Want single payer universal healthcare? Don't try to bring it up in the Senate.
Health care activists disrupted a Senate Finance Committee hearing Tuesday, standing up one after the other as Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) tried to restore order.
As soon as police escorted one protester out of the room, another would stand up, criticizing the committee for convening a panel of 15 experts and excluding witnesses who support creating a Medicare system for all Americans. About eight were led out of the hearing.
Baucus' response? “We need more police.”
A video of the protest appears below.
According to Politico, the protest was held by Healthcare Now, Physicians for a National Health Program and Single Payer Action, who back a single-payer, government health care system.
The health insurance lobby has signed onto healthcare reform, seeing it as more or less inevitable, but are pushing for what's called a "universal mandate" which would require everyone to purchase private insurance. Universal single-payer healthcare seems unlikely, though Congress could create a public entity to compete with private health insurance plans and would likely subsidize health insurance for those who can't afford it.
“Single-payer needs to be on the table,” one of the protesters yelled, according to Politico. “This is political theater.”
Baucus eventually quieted the crowd, and said, “I want you to know I care deeply about your views.”
Baucus added: "Everybody on the committee and everybody in the Congress deeply deeply respects the views of all members of the audience, and all Americans who feel deeply about health care reform, especially those who are worried about a single payer system or public option who really do fervently believe that is the proper result," Baucus said. "We are going to get the best result here the more we can have an orderly discussion as to how we can best reform the health care system, so I want to say to everyone, especially those of you who might be inclined to stand up, I urge you not to so we can proceed with the hearing."
This video is from MSNBC's News Live, broadcast May 5, 2009.
-John Byrne
Baucus' response? “We need more police.”
Typical blue swine dem. All the corrupt tools of the Plutocracy demand that we increase the power of the police state and lock up more citizens, in this case political prisoners.
The corrupt pols, Baucus being a good example, all believe that we the people serve they the government. And it is only by their "good nature" that they "grant" us certain rights.
This is exactly why Baucus, Ben Nelson, Specter and all the rest of the corrupt blue swine dems need to be voted out of office at the next primary. None of them have the right to serve in congress, not to mention the right to have their hearts continue beating.
Single-payer thoughts = more police...
The TRUTH must not emerge!
The little people may get "ideas"
National Public Campaign Finance ought to be a constitutional amendment. Then we'd have our health care and just about anything else with majoritarian support. As long as Humana et al bankroll these clowns' campaigns single payer is not going to happen.
SEND OUT THE FOLLOWING TO ALL ON YOUR EMAIL LIST:
http://www.pnhp.org
Let them decide and get involved.
[...] via The Raw Story » Single-payer healthcare protesters disrupt Senate hearing; Chairman calls for more .... [...]
It is like I've been saying all along.
Democrats who refuse to impeach or prosecute Bush, Cheney or their Torture Advocating Lawyers will never have the courage to get voters the Single Payer Health Care we want.
But they will pass some sort of subsidy for the health care industry requiring us to buy their overpriced and under covering insurance.
The only way to put some spine in these clowns is to
make them Prosecute the Bush Torturers.
SIGN THE PETITION TO Prosecute Them
http://ANGRYVoters.Org
Over 250,000 have signed
Join Us & Re-post this Everywhere
.
Yes, by all means.. let's make sure any "reform" we come up with includes making MORE profits for the insurance companies that DENY claims, including letting people DIE, so they can increase their share-holder free payouts.
America is becoming last at everything we were best at, and best at what no one wants to be number 1 at. Lucily, we're slipping at being number 1 in a few things, like being the worlds biggest polluter even though we were only 7% of the population.. now China pollutes a bit more than us (because they make all our shit for us, now).. even though they are 20% of the world's population.. we're just barely not number 1 there..
If only humans weren't such a pathetic species..
I'm not viewing the insurance industry's "universal mandate" proposal as a good one. Knowing how **strong** Congress can be, the plan will be, to no surprise, laden with benefits for the industry, to the detriment of the people.
As we well know, there are many who support single-payer healthcare, including phsycian's organizations, healthcare workers, and private citizens, and I think it was pretty shitty of the committee to not include at least one or two of their organizations in the hearing. Since the end resulting system will directly affect these groups of people, why shouldn't they have a seat at the table?
More police? Me thinks Chairman Baucaus needs a fucking brain ... jackass.
We the public citizen have lost representation in our government. It seems the government represents corporate interests and big industry with how to most effectively make money from the public taxpayer. It seems our government rents we the public out to big industry, as animals can be rented to farmers, for the purpose of harvesting profit from us. And we have no say, nor get respect or attention from the government in this.
Our government which the founders had designed for us was never perfect. If our government were a boat, those small imperfections are being widened for greed to enter and soon we may sink just as Rome once fell.
Shut her Down!.......If these morons aren't well on their way to single payer Health Care by the 2010 election I am going to give up on this shithouse government and start working to bring the whole thing down around their ears. International government will surely represent us better than this. If not we can just shut the lights out in NYC. Those rich little boys, that wouldn't know a hard days work if it kicked them in the ass, think they are Rands Atlas......Bull Shit!!!!
Why don't the Dems listen to the doctors instead of their lobbyists? What is wrong with single-payer? Give the doctors what they want--they are the heart of the health care system--not the insurance companies.
It's always about money, and money will win the debate.
David B Snow Jr CEO Medco Health, $21.76 million, 5-Year Compensation Total $36.29 million.
Dale B Wolf CEO Coventry Health Care, $20.86 million, 5-Year Compensation Total $61.91 million.
Michael B McCallister CEO Humana, $20.06 million, 5-Year Compensation Total $60.64 million.
Ronald A Williams CEO Aetna $8.88 million.
Trevor Fetter CEO Tenet Healthcare $5.80 million, 5-Year Compensation Total $19.08 million.
Stephen J Hemsley CEO UnitedHealth $4.00 million.
John H Hammergren CEO McKesson $44.91 million, 5-Year Compensation Total $94.59 million.
Miles D White CEO Abbott Laboratories $44.76 million, 5-Year Compensation Total $76.47 million.
William C Weldon CEO Johnson & Johnson $15.41 million, 5-Year Compensation Total $49.15 million.
Jeffrey B Kindler CEO Pfizer $5.76 million.
John C Lechleiter CEO Eli Lilly & Co $5.13 million.
James M Cornelius CEO Bristol-Myers Squibb $5.06 million.
[...] there’s only so much room on ‘the table’ and we must look forward dontcha know) Health care activists disrupted a Senate Finance Committee hearing Tuesday, standing up one after the other as Chairman [...]
[...] Looks like healthcare reform is finally coming. But not Candian-style single-payer, what the left wants. Health industry lobbyists have defeated every reform effort since WWII. This time Democrats will use the reconciliation process to get Obama’s version past a filibuster in the Senate - here. Protesters in the Senate, demanding single-payer, are removed by police, here. [...]
The so-called "universal mandate" is nothing more than letting the private insurers cherry-pick only the healthiest and wealthiest for their insurance pool (with little or no risk) and forcing all those above the lowest income class to pay into this travesty at unjustifiable high rates.
Every day these bastards get out of bed and place their cold feet on the floor they are looking for a $10,000 check to run for their re-election. You think they will kick private health care givers to the curb?
The nazi's never lost. they just moved......
THIS IS JUNK E MAIL! YOU WON'T ACCEPT ANYTHING UNFAVORABLE TO YOUR WARPED VIEWS!
Get thee to the Open Secrets website and follow the money. Baucus has one fine record when it comes to bowing to the insurance boys. He's never met a benjamin he didn't like, nor a grant, for that matter.
where is the response to the tea baggers? why is no one organizing local, state-wide and national rallies and demonstrations? why isn't anyone able to articulate an argument on this subject that would convince mr. w. w. pancoast that you have something other than warped veiws? who has the numbers (other than how much the ceo's are making and how much the lobbies are sending to congress?) michael moore's sicko gave some - but there's got to be more and better info out there. his figures show us (U.S.) @ 37th place world wide for health care. fear and anger are not getting the job done. nor is slurred speach. search for the probing questions to ask detractors ( i always respectfully ask anti abortion protesters how many children they have adopted )[bumper stickers on cars don't qualify as protesters - people holding up pictures of fetuses at clinics do]
socialized medicine seems to be working for the rest of the civilized world - we should be able to find the right way to argue the point without all the anger and anarchy crap. by the way, i'v always wondered, who the hell wereall those organized "anarchists" back at the seatle wto?