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The Moderate Voice

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A Disaster That Didn’t Happen

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The Democrats celebrated an overtime victory in the health care Super Bowl in subdued fashion--no champagne corks popped in the Oval Office, no one dumped Gatorade on Nancy Pelosi--a suitable response to winning by not losing. When the cry of "baby killer" at Bart Stupak had faded and the last vote was counted, the significance of a year-long struggle was that Republicans … [Read more...] about A Disaster That Didn’t Happen

Michael Moore to Republicans: It Covers You Too

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Michael Moore has posted an open letter to Republicans. Says he, The Great Thing About the Health Care Law That Has Passed? It Will Save Republican Lives, Too: Thanks to last night's vote, that child of yours who has had asthma since birth will now be covered after suffering for her first nine years as an American child with a pre-existing condition. Thanks to last night's … [Read more...] about Michael Moore to Republicans: It Covers You Too

The “Dirty Little Secret” of Health Care Reform

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And now the deed is done, as Macbeth said upon emerging from the chamber with blood covering his hands. The Democrats' majority in Congress has finished their series of back room deals and procedural maneuvers and gotten some version of their health care "reform" package voted past the bipartisan opposition to it and on its way to the President's desk. And now that it no longer … [Read more...] about The “Dirty Little Secret” of Health Care Reform

Georgia Supreme Court: Caps on Malpractice Lawsuits Unconstitutional

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From the AJC's Political Insider, Jim Galloway, a morning jolt: The Georgia Supreme Court announced today that, in a unanimous 7-0 ruling, it has found a state law limiting damages awarded for pain and suffering in medical malpractice lawsuits to be unconstitutional. The cap on awards was the heart of the 2005 attempt at tort reform. Look for the ruling to restart Georgia’s … [Read more...] about Georgia Supreme Court: Caps on Malpractice Lawsuits Unconstitutional

The Good News and Bad News on the Health Care Reform Bill’s Passage

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Both supporters and critics agree on this: the passage of the health care reform bill was a historic event. What they can't (or in some cases simply will not) agree on is what it means. Here are some thoughts on the Good News and Bad News about the bill, the process it took to pass, and what it revealed about our polity and our leaders: THE GOOD NEWS is that the fact that … [Read more...] about The Good News and Bad News on the Health Care Reform Bill’s Passage

Healthcare Reform vs. The Surge

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I've been pondering the common analogy between President Obama's support for healthcare reform (HCR for short) and President Bush's support for the surge in Iraq, both in the face of strong popular resistance. The political arguments for and against have been essentially the same, except with the parties reversed. Three years ago, President Bush spoke of the need to do what … [Read more...] about Healthcare Reform vs. The Surge

Astonishing: U.S. Republicans Turn Backs on History – L’Express, France

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Have U.S. Republicans made a colossal mistake by battling health care reform right up to the end? Continuing with our look at global reaction to President Obama's legislative triumph, Philippe Coste of France's L'Express writes that he's shocked not only at Republican shortsightedness, but, compared with European health care, with the modest size of the reform itself. For … [Read more...] about Astonishing: U.S. Republicans Turn Backs on History – L’Express, France

A European’s Letter to America on Healthcare

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Over the next week, I’ll be very closely reading Watching America.com, the site that translates foreign news about the USA, to see how the world will react to Congress’s historic vote on healthcare. The general failure of the American healthcare system, in terms of both failure to deliver quality healthcare to all of society and, despite this, the huge amount of money spent, … [Read more...] about A European’s Letter to America on Healthcare

Universal Health Care – It’s the principle that won tonight

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For all the in-depth analysis of what the just-passed health care reform bill does for ordinary Americans, and the intensely personal nature of the health care debate up to now, the most significant achievement tonight was actually an abstract one. For the first time in American history the Federal government is legally and profoundly committed to universal health insurance. … [Read more...] about Universal Health Care – It’s the principle that won tonight

Frum: Republican Waterloo

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Former Bush speechwriter David Frum says it’s hard to exaggerate the magnitude of the GOP disaster. And he blames this "most crushing legislative defeat since the 1960s" on conservatives and Republicans: At the beginning of this process we made a strategic decision: unlike, say, Democrats in 2001 when President Bush proposed his first tax cut, we would make no deal with the … [Read more...] about Frum: Republican Waterloo

Health Care Bill Already Passed, In “The Quiet People’s” Hearts and Minds

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For months, we've heard almost more about who hates whom, who is or isnt an idiot, who is a racist, who isn't, who is 'pure', who isnt, and it all appears far too often to have deteriorated into an 'I am right and you are wrong, and epithet you.' For months, we hear very little about and from those who love and care for others; 'the Quiet People'; the people who aren't … [Read more...] about Health Care Bill Already Passed, In “The Quiet People’s” Hearts and Minds

A Day Of Uneasy Hope

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Now that the passage of the package seems assured I am pondering my own feelings about it. For many the vote on Health Care Reform today is an easy one to react to. My good friends on the left will watch the vote with varying levels of celebration, a feeling of triumph and optimism for the future. My equally good friends on the right will watch the results with varying … [Read more...] about A Day Of Uneasy Hope

BREAKING: Democrats Have (More Than) the Votes They Need

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It’s official, and it's historic. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who had led a group of anti-abortion lawmakers in opposing the bill, has just announced that he will vote “yes” on Health Care Reform legislation. Stupak’s “yes” vote will probably bring additional yes votes from other anti-abortion legislators and ensure that Democrats finally have (more than) the votes they … [Read more...] about BREAKING: Democrats Have (More Than) the Votes They Need