Healthcare Summit at 10:00 a.m. EST on CNN and Whitehouse.gov

[TomCADem]

This is just an FYI - The Healthcare Summit will begin at 10:00 a.m. EST and will be televised on CNN and Whitehouse.gov. Of course, will anyone in the media call the Republicans on their hypocrisy in first demanding transparency, then deriding a public summit as political theater? Where is the Republican plan? Will the corporate media simply recite GOP talking points for the next 24 hours?

http://www.whitehouse.gov/live

[Clio the Leo]

1. We just have to pray that Tiger isn't caught cheating again...

... or Charlie Sheen doesn't escape from Rehab, or one of the Jon and Kate kids doesn't get a tummy ache.

[Phx_Dem]

138. Or Brangelina doesn't take the kids out shopping today.

[Clio the Leo]

2. WH just Tweeted that their stream will provide "context"....

... I have no idea what that means. Will some balloon appear over Boehner's head when he speaks that reads "BS!!!" like on pop up video?

[Wetzelbill]

4. I wish!

[vaberella]

3. Thanks. I'm there now. n/t

[Clio the Leo]

5. Anyone need another live stream link ..... yell!

I prefer to send traffic to the WH's site, but if someone cant get it for tech reasons, I'll get you another one.

[Wetzelbill]

7. has the WH one started yet?

For me it just keeps saying it will begin momentarily.

[Clio the Leo]

14. yep NT

[rasputin1952]

9. I ahve CSPAN3 on and the WH...

I think the WH feed will be better, so far, it looks like Boehner and McConnell are pretty tight-assed...:D

[Wetzelbill]

11. nevermind, it's working

[Clio the Leo]

6. POTUS there! NT

[Clio the Leo]

10. and the room just got brighter!

Harkin and Dodd CHEESIN' like some Chesire cats .... lots of smiling faces as the President greets everyone.

[Jennicut]

12. Joe, late to sit down as usual. Probably talking too much.

[Clio the Leo]

15. that was cute....

POTUS was like, "Joe! Hey Joe! Come on!" (paraphrased)

[kjackson227]

8. One thing is for sure, the media won't be able to "spin" because...

we'll be seeing this for ourselves.

[Clio the Leo]

16. exactly. NT

[JoePhilly]

101. That's is the critical part

[wicket]

13. please post crumbs for the cube bound

Thanks :hi:

[Clio the Leo]

17. I'm showered, fed and lip balmed.....

... Twitterfied and otherwise fully plugged in.

Reporting for duty.

[polichick]

18. First of all, the prez walked around the entire table shaking hands with each participant. nt

[Clio the Leo]

21. hugs for some, affectionate shoulder rub for Dingle...

... big slap on Clyburn's back.

And Slaugther appeared to be tellin' the young man what fer! :)

[polichick]

28. He didn't kiss any of the women this time though. nt

[kjackson227]

43. I'll bet Speaker Pelosi was disappointed :)

[Clio the Leo]

19. and will try to post the first round of pics during the lunch break. NT

[boomerbust]

20. Boner

Looks all tanned and rested and ready to obstruct.:hi:

[Clio the Leo]

22. lol yeah. NT

[Clio the Leo]

23. Wish they could all watch KO's segment from last night....

.... talking about his father.

But the President is doing a good job relating hish own personal story about health issues and how his insurance (or his mother's lack of) has affected him and his approach to this.

[BeyondGeography]

24. He's trying to reach out to the reptiles

[Botany]

25. ATTN: Republicans Obama is much smarter than you will ever be.

He just linked Health Care reform to jobs.

Eat that poop sandwich Boner & McChinless.

[Jennicut]

26. He read your plan Boner!

LOL.

[Clio the Leo]

27. POTUS: I have looked at the GOP's plans....

POTUS will henceforth be referred to as "P."

[Clio the Leo]

29. "our respective plans have corresponding ideas"

.... "so that we should be able to bridge the gap"

(note, my " " marks are meant to reflect that someone is speaking, not that it's a direct quote, will paraphrase as best I can)

[Clio the Leo]

30. P: "I hope this is not political theater, that we're not just playing to the cameras."

[Clio the Leo]

31. LyndaOFA doing an awesome job....

http://twitter.com/LyndaOFA

[polichick]

32. imo the prez is way too nice to those assholes - hope this works to our advantage. nt

[Jennicut]

33. The turtle (Mitch McConnell) is now going to talk (and Lamar Alexander).

[Jennicut]

35. So Lamar Alexander wants to "help" Obama but wants him to change to Rethug ideas.

Allrighty then.

[polichick]

47. I had to laugh at that one - how absurd!

[Clio the Leo]

34. Alexander: "We want to focus on costs, starting over......."

".... step by step, make reducing costs our goal"

Alexander will hence forth be known as "A"

[Clio the Leo]

36. A: We want you to succeed, because if YOU succeed....

... the country succeeds ..... we just want to CHANGE the way you're doing it.

BIG change in strategy there ... .at least from a spin perspective.

[Clio the Leo]

40. A: There is NOT a Presidential bill....

... there's a proposal, one much like the Senate bill.

[Clio the Leo]

42. A: Government mandates will make preimums go up....

... but stumbled over his words and chose them carefully.

(Because what he's saying is BS)

[polichick]

37. Alexander - insulting from the get-go. nt

[Jennicut]

39. His wife has breast cancer. He has govt. insurance!!!

[polichick]

41. He's shameless!

[Jennicut]

45. We should all be so lucky...and we can could start over if we all

had govt. insurance like he does. Pathetic.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

49. Ooooh professor joke. What a douche. nt

[Skidmore]

38. Interesting that Alexander has changed the mantra of the people oppose

healthcare reform to just be opposition to the Senate bill.

Also, I hope that he gets called on the idea that it must be a total restart.

[Clio the Leo]

44. That's MAJOR. N T

[Clio the Leo]

46. also just said, "my democratic friends...."

as opposed to "my Democrat friends."

I grew UP with this man .... I go back to his plaid shirt days .... he's the icon of southern gentility .... good move by the GOP to bring him. He USED to be quite the moderate.

DOesn't mean that I AGREE with him of course.

[GoCubsGo]

107. That disingenuous POS

He had the audacity to whine about "the tyranny of the majority." I guess he forgot about how his shitty-ass party behaved when they were in the majority. Either that, or IOIYAR. Asshole.

[Skidmore]

48. Nothing like accepting an invitation to a party from a man

and calling him an SOB while grinning and eating the catered food. Alexander is one such guest. Lordy, he's heavy on the veiled insults.

[Clio the Leo]

50. POTUS staring down his nose at A.....

... he's LISTENING but he's NOT hearing him! lol As if to say, "I'm already tired of your BS."

[jefferson_dem]

51. Shorter Lamar: "Insurance companies are people too."

n/t

[oviedodem]

53. The last minute request..... Say no to reconciliation right mr. Prez

[TeamJordan23]

52. Lamar Alexander is insulting the presidency. nm

[oviedodem]

55. Well thats because a negro is the president

[polichick]

54. LOL - the prez should agree not to use reconciliation. Right...

...as Rachel pointed out last night, 16 of the 22 times it's been used since 1980, it was Republicans who used it.

[Clio the Leo]

56. A asking POTUS to NOT do recon.....

... quoting Byrd's recent statement on it.

[Jennicut]

57. Oh, the poor minority. The Dems never used the filibuster in the way the Rethugs do.

Total BS.

[LLStarks]

73. Does blocking Bush judicial nominations en masse not count? nt

[Beetwasher]

93. When The Fuck Did THAT Happen??? Answer: NEVER

Post a link. They never did that. They threatened to block a few very odious nominations. That's it. And in response, the Repubs threatened to nuke the fillibuster.

Back up this bullshit assertion that they blocked his nominations en masse.

[wicket]

131. Amen!!!!

:yourock:

[LLStarks]

157. Thanks. I stand corrected. nt

[BeyondGeography]

58. Forget 17% of the economy affected through reconciliation, Bush fucked the entire economy that way

with his tax cuts.

[polichick]

59. Alexander's ridiculous speech is why I wish the prez hadn't bothered...

It's just the beginning of a day's worth of Republican assholery.

[Jennicut]

62. People need to hear why the Rethugs oppose this.

And why their ideas are wrong.

[polichick]

69. It's only us political junkies who care about process - most voters just want...

...the job to get done. I do hope this exposes them a bit more, but it also allows racists and other throwbacks to see Republicans disrespecting President Obama - no doubt cheering them on.

[Jennicut]

75. Nancy Pelosi just mentioned it.

People don't care about the process.

[dmr]

64. Same here, I still can't get past him saying about Detroit: "You, and your engineers"

What an insult.

[polichick]

72. He should've been tossed out on his ass for saying that. Sometimes...

...turning the other cheek just leaves you with a bruised face.

[Skidmore]

60. What I'm hearing is that if R ideas are adopted and process invoked to bog it down,

then the Rs won't play.

[Clio the Leo]

61. A is conveniently forgetting that he joined in using recon. to pass *s tax cuts. NT

[Clio the Leo]

63. lol, this thing will go until midnight. NT

[Mr. Sparkle]

65. At last the corporatist bullshit opening speech has ended. I had to hit the mute button to stop

falling asleep. He was like Grandpa Simpson going on and on and on, i am surprised he didnt say "back in my day sunny ..."

Jeebus.

[oviedodem]

66. I bet a 20% chance McCain flips out at some point

[Clio the Leo]

70. lol, he's already fidgeting isn't he?

[polichick]

76. That fool doesn't have a clue who he is anymore. nt

[Clio the Leo]

67. Obama is about to UNLEASH the fire on Alexander....

... he basically promised him as much.

Will do so after the rest of the opening remarks.

[clevbot]

78. I believe that will be the recurring theme of the day!

[Clio the Leo]

83. yeah, but I love how he WARNED Him.....

... as if to say, "you might want to leave the room now."

[kjackson227]

68. I LOVE NANCY!

[Jennicut]

71. "They don't have time for us to start over".

Exactly.

[polichick]

74. +1

[kjackson227]

79. If we do start over, it will be death for hcr in our lifetime, and...

this is why we MUST put something through. Might not be all that we want, but it will be a start.

[Clio the Leo]

77. Pelosi: How can they say "ram"? We started this SIX WEEKS after the Inauguration. NT

[polichick]

80. Smart to point that out - and also that the prez started out bipartisan. nt

[Clio the Leo]

81. Reid to A: You are entitled to your own opinions, but NOT your own facts...

... and then EVER OTHER Dem in the room thought "Darn!" to themeselvs, "Stole my line!"

[Jennicut]

82. Harry Reid quoting Kaiser poll.

Going after Alexander on not having the facts.

[dmr]

84. Nancy & Harry talk about REAL people with REAL health care concerns

Lamar basically talked about manufactured opposition people. Big difference.

[BeyondGeography]

85. Alexander really screwed up by asking to start over

and is appropiately getting smacked around for it.

[Clio the Leo]

86. Reid points out the hypocricy of Alex's statement about recon.....

..." you guys have done it 21 times!"

[polichick]

89. Also mentioned all the Republican amendments already in the bills...

I'd take them all out!

[Jennicut]

90. Harry is on fire, well fiery for him. He is really angry at Alexander.

[Clio the Leo]

95. yeah, but I think he may have stepped on the Pres. argument a bit...

.... I would have rather the President been the one to point out Alex's hypocrisy about recon because he would have done it more effectively.

But since Harry is up for re-election, maybe that was by design?

[kjackson227]

87. Good for Harry, calling Alexander out.

[polichick]

96. Yeah, Nancy and Harry both.

[Clio the Leo]

88. Reid: Senate bill has SIGNIFICNAT GOP influence....

.... anyone know the number of amendments they offered? Gibbs said it the other day but I dont know the number.

It would be a good thing to remind our GOP friends.

[Clio the Leo]

91. Reid boo booed a bit....

said "no one has talked about reconciliation" but later said, "as the only option." But said TWICE "no one has talked about recon..."

everyone KNOWS we have

[Clio the Leo]

92. Sen Kyl (R) has brought the bill for dramatic effect...

... has it piled up on the table.

[leftynyc]

97. So, is he complaining

that it's too small or too big today. A person with guts would call Boener (and the rest of the pukes) Goldilocks.

[Clio the Leo]

100. lol, good point. NT

[Clio the Leo]

94. When do we need to do a new thread?

100 replies? Or can we go a bit longer in this one?

[Jennicut]

119. Maybe soon. It is gettting long.

:)

[Clio the Leo]

133. I'll wait until 150 replies....

... I like round numbers. :)

[Clio the Leo]

98. POTUS detailing how the exchanges would work. NT

[Skidmore]

99. McCain is sure twitchy.

[Jennicut]

102. Alexander being rude, interrupting the President.

Let him speak, he let you speak, Lamar.

[dmr]

103. lol Lamar: if you're going to contradict me ....

Prez: this is where we have to get our facts straight

[oviedodem]

104. Chuck Lamar does not get it: Obama reads unlike his predecessor

[oviedodem]

106. This great, as Obama is explaining the CBO analysis Lamar is being

shown reading it.

What an idiot, you come in a meeting to make a point about something you have not read.

[BeyondGeography]

105. Is Obama doing this without a teleprompter?

:sarcasm:

[Clio the Leo]

120. lol, you KNOW it! NT

[dmr]

108. Damn, the look on McCain's face! lol I wouldn't give a penny for his thoughts

[JTFrog]

109. Lamar: Rather than get my ass handed to me publicly, can you school me in private Mr. President?

:rofl:

[Clio the Leo]

110. A bit of an exchange between POTUS and Alexander....

POTUS says CBO claims premiums will go down.

Alexander says CBO says the opposite, they will go UP.

POTUS points out, as if it's common knowledge lol, that what the CBO says is that premimums on the whole will go down, thus making BETTER plans more affordable so that people may ELECT to pay MORE to get a better plan.

POTUS says it would be nice if Alexander could mention some things that he LIKES about the Dem bills. :)

[Clio the Leo]

117. to which Alexander replied....

"I think I'll let some of the other guys speak..."

vowing to get the President the figures to which he was referring later.... President said "I know what it says, i'll be happy to read what you're citing though."

[Jennicut]

111. Repubs still caught up in the process and not the substance. Coburn

will talk, puke.

[dmr]

112. yep, that tactic isn't going to work either

[Phx_Dem]

126. How long is Dr. Coburn going to drone on? If he's so interested in

medical care, why isn't he practicing medicine and helping people instead of obstructing and saying no to everything that comes down the pike? You're turn's over asshole.

[Skidmore]

113. Of the 3 doc at that summit, are any Dems?

[Jennicut]

114. Fraud will fix all the health care issues???? LMAO. Nice one Coburn.

[butterfly77]

115. This Coburn is..

piece of shit. i was waiting for his spin..

[Jennicut]

116. Tort reform and fraud. A minimal part of health care costs.

[dmr]

118. Coburn: fraud and tort reform

[kjackson227]

121. Well, I'm surprised that Imhofe(sp) is actually bringing up...

some relevant issues.

[kjackson227]

122. sorry, is this Imhofe or Coburn?

[Jennicut]

124. Coburn.

[dmr]

125. Coburn

[Clio the Leo]

123. Folks, Lamar Alexander is NOT stupid.....

... I have known (of) the man for 30 years, I'm from Tennessee, he was our gov for 8 years and our Senator ever since. He is NOT the same kinda GOP that Boehner and that lot are. Very intelligent politician. .... he's the BEST guy they've got ... and he just got his argument shot down like he has NEVER had it done before.

This is MAJOR.

Sad to see an old man REJECTED like that ......... but not really.

[Jennicut]

127. He was rejected HARD.

And I remember Alexander from back in the 90's. He is the best they got.

[dmr]

129. Thanks for the info

It must be hard when they haven't much to work with, seeing as they'd rather keep the status quo

[Peacetrain]

132. Clio I am so glad you posted that.. Alexander is NOT a stupid man.. which just proves how right

we are. How right our cause in HCR is.

[Clio the Leo]

145. My father's jaw is ON the floor...

... watching that. He obviously remembers more about Alexander than I do.

I wish every old Democrat in TN could see that moment. That was a sight YEARS in coming.

[Peacetrain]

156. I am in the office today, and cannot watch, so am relying on updates here!

[Phx_Dem]

134. Yeah, that was a big deal. This is going to be good.

:popcorn:

[rufus dog]

136. I don't feel bad for him a bit

If you are going to walk in and try to through out some bullshit be prepared for an Industrial size fan to blow it back all over you.

[Clio the Leo]

150. and you KNOW he thought he could handle the President...

... until the President handled him.

You could hear it in his voice.

[Phx_Dem]

128. It's becoming obvious that the GOP's big plan is to fillibuster this

summit. It's not going to work, but that appears to be their ingenuis plan.

[Clio the Leo]

130. Reid just basically accused the GOP of trying to filibustering the summit...

... "Mr. President, I'm not an expert on much, but I'm an expert on filibusters, and we have 40 members of Congress here..."

He interuppted Coburn to say so.

[Phx_Dem]

135. I like this Harry Reid. Outspoken and not taking any crap.

[polichick]

140. That was great!

[kjackson227]

137. Is McSame gonna "smirk" during the whole summit??? Useless piece of...

[Phx_Dem]

141. He does that when he's pissed. I think he didn't dig Steny

throwing his debate comments back in his face!

Woo hoo. Fun times.

[polichick]

144. I'll bet Dems planned this - each taking points to throw back at 'em!

[polichick]

142. McShame is a CREEP! nt

[gblady]

139. damn msnbc...cnn...

as soon as the Democrat started talking....
they bring in their BS commentators...
and totally interrupt the summit...

such a bunch of crap...

[clevbot]

143. watch it online!

[dmr]

148. or cspan 3 if you get it

[Jennicut]

146. Watch it at Whitehouse.gov.

Much more satisfying not listening to the crap.

[Phx_Dem]

147. CSPAN, baby! Here's the link.

http://www.c-span.org/Topics/Health-Care-Insurance-Reform-Legislation-Town-Hall.aspx

[Clio the Leo]

149. MSNBC is back to it. NT

[kjackson227]

151. If possible, go to the website... no interruptions.

[Jennicut]

152. Steny Hoyer made good points that Coburn's issues with cost containment

is in the bill already. Fraud and abuse already addressed.

[kjackson227]

154. Yep, so that's three (wellness, prevention, fraud) Repugnant...

issues that have been addressed. Next...

[polichick]

153. It's so obvious that Dems want to solve problems and Repukes want to whine...

They've got NOTHING!

[Clio the Leo]

155. Please continue to thread #2 here...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x197120