- Daily Photo: Obama Jokes Around at G-20
- Blackwater gets replaced in Iraq
- Daily Photo: U.S. Marines Look Out for Taliban in Afghanistan
- Hillary Clinton the Tomboy and Her "Ah-Ha" Moment
- Obama Administration Sudan Envoy Headed to Region
- Daily Photo: Potential Flashpoint in Iraq
- Clinton Says New Afghanistan-Pakistan Plan Depends on Diplomacy
- Exclusive: Three Israeli Airstrikes Against Sudan
- Additional 4,000 Troops to Be Ordered to Afghanistan
- Daily Photo: Navy Submarine Trains in the Arctic
- Alarm Over North Korea Missile Prep
- Anti-Terror Stimulus? US Offers Rewards for Top Terrorists
- Daily Photo: Pakistani Women in Refugee Camp
- Condoleezza Rice Appears on "The Tonight Show"
- Diplomat and Aid Group Sound the Alarm on Darfur Camp Situation
- auto industry rescue
- Ballotwatch
- Biden, Joe
- Bush, George W.
- Clinton, Bill
- Clinton, Hillary
- Dodd, Chris
- Edwards, John
- Giuliani, Rudy
- Gravel, Mike
- Huckabee, Mike
- Hunter, Duncan
- Inauguration
- Iraq
- Kucinich, Dennis
- McCain, John
- Obama, Barack
- Palin, Sarah
- Paul, Ron
- Romney, Mitt
- Tancredo, Tom
- Thompson, Fred
- Veepstakes
- Vote 2008: Democrats
- Vote 2008: Republicans
- Washington
- White House
« Previous | Main | Next »
Edwards' Healthcare Challenge
Email
ShareSeptember 17, 2007 10:02 AM
ABC News' Raelyn Johnson Reports: As Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., unveils her much anticipated healthcare plan Monday, former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., is redefining his plan by promising something no other democratic contender has done.
Edwards will announce that on his first day in office he will submit legislation that would strip healthcare coverage for the president, all members of congress and all political appointees by his six month mark in office -- July 2009 -- unless a universal healthcare reform is passed by Congress.
This announcement, billed as a major defining moment in Edwards' strategy to pass universal healthcare, will come Monday morning as Edwards address the Laborers Leadership Convention in Chicago.
Edwards, who was the first candidate to lay out a universal healthcare plan, has been taking very specific issue with his top rivals for their plans. Today we can expect him to directly challenge Sen. Clinton on the issue of drug companies, insurance companies and their lobbyists -- the very people Edwards contends defeated her in 1993.
"She takes on lesson from that I take a different lesson. I mean her lesson seams to be work with these people, compromise," Edwards said Sunday in Iowa on Sen. Clinton's failed attempt with universal healthcare. "I think the right lesson for America is to bring America along we need to confront them and take them on. That kind of struggle and fight is necessary to be able to be successful."
When he was asked to critique Sen. Obama's health plan Edwards said, "Sen. Obama has a very thoughtful plan but it's not universal, it doesn't require everyone to be covered, millions of people would be left uncovered."
Recent polling suggests healthcare remains an important issue among voters in the 2008 race.
September 17, 2007 in Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (6)
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
Good for Edwards. His universal healthcare plan is the only one that makes sense. And forcing Congress to solve the problem of unaffordable healthcare in six months or face losing their own healthcare insurance is honest and refreshing on Edwards part. Finally, a politician who is on the people's side.
Posted by: Lydia | Sep 17, 2007 12:30:18 PM
That's the difference between Edwards and Clinton. Edwards will get things done (his health care plan has been around for seven months--what took Clinton so long?) and he'll fight the system that's rigged against working people and for the big drug and insurance companies. Clinton is for corporations and corrupt interests. Edwards is for a livable wage and immediate universal health care.
Posted by: Mark | Sep 17, 2007 12:57:43 PM
The real difference between Hillary and Edwards is that Hillary learned in 1994 that locking whole segments of the economy out of the planning makes them fight you.
Edwards is repeating the 1993-4 mistake and I personally think it's all for politics. He would say anything at this point to try and not go down the tubes.
Posted by: rgbtec | Sep 17, 2007 1:33:09 PM
What you call "whole segments of the economy" I call the top %1 of the population who are collecting profits from drug and insurance companies (and who have %40 of the wealth overall) while millions upon millions of Americans aren't covered at all.
Do you really think those entrenched interests are going to let Clinton make the changes when her plan is essentially the same as Edwards? The difference is that Clinton is making promises she can't keep because she's in the lobbyist's pockets.
Edwards is telling the truth.
Posted by: Mark | Sep 17, 2007 2:01:04 PM
It's about time somebody takes a stand.
It amazes me that Americans sit idly by and let this double standard exist. Federal and State government employee's draw from the Social Security pool of money to pay other "pork-barrel" bill while they themselves have separate retirement and health care accounts and DO NOT pay either FICA nor Medicare taxes. The FEDS all use the "Railroad Retirement Fund" - haven't seen them borrowing money from that- and most states have their own plan as well. High time to end this double standard.
Posted by: klapa | Sep 19, 2007 10:29:37 AM
People explore websites on topics such as this for various motives.
Posted by: application form for medicare | Feb 10, 2008 2:57:26 PM
Post a comment
