President Obama's Health Care Reform Summit Live-Blog

“Politics ended up trumping practical common sense this year…  I didn't take this on because I thought it would be good politics…..what I'm hoping to accomplish today is for everybody to focus on where we agree…”

“I've looked at Boehner's plan, Coburn's, Paul Ryan's….I've looked at those very carefully….Mike Enzi….
When I look at the ideas that are out there, there is overlap… ”

“White House posted what we feel is the best blend of the House and Senate legislation that has already passed…  Basic concept is that we set up an exchange where individuals and small businesses could go and get choice and competition in their hc plans the same way that  members of congress do…”

Areas of disagraeement:  “I don't know that the gaps can be bridged.”

Wants this to be discussion, not theater…  No talking points, just problem solving…

McConnell up first.  Passes it on to Lamar Alexander for opening remarks for the GOP.

Alexander:  “We believe we have a better idea…”  Waiting…  Start over!  Claims constituents are saying “we hope you kill the health care bill, but my wife has cancer and we need to do something…”  Goes lamely into length of bill…how much time does he get?    Our view is that this is a car that can't be recalled and fixed and that we ought to…Start over!……Has a “suggestion” and a “request.”   Says only way to move forward is if the Dems ….. forget about reconciliation.   “The people want us to start over. “ We need to put aside jamming it through.    (no talking points there – you just give up all your leverage, and we promise we won't stick out our leg and trip you again as you attempt to pass…)

Obama:  Both I and Lamar went over time.  Nancy and Harry agree to split time. First filibuster successful.

Nancy next.  “Americans don't have time for us to start over.”  Go, Nancy!

Harry:  Shares another sad constituent health care story…  “Lamar,  you are entitled to your opinion, but not to your own facts.”  Calls out the Repugs' hypocrisy on recondiliation (that the GOP is currently forcing them to do) and mentions most of the reconciliations have been used by the GOP.  Let's look at FACTS.  45,000 Americans die every year due to no health insurance.  In 2008 750,000 bankruptcies – 75% due to health care costs – 80% of these were people who had health insurance!  Let's get it done.

Obama:  We need to be more disciplined re: time, makes a joke about that is to be expected in a room of electeds….nobody laughs…slaps down Lamar…reminds him the GOP ideas are actually in the proposal…..we will discuss the areas of agreement v disagreement…then we see if we can bridge….rather than start talking about legislative process (reconciliation), let's talk about SUBSTANCE (GOP's worst nightmare).  Obama still thinks it's worth a try, but admits there may be “too big of a gulf” and then “we'll have to see what to do next.”  Very effectively said, we're not going there Lamar, nice try.

This is on the screen right now:  Gallup:  54% say GOP won't make sincere effort.

Obama laying out some FACTS about the rising costs of health care… Lamar, according to the Congressional Budget Office, you're wrong about your “facts.”  Lamar interrupts saying Obama is wrong.  Obama cuts him off and tells him he is not factually accurate.  Tells what CBO says.  Explains what the CBO actually said.  Will be happy to present this to the press.  Lamar tries to interrupt again.  Obama claims his space, holds the floor.  Goes on.  Killing them with facts and reason.  McCain and Lamar Alexander visibly uncomfortable.  Alexander tries to interrupt again.  Obama cuts him off and continues.  What are your ideas that you don't think are in our bill?  We've adopted a lot of them. 

Lamar:  All my colleagues are eager to speak. 

Obama:  We'll get the issue settled today about the CBO.

McConnell:  The people are opposed.  Calls on Tom Coburn to speak on cost containment.

Coburn:  Opening volley -  Most of the problems in health care comes from government rules and regulations.  Talks about prevention (makes sense)…waiting for the crazy to start up again…here it is…FRAUD!  15% of gov't health care is FRAUD!  We need to fix FRAUD – this will fix health care…

Harry:  I may not know much, but I'm an expert on the filibuster… we've got 40 members of Congress here…

Obama:  Politely takes apart Coburn in typical Obama fashion…see how much we agree?

Coburn interrupts and gets in one last talking point.

Obama:  Steny?

MSNBC cuts away…goes to conservative commentator.  Will try to go to C-Span 3…

Baucus:  A great deal of consensus…

Back to the GOP:  Dave Camp, Ranking Member, Ways and Means… sounds kind of wonky about the particulars of the bill…page 959….Obama smiling indulgently…page 982….

Obama:  I don't mean to interrupt, but….focus is on costs for families….if every speaker goes through every provision saying what they don't like, we won't have time to focus on what we agree on…

Camp as if Obama didn't say anything, goes on…

Obama:  Yes, Lamar and I already discussed this…

Camp interrupts again…filibusters….blah blah blah…

Obama goes to the next Dem…

Robert Andrews New Jersey:  Talks policy…

GOP interrupts:  “We don't hear anyone complaining about their premiums…”  They must be feeling desperate…

On the screen now:  Gallup:  77% say sides won't reach deal

10:43 – GOP (McConnell) wants to quibble about which side is getting more time…counting the minutes…Obama says, “I'm just going back and forth, Mitch…”

Schumer:  We agree with a lot of what Tom Coburn said, has some great ideas that we can agree on…we have provisions that I would think you all could agree on…clarifies GOP mischaracterizations about Medicare cuts…points out talking about waste, not programs…

Going on break after Coburn and Kyl.  Kyl first..

Min. Whip Jon Kyl (R) – fundamental difs we cannot paper over..Obama looks tired….claims government is mandating more coverage, cost will go up…says medicare payroll tax will go up…it's a job-killer….raising taxes…this doesn't cut costs….fees raise costs on consumer…expense of legislation…

Obama rebuts, clarifies, explains.. can have interstate competition, but must have across-state baseline…”this is not a government take-over of insurance…let's set up baselines and then use private plans for everyone to get a better deal.”

James Clyburn, Majority Whip,  goes last, before the break… somewhere in his district, 31% of people treated in ER are there for primary care, not emergencies…many of these have employer-based health care that they cannot use because of huge deductible…says magic number on health reform is 50, not 60…some people cannot navigate the system…employees are at the mercy of business owners who are negotiating the plans…

Obama:  This has been a useful conversation.  After break, I want to go through areas we agree on.  Jon (Kyl), you shook your head when I said people could choose their plan…any plan you have you can grandfather in, so you could choose keep it.  Kyl interrupts…says Obama is incorrect…”with all due respect”….Obama compliments him on the talking point but says it doesn't address the underlying question…

Areas of agreement acc to Obama:  (1) you can't just drop someone (2) extend dependent coverage to a certain age, 25 or 26 (3) no annual or lifetime limits (4) philosophically, end prohibitions (5) other provisions we should explore to come up with longer list of areas of agreement; alludes to Mitch's counting the clock, so moves on…

Boustany (R) Louisiana talking:  “We all want  health care reform.”  Waiting for the crazy, here it is:  The American people want us to take a step back…they want insurance companies to treat them just like they treat the…labor unions!   How do you promote choice and competition?  Claims health care reform bill would raise premium costs…says CBO agrees…MSNBC cuts away, good for them…Unfortunately, Pat Buchanan is talking…back to C-Span radio…

Obama:  We'll have to get more disciplined on time today.  Want to hear from Sebelius.

Boehner:  I don't think we've been told what the time limits are.

Obama tells them how much time left…

Rep. Miller, Dem, shouldn't be co-pays on preventive care…etc.

McCain:  You said this would be in front of C-span cameras…was produced with unsavory – I say that with respect – deal making, Louisiana Purchase, the Cornhusker kick-back which I understand now has been done away with… particularly offensive was the carve-out of the 800,000 Florida seniors from Medicare Advantage…my constituents are concerned about the carve-outs for other states…why should that happen?  At town hall meetings I conduct, people are angry…we promised them change and what we got is a process that you and I both said we would change…so then we got into the special interests…AMA, particularly egregious was the pharma deal…

Obama tries to interrupt, Mccain – “may I just finish please?”  Talks about his constituents wanting them to….go back to the beginning! 

Obama:  We're not campaigning anymore.  The election is over…

McCain:  I realize this every day…gets a laugh on this…. 

Obama:  We can spend the remainder of the time saying our respective talking points.  I'm sure Reid and Dodd (et. al. ) who went through an exhaustive process in the House and Senate with the most hearings, the most debates on the floor, the longest mark-ups in 22 years would have a response for you.  But if we do that, we'll end up back on Fox News and MSNBC on the split screen, so I hope that we can focus on the issues of how we will get a bill done.

McCain interrupts.  The American people care…

Obama interrupts… “They absolutely do care about it, John, and the way you characterized it would win some debate from the other side.  Americans care more about us getting things done than they care about us arguing about process, so let's move on… ”

Goes to Kathleen Sebelius.

Cantor now:  The usual Cantor stuff…Obama looks fascinated, then like he's counting to ten, stops listening, calls someone over who whispers in his ear…Cantor still talking, catastrophizing….millions will lose their coverage because of the construct of this bill…people won't be able to see the doctors they want…

Obama:  The 8-9 million out of 300 million would be people who the CBO estimates would be because it's a better deal.  When you do props like this, stack it up, talk about 2400 pages.  We can try to pretend that health care is not complicated, but it is.  These are the kind of political things we do that prevent us from actually having a conversation.

Let me respond to your question:  We could set up a system where food would be cheaper than it is now if we eliminated meat inspectors and any regulations in terms of how food is distributed and stored.  We could definitely reduce pres. drugs if we didn't test the drugs first.  We make decisions to protect consumers in every aspect of our lives and we get bi-partisan support for doing it.  Because people don't want to expect one thing and get another, or get harmed by a product. 

We can argue about the regulations, but you guys seem to believe in some regulation…so what are the specific regulations that you object to?  Pre-existing conditions – we all agree this is a bad thing…two ways of dealing with this (1) establish high risk pool – explains why this is problematic…everyone needs to be in the pool, healthy and sick…spreading the risk…  Let's not pretend that any regulation is some onerous burden that is terrible for consumers..

Cantor:  Has the stack of the legislation in front of him for the camera…  Business can't afford it!  Set aside this mandated form of health care regulation…let's go back…

Biden tries to jump in – we don't  have a philosophical disagreement:  five speakers are left to get in before break, including Harkin. 

11:56  Dem Louise Slaughter, pre-existing condition has to go… tells constituent story of a woman who had no dental insurance and had to wear her dead sister's false teeth…in America…

Obama:  Need to break for a vote in the House; after break, will finish up insurance reform and then will move on to coverage, back at 1:45 (ET).

3:45 pm CT – had to bug out this afternoon…just got back…missed Harkin…Charlie Rangel talking – says Obama saved the best for last… “people aren't concerned with the debate, they're concerned with what we're going to produce…”

Dingell (D): ….I beg you, let's go forward on this great task.

Obama gives it back to Pelosi

Pelosi:  “Thanks, Mr. President for great leadership…without it we would not be this close…”  …brings up public option… “we've come a long way over past year to agreeing to GOP ideas because the insurance companies opposed the public option…insurance companies have behaved shamefully and we must act on behalf of the American people.  We have lived on their playing field all this time, now it's time to exist on the playing field of the American people….”  …clarifies to someone who brought it up earlier, that the law of the land is that there is NO public funding for abortion and there is NO public funding for abortion in this bill.  The bill does NOT cut benefits for seniors.  These are facts…  says important for Americans to understand that there should be an end to discrimination on the basis of pre-existing conditions…the GOP plan does NOT do this.

Obama:  Thanks everyone…for being here…for being civil….only running over an hour….want to summarize where we agree, where we disagree:  We agree that we need some insurance market reforms.  The ones not included in the GOP plan but that are included in the Dem plan are popular – capping out of pocket expenses, making sure people can buy insurance even if they have a pre-existing condition – insurance should be regulated.  Shot of the GOP…they look as if they feel sick…

Exchange is NOT a government take-over, explains it like they're four… need big pool…  insurance across state lines…approaches differ…Obama explains that that would create the same thing as credit cards, where they all move to the state without any regulations…need baseline protections if we do this…NOT a big government take-over, just standard regulation. 

Medical malpractice – historically, Dems have been resistant to this concept.  Obama suggests exploring this more…may be ways we can work on that… 

Exchange is market-based approached, not a government run approach – (Grassley really looks like he's suffering..).  “On the more contentious issues, I'm not sure we can bridge the gap.”  Brings up how to help people who are being priced out of the market or lose their jobs. 

“The point that Harkin, Dodd and others made is important: I did not propose something complicated just to be complicated.  The reason is that it turns out that baby steps don't get you where people need to go, they need help right now.  We can't solve the pre-existing condition problem if we don't do something about coverage.  In order to help the 30 million, it is going to cost some money…”  Talked about rich people ponying up…  Blasts the GOP for using their own ideas that the Dems adopted, to attack the Dem health plan…  “After five decades of dealing with this issue, with respect, starting over means not doing much or doing John Boehner's proposal that Republicans find acceptable, and [means] that it's not possible to move the Republicans to cover more than 3 million more people, or to do anything about pre-existing conditions…”

Obama asks GOP to soul-search to come up with way of dealing with pre-existing condition issue.  “If we can't close this gap, I expect that there will be a lot of fighting in congress about procedural issues regarding moving forward…”  Talks about parents with sick kids, small businesses who are laying people off due to high insurance… “They don't want us to wait.  They don't have another five decades.  For political reason, there may be no reason for GOP to want to do this.  Most Republican voters are opposed to this bill and may be opposed to the kind of bill we could craft, but I thought it was worthwhile to make this effort.”

“If we saw movement – significant movement, not just gestures – you wouldn't need to start over,  because everyone knows what the issues are and we could get done quickly.  We cannot have another year-long debate about this.  I ask all of you, is there enough serious effort that in a month or 6 weeks time we could actually resolve something.  If not, we make some decisions, and that's what elections are for.  We go ahead and do something, and then we see what happens in November….thank you, everybody.”

Steve King Challenger Mike Denklau Talks to Blog for Iowa About Gay Marriage, Net Neutrality, and Tax Cuts

Guy Gerhard, progressive activist from Council Bluffs,
conducted an in-depth interview for Blog for Iowa with Mike Denklau,
candidate for U.S. Representative for Iowa's 5th District.  This is the last of three parts.   Click
here to read Part 1

BFIA:  The previous President cut tax rates on the wealthiest of Americans in a time of war, something that had never been done before.  That's another part of the reason that we have headed down the path that we're on. We have infrastructure crumbling; there was the I-35 bridge [collapse] in Minneapolis that comes to mind.  We still have two wars that we're fighting and those costs continue to add up.  Do we need to restore the tax rates on the wealthiest Americans, who can certainly afford it, back to where they were?  

Denklau:  If you look historically, tax rates were obviously much higher, and everyone did quite well.  If you look at the '90's, I don't think too many of us were complaining….

BFIA:  Exactly.  Bill Clinton raised taxes on wealthy people and the economy got better.  The rich got richer, the poor got richer, everybody did better.  Yet, all we ever hear out of the other side is that it's going to destroy the economy if we raise taxes. The economy has already been destroyed, the way I see it.

Denklau:   I'm very much focused on the federal debt and making sure we're paying that down.  However, I don't think that means tomorrow we need to be paying it down.  Right now, we are still in this crisis and we need to make sure we fully recover before we start taking actions to start addressing other issues.  

If you're going to cut taxes, then you need to cut spending.  I think what we've seen is that tax cuts for those who will spend that extra money is where that growth lies and that's the middle class.  So, I think a lot of those cuts were misplaced and if we have a stronger middle class, we'll see more demand and a better economy at this point.

BFIA:  With a stronger middle class, everybody wins.

Denklau:  Yes, exactly.

BFIA:  Where do you stand on net neutrality?

Denklau:  I think this is one of the beauties of the Internet.  Obviously, one of the wonders of having free speech is having an open Internet without cost.  To be charging people to have their posts rated higher on a search, or to limit access altogether is a serious threat to that.  So, I am in favor of keeping net neutrality.

BFIA:  Without net neutrality, sites such as Blog for Iowa might not be given any weight at all by some of the corporations.  Along the same line -  talk radio.  A recent study showed that 90 per cent of the content on talk radio is conservative. In this part of the country, we have no access at all to a progressive, or even alternative, point of view. The only option we have is satellite radio or internet streaming.  Everybody seems to be so afraid of the Fairness Doctrine.  But, these companies are using the public airwaves and they are supposed to be operating in the public interest.  We give them those airwaves.  Shouldn't they be required to allow an opposing point of view?

Denklau: Private corporations having the ability to control their broadcasting, I think, is very important, as is free speech.  The unfortunate part of this is that people are not necessarily aware that they are listening to a commentator and not the actual news from a reporter who is reporting facts, not just giving their opinion.  There should be a better disclaimer on that.  As far as requiring opposing view, I watch the News Hour almost every night and they generally have two opposing views.  It makes for a good debate and a more informed audience, I believe.  However, I will stop short of requiring that, but I think it is a very important component and we should try to promote that whenever possible.

BFIA:  I do not have cable television, I have satellite programming at home.  On my satellite system, Fox News is considered basic programming. I have to go two tiers up to get MSNBC, which is arguably more liberal.  

Denklau:  Really?

BFIA:  Can that be balanced?  Is that something that the FCC needs to step in and mandate so there is a balance of opinions?

Denklau:  That's very interesting, I wasn't aware of that.  

BFIA:  Comcast does that, Time Warner does that, Cox Cable does not, but most of the other big companies do.  I have Dish Network and they do that.

Denklau:  I would need to know more about how their pricing works, to be honest, as to why that is happening.  But, again, I think the major problem with these networks is that people are taking these shows as being fact-based, when, a good portion of the time, they are actually opinion and commentators.  

BFIA:  Well, they do call themselves “Fox News.”

Denklau:   I think there are some real reporters at Fox that do report news.  But the loudest [voices] at the station are commentators, who are not necessarily reporting facts and that is something that people need to be aware of and to make sure that we're not getting disinformation.  Especially when we have so many important debates going on, it's really critical that people understand the difference between a commentator's opinion and the real facts that are out there.

BFIA:  Unfortunately, a lot of people don't realize the difference, so wouldn't it make sense to require broadcasters to air opposing points of view, to at least give them the opportunity to hear both sides?

Denklau:  To the extent that we do have the internet, which is open, and, of course, other television outlets, there is the opportunity to go out there and search for opposing points of view.  Obviously, you and I are people that would do that and I would hope that others who are interested in what's going on in the country would take the time to think about what they are hearing and check their facts.

BFIA:  Another debate going on right now concerns the Employee Free Choice Act.  Should workers have the right to organize a union if they choose to?

Denklau:  Absolutely.  Workers should have the ability to organize, particularly to protect themselves from unfair practices and unsafe working conditions.  

BFIA:  Finally, an issue that is important to me.  Earlier this year, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in Varnum vs. Brian, upholding the lower court's ruling that struck down the state's Defense of Marriage Act.  Iowa became the third state in the union, at that time, to allow same-sex marriage.  My partner of more than fifteen years and I were married in June.  But, while we have legal protections in our home state, we both work in Nebraska, where we have no legal protections.  One, do you support the court's decision and two, what will you do in Congress to protect the rights of gays and lesbians in general and same-sex couples in particular?

Denklau:  I think it's very important that we think about what all of this means.  This is really a free choice and individual rights issue.  And also about limited government.  I feel very strongly that we should keep the government out of our personal lives, whenever possible.  I mean, what could be a more personal decision than who you marry, when you marry, or even if you marry.  And who is to tell you how you should make that decision? The fact of this matter is, that without that ability, there is a whole litany of rights that are being denied.

BFIA:  Over eleven hundred.

Denklau:  Right.  So what we're getting to is an issue of fairness and dignity.  We need to make sure that we're taking care of all people.  If two consenting adults don't have the right to enter into a legal contract, that opens the door to many other rights, basic rights such as pensions, health insurance and protecting your children.  That is a serious issue.  I think the Supreme Court got it right in this case, that this is an issue of free choice, limited government and providing fairness and dignity to our neighbors.

BFIA: Democrats lost the Senate Seat held by Ted Kennedy for the past 47 years.  This is the first time since 1972 that Massachusetts, a liberal stronghold, has elected a Republican.  What lessons do Democrats need to learn from this?  

Denklau:  We cannot take for granted the recognition that the economic crisis of today is a consequence of 8 years of failed economic policies under the last Republican administration.  Democrats must do a better job of explaining why we offer a better economic record and better plans to fix the economy. Plans that must also address education needs, energy conservation and efficiency and healthcare costs.  Contrary to what some Republican officials have been arguing, these things are not mutually exclusive, but complementary pieces to the solution of rising unemployment and the long-term prosperity of our nation.

BFIA:  How will it affect the Democratic party going forward?

Denklau:  We should all bear in mind that special elections over the past year have been a mixed bag for both parties.  In Iowa, Democrats won the house district 90 race in a Republican district, and as our campaign previously noted on our blog, on November 3rd Bill Owens won a congressional seat that hasn’t been held by a Democrat since the Civil War, proving that Democrats can expand their congressional majority by challenging in rural red districts.
 
It is my hope that these victories will lead the party to focus on expanding its majorities in 2010 so we can put an end to the partisan gridlock that is crippling progress for our country and for Iowa.  I hope to do so with the help of many Republican supporters across the 5th District who want change in Washington.

BFIA:  What changes do we need to make to ensure that we don't have more losses come November?

Denklau:  Democrats need to be focused on the issues that matter most in the day-to-day lives of their constituents.  With Sioux City losing 1,500 jobs due to the closing of the Morrell plant and Clarke County struggling to deal with a 9.3% unemployment rate, the reality on the ground is that, in the words of President Clinton, “It’s the economy, stupid.”  That’s why I have been talking about job creation since I launched my campaign last year.  We must do everything we can to create jobs in western Iowa and get the over 110,000 unemployed Iowans back to work.

BFIA:  And finally, how will it affect the Democratic and the President's agenda for the country?

Denklau:   I don’t think the Massachusetts result will significantly change the agenda of either the Democrats or the President.  Both will continue to focus on supporting the American people and improving their day-to-day lives. 

I believe we will see a greater focus on job creation, but we must not forget that many other issues are intertwined with promoting growth and putting Iowans and Americans back to work.  We must strengthen the financial system so our community banks and businesses have access to capital; we must work to reduce health care costs for individuals, businesses and the fiscal strength of our country; and we must continue to invest in our future through education and infrastructure improvements.  All of these initiatives -  led by Democrats and currently being obstructed by those who think things are just fine right now – are designed to get our economy back on track to producing jobs and real growth.

Guy E. Gerhard is a life-long liberal who
has been involved in many progressive causes and campaigns including
civil rights, voting rights, reproductive rights and a woman's right to
choose, nuclear disarmament (he was arrested with 200 of his closest
friends at the Nevada Nuclear Test Site in Mercury back in the '80s),
workers' rights and union organization and civil rights for gays,
lesbians and same-sex couples.  He currently is focused on getting Steve
King, the embarrassment of Iowa, out of office.  He occasionally blogs
under the pen-name Iowa Guy at swiowaguy.blogspot.com  and can
be contacted through Facebook.  He lives in Council Bluffs with his
spouse of 16-plus years, two cats and three rather unpleasant little
dogs.