Arkansas Blog

What a weapon for an opponent.

Mike Ross opposed better health care for YOU because it conflicted with HIS financial interests.

Yet he spent freely with your tax money when it came to pork barrel projects.

It's time for someone who cares as much about YOUR wallet and YOUR bills as much as he does about his.

Mike Ross and the Blue Dogs such as Marion Berry are insuring we will all spend far more than anyone else in the world on private insurance.. even actual care if one can get it at all. He's going to do his best to force countless tens of thousands of Arkansans to by private insurance. Force by law.

Mike Ross want's doctors, big insurance and pharma to be paid more, while he lies about his fiscal conservative stance.

This is how he works on virtually every issue.

If you support Mike Ross, you support paying far more for health than anyone else in the world, for number 35 level (or worse) care (and falling).

A three week delay of The Blue Dogs own design next month will mean the following:

143,250 people will lose their health insurance coverage [pdf]
53,507 people will file for bankruptcy because they can't pay their medical bills
1,265 people will die [pdf] because they lack coverage

Mike is murder.

You bring up the allegations of 'pork barrel' only because you are angry at him for deep sixing obamacare. You conveniently are lip locked when it comes to the so called 'stimulus' bill pushed by obama that was nothing more than the biggest 'pork barrel' legislation this country has ever seen in a single bill. A bill that is an abject failure. A bill that forces high taxes on our children and our grandchildren. Thanks a lot for your 'service' to our children.

"Certainly the Blue Dogs are astute players of the game, their power enhanced by their willingness to echo Republican rhetoric while enjoying the perks and prerogatives of Democratic power. But this is a cynical group indeed, whose reputation for fiscal probity is grossly inflated -- and whose loyalty to corporate interests, over and above the priorities of their party and the welfare of their constituents, is a darkening stain." Bingo! You nailed him!

I am not one of these who overestimate their impact or loyalty to any group. Claiming that they are dupes for big business ignores the reality that many in the democratic left wing of the party are merely dupes for special interest groups. Blue dogs often come from red states that are traditionally democrat but are not in line with the left wing leanings of the rest of the party.

Didn't Mike Ross vote for the stimulus bill? A bill "that was nothing more than the biggest 'pork barrel' legislation this country has ever seen in a single bill."

Like I said, he spends freely when it comes to things other than the health of his constituents.

Putting it another way, he's only fiscally conservative when it makes him money.

Insurance; schminsurance - if someone needs a kidney I can give you the name of a Brooklyn Rabbi who will help ...

I'm not defending Mike. I am challenging this blog's motivation to attack him. I don't think they care what he votes for as long as it is for the obama legislation. I'm glad this guy deep sixed the insane obamacare plan. I just find it 'interesting' that this blog suddenly finds 'religion' about pork.

That's correct, mainly. Our health care system is a global laughingstock and anyone who defends the status quo should be removed from office for insanity.

I find it interesting that the bill requiring that government expenses be offset by corresponding reductions passed along party lines yesterday, with Republicans voting against it. We wouldn't be nearly so far in debt if Reagan, Bush and Shrub hadn't blown the budget and created huge deficits for Obama to inherit.

The bottom line is that any conservative/Republican who attacks Obama for massive spending is a hypocrite. They love to spend, they simply oppose Democrats.

Bush and the Congress loved to spend. Conservatives had NO part of that. Bush was heavily criticized for it. Bush and the demo congress had about a half trillion dollar deficit. They were justifiably criticized. obama and the demo congress have exceeded one trillion dollars. Where is the demo criticism of that.

Mike Ross has championed upwards of 15 trillion dollar giveaway for the criminally fraudulent banksters. Is he alone in that, arguably the biggest heist in world history? No. But his Blue Dog power assured those in the D party who opposed such lunacy had no real chance to stop it.

Now he's doing the same for the insurance industry. An industry which provides no actual care... and can only exist / profit by successfully conning you out of your money while denying you care whenever possible.

Fraud in medicare and medicaid ranges anywhere from 3 to 10%. Credit card fraud in the private sector is less than 1%. You want to pile an even higher amount in the public sector and increase the amount of fraud? I don't think so. The government simply can't handle its own programs much less adding more to their incompetency.

Sorry to feed a troll, but I can't stand it any longer.

ES: "Now he's doing the same for the insurance industry. An industry which provides no actual care... and can only exist / profit by successfully conning you out of your money while denying you care whenever possible."

Mike/Strange: Can't you read this? Haven't you been reading any of this the last few days/weeks? The US health care system (I use the word "system" loosely here.) costs 30% more per person than the other health care systems in the rest of the industrialized world. And for that we still get rationed care. Why? Because the "system" is forced to preserve over $600 billion in profits for the insurance industry. That's money totally lost. Money that goes to no productive end. Money that is lost from the economy. We get NOTHING in return for it.

Let's just be really honest here. I know of multiple incidents where people who desperately needed procedures were denied said procedures because they "weren't covered" by their policy. Or, even worse, they are denied over and over until the patient is too sick to make use of the procedure. Then the insurance company gratuitously approves the procedure, knowing that the patient can't use the coverage. They get to look like they didn't deny it, when, in fact, they did. I call that murder.

And what do we get in return from all this? Read ES above. People aren't covered, people are forced into bankruptcy (people with jobs and insurance, mind you), and people die.

The 30% added cost keeping the money-grubbing, murdering insurance companies floating in cash doesn't even compare to 3%-10% purported fraud.

People are dying while we dither around and let greed murder them. We have a responsibility as a society to do better. Period.

I couldn't have said it better myself, Perp.

So what's the troll's, uh, Repubican's, plan?

Clicky.

Exactly. I'm tired of my care being rationed by companies who make more money the more they ration.

And in a pay for performance organization, the person evaluating your health care need gets a larger bonus if they can find a way to deny it.

And the beauty of their scheme is that they take 30% of our premiums off the top to pay for the expenses associated with the rationing, and for the costs associated with buying legislators to keep them in business.

The mafia should have it so good.

The only reason any legislator has for opposing single-payer is because it cuts into the kickbacks, I mean campaign contributions, they get from the health care industry.

Thank you Perplexed.

The other point which we should all be very concerned about.. no matter our circumstance, is the trigger.

Americans will be forced by law to purchase insurance when all is said and done this year. Whether you have insurance now or not.. Even if you have private insurance now...that useless con industry will treat you all much worse if they know you must deal with them by law. Period.

The only way one can have a bargaining chip is to demand we all have the choice to be able to leave private and choose the public option if we so desire.

Do not let the Republicans, Blue Dogs, Insurance and Pharma take away your only bargaining chip by refusing to let you have a choice to participate in a public option.

I meant to add The Third Way in vented the trigger.

Blue Dogs (Berry and Ross)
Lincoln and Pryor http://www.thirdway.org/leadership/senate_chairs
along with members of the insurance industry... created the trigger.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Third_Way_organization

http://www.openleft.com/diary/13692/third-ways-jon-cowan-needs-to-account-for-anne-kim-and-david-kendall

If you want a REAL bargaining chip demand that the feds give you the same health insurpance plan that they have. Why shouldn't you get the same coverage that the 'hired help' get?

>>Fraud in medicare and medicaid ranges anywhere from 3 to 10%.<<

mike is, as usual, wrong again. Fraud in Medicare ranges from 27%-40%. How do I know?
Rush told me so. Heard it wif my on ears.

I'm going to assume that you are just really naive and think that rationing only occurs with private insurance. ANYONE paying for health insurance as a carrier---govt or private---can only control cost in the following meaningful ways-----increase premiums, increase deductible and ration care. Government has NEVER found cost savings even though they perfunctory say they will. They are already calling for reductions in benefits for medicare and medicaid to pay for obamacare and even that isn't enough.

The 3 - 10% is KNOWN fraud not suspected fraud. Check things out better before you point the dirty end of the stick. I agree with Rush it is probably really much higher.

>>Bush and the Congress loved to spend. Conservatives had NO part of that.<<

Name ONE Conservative outside of Ron Paul that had NO part in Bush's plan to bankrupt the U.S. Government, otherwise called 'Starve the Beast.'
They were ALL in on creating the fictitious enemy known as Iraq to the tune of 3 trillion dollars when all 'off the books' spending was accounted for, all except Ron Paul who is the only conservative left standing.

>>The 3 - 10% is KNOWN fraud <<

Does anyone here believe that out-of-the-ass statement?

Insurance company fraud runs much higher.

Porkbarrlin' is Porkbarrlin', you walk the walk if you talk the talk. And Ross and the other BlueDogs are just like the rest, only thing you hear out of their so called plan is "We Want", not one single alternative to fix this mess. Healthcare can not be sustained at the present way of doing business, and the only way to get greedy hogs away from the trove is to prod them. Fix it now. The Health Care system in this country needs a huge hair-cut.

I was simply reacting to the conservative talking points about the government rationing health care, making the point that it's rationed now. Not on the basis of need, however, but on the basis of greed.

Cost savings were taken off the table at the very start of the process. Single-payer would produce amazing cost savings, and not surprisingly that's the option that conservatives hated with a passion. When Obama capitulated to the GOP on that point, all hopes of cost savings went out the window.

When we refuse to act in the public good but instead think of optimizing our own wallets, society pays a cost and our wallets end up worse off than they were.

"The leader of a group of Democratic fiscal conservatives in the House of Representatives said talks on a U.S. healthcare overhaul bill fell apart on Friday and that he saw no possibility of a deal now."

Mission accomplished?

When did the "Liar-in-Chief" lose his conservative membership? After he and his neocon buddies and Cheney managed to ensure a Republican could not get re-elected? After the ->wingnut decided to try to blame the financial meltdown on non-conservatives and not deregulation?

Bush the Moderate . . . Bush the Liberal . . . . Now that's funny!

Health care is a big mess. I run into people all day and I have never heard anyone say that they thought that healthcare was a big mess. In fact, they never talk about it. Now they talk about a lot of other things that are current but I don't get harangued over the problems of the healthcare system.

There is one thing that they consistently don't like----higher taxes. You can bet your sweet bippy that will raise their ire.

elwood you often trip over your own blind allegiance to ideology.

Earth to moonbats. Earth to moonbats. Moonbats over. Bush isn't president anymore. Say again. Bush isn't president anymore.

Moonbats: Say again. Say again. Your transmission wasn't understood.

>>elwood you often trip over your own blind allegiance to ideology.<<

You obviously have no idea of what a HOWLER you dropped. Keep it up!

.

"The legislation proposed by leaders of three House committees would set a 1 percent surtax on couples with more than $350,000 in annual income, with higher rates taking effect for those earning $500,000 and $1 million.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said the surtax would raise $540 billion over the next decade, according to Bloomberg News. Still, Ross reportedly objects to the measure."

So, please someone tell me again about Robbie Brock's little poll yesterday showing a large per cent of Arkies are pleased with their health care. A large percent of Arkies are on gov plans like ARkids, Medicare, and Medicaid. Less than half are covered by private, employer funded plans.
.

Obama's right...Americans act stupidly, big, fat, lazy, stupidly-non-insured, underinsured-health-coverage-greatest-stupidly country in the whole stupidly world. Mikey proves it every day, right here on our Ar. Blog...good work Mikey now let's stupidly move on.

No, on this one issue they have at least caught on to the race baiting con. That is encouraging. Instead of groveling and saying 'please don't call me a racist, please don't call me a racist' they have grown a backbone and called it like it really is. However, you limo liberals can rest assured that you still can get the best of them on some of your other cons.

The cost of those 7 Raptor airplanes that the Senate rightfully refused to fund would have cost over $2 trillion over a much shorter time period than the $1 trillion over 10 years. It is a matter of priorities, we need the Raptors if the Martians attack us again but for the wars we are fighting now, they are useless but we still need them because they keep people working (otherwise known as the Republican stimulus plan-build stuff we can't pay for and don't need to keep workers employed).

And your expertise on defense matters and purchase of military hardware is what?

The Veteran's Affairs Medical System covers any and all. Is that socialized medicine?

The VA gives colon exams to hundreds of veterans with unclean equipment and infects some of them with HIV. Yes, I think that is the efficient health delivery system provided by the feds. Imagine what they can do with more money.

Mike, on defense issues I would take the opinion of the people who run the military in the Pentagon over Saxby Chambliss and any member of Congress. Until I see Chambliss having to take off for his two weeks of summer duty and his week-end a month, he is just another mouth that purports to know better than people who really know. Sort of like some on this blog.

Yes, and the issue at the VA never occurs at private hospitals and with private insurers. Just disregard those signs on the patient room doors at the hospitals and those yellow gowns and face masks. They are just worn to warn off those Martians who got tghrough the Rapton shield because it was raining.

Listen to the Libs. The Arkansas voters are not drinking the Kool Aid and Mike Ross knows it. Max and the boys would like to see the reasonable Dems defeated.