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Still Seething by Leslie Boyd, lettersfromtheleft.com | September 20, 2012
The more I think about it, the madder I get. There’s my friend, Lynn, who worked in human services all her life for low pay. She’s on Medicare now and she gets Social Security. She’s not on the dole and she’s not looking for a handout. Then there’s my friend, Mike, who was injured in service to his country, and the woman he would love to marry. She has diabetes and would lose her health care if she married him. These are some of the people Mitt Romney isn’t interested in. All three of these people are better Americans than Mitt will ever be. Then there’s my son, Mike. He worked hard and paid taxes until he got sick. My son was not a bum. He was not lazy. He was terminally ill and still couldn’t get what he needed, even though he had paid into the system for 15 years. read more »Still Seething by Leslie Boyd, | September 20, 2012
The more I think about it, the madder I get. There’s my friend, Lynn, who worked in human services all her life for low pay. She’s on Medicare now and she gets Social Security. She’s not on the dole and she’s not looking for a handout. Then there’s my friend, Mike, who was injured in service to his country, and the woman he would love to marry. She has diabetes and would lose her health care if she married him. These are some of the people Mitt Romney isn’t interested in. All three of these people are better Americans than Mitt will ever be. Then there’s my son, Mike. He worked hard and paid taxes until he got sick. He didn’t have health coverage because a birth defect is a pre-existing condition, and because of that, he couldn’t get the screening tests he needed. read more »What Romney Left Behind by Paul Waldman, prospect.org | September 18, 2012
One of the common misconceptions about the presidential candidate version of Mitt Romney is that he disavowed his greatest achievement in public office, health care reform, in an attempt to appeal to his party's base. The truth is that he never actually disavowed it or said it was a failure or a mistake. What he did was tell primary voters that Romneycare was really nothing at all like Obamacare, and anyway Romneycare shouldn't be tried in any other state. His comments were utterly unconvincing, but since they were always accompanied by a thunderous denunciation of Obamacare, Republican voters were assuaged enough to let it slide. Which means that had he wanted to, Romney probably could have entered the general election making a positive case on health care beyond "Repeal Obamacare!" Instead, his entire case for competence is that he got really rich in private equity, and his entire case for compassion is that his wife seems nice. read more »Thank You, Paul Ryan by Robert Kuttner, Huffington Post | September 17, 2012
Two years ago, the Democrats handed the Republicans their two crown jewels -- Social Security and Medicare. By targeting Medicare for budget "savings" that could be used to finance what the Republicans called Obamacare, the White House gave the GOP ammunition to contend that the Democrats were taking benefits away from seniors. Now, however, Republicans have given Social Security and Medicare back to the Democrats (where they belong.) Polls show that Medicare is no longer a winner for the Republicans, and the Democrats have embraced the term, "Obamacare" as positive label. The reason, of course, is Paul Ryan. read more »Progressive Breakfast by Isaiah J. Poole, OurFuture.org | September 14, 2012
On the menu this morning MORNING MESSAGE: So Who Is It That Cares About The Deficit Anyway? Fed's Economic Booster Shot The Middle-Class Struggle For Survival Chicago Teacher Strike Update Breakfast Sides read more »Progressive Breakfast by Isaiah J. Poole, OurFuture.org | September 12, 2012
MORNING MESSAGE: When It Comes to the DoJ and Wall Street, Don't Call It "Justice" read more »No There There by James Kwak, baselinescenario.com | September 11, 2012
On the one hand, over in Romney headquarters, they can take heart from the fact that the economy continues to sputter, as evidenced by the latest jobs report. On the other hand, as the election draws near, people will only ask more questions about what President Romney would actually do. For months now, the campaign has whispered one thing to the base (e.g., “severely conservative”) while being purposefully vague to everyone else, hoping that independents will assume he is still the moderate who introduced universal health care to Massachusetts. Now that strategy is breaking down. Exhibit A is Sunday’s comical back-and-forth-and-forth-and-back on the Affordable Care Act. But the more important Exhibit B is the Romney “tax plan.” read more »Progressive Breakfast by Terrance Heath, OurFuture.org | September 11, 2012
On the menu this morning: MORNING MESSAGE: Deficit Rorschach Test: The Presidents, the Editors, and the Truth More Romney Tax Problems Dithering on Obamacare Chicago Teachers Strike GOP Polling Panic Breakfast Sides read more »Progressive Breakfast by Isaiah J. Poole, OurFuture.org | September 7, 2012
On the menu this morning MORNING MESSAGE: Obama's Claim For A New Mandate The Message And The Movement Unemployment Report Signals Reclaim The Solar Power Investment Mandate read more »Bill Clinton: Wonk-In-Chief by Ezra Klein, The Washington Post | September 6, 2012
“People ask me all the time how we delivered four surplus budgets,” former President Bill Clinton said on Wednesday night. “What new ideas did we bring? I always give a one-word answer: arithmetic.” That’s also the one-word answer to what Clinton brought to his convention speech. To a degree unusual in political rhetoric, this was a 48-minute speech about arithmetic. About math. About budgets. In that way, Clinton’s speech fit neatly into the emergent Democratic strategy to be, in this election, the party of policy. To be sure, they don’t have much of a choice. The difference between the Democratic and Republican tickets right now is the Democrats are stuck with thousands of pages of policy while the Republicans have made a strategic decision to avoid having much policy at all. read more »
The Latest
Republican Party Eyes Choking Health Law Funding , Politico | August 2, 2010
Republicans may not be able to repeal the Democrats’ health care reform law next year, but they’re eyeing the next best thing: Deny the Obama administration the money it needs to implement the law. more »
Commonwealth Fund Analysis Highlights Benefits for Women in Health-Care Overhaul, The Washington Post | July 30, 2010
The law Congress adopted this spring to reshape the nation's health-care system will be especially beneficial to women, because they traditionally have relied on health care more than men, faced more insurance problems and had greater difficulty paying medical bills, according to a new analysis. more »
High-Risk Health Insurance Pools to Bar Abortion Coverage, mcclatchydc.com | July 30, 2010
Elective abortions will be prohibited and people with pre-existing conditions will be able to get comprehensive benefits without paying any more than healthy people under new federal regulations for high-risk health insurance pools released Thursday by the Obama administration. more »
Poll Shows Opposition to Health Care Overhaul Declining, The Washington Post | July 29, 2010
Opposition to the landmark health care overhaul declined over the past month, to 35 percent from 41 percent, according to the latest results of a tracking poll, reported Thursday. more »
Nonprofit Health Insurers Holding Large Surpluses, Consumer Group Reports, The Washington Post | July 26, 2010
Nonprofit health insurers may be setting aside unnecessarily large surpluses even as some of them continue to raise premiums, according to an analysis by a consumer rights group. more »
Healthcare Reform, netrootsnation.org | July 22, 2010
Earlier this year, healthcare reform was signed into law, and now we will discuss what's next. Panelists will consider the possibilities for state-based single-payer reforms and the role that the netroots and labor can contribute in making them a reality. We'll also discuss overlooked healthcare reform priorities such as patient safety reforms and protection of the public health system. more »
Some States Say They're Not Receiving the Medicaid Services They're Paying For, The Washington Post | July 8, 2010
Now businesses are rushing to get a foothold in states that outsource Medicaid, knowing the law could add 16 million people to the federal-state program for the poor and the disabled. more »
States Considering Contracting With Managed Care Firms To Implement Medicaid Expansion , wonkroom.thinkprogress.org | July 8, 2010
Healthcare: Democrats Up Ante, thehill.com | July 7, 2010
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is doubling down on healthcare reform, betting that it will do Democrats more good than harm in November’s elections.
She and her leadership team have seized on new polls that suggest healthcare overhaul’s popularity is rising, and they are urging members of Congress to use this week’s recess to tout the new law.
Obama to Bypass Senate to Name Health Official, The New York Times | July 7, 2010
President Obama will bypass Congress and appoint Dr. Donald M. Berwick, a health policy expert, to run Medicare and Medicaid, the White House said Tuesday. more »
