Research Briefing

Dems Willing To Compromise Since Bill Is Only First Step Toward Full Government Take-Over Of Health Care

OBAMA, BIDEN AND BAUCUS HAIL CURRENT HEALTH CARE EXPERIMENT AS “JUST THE BEGINNING”

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) Said, “Obama… Reminded Them ‘Politics Catches Up With Good Policy’ And That They Should Remember They May Not Get All They Want In This Bill, But They Would Create A Framework For Future Changes.” (David Lightman, “Obama Might Not Get Health Care Overhaul For Christmas,” McClatchy Newspapers, 12/15/09)

Sen. Baucus: “It's Just The Beginning. It's Just The Beginning. There Is So Much More We Have To Do To Make Sure This Works Right.” (Jennifer Haberkorn, “Obama Pushes Senate To Pass Health Bill,” The Washington Times, 12/16/09)

And According To Sen. Max Baucus, Biden Said “Look, Be Joyful… It’s A Moment In History, And We’ll Build Upon It In The Future, As With Social Security And Medicare…” (Lisa Wangsness & Susan Milligan, “Public Option Out, Democrats Press On,” The Boston Globe, 12/16/09)

DEMS WANT TO PASS THIS BILL NOW TO GET A SINGLE-PAYER SYSTEM LATER …

Obama Knows Change Takes Time. “[T]he challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time.” (President Barack Obama, Inaugural Address, 1/20/09)

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) Said “You Don’t Win The Fights For Social Justice In Round One.” LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: “Senator, what do you say to Howard Dean’s advice that you vote no on this Senate bill as it stands today.” SEN. RON WYDEN: “I simply don’t agree, Larry. You don’t win the fights for social justice in round one.” (MSNBC’s “Countdown With Keith Olbermann,” 12/15/09)

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) Compared Government-Run Health Care To A House And Says “Additions” – Like The Public Option – Can Be Made Later. “[D]o I like everything in this bill? No. I would much rather have had a public option. I have been one of the strongest fighters for a public option. … But I’m a realist. I don’t have the votes. Do I chuck everything out the door? No. Let’s get this thing done, and then in the future, next year, and the year after, and the year after, let’s come back and put those additions on this modest house.” (MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show,” 12/15/09)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) Said Dems Won’t Walk Away From Government-Run Health Care And “Will Have Other Legislation.” “’On any given day, success that upsets business as usual in Washington can be perishable. I don’t want to get too bogged down,’ Pelosi told POLITICO in an interview Thursday afternoon. ‘We are not passing a bill, shutting the door, turning out the lights and walking away. We will have other legislation.’” (David Rogers, “’I’m Not Big On Showing Weakness,’” Politico, 10/30/09)

BECAUSE A COMPLETE GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER OF HEALTH CARE IS THEIR REAL GOAL

Obama Said He Is Supports Single-Payer System And Wants To See One In The U.S., But Knows We “May Not Get There Immediately.”  “I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer universal health care program. I see no reason why the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, spending 14 percent of its gross national product on health care, cannot provide basic health insurance to everybody. … A single-payer health care plan, a universal health care plan. That's what I’d like to see. But as all of you know, we may not get there immediately. Because first we've got to take back the White House, we've got to take back the Senate, and we've got to take back the House.” (Barack Obama, Remarks At AFL-CIO Civil, Women's, And Human Rights Conference, 6/30/03)

• Obama Said Single-Payer System Would Be Best If We Were Starting From Scratch. “If I were starting a system from scratch, then I think that the idea of moving towards a single-payer system could very well make sense. That's the kind of system that you have in most industrialized countries around the world. The only problem is that we're not starting from scratch.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks At Town Hall Meeting On Credit Card Reform, Rio Rancho, NM, 5/14/09)

Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) Said Public Option Supporters Want Government-Controlled Health Insurance. “The public option, I think, was raised in the last year by people who really want to have a government-controlled health insurance system. That’s their right. I think they’re wrong. But it’s not necessary, as President Obama has said over and over again, to achieve the goals that he has. So I hope it`s not in there at the end.” (CBS’s “Face The Nation,” 11/1/09)

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) Called The Medicare Buy-In “An Unvarnished, Complete Victory For People Like Me Who Support A Single-Payer System ... Never Mind The Camel's Nose - We Got His Head And Neck In The Tent.” (Alex Wayne, “Liberals See Medicare Buy-In As A Good Deal,” CQ Today, 12/9/09)

Obama Advisor Who Wrote Book Outlining “Public Option” Confirms The Goal Is A Single-Payer System. “Someone once said to me, this is a Trojan Horse for single-payer, and I said, ‘Well, it's not a Trojan Horse, right? It's just right there.’ I'm telling you, we're going to get there over time, slowly, but we'll move away from reliance on employment-based health insurance, as we should ...”  (Jacob Hacker, Remarks At The Tides Foundation's Momentum 2008 Conference, San Francisco, CA, 7/21/08)

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) Told Supporters Reforms Will Lead to Single-Payer System. Rep. Schakowsky, (D-IL): “’I had the pleasure of being invited to the Health Care Summit that the president had at the White House and had the opportunity to argue--as forcefully as I could--the public health care insurance option - making the point that it's less expensive, more accountable, more affordable, more secure, and more responsive to consumer's needs ... ‘And next to me was a guy from the insurance company who then argued against the public health insurance option, saying it wouldn't let private insurance compete - that a public option will put the private insurance industry out of business and leave the single payer. My single payer friends, he was right; the man was right ... I am so confident in the superiority of a public healthcare option that I think he has every reason to be frightened.’”  (Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Remarks At The Health Care For America Rally, Chicago, IL, 4/18/09)

HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius: “I’m All For A Single Payer System Eventually.” (Kathleen Sebelius, Remarks At The John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum, Harvard University, 2007)