first opportunity. Don't be silly.

Look at what they are doing to sCHIP now.

[ddeclue]

8. .