Bernie on Countdown, "We are working with the WH to make this bill better..."

[Clio the Leo]

"We are working with the White House, with the Democratic leadership to make this bill significantly better so that it helps more people and we do everything we can to control the absolutely outrageous increase in health care costs in this country which is a danger not only to individuals but to the government as well."

And THAT should end the argument right there .... the one man who is to the left of EVERYONE ELSE says he's working with the WH and Reid to make the bill "better."

Good interview with Bernie. Says that reconciliation is a very complicated process he understands Dean's point, thinks some of what he's said is constructive but "as a US Senator, I have to deal with the reality that a lot of people are hurting out there, there are a lot of people who desperately need health insurance.... and we have to all deal with the reality that if this bill goes down, what does it mean in this country politically? when is the next time this legislation is going to come up which is going to increase health care for 30 million people, provide insurance, deal with some of the major abuses in terms of pre-existing conditions.... is this a good bill? It is not .... but we're gonig to try to make it as good as we can."


It SHOULD end the argument .... but I'm not naieve .... and I know it won't.

(video)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#34472325

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Thanks. Glad to hear something positive about this debacle.

[Clio the Leo]

5. and I'm glad to hear that a "GreenPartyVoter" is glad to hear it ...

... ;)

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. ;^) back.

[TwilightGardener]

2. Bernie is a good guy.

[LakeSamish706]

9. Has he been badgered by the WH though, to say something like this? n/t

[TwilightGardener]

13. I don't know. But it's hard to be beholden to a party you don't belong to (see: Lieberman)

[LakeSamish706]

20. Everyone can be badgered if enough pressure (or the right pressure) has been

applied. Sanders is no different from anyone else.

[Windy]

18. Well then you haven't followed Sanders. He can't be bullied. Unreal! what is wrong with some of you

nt

[ima_sinnic]

3. that is encouraging -- I trust Bernie Sanders

but that is about all I'll say for now

[Clio the Leo]

14. I like all the new Dean avatars...

.... I'm not being a smart aleck, I really do.

I think I may change mine to one of Howard too ..... just to confuse everyone. :)

(forgive me if yours is not recently changed it's a general statement and, again, not meant to be snarky I'm dead serious)

[ima_sinnic]

17. no, that's great, I did just change it a little while ago tonight

I went on google images and found one I liked and cropped it and resized it to this.

[bluestateguy]

4. I like Bernie Sanders. He is an adult.

Same with Barbara Lee over in the House.

Kucinich is a child, and Dean is like an adolescent.

[still_one]

16. and this administration isn't? The administration never wanted a public option

let's face it.

when in August senior advisors were already marginalizing the "left" that tells you where they are coming from

They have done this to themselves

The administration is the one who started attacking Dean. They just want a bill at any cost no mater how bad it is

From the bailouts of the financial industry, I don't have much confidence in them thank-you

[dionysus]

31. lay off howard. this proxy dean vs obama crap is silly.

[ClarkUSA]

33. Good analysis.

:thumbsup:

[BeyondGeography]

6. Yes, it should

The responsible adult from Vermont has spoken.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. The more I see of Bernie Sanders...

The better I like him.

He's smart, and he's ballsy.

K&R

[Clio the Leo]

12. He's a socialist....

.... how could you not love him?

(but I come from a long line of rabble-rousing socialists, so I'm biased lol)

.... just as long as the right doesn't figure out that the WH is palling around with Socialists we'll be ok lol.

[Robbins]

10. Senate

Make the bill better If you don't want a public opotion or Medicare/Medicaid expansion then kill
the mandates.If the left can dig up video of Obama opposing them whatdo you think Republicans will do.
If you offer no help with a public opotion or a Medicare/Medicaid expansion then In this economy
people will be screwed having to buy Insurance.I for one will be much quiter In mu opposition to the
sellout If the mandates are killed.

[still_one]

11. Well, the current Senate bill will NOT control what Insurance companies can charge

It doesn't kick in until 2014, does not allow drug re-importation, I suspect due to a deal the administration made with Pharma behind closed doors. Why else would 30 Democrats vote against that?

Along with so much other nonesense

This administration has been against the public option from the start, and have marginalized their base for some time

Maybe they should start listening to them

[grantcart]

15. It doesn't end the argument but it does make one wonder that

there are other dramatic developments under way.

Perhaps the have an agreement that in the end Lieberman got an initial day in the sun and in the end he will vote against the bill and not vote for cloture.

[Clio the Leo]

24. That's one of my dream scenarios. NT

[IndianaGreen]

19. and Bernie said it is not too late to try reconciliation

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

21. Sanders as Senator; Dean as Governor

You Vermonters have every right to feel superior. And the maple syrup fucking ROCKS!

[janx]

34. It really does.

I can attest to that!

[TheKentuckian]

22. What improvements are going to be allowed?

It seems pretty clear that no mater what happens the process default reboots to the Baucus debacle every time.

They wouldn't remove the anti-trust exemption nor even the ultra minimal step of allowing legally mandated consumers to shop for their plans and have even the illusion of choice.

I think we have to admit that either we can't swing even center/right reform much less anything close to taking on the insurance industry. So, we might as well set up subsidies to try to cover people and skip all the rest of it because there is no "reform". The regulations are nothing. Pre-existing conditions aren't eliminated but rather coverage at a rate of 3X. Caps are still allowed. Monopolies are still permitted.

The Administration has advised that going forward anyone who rocks the boat gets whacked unless of course it is a conservative, in which case we will bend over backward to make sure they are happy.

[Blasphemer]

25. That is what I wonder. Sanders saying they are working on improvements doesn't mean much...

Every time something good comes out of the negotiations, it ends up stripped out anyway. Lieberman doesn't want a better bill. Nelson doesn't want a better bill. Landrieu doesn't want a better bill. The list goes on. Until they are prepared to call the bluffs of these obstructionists and a) force them to vote against a good bill or b)attempt to use reconciliation to work around the obstructionists, I don't want to hear from them about improvements.

[Clio the Leo]

23. video link added....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#34472325

[Mithreal]

26. Hope

[DCBob]

27. Axelrod knocks Nelson on his filibustering threats...

"the main thing I would say to Nelson and other members of the Senate is that after a long, long, long and thorough debate, let us have a vote. "What we are arguing about today is not whether a majority support the bill in the Senate," Axelrod added. "A majority does. What we are arguing about is whether they will have a chance to express themselves and vote -- or whether a minority will thwart the majority and keep that vote from happening. "And so my hope is that for Senator Nelson, who has always said under Republican administrations that we shouldn't use procedural maneuvers to try and keep bills from coming to the floor, that he will not allow that to happen here."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/17/david-axelrod-knocks-sen_n_396615.html

[ClarkUSA]

32. Ouch. Nice smackdown, David!

Senator Nelson must be still smarting from that swipe. :)

[Armstead]

28. I hope you also heard him say....

..when asked if he would for for the bill:

"I honestly don't know at this point. It depends on what it looks like at the end of this."

Just sayin'...

[niceypoo]

29. Lieberman is also 'helping' make this a better bill

And Obama is listening to him.

http://crooksandliars.com/logan-murphy/senator-bernie-sander-says-he-wont-vo">Senator Bernie Sanders says he wont vote for the current healthcare bill

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said late Wednesday that he cannot support the Democrats' healthcare reform legislation in its current form.

Asked by Fox Business Network's Neil Cavuto asked Sanders if he could support the compromise bill. The senator replied "I’m struggling with this. As of this point I am not voting for the bill. And here’s why."

Sanders, who favors a single-payer healthcare system, said that he has informed the White House and Democratic leadership of his position.

"As of this moment. I am going to do my best to make this bill a better bill, a bill that I can vote for but I’ve indicated both to the White House and the Democratic leadership that my vote is not secure at this point," he said.

Sanders words come as Democratic leaders are now facing heat from the left over several compromises made in order to attract centrist votes. Read on...

[ClarkUSA]

30. Bernie Sanders understands that passing legislation requires more than whining and grandstanding.

Too bad DU's 24/7 Obama bashers could care less, as long as they can get their Outrage fix.

[kestrel91316]

35. Keep tightening the thumbscrews, Bernie. I don't know where we'd be without you.