Free Republic

A year in the making, sweeping health-care legislation backed by President Barack Obama hung in the balance yesterday as conservative Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson withheld his vote in pursuit of stricter abortion limits. “Without modifications, the language concerning abortion is not sufficient,” Nelson declared in a statement that summarized the results of days of negotiations. With the support of the second-term Nebraskan, the White House and Senate Democrats would command 60 votes for the health care measure, enough to overcome a GOP filibuster and pass the bill within a matter of days. Without it, the prospects are far more uncertain....

In a stunning reversal of fortune for President Barack Obama, top progressives are attacking the health-reform plan moving through the Senate as “hollow,” “unsupportable” and a sellout to corporate interests. Republicans, after plotting for months to sink the signature legislation of Obama’s first year, suddenly think that Democrats might wind up doing it for them. Most dangerously for White House chances of assembling 60 Senate votes, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean launched a third day of attacks on the emerging bill, arguing in a Washington Post op-ed that it meets none of his benchmarks for “real reform

In a stunning reversal of fortune for President Barack Obama, top progressives are attacking the health-reform plan moving through the Senate as “hollow,” “unsupportable” and a sellout to corporate interests. Republicans, after plotting for months to sink the signature legislation of Obama’s first year, suddenly think that Democrats might wind up doing it for them. Most dangerously for White House chances of assembling 60 Senate votes, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean launched a third day of attacks on the emerging bill, arguing in a Washington Post op-ed that it meets none of his benchmarks for “real reform.” “[A]s it stands,...

If I were a senator, I would not vote for the current health-care bill. Any measure that expands private insurers' monopoly over health care and transfers millions of taxpayer dollars to private corporations is not real health-care reform. Real reform would insert competition into insurance markets, force insurers to cut unnecessary administrative expenses and spend health-care dollars caring for people. Real reform would significantly lower costs, improve the delivery of health care and give all Americans a meaningful choice of coverage. The current Senate bill accomplishes none of these.

WASHINGTON -The liberals' longtime dream of a government-run health care system for all died Wednesday in the Senate, but Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont vowed it will return when the realization dawns that private insurance companies "are no longer needed." Sanders, an independent and socialist, said his approach is the only one "which eliminates the hundreds of billions of dollars in waste, administrative costs, bureaucracy and profiteering that is engendered by the private insurance companies." His remarks drew handshakes and even a hug or two from Democrats who had filed into the Senate to hear him. Sanders acknowledged the proposal...

The scuttling of the public option from the Senate health care bill has infuriated organized labor and left their leaders in a bind about how to proceed. Top labor officials of several unions are meeting with their executives today, and some plan to meet on Thursday, to devise their strategies, now that the Senate has dropped the public option, a government-run health insurance plan to compete with private insurers. It was the central provision for which labor has been fighting. A sense of urgency was building, as a deadline bears down on the Senate. In order to pass a bill...

"If we don't pass it, here's the guarantee….your premiums will go up, your employers are going to load up more costs on you,"

President Obama pushed back against critics, including the former head of the Democratic Party, who have said that the health care bill in the Senate is fatally flawed and should be scrapped altogether. In an interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson, the president said he laid out for Congress specific things he wanted to see in the health care legislation -- including providing insurance for millions of uninsured and not driving up the deficit -- and that the current bill still has those benefits. "Now, if you can tell me that those things are not worth it, then you and...

You would think that during the Holiday Season politicians would try to have the Christmas "Peace on Earth, Goodwill Toward Man" spirit, but not this year. The fighting going on in the Beltway is totally disgusting. I am not talking about the traditional Democrat vs. Republican Partisanship, no this is all about the brewing Democrat vs. Democrat Civil War. The anger over the recent dropping of the medicare and public options is real, extreme and very public. "Insurance companies win," DailyKos founder Markos Moulitsas declared Tuesday. "Time to kill this monstrosity coming out of the Senate." If healthcare reform ultimately...

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs fired back at Howard Dean today for encouraging progressives to kill the health care reform bill. Dean thinks the bill, without a public option, is now too compromised to deserve further support. "I would ask Dr. Dean, how better do you address those who don't have insurance: passing a bill that will cover 30 million who don't currently have it or killing the bill?" "I don't think any rational person would say killing the bill makes a whole lot of sense at this point," Gibbs continued, notes the Huffington Post. Dean called the bill's...

If I were a senator, I would not vote for the current health-care bill. Any measure that expands private insurers' monopoly over health care and transfers millions of taxpayer dollars to private corporations is not real health-care reform. Real reform would insert competition into insurance markets, force insurers to cut unnecessary administrative expenses and spend health-care dollars caring for people. Real reform would significantly lower costs, improve the delivery of health care and give all Americans a meaningful choice of coverage. The current Senate bill accomplishes none of these.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) backed out of an event with other organizations promoting the Senate healthcare reform bill Wednesday over concerns about changes made to the legislation to accommodate centrist Democrats. The SEIU had planned to participate in a Capitol Hill press conference along with the AARP, the liberal advocacy group Families USA, Consumers Union and the American Cancer Society Action Network. As recently as Tuesday morning, the organizations distributed an advisory to the news media that included the SEIU. But the move by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to excise provisions of the healthcare reform bill...

"This is a bigger bailout for the insurance industry than AIG," former Democratic National Committee chairman and medical doctor Howard Dean told "Good Morning America's" George Stephanopoulos today. "A very small number of people are going to get any insurance at all, until 2014, if the bill works."

In a blow to the bill grinding through the Senate, Howard Dean bluntly called for the bill to be killed in a pre-recorded interview set to air later this afternoon, denouncing it as “the collapse of health care reform in the United States Senate,” the reporter who conducted the interview tells me. Dean said the removal of the Medicare buy-in made the bill not worth supporting, and urged Dem leaders to start over with the process of reconciliation in the interview, which is set to air at 5:50 PM today on Vermont Public Radio, political reporter Bob Kinzel confirms to...

Politico: “The Senate version is not worth passing,” former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean told POLITICO, referring to plans to strip the latest compromise from the bill, a Medicare buy-in. “I think in this particular iteration, this is the end of the road for reform.” Is this for real folks? Has Deam turned from the dark side into the light or are they up to something else? Rest assured, no and yes! Dean's comments are about four minutes into this clip:

Howard Dean had a rare Lucid Moment during an interview on the Liberal Air America Network's Bill Press Show on Tuesday. He Said that Obamacare was a lousy bill that wouldn't help reduce the cost of health care. The only good thing about it is the public option which will put America on the road to a single payer system. This is a harmful bill to the nation without a public option, because it’s going to take trillions of dollars, billions, well, trillions over several decades from our kids. The Republicans are right about the rhetoric of the bill. But...

Here is video of NBC's Savannah Guthrie saying today that a senior White House official is calling Howard Dean "irrelevant" in his views on Health Care because he is calling for liberal Democrats to "kill the bill" because it does not have a "Public Option." They also are apparently characterizing Dean as "having a tantrum." Howard Dean is the former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. . . . . (VIDEO)

The only thing that can save us from final passage now is the insane bitterness of “principled liberals” at seeing their dream of true socialized medicine smashed. Help us, Dean-o, you’re our only hope! The gauntlet from Dean — whose voice on health care is well respsected among liberals — will energize those on the left who are mobilizing against the bill, and make it tougher for liberals to embrace the emerging proposal. In an excerpt Kinzel gave me, Dean says: “This is essentially the collapse of health care reform in the United States Senate. Honestly the best thing to...

But the coup de grâce may happen very soon and may be coming from the left, not the right. Howard Dean will be dropping this bombshell today. In a blow to the bill grinding through the Senate, Howard Dean bluntly called for the bill to be killed in a pre-recorded interview set to air later this afternoon, denouncing it as “the collapse of health care reform in the United States Senate,” the reporter who conducted the interview tells me. Dean said the removal of the Medicare buy-in made the bill not worth supporting, and urged Dem leaders to start over...

In a blow to the bill grinding through the Senate, Howard Dean bluntly called for the bill to be killed in a pre-recorded interview set to air later this afternoon, denouncing it as “the collapse of health care reform in the United States Senate,” the reporter who conducted the interview tells me. Dean said the removal of the Medicare buy-in made the bill not worth supporting, and urged Dem leaders to start over with the process of reconciliation in the interview, which is set to air at 5:50 PM today on Vermont Public Radio, political reporter Bob Kinzel confirms to...

Here is video of Howard Dean on CBS This Morning saying it is really "irrelevant" whether or not the Senate Health Care Bill has a "public option." For Dean, what matters is that it "moves things forward," and moves in the right direction. Essentially, Dean admits he does care whether this bill has a "public option" because the passage of any kind of Democrat Health Care Bill will eventually lead to what they really are after - a Government takeover of Health Care. They just want to get the "foot in the door," and later they can add to it...

New from NakedEmperor

This will teach me. Here’s the bad news. I was so anxious to draft the SC Complaint of Election Fraud to the AG, that I assumed Ms. Carol Fowler, Chair of the state D party had submitted the requisite Certifications of Nomination for BO to the SC Election Commission. After all, 2 (two) weeks earlier, she had forwarded the letter confirming the names of D candidates to go on the ballot for lesser offices, Certifying all of these candidates were eligible for the jobs sought. So, even though I hadn’t yet obtained the exact documents for SC I just had...

On Friday, I was at DePauw University in Indiana debating former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. It was two days after Barack Obama's big speech before a joint session of Congress and Mr. Dean is a strong advocate for his party's agenda and a medical doctor, so I expected him to defend the president's idea of adding a "trigger" to health-care reform to ease its passage and thereby guarantee a government takeover of our health-care system.

Hard to believe what a fool this man is, Howard Dean on Meet the Press this morning...

Congressman Heller sent this letter to President Obama on September 8, 2009 offering options to help bridge the gap between Republicans and Democrats on health care reform: September 8, 2009 The Honorable Barack Obama President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, D.C., 20006 Dear Mr. President: Yesterday, you said those critical of your healthcare plan were "trying to scare the American people and preserve the status quo." You rhetorically asked critics "what's your answer? What's your solution?" and asserted that "the truth is, they don't have one. It's do nothing." (Speech before the AFL-CIO, Cincinnati,...

Former Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said Sunday that the resignation of White House green jobs adviser Van Jones is a "loss for the country." The outspoken Democrat and former presidential candidate vigorously defended Jones, who resigned in the wake of criticism over his past statements and associations -- including his past support for a group that believes the Bush administration may have been involved in the Sept. 11 attacks. "I think he was brought down," Dean told "FOX News Sunday," saying he just spoke to Jones. "I think it's a loss for the country." Dean pointed to Jones' credentials...

The outspoken Democrat and former presidential candidate vigorously defended Jones, who resigned in the wake of criticism over his past statements and associations -- including his past support for a group that believes the Bush administration may have been involved in the Sept. 11 attacks. "I think he was brought down," Dean told "FOX News Sunday," saying he just spoke to Jones. "I think it's a loss for the country." Dean pointed to Jones' credentials as a Yale Law School graduate and best-selling author. Though Jones signed a 2004 statement calling for an investigation into possible Bush administration involvement in...

Dean: Jones' Resignation a 'Loss for the Country' The former presidential candidate vigorously defends Van Jones, who resigned in the wake of criticism over his past statements and associations. FOXNews.com Sunday, September 06, 2009 Former Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said Sunday that the resignation of White House green jobs adviser Van Jones is a "loss for the country." The outspoken Democrat and former presidential candidate vigorously defended Jones, who resigned in the wake of criticism over his past statements and associations -- including his past support for a group that believes the Bush administration may have been involved in...

When I received my invitation in the mail from Jim Moran himself that mentioned his Health Care Town Hall would include special guest Howard Dean I knew I had to go. I wanted to get front and center, which meant taking a 1/2 day from work to get there early. Doors were scheduled to open at 6:00, and Ron, our local Tea Party organizer alerted us that Moran was bringing in tons of his troops to fill the rafters with "be there by 5:00" marching orders. Word was that this initially was only open to folks from Moran's district but...

As some may know, the Tea Party Movement is taking a cross country trip from California and will end up in Washington D.C. on September 12th. I hope to catch up with the folks in Joliet, Il. on September 7th. Meanwhile, Fox News is the only mainstream media source to give the express any publicity.

Howard Dean claims TORT reform would 'make enemies'August 28, 10:07 AM Mesa Independent Examiner Christina Wijfjes-Smit There is a new battle cry being touted in the ongoing debate of health care reform by a growing number of Americans; TORT reform. TORT reform would limit the circumstances under which injured people may sue or limit the amount a jury can award at trial, or both. Doctors are forced to spend an enormous amount of money on mal-practice insurance due to the ever growing number of frivolous law suits filed. The increase of cost to the doctor trickles down to the patient...

This video is so stunning that I am embarrassed I didn't notice it until now.

Whatever else he said Wednesday evening at the town hall hosted by Rep. Jim Moran, D-VA, former Democratic National Committee chairman and presidential candidate Howard Dean let something incredibly candid slip out about President Obama's health-care reform bill in Congress. Asked by an audience member why the legislation does nothing to cap medical malpractice class-action lawsuits against doctors and medical institutions (aka "Tort reform"), Dean responded by saying: “The reason tort reform is not in the [health care] bill is because the people who wrote it did not want to take on the trial lawyers in addition to everybody else...

Give him props for honesty.

Former Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean encountered angry protesters Tuesday at a health care town hall sponsored by Congressman Jim Moran in Virginia. (Aug. 26) AP/YouTube Video

Dean: GOP 'owes it to this country' to make healthcare stance clear @ 11:12 am by Michael O'Brien Republicans "owe it to this country" to make clear what aspects of healthcare reform they would support, former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean argued Sunday. Rebutting claims that President Obama needs to make known whether he would support a healthcare bill without his favored public (or "government-run) option for consumers, Dean insisted that it's Republicans — not Obama — who need to make a more concrete stance. "I think the Republicans owe it to this country to give us a much...

GREENCASTLE -- Two heavyweights on the national political scene -- Howard Dean, who recently completed a four-year term as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and Karl Rove, the former chief political adviser to President George W. Bush -- are coming to DePauw University on Sept. 11. In a Timothy and Sharon Ubben Lecture, the two men will engage in a debate on "America in 2009: Challenges and Opportunities." The program will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium of the Green Center for the Performing Arts (605 S. College Avenue). Like all Ubben Lectures, the program is free...

CONDITION IS CRITICAL: LIBS August 18, 2009 WASHINGTON -- Liberal supporters of President Obama were up in arms yesterday over signs from the White House that it was ready to pull the plug on a key aspect of its health-reform plan -- creation of a government-run insurance program. "You really can't do health reform" without the so-called public option, said Howard Dean, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and a medical doctor. In a statement that cited strong House support for a government-run plan, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said, "A public option is the best option to lower costs,...

http://radioequalizer.blogspot.com/2009/08/howard-dean-says-senate-republicans.html Apparently, libtalkers aren't the only ones asserting that conservatives want Obama dead. After a week of reckless rhetoric from the left side of the dial, along comes Howard Dean to show them how it's really done! As Dean suggests Senate Republicans want to "kill the bill and kill the president", listen for the former DNC chairman's less-than-sincere effort to step out of the dog-doo. Is this Dean Scream Volume II, the quiet version?

The fact isn't terribly surprising, but that it comes from the mouth of one of President Obama's biggest cheerleaders is a shock. (Watch the video after the jump)

Newt Gingrich debated Howard Dean on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos:

Dean on Palin’s health care claims: ‘She made that up’ Posted: August 9th, 2009 10:17 AM ET From From CNN's David deSola WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean told CNN Sunday that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin had deliberately made up charges that the Obama administration’s health care bill would lead to euthanasia. “About euthanasia, they're just totally erroneous. She just made that up,” he said. “Just like the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ that she supposedly didn't support. “There's nothing like euthanasia in the bill. I practiced medicine for a long time, and of course you have...

Dr. Howard Dean’s fans come out for the big Democratic summer shindig As Tom Andrews, the director of the leading national antiwar coalition, began his speech at the Maine Democrats’ big outdoor summer shindig in Falmouth, John Baldacci signaled his bodyguard/driver to move the large, dark SUV up the driveway. The vehicle soon hid in the trees, its engine quietly humming. At first, the governor seemed to be paying attention as Andrews, the former First District congressman, launched into rousing tales of how the country, under President George W. Bush, had gone "from peace and prosperity to war and recession."...

Think of all the money you'll save from not having to take your kid to the doctor because (s)he doesn't have asthma!

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) _ Michelle Obama took a break recently from the campaign trail to get her hands messy breading shrimp as she helped prepare a deep-fried dinner with the Food Network's first lady of Southern cooking, Paula Deen. The wife of Democrat Barack Obama got cozy with Deen in the kitchen during a recent taping of the Savannah celebrity cook's TV show "Paula's Party," scheduled to air on the cable network Sept. 20. Michelle Obama and Deen swapped stories about their families' favorite meals as they cooked fried shrimp and french fries at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.,...

Government-run Healthcare Would Backfire, Making 'Public Option' the Only OneFormer DNC chair's government-run insurance program is sure to backfire. Just ask his wife the doctor By Phil Gingrey, M.D. Posted May 21, 2009 Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean has recently inserted himself into the debate on health reform, creating a website and collecting signatures on a petition calling for a "public option" as part of any health reform bill. The action is unsurprising from an individual who previously called President Obama's healthcare reform plan "perfect" and stated that "it's ridiculous to say care would be inferior" in the...

Howard Dean: Rep. Gingrey ‘an embarrassment’By Bob Cusack Posted: 06/10/09 07:14 PM [ET] There were some serious fireworks on C-SPAN Wednesday as former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean went after two GOP lawmakers-cum-physicians. It all started earlier this week when physician-turned-Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) said he had recently read that Dean’s wife, Dr. “Elizabeth” Steinberg, was no longer taking Medicaid patients because the government reimbursement rates are too low. Dean fired back on Wednesday, saying, “Dr. Gingrey is just plain wrong. He’s an embarrassment. First of all, my wife is not named Elizabeth, as her name is Judith. Second...

>RUSH: Howard Dean says America has had enough capitalism.  This is Howard Dean, it was last Thursday on CNBC's power lunch.  He was on with Jason Lewis, who said, "I think the vast majority of Americans are tired of substituting bailouts for bankruptcy.  They understand that politicians invest for a political return, not an economic return.  That's the difference between politicians and capitalists, and we need to get a little bit more capitalism back in the economy." DEAN:  I think we had quite enough capitalism the last eight years.  I think we need some regulation now. RUSH:  You know it...

Back in March, CNBC in what seemed to be an effort to pander to critics on the left, officially named former DNC chair and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean a CNBC contributor. But aside from campaigning for left-wing MoveOn.org causes in his spare time, Dean will appear on daily CNBC programming. But on the May 7 "Power Lunch," Dean, a contributor for the network with the slogan, "First in Business Worldwide," explained to viewers we've had enough capitalism after conservative radio talk show host Jason Lewis derided the president for supporting bailouts over bankruptcy. ...more (w/video)...