Wonkette
It’s just past four o’clock, so get in your comfy chair because it’s time for your Wonkette Tuesday New Health Care Reform Proposals Update! Today we discuss the Max Baucus-favored “TRIGGER COMPROMISE,” in which a public health care option would only come into play when private insurance companies fail to meet certain coverage requirements. Let’s take a look at Washington’s latest hell-spawned Respectable Centrist ploy to ruin legitimate long-term reform!
See, so instead of just going for it, just creating a public option lacking that profit incentive and covering any and all sicklings, thus sparking a beneficial price war with private insurers, Congress may decide to delay the creation of a public option until/unless private insurers are “unable to achieve various metrics for coverage within a certain time frame.”
In other words, there will never be a public option, because (a) Congress will keep the wording in the legislation for the “various metrics” insanely vague and (b) Congress is 100% incapable of enforcing any breach whatsoever when it involves such industries as banking or perhaps HEALTH INSURANCE.
Multiple Democratic sources tell the Huffington Post that the White House and key members of the Finance and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committees are in the process of hammering out key principles on health care reform — with a meeting scheduled at the West Wing this afternoon. One of the components will be music to progressive ears: that any bill includes an option publicly run health insurance coverage. But it also comes with a caveat that could engender opposition from that very same constituency.
A trigger would pave the way for public option to come into place only after certain market conditions are met — mainly if private insurance companies are unable to achieve various metrics for coverage within a certain time frame. The proposal would placate many of the private health care actors who consider a public plan the first step towards a single-payer system. Progressives, however, view it as reform in name and not substance.
“This is really, obviously, a mechanism to kill the public plan,” said one progressive health care reform advocate. “We will see what comes out, but the fact that they are debating this is problematic.”
If ever there were a flashing neon red flag of death in legislative jargon, then it is probably, “We will not institute this heavily-lobbied-against major important reform until a TRIGGER goes off and private companies haven’t been doing the things we asked them to do. Yeah. Then we’ll do it. Later…”
Until next Tuesday!
Obama, Senate Dems Consider Public Health Care Option With A Trigger [Huffington Post]
I’d like to suggest that instead of a trigger they try some sort of space-based laser.
When is someone going to break it to Max Baucus that even his own constituents don’t care what he thinks?
Fuck; and here I was hoping that the ‘trigger’ referred to one on a gun (or, yes, laser) held at the head of all HMO executives, ready to go off the next time they pull some bullshit excuse out of their ass to deny coverage.
I read this for the free cocaine and there isn’t any.
Chuck Norris can fix this, too.
Buttermilk did everything move Trigger did, only backward and in high heels.
What do we want?
HEALTH CARE!
When do we want it?
AT A HERETOFORE UNSPECIFIED TIME TO BE DETERMINED BY PRESENTLY UNDEFINED METRICS IN THE UNFORESEEABLE FUTURE AFFECTED BY PRIVATE INTERESTS ,THEIR LOBBYISTS, AND LEGAL COUNCIL!!!!!
(it lacks a certain punch, n’est pas?)
mollymcguire: every move, damnit. Proofreading is a skill.
I totally want to party with the Health Care Industry Lobby Dudez.
NoWireHangers:
Keep pushing the little bar.
Tommmcatt: Ha. Win.
Thanks a lot Rethug Nazi’s for your shitty health (death) reform comprimise! Just in time for my brain smack :). Thank you all again for your good wishes. How is everyone? Did you all see the surreal Patti Blagovich on that crazy reality teevee last night, Help Me Get Out Of Here? I wasn’t expecting to see her! She was acting like she was Mother Teresa & all the devils were after her & Blago when all they wanted to do was help (use) sick people! Then there was this strange couple laying hands on Mother Teresa Blago praying for the devils to go away (legal system that will put him in Levinworth for life). Here’s our comedy gold Blago discussing the show (originally he wanted to be on it, but I think he’s under investgation so he couldn’t leave this country), so the potty mouth Mrs. (Mother Teresa) is on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjGv66oXlcI
mollymcguire: so what does a high heeled horse-shoe look like?
Is it easier to ring on a stake?
The stake just pounded into any sane health care in this country?
In every civilized country in the world, it is illegal to sell primary health insurance for profit. Fuckers.
FAIL. This is just like the lame assed credit card reforms. Fucking don’t sign that shit Hopey.
Just another courageous stand that the Democratic Party is willing to take up until the very moment they can actually go about and do something for which they are taking a stand for.
Give a trigger an inch, it’ll take a yard…
Well, blame the finger not the trigger. These are the utterly worthless scum who already probably have trigger-finger from killing the Employee Free Choice Act. If only a bunch of people started calling Max Baucus a baby killer, maybe the problem would take care of itself.
Carrie_Okie: I loves me some Hopey, but that’s the only shit he signs.
Jukesgrrl: According to HuffPo, Baucus went all around Montana the past month to gain support for his health care proposal only to be told by everyone who attended to STFU and go get them single payer health care. So much for that.
Today’s News: Rich People Win, Again.
Who cares about this shit, Jim? Help me find the excellent video from MSNBC that my fantasy boy friend David Schuster just did about Pawlenty running for prez in 2012 and what that would do to the Franken certification.
But I’m still not at the good part– Armstrong Williams (you remember him–any lame ass black can be a spokeperson for the minority lacking Republican party) announces that it’s time for Al Franken to do what’s best for humanity, admit he lost and step down. And a nice black lady named Nancy (but not the one who was Pres. Bartlett’s NSA director) says, “but he won.” And Armstrong says (you cannot make up this shit) “Well, yes, but only according to the poll count.”
Then my boyfriend said, “we’re not going down that road,” and cut him off just when it got good. The end.
Like most Americans, I could not actually read an entire article about health care. Or even a Wonkette post. The phrase ‘various metrics’ automatically caused my brain to escape a Bewilderment Coma by switching back to my actual work.
NoWireHangers: Yeah, I read it for the free stem cells and there aren’t any of them either.
Tommmcatt: Winsies!
pussies.
What the fuck I wanted to read about blow
NoWireHangers: Free cocaine for The People is probably a lot less expensive than health care. So that is probably what we are ultimately going to get.
I just glanced at the photo and thought it was a legitimate ad for German medicinal cocaine, which I don’t give a shit about because I’m not in Germany and cocaine makes me anti-social anyway.
Isn’t Trigger a Palin family child, or perhaps it’s a presidential dog, or something. What does he/she/it have to do with health insurance?
As one of Max’s constituents, I tried to contact him via phone about the healthcare issue. A rude staffer answered and said (I’m not joking) “Do you even live in Montana?” I told him yes and he said “Give me your name and I’ll add it to the list.” Then “thank you” in a sing song voice. Seriously.
A few weeks later I got the standard crapola letter thanking me for my interest blah blah blah. Max is a doucebag and I’m not voting for him ever again.
Instead of congress, why don’t we hire a bunch of mercenaries to line us all up and shoot us? It would be a lot cheaper, less insulting, and the agony wouldn’t last as long.
WTF? I thought Hopey was supposed to be Captain Socialism, standard bearer of Marx, Lenin, Mao, and Castro. I want my socialism mother fucker!
Another important campaign promise compromised to death as Democratic ‘leaders’ sit back & get their clocks cleaned. Thanks being front & center on this, Hopey. Or maybe when you promised health care reform you actually meant ‘new ways to bleed us to death by a thousand cuts.’ Whoever said elections have consequences? Cuz that person should be shot.
Roger the Shrubber: Even cheaper would be hiring the mercenaries to shoot congress. Now THAT’s a trigger option I could get behind.
“RabidHamster said: Even cheaper would be hiring the mercenaries to shoot congress. Now THAT’s a trigger option I could get behind.”
after what happened in kansas you fucktards just keep this shit up. you fucking dont get it do you, your stupid ass yuk yuk blogs and your fatty fingers poking into the night with your subliterate quasi death threats, and then there are the ‘editors’ and ‘moderators’ (ha ha, some joke right) who allow this shit to pollute the internet.
fuck it, we should have banned the public off the internet in 1995.
when is a liberal not a liberal?
when they throw away their values so they can be funny on some fucking blog.
decora: Excuse me, but Roger the Shrubber’s idea just wasn’t fiscally responsible. There are millions of us and only a limited number of congressthings. Lining up and shooting every American, even given a bulk discount on ammo, would be much more costly than my suggestion.
Oh, and bite me, also.
decora: I want your kidneys to fail.
decora: When is an asshole not an asshole? When s/he throws away, their, um, fuck it. It’s been a long, hot fucking day, after a long, hot fucking shithole of a weekend, so why don’t you worry about your own values and humour (or lack thereof) and relax. Here, have a nice cool glass of [a href="http://wonkette.com/408908/a-childrens-treasury-of-comically-predictable-wacky-joe-biden-campaign-stories-from-some-new-book#comment-330285"]tit-sweat[/a].
Crap, did I do my wonkette-link thingy right?
decora: Ah, I was going to ask if you were attempting funny by pretending to be a mouth-frothing ass, or are, indeed, simply a frothing ass who does not quite get the irony of calling us fat-fingered fucks ’subliterate’. I was going to drink until it was clear. But your second post answered all, thank you!
So back to the drinking! (Is drinking liberal? Or not liberal, and I’m a hypocrite throwing away my values? Does drinking *liberally* count? Oh, I’m so confused. Hold me.)
Snortin cocaine off a stripper titties followed by a jagermeister chaser….that’ll make you forget any health issue like failed kidneys and a failed America.
Oh yay! I failed!
decora:
Note, however, that the last time a left-wing terrorist blew something up it was more than thirty years ago. When was the last act of right-wing extremist violence again? Last weekend?
Are you sure you’re pointing your fat finger in the right direction, fucktard?
Hasn’t anyone done the obvious: Triggers don’t kill people, lack of health care kills people.
octupletsmom: I would actually be okay with that.
Tommmcatt: They have Scott Roeder, Timothy McVeigh, Liddy, Michelle Bachmann and every militia group , etc .
And liberals have CODE PINK and George Clooney.
CODE PINK and George Clooney? No wonder we’re still getting our asses kicked when it comes to reform… the force is weak on our side. Good thing we’re sneaky.
your all brain dead morons. you didn’t really think the government was going to do anything to help you. did you?
mugsy: Damn, you should be a comedian. Seriously. I think you’d have a great future in stand-up comedy. And your hair, so shiny! You are my new hero. Thank you for being the awesome you that you are.
Back on topic, though:
Some day, we’ll hopefully have a government that helps. Maybe they can do something like build roads so that we can drive places, or provide an infrastructure, maybe even provide a military to support our military-industrial complex, er, protect us, a court system for justice, and digital television converters so we can watch American Idol in high-def! Oh, won’t it be wonderful when the government finally helps us?
DustBowlBlues: “And Armstrong says (you cannot make up this shit) ‘Well, yes, but only according to the poll count.’” That really IS a winner. Brings back memories of Ole Bar Bush blithely telling Katrina victims their seat at the Astrodome was an improvement over their former homes. It might be pleasant to be so deluded.
mugsy: hahaha..you’re a crazy person!
SayItWithWookies:
What you said. Plus, Baucus is a bigger whore than Chris Dodd.
Are you ready for “HillaryCare 2: Electric Boogaloo”?
Oh those wacky Democrats! Liberators of tables everywhere: first they took impeachment off the table … then they took “single-payer” off the table. That “we must obey the will of the people” hoopla is only for campaign-speeches, after all. Can’t you guys all chip in for some larger & sturdier furniture?
lulzmonger: I know. It’s charming isn’t it? I’m so sick of the cowards.
Some focused rage *is* in order. I’ve been practicing being ‘political’ without emanating the off-putting activisty vibes my red-state chums hate. They agree about the basic goal (health care for everyone) from a basic values perspective.
The trouble is they’ve bought into this idea that govt is full of retards. When all you see of govt is the DMV irl and congress-clowns on the tube(s) (the bread on a hawt retard-sammich), you are right to think so. What folksy folks don’t know is that the filling of this semi-erect retard-on-retard action is a bunch of smart professionals who give a shit or two.
All I ever needed to know about DC I learned on Wonkette. (Except for how to respond when Senator Craig called me a ‘lean little race-horse’) If you throw in a gross sexual metaphor now and then, you can santorum-coat any otherwise unpleasant political speech you want.
meyotch: To sum up, if you’ve ever been the lucky pierre in a retard sammich, you DO know what you are missing. I miss Corky.
povs die povs, what do you expect?
a grand suggestion: work for govt, being a benefactor of this stupidity makes life a lot easier. so does lolcohol