Gibbs Denies Reports that WH, Democrats Giving Up on Bipartisan Health Care Bill – “Absolutely Not”

DEMOCRATS GONE WILD. Gibbs is lying through his teeth. Remember, just last month the Democrats plannned on passing this bill with reading it. Democrats lost all credibility earlier this year when they passed the failed Stimulus and questionable Cap/Trade bills with reading them.

JD, thanks for posting the dirty tricks the GOP is pulling on health care!

JD wrote:

Here are some of the Republican amendments to the stimulus bill rejected by the Democrats:

An amendment by Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) to cut $47 billion in wasteful spending.
*** After the GOP blackmailed Bush for $160 BILLION in pork added on to the $700B tarp bill before they'd pass it last Oct!

An amendment by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) cut corporate and individual income taxes and repeal the AMT.
***And why not introduce this separately? Why attach it to this bill? Because: it would artificially make the CBO report the bill as more expensive because these tax cuts would be calculated as part of the cost! And that might help kill the bill.
Demint has gotten $236K from the health industries and $212K from insurance companies. Do you think they pay him to keep YOUR costs to them down?

An amendment by Sen. John Thune (R-SD) to require funding for all projects in the bill occur within one year.
***A parliamentary kill procedure! Why not do that for Iraq, Afghanistan, Medicaid, Public Schools, etc?

An amendment by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to require spending cuts and a move to a balanced budget once the economy recovers.
***And didn't McCain take part in the GOP's "Contract With America" in 1994 that promised a balanced budget? So where was McCain and the rest of the GOP controlling congress when Bush doubled the national debt?

An amendment by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) to cut $5.2 billion in pet projects and replace it with the same amount of defense spending.
***But the "defense" spending he wants is something Bush, Colin Powell etc. tried to kill and the Pentagon says it doesn't need!!!

An amendment by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) to cut the tax rate for the lowest tax bracket in half.
*** A trick! If tied to a health care bill, it would serve to make the health care bill look more expensive since the loss of those taxes would be added on to the calculated cost.

An amendment by Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) to repeal the 1993 Social Security tax increase.
***Same trick. Why not introduce this separately? Because, as in Cornyn's amendment, it would make the health care bill artificially appear more expensive if it's included with it.

And, a McCain amendment to strike the “Buy American” provision from the bill.
*** If a Dem. proposed this, the right-wing neocons would be screaming "traitor"!

jhw539 has no comprehesion of the true cost of defensive medicine.Unfortunately neither does the CBO or frankly anybody who doesn't practice medicine .

HoosierMark posted "Faurtz8 -- You said that tort reform in Texas didn't work ---"

It did work, somewhat. They did bring cost down. They did get a large number of doctors to come to Texas. You might be correct about drawing some inferior doctors.

I see your point about how they (inferior doctors) would have the same tort control everywhere and therefore no need to move.

I just don't like a "one size fits all" type of cap. Some of the horror stories about what happened to a patient from an inferior doctor are scary. The bad doctors could do something that effect a person for the rest of their lives and in cases like those I believe they deserve more. Texas caps at $250,000. Then the lawyers take their 1/3 leaving a little under $200,000. I say cap it at different levels based upon how bad the damage done was.

I feel they have to go after the lawyers who are bringing frivolous lawsuits to court. Behind every frivolous lawsuit there is a Mr. Lawyer. Maybe they should have a pretrial hearing to gauge the merit of a case.

"The best way we're going to get single-payer; the only way; is to have the public option and to demonstrte its strength and power." - Barney Frank

Paranoid, right-wing fantasy? Sounds more like a Democratic talking point that was blurted out in public accidentally.

Well Obama can forget orbiting the moon... seeing how his panel is telling us it will take 20 years to get there since NASA does not have a measly 3 billion a year to accomplish the task.

Hmm now where did the money go... oh yeah.. the so called 'stimulus'

Nice comment Gibbs.

Feb 5th:

Here are some of the Republican amendments to the stimulus bill rejected by the Democrats:

An amendment by Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) to cut $47 billion in wasteful spending.

An amendment by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) cut corporate and individual income taxes and repeal the AMT.

An amendment by Sen. John Thune (R-SD) to require funding for all projects in the bill occur within one year.

An amendment by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to require spending cuts and a move to a balanced budget once the economy recovers.

An amendment by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) to cut $5.2 billion in pet projects and replace it with the same amount of defense spending.

An amendment by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) to cut the tax rate for the lowest tax bracket in half.

An amendment by Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) to repeal the 1993 Social Security tax increase.

And, a McCain amendment to strike the “Buy American” provision from the bill.

Sen. Chuck Schumer called Republicans "out of touch".

The day before these amendments were rejected a CBS poll showed Americans preferred tax cuts to addtional government spending by a margin of 59% to 22%.

If that isn't being told to go pound sand I don't know what is.

Here is a fact --- not an auumption ---- At his town hall meeting on health care on 8-14-09 in Colorado, President Obama suggested that his health overhaul scheme would "bend the cost curve,"reducing "health care inflation"so much that the enormous long term deficit of Medicare (unfunded liability: $89 trillion) would be eliminated! --- But the Congressional Budget Office (controlled by the Dem majority) has stated that Obama's health plans will not reduce costs, but, rather, will increase federal spending by close to a TRILLION dollars.

jhw539 -- You said "We're a nation of laws, not intentions or paranoid right wing fantasies." --- OMG! So we are NOT talking about a Democratic Party and POTUS making laws in the Senate and Congress that effect ALL AMERICANS????? --- Stop with the junk -- Just try to talk facts and debate!!!

Woody:"The Republicans have been told to go pound sand and that's what they're doing."

The FACT of the matter is that dozens of Republican amendments were put into the Stimulus package. The FACT of the matter is that almost 10% of the total funding was reallocated from state aid (a liberal stimulus favorite to save teachers, medicare, etc) into a tax break for upper middle income wage earners.

To say that Republicans were told to pound sand where the DOCUMENTED fact has Republican amendments clearly having significant impacts on the biggest bill passed to date is either ignorant or lying. They were given power, they were listened to, and they responded by a petulant tantrum. Not a single vote in the House. That makes it pretty clear where the bipartisanship road has run into a barricade.

HooiserMark:"So you are stating that Obama and the left have NO intention of intalling a healthcare reform system that will allow for government takeover of the whole system?"

We're a nation of laws, not intentions or paranoid right wing fantasies.

HoosierMark:"The Consumer Price Index compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is based upon a 1982 Base of 100. A Consumer Price Index of 158 indicates 58% inflation since 1982. ----- So where id you come up with the 300% the post office stamp has increased??????"

So when you said "30 years ago" you meant 1982? Cute. I grabbed the number from a calculate that compiled the data from the Census Bureau's Annual Statistical Abstracts of the United States - you can run it down from the bls website also.

jhw539 --- So you are stating that Obama and the left have NO intention of intalling a healthcare reform system that will allow for government takeover of the whole system?? -- How naive!! --President Obama can say any lie he wants, like "if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan." ---- But it’s a LIE!!! --- The core reforms in the several plans being negotiated show MEDICARE ADVANTAGE cuts of $177 billion, and cuts in Medicare that he still denies!!!

"Woody:" Primarily the Democrats were unwilling to compromise in '93 and '94. It was only after the '94 election did they have a change of heart."

jhw539:"And after the 2008 tidal wave election AGAINST Republicans, where is the Republican change of heart?"

See my comments regarding marginalization. Obama isn't one tenth the politician Bill Clinton was/is, and Pelosi couldn't hold a candle to Gingrich as a negotiator. The Republicans have been told to go pound sand and that's what they're doing. Bipartisanship is a two-way street. It takes more than getting Olympia Snow to knuckle under to claim bipartisan participation in the legislative process.

Let me just say I'm not impressed by your "reality" and will stick with the flawed, but open methodology, CBO analysis and data (even if it was the CBO under a Republican Congress and Administration).

Posted by: jhw539 |

Sarah Palin hasn't backed off "death panels" either.

jhw539 --- The Consumer Price Index compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is based upon a 1982 Base of 100. A Consumer Price Index of 158 indicates 58% inflation since 1982. ----- So where id you come up with the 300% the post office stamp has increased??????

Until then, don't expect any sort of bipartisan progress on anything.

Posted by: Woody | Aug 19, 2009 2:14:10 PM

IMO, the Republicans today are filibustering everything because it's all they know how to do-- well that and sour grapes. They've failed to take responsibility for anything, including their mistakes. They've failed to offer good ideas-- notice I said good. But I do agree that we shouldn't expect any bipartisan progress on anything, and I'm glad someone on here admits it.

HoosierMark:"Google this video!! "

Oh please, maybe there is some incriminating Twitter or an ex-girlfriend's letter that is even more important than, you know, THE ACTUAL BILL FULLY DEFINED, WRITTEN AND AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC REVIEW.

I don't have time to play with a joker who breathlessly accuses the post office of raising postage rates at exactly the rate of inflation for the last 30 years.

alyason...yes pretty elusive i agree but the republicans have nothing to lose. the dems are in control and this is there baby. they dont need republicans other than to cancel out the moderate democrats who oppose this administration. its much harder to be in the majority than the minority no matter what party you like. people vote against the majority when things are bad. just like the last election...any democrat could have beaten john mcain due to the economy and links to bush.

Woody:" Primarily the Democrats were unwilling to compromise in '93 and '94. It was only after the '94 election did they have a change of heart."

And after the 2008 tidal wave election AGAINST Republicans, where is the Republican change of heart?