Posted on 06/19/2007 12:57:34 PM PDT by PR4MRC2007
Washington (CNSNews.com) - Universal health care is the primary focus of the new "progressive" agenda for liberals now back in the political driver's seat after winning control of Congress, according to liberal leaders attending the annual Take Back America conference in Washington this week.
On Monday, leaders from the sponsoring group, Campaign for America's Future, joined representatives of other liberal advocacy groups to introduce what they called "bold reforms" for the political debate.
Propelled by momentum from the November 2006 elections, liberals are pushing for an end to the war in Iraq, political action to address climate change and increased power for the labor movement. But the pursuit of universal health care holds center stage at Take Back America, even among those whose advocacy focuses on other issues.
Providing "affordable access to health care for every American" is the "ultimate prize" for left-wing activists, Brad Woodhouse, president of Americans United for Change, told a news conference kicking off the three-day conference.
Declaring that "the conservative era is dead," Woodhouse conceded that change would be difficult but encouraged liberal activists to remain unified.
Eli Pariser, executive director of the anti-war MoveOn.org Political Action, said that as the group begins to broaden its focus, members "want to see every American covered with health care."
Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, called universal health coverage the "number one domestic issue" facing the nation.
"Even insured folks in this country find that health care in unaffordable," Richards said, calling the GOP's approach to health care the "biggest failure of the conservative agenda."
Elected officials appearing at early conference events also stressed government-run health care as an important goal for the movement.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) called on conference attendees to "build political pressure that is so loud, so persistent, that it can't be ignored."
"We have to win the guarantee that every person in this country will get affordable, comprehensive and high quality health care," she said.
Andrea Batista Schlesinger, executive director of the liberal Drum Major Institute, encouraged conference-goers to stop dancing around the issue and be proud of the goal.
"Damn straight it's [social] engineering," she said of policy proposals like universal health care. "That's the point of government."
Noticeably off the radar at Take Back America is the issue of immigration reform. Batista Schlesinger referred to the debate over how to deal with illegal immigrants only to say they should be offered "legal status."
The conference will feature one panel discussion on the issue Wednesday morning. It competes with a speech by filmmaker Michael Moore, who will preview and discuss his new documentary criticizing the health care industry.
The health care approach is likely to strike a chord with Americans, a majority of whom support a government-run national health insurance program, according to recent polling data.
A May CNN/Gallup poll found that 64 percent of Americans support a national health insurance program "even if this would require higher taxes."
A January NBC/Wall Street Journal poll found that 53 percent of Americans "would be willing to pay higher taxes so that everyone can have health insurance."
The same poll found that a plurality - 48 percent - think it's a good idea to "require residents with higher incomes to pay for coverage and state funding that would be used to help cover residents with lower incomes."
They would like to control that 15% of the economy, unaware that they already run 80% of the economy including that 15%.
I prefer the concept of paying one’s own way. Those who don’t take care of their own health or don’t pay for their own care should take what our society is willing to give them.
No one is put on ice floes. That is the kind of hyperbole liberals used to sell socialist schemes. That really irritates me.
I want us all to be miserable....If I have to be, then so does everybody....
How about a military?
Take your ideas over to DU. You’ll find them very popular over there.
I'm not a DU-type. I believe in that the Bible is the inerrant word of God. I also believe that free markets usually work better than government interference. But market failure really does happen sometimes, so government intervention shouldn't be rejected a priori. It is an empirical debate and the empirical evidence seems to favor unviersal health care.
I've only been posting to the Free Republic for about three years or so, but its never struck me as a place that does not tolerate dissent.
As with the current mess with immigration, you can lay the current mess in healthcare (such as it is) at the feet of one Sen. Edward Kennedy D-Mass.
That is good in theory, but it is not how even our current system works, because people who are 64 are put into risk pools with younger workers through their job. In other words, older workers are subsidized by younger workers. If there weren't age discrimination laws, then companies would not insure older workers and they really would have to pay their own way.
Neah. We should implement the FairTax. But that is another thread...
Fair tax or flat tax. I’d take either if it simplifies the system.
Even the military isn’t THAT efficient. Take a look at military hospitals sometime.
And for a view of the future of healthcare under the auspices of the gub’mint, look at a Veteran’s Hospital...
Neither are private businesses. Again, the central driving point that I am trying to make is that there are a priori reasons for and against government intervention on various issues, and the matter ultimately is an empirical issue. Europe's economic woes are generally a strong testimony to the fact that the private solutions are better. But health care is an exception.
“I prefer the concept of paying one’s own way. Those who don’t take care of their own health or don’t pay for their own care should take what our society is willing to give them.
No one is put on ice floes. That is the kind of hyperbole liberals used to sell socialist schemes. That really irritates me.”
Therein lies the problem. Nobody can truly pay their own way except for the very rich. And I agree that healthcare is not a “right”, maybe it is just the right thing to do.
...and Senators and Representatives, even the President. But no, they have their golden parachute healthcare.
Let Senator Hillary and Rep. Pelosi set the example--take a number and stand in line!
I, (and a lot of other people here) don’t support the free market because it works (even though I’m glad it does). I support it because it’s the only moral economic system that allows trade without the use of force.
The only moral way you can have socialized health care is if you have a check box on your tax form that allowed the government to tax you more in return for getting in the system. (of course that would collapse in two seconds and I would have a good laugh)
The Left wants universal health care because it would suck the oxygen out of federal agencies/programs they consider “Evil”. #1 on their list is the DOD. After we finish paying for health care for every senior & illegal immigrant (or combination thereof), there will be no $$ left to pay for legimiate government, including the DOD, FBI, and Homeland Security (+ the Border Patrol).
You say, But health care is an exception. You sound like a nice man and some of your arguements seem plausable, could you give me an example where government health care is working well and isn’t killing the tax payer in the process?
Considering that the marginal tax rate in most socialist countries is over 65% this would seem to be a bit more that most of us , who pay taxes, are willing to afford.
If anything can crush our economy/society faster than the open borders scheme this is it. Put them both together and this country doesn’t stand a chance.
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.