wall, to not get universal healthcare is really disappointing, as the Democrats have been working so hard for so long for it ..
"The Democrats’ desire for universal access to health insurance runs deep. President Franklin D. Roosevelt hoped to include some kind of national health insurance program in Social Security in 1935. President Harry S. Truman proposed a national health care program with an insurance fund into which everyone would pay. Since then, every Democratic president and several Republican presidents have wanted to provide affordable coverage to more Americans."
it would be so simple through a small universal levy .. a TAX .. OH NO!! .. .. as exists in so many other places, it would be good for the poor and for the middle class, so, good for the country .. alas .. it's GOVERNMENT!
"In February 2011, three district judges upheld the mandate and two found it unconstitutional. All those in favor had been appointed by Democrats, while those against had been chosen by Republicans.
Over the summer of 2011, three federal appeals courts weighed in. One found the mandate constitutional, one did not and one ruled that the plaintiffs, including the state of Virginia, had no standing to bring a challenge — a mix of opinions that all but guarantees a Supreme Court review."
is sad and alarming .. in the context of my bold there, (to complete the excerpt) ..
"In September, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to hear its appeal of a decision by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, in Atlanta that struck down the individual mandate, the centerpiece of the law, by a 2-to-1 vote. The development came unexpectedly fast and makes it all but certain that the court will soon agree to hear one or more cases involving challenges to the law, with arguments by the spring and a decision by June, in time to land in the middle of the 2012 presidential campaign." .. repeat link .. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/health_insurance_and_managed_care/health_care_reform/index.html
I remember reading that the Bush appointments will have a profound affect on American law for a long time .. do forget what the SCOTUS balance is now, so wandered .. still don't know, but again the NY Times ..
"Yet the shift in focus toward criminal and First Amendment cases is likely to be obscured if, as expected, the justices agree to hear a challenge to the 2010 health care overhaul law. That case promises to be a once-in-a-generation blockbuster."
On your question i can only say now (am beat) that Obama must have worked very hard at it and must have done many of the things as arm-twisting etc you mentioned .. oh well .. others will give you a much better reply to that tomorrow ..
and .. he is not a Bernie Sanders is he .. thanks for the thanks ..
Well Obama did try to do jobs as his number 1 or what do you think the Stimulus was? He did over an 800 Billion stimulus which while it should have been bigger and they wanted it bigger there were all the Republicans and some Dems who wanted it smaller and more tax breaks which the original would have been more for infrastructure. The President can't do it alone and he did do the stimulus before healthcare.
As for trying to get healthcare bi-partisan tell me how he should have know that adopting a healthcare plan originally proposed by Republicans in the early 90's would have engendered all this hatred?
Hindsight being 20-20 he should have put it through reconciliation and with a public option before the town halls.
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