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Explanation: I had this ready to post last night, but my computer and I were both sick yesterday. Instead of spending the entire day typing I watched the speeches leading up to the passage of the vote on the bill in the House on the Health Care Reform bill. What's with those 39 Democrats who voted against it? Dennis Kucinich was one of them. (He was very upset that his amendment that would allow States to opt for a single payer plan was stripped from the final bill.) I am going to have to research who the others were and write some nasty e-mails to them. The brave Republican who voted for it was a Freshman from Louisiana, David Cho. He was under intense pressure before the vote to push the Nay button. Good for him for voting his conscience.
The poison pill Stupak amendment on abortion passed and I heard that Nancy Pelosi had to allow it in order to get the votes to pass the reform bill. What a pity that women lost again. Shame on the 64 Democrats who voted for it.
The rest of the post is the one I intended to post today. We now know that the Public Option is included. Will it survive the Senate? Stay tuned.
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The bills in the Senate and the House are now so confusing and problematical that I think it's time to start pushing hard for the Single Payer plan again. If the powers in Washington realize that we will settle for nothing less it might spur them on to include a strong Public Option.
While any sensible person who has really studied the issue knows that the single payer plans enjoyed by other countries would be the most efficient and cost effective, it is still impossible to get it enacted due to the massive power of the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries. As a pragmatist I realize that my dream of a single payer plan is not going to happen. I do not think it's too late to put our representatives on notice that their jobs are at stake if they don't listen to their constituents.
