Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Another GOP senator open to health care overhaul
Yahoo News ^ | Oct 14, 2009 | By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR

Posted on 10/14/2009 8:09:08 AM PDT by Lazamataz

WASHINGTON – A second Republican senator signaled Wednesday she's open to voting for sweeping health care legislation this year, putting President Barack Obama closer to a historic achievement that has eluded generations of Democratic leaders.

But Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told The Associated Press that the bill approved Tuesday by the Finance Committee needs substantial improvements to make coverage more affordable, contain costs, and protect Medicare. Nevertheless, she joined her Maine GOP colleague Sen. Olympia Snowe in endorsing the goal of far-reaching changes.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Constitution/Conservatism; Front Page News; News/Current Events; US: Maine
KEYWORDS: 111th; agenda; americanpolitburo; asocialistamerica; bhohealthcare; collins; congress; healthcare; maine; obamacare; rino; rinofascism; socialism; socializedmedicine; susancollins
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120121-137 next last
To: Lazamataz

If Maines Republican leadership is like this i might as well just vacation here on Cape Cod.
Same thing, no difference.
Might as well just keep the money in my own state.


101 posted on 10/14/2009 11:39:37 AM PDT by mowowie
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lazamataz

Consider, too, where they might be coming from. The current Maine plan is such an unmitigated disaster, eclipsed only by RomneyCare, that Maine desperately needs a Federal bailout. I’ll bet dollars to doughnut cushions that was the enticement behind the scenes, encouraged by Maine’s largely democRAT state government.


102 posted on 10/14/2009 11:57:37 AM PDT by NonValueAdded ("The President has borrowed more money to spend to less effect than anybody on the planet. " Steyn)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: july4thfreedomfoundation
...like a lobster out of water, are ya? :)

Maybe Obamah will convert a lot of the more moderate Democrats over to the Republican side.

Texas is overall conservative, but the big cities like Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin are liberal strong holds. The southern border area and towns are also strong Democrat holds.

We have a governor's race coming up which should be interesting.

103 posted on 10/14/2009 12:02:10 PM PDT by TexasCajun
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 84 | View Replies]

To: Lazamataz
The US Constitution authorizes congress to form an army and a post office....there is no provision for the federal government to form a healthcare industry !

for them to interpret the right to regulate interstate commerce as justification for taking over healthcare is a wild stretch and opens up the ability for the feds to sieze every aspect of freedom from hot dog sales to who lives and dies (or gets health care)

104 posted on 10/14/2009 12:02:55 PM PDT by KTM rider ( ..........tell me this really isn't happening ! !)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lazamataz
Usually I consider having a RINO preferable to a Democrat, because let's face it, at least you only get screwed 50% of the time...but with these two, you get screwed 95% of the time and they give cover to Obama’s leftist agenda - they actually move the ball forward for the Left. I think it's a moral imperative not to vote for either of them. In my opinion it really is better to have Democrats in those seats than to cast your ballot for these two.
105 posted on 10/14/2009 12:12:52 PM PDT by americanophile (Sarcasm: satirical wit depending for its effect on bitter, caustic, and often ironic language.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: The Good Doctor; Lazamataz
Could have just as easily been titled, “Another GOP liberal Senator Open To Government Takeover of Health Care.” But that would show a bias.
106 posted on 10/14/2009 12:18:21 PM PDT by South40 (Islam has a long tradition of tolerance, ~Hussein Obama, June 4, 2009, Cairo, Egypt)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: WhistlingPastTheGraveyard
The assumption is that the good are vastly outnumbered by the wicked and the states in question are reliable leftist rubber stamps whose voting habits are going to kill the country and our childrens' futures.

You didn't state the distinction there are actually some"good" people in your original remark. Instead you bluntly wished to disassociate yourself from several states. By that line of logic you should disassociate yourself from the U.S. because the executive and legislative branches of government are controlled by socialists with only a minority of conservatives.

Are you now claiming the tens if not hundreds of thousands who have attended tea party rallies in those states on your list don't matter in the overall scheme of a resurgent Conservative movement?
107 posted on 10/14/2009 12:30:24 PM PDT by Man50D (Fair Tax, you earn it, you keep it! FairTaxNation.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 91 | View Replies]

To: Lazamataz

Oh, that’s a shocker.


108 posted on 10/14/2009 12:33:39 PM PDT by La Enchiladita (GO DODGERS!!! ALL THE WAY!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: rhombus
If Maine was still part of Massachusetts, they'd be entitled to two Congressmen (part of the Massachusetts contingent, so perhaps one of the districts would be mostly in Maine but include a little bit of Massachusetts), but they wouldn't have any senators.

Maine is ranked 40th in population--10 states have fewer people. (In fact the two Dakotas together have about as many people as Maine does.)

109 posted on 10/14/2009 12:34:50 PM PDT by Verginius Rufus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 78 | View Replies]

To: Man50D
You didn't state the distinction there are actually some"good" people in your original remark.

When there's no need to state the painfully obvious, I don't.

Instead you bluntly wished to disassociate yourself from several states.

Damn right I did. Those states and the people who dominate their elections are the death of the country.

By that line of logic you should disassociate yourself from the U.S. because the executive and legislative branches of government are controlled by socialists with only a minority of conservatives

Done. I hearby disasscoiate myself from my socialist government. That was easy enough...

110 posted on 10/14/2009 12:39:01 PM PDT by WhistlingPastTheGraveyard (Some men just want to watch the world burn.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 107 | View Replies]

To: rhombus

The deal with Maine is this:

The bulk of the state’s population is in southern Maine, which is more liberal than northern Maine. Also, there are a lot of transplants from Massachusetts who have moved to southern Maine and, unfortunately, they brought their liberal voting patterns with them.

Northern Maine has a great deal of poverty; it’s been that way for many years. Jobs in the paper mills as well as logging were good paying jobs, but many of those mills have shut down over the years. Healthcare is the number one business in Maine. Tourism is another big industry, but it’s seasonal. Acadia National Park is a big draw in the summer. But Maine also has an aging population, and senior citizens here want social programs. So do the younger people who can’t find jobs....there aren’t many good paying jobs here, and many young people move to other states once they get out of school.

No, not everyone is on welfare, but a lot of people are, especially in the northern, more rural part of the state.
The southern half of the state is more prosperous.

Many people here don’t perceive either Snowe or Collins to be liberals. You should see the moonbats who run against them from the democrat party. When Snowe ran for re-election in 2006, she was challenged by a woman I never heard of....Jean Haybright. This Haybright woman reminded me of Cindy Sheehan, although Cindy was better looking!
Haybright had very little money, ran some anti-Iraq war TV ads a week or two before the election which showed the flag-drapped coffins of soldiers, and lost the election to Snowe, who received 71% of the vote.

Collins ran last November against former 1st district congressman Tom Allen. He is an ultra-liberal, and Susan Collins looked like Sarah Palin when compared to this guy.
I guess it boils down to the power of the incumbency....both Snowe and Collins are very well known, and they appeal to democrats, independents, and most of the state’s Republicans. I’m afraid we’re stuck with these two RINO’s. Congressional term limits would be a blessing.
I’d like to see them both out of office as much as my fellow Freepers.


111 posted on 10/14/2009 12:48:33 PM PDT by july4thfreedomfoundation (A Jimmy Carter got us a Ronald Reagan.....a Barack Obama will get us a Sarah Palin)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 88 | View Replies]

To: WhistlingPastTheGraveyard
The real problem with northeast states is urbanization. The more town services there are the more town workers, the more dependence on the town, city, state, workers and thus the more that will vote to preserve them. Out in the country people are more self sufficient, resistant to intrusion and tend to be more likely to put their trust in a power higher that the god of the state.

The trouble is that urban areas get more votes per acre than less populated areas. If you could assign representation based on county rather than on direct popular votes the self reliant rural areas would have more of a political voice, and if you used permanent geographical divisions such as county boundaries there will be no gerrymandering. If each county got one vote for each Senate election (much like the electoral college) then the urban Libs wouldn't be as politically dominant. However since the dominant libs are the ones that would have to vote to change the system it will never happen.

112 posted on 10/14/2009 12:54:55 PM PDT by Cowman (I'd like to eliminate stupidity in the world but this %$#@ conscience thing is in the way)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 110 | View Replies]

To: WhistlingPastTheGraveyard
When there's no need to state the painfully obvious, I don't.

Qualifying your original statement only exposes its weakness.

Damn right I did. Those states and the people who dominate their elections are the death of the country.

Those states include many Freepers and other Conservatives. I don't think they all wish to lumped into your ridiculous category.

Done. I hearby disasscoiate myself from my socialist government. That was easy enough...

Congratulations on leaving the U.S. so quickly!
113 posted on 10/14/2009 12:55:08 PM PDT by Man50D (Fair Tax, you earn it, you keep it! FairTaxNation.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 110 | View Replies]

To: GeronL

The new Socialist battle cry...Remember Maine


114 posted on 10/14/2009 1:10:03 PM PDT by screaminsunshine (!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Man50D

There was no weakness, my statement was a matter of personal preference. I don’t want anything to do with any of the states I named, period. Whether or not you can accept that is of little consequence to me. But I’m sure your Blue State Pride will be taken into consideration by your Marxist overlords someday.

Take care!


115 posted on 10/14/2009 1:47:02 PM PDT by WhistlingPastTheGraveyard (Some men just want to watch the world burn.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 113 | View Replies]

To: Frenchtown Dan
Not necessarily, Dan. There are plenty of women who value freedom over security. Unfortunately, like these two turncoats, and men like Juan McCain and Grahamnasty, our elected officials are worried about their security more than our freedom.

It's not a gender thing, it's a RINO thing.

116 posted on 10/14/2009 2:09:28 PM PDT by TheWriterTX (I am a Declarationist!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: concerned about politics

Some people will push anyone under the bus in exchange for a TV camera

In this case, so true. Collins got jealous of Snowe and pratically ran at the cameras yelling, “Me, too! Me, too!”


117 posted on 10/14/2009 2:15:46 PM PDT by Cletus.D.Yokel (FreepMail me if you want on the Bourbon ping list!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: Lazamataz

When I first read the title, I said to myself — I don’t even need to read the article to correctly guess who this “Another GOP Senator” is. And guess what ? I was right.

Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe and Arlen Specter have ALWAYS been Democrat in ideology.


118 posted on 10/14/2009 3:23:50 PM PDT by SeekAndFind (wH)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: FreeReign
The headline tells me nothing about Collins' position. Everybody is for some kind of overhaul. Deregulation across state lines and tort reform come to mind.

A bigger overhaul would be to replace the goofy stuff we have now with actual insurance.

Under the present system, insurance companies can raise rates based upon claims which became imminent on their watch. It would be equivalent to allowing a flood insurance company to collect premiums from people when no flood seems imminent, but then start charging enormous daily rates as soon as waters start rising. Thus, if a flood were to hit, the last few weeks' premiums would have been a substantial fraction (possibly over 100% )of the flood damages; the value of the 'insurance' when there is no flood would thus be pretty limited.

If flood insurance were based upon such a model, it would be unfair to restrict people from buying such insurance any time a flood seemed likely, but making the system "fair" by allowing people to buy insurance when a flood was imminent would not be an improvement. The real key to making insurance fair would be to ensure that if someone has a policy which is effective when an insurable event occurs (e.g. they contract a disease that will be expensive to treat) the policy will cover all future costs associated with that event (subject to deductables, etc.), rather than just the costs of the upcoming year.

119 posted on 10/14/2009 3:57:38 PM PDT by supercat (Barry Soetoro == Bravo Sierra)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 77 | View Replies]

To: KTM rider

Just heard Rep. Michelle Bachman on talk radio on the way home. She was pleading for every American to call their two Senators and Rep. every day between now and Dec. 31st, demanding they vote no on Obamacare. She said if just 10,000 people nationwide did this, which is very do-able, it would have an effect. She said to put it on your daily to-do list. If we don’t stop this, she said the next step would be amnesty for the illegals and cap & tax.


120 posted on 10/14/2009 4:08:22 PM PDT by Fu-fu2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 104 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120121-137 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson