Joe “You Lie!” Wilson (R-SC-02) on the floor earlier today, discussing the health insurance reform proposal:

On the good side, The Hill today reports, front page, the Senate bill provides for citizenship verification to buy insurance.

Wilson, you’ll recall, screamed out “You Lie!” when President Obama told Congress in an address to a Joint Session that the health insurance reform bill would not offer coverage to illegal immigrants.

And guess what? Today he says it won’t. Well, I’ll be!

So what does a Republican do when forced to eat crow? Pour a little Freedom Ketchup on it! Before even drawing a breath, Wilson concluded his speech with this:

In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget September 11th and the global war on terrorism.

Uh, yeah.

A lot of progressives in California are worried of late that California’s Attorney General Jerry Brown might talk a little too much truth, and that…

Here is a plan not all that different from the president’s plan, except that it is fair to the middle class, pays for itself immediately, and would be widely popular.

BOISE, Idaho (March 5) — A 37-year-old Boise insurance agent who at one time lived in a homeless shelter has won $250,000 in the Idaho Lottery.

It’s a truism that when the parties battle, some independents and non-political people turn off to both parties. But that hides the fact that there are winners and losers in the battle for public opinion. One big loser is health insurance companies, but they are only marginally less trusted than Republican Congressional leaders.

This Gallup poll released yesterday notes:

Americans remain more confident in the healthcare reform recommendations of President Obama (49%) than in the recommendations of the Democratic (37%) or Republican (32%) leaders in Congress. But these confidence levels are lower than those measured in June, suggesting that the ongoing healthcare reform debate has taken a toll on the credibility of the politicians involved.

Take a look at the numbers (click for bigger pic):

But take a look at the expanded graph for who the real losers are:

Republican leaders, 32. Health insurance 26. Losers.

Hey, you can take my word for it. I’m a doctor, and I come in at 77. And I’m telling you, health reform needs to pass. And I am far from alone.

The graphic, put together by Christopher Hughes, MD here, stems from data collected at Doctors For America.

Some of those organizations (AAP, AAFP) were interviewed here on Daily Kos.

Let’s see Republican obstructionism for what it is: fear of losing the issue politically, as well as losing the vote in the Congress. And that’s what’s about to happen.

I  know it has been a long and hard road to this point. And we are not finished with our journey just yet. But we are close. We are very close. And so I ask Congress to finish its work. I ask them to give the American people an up or down vote.  And let’s show our citizens that it’s still possible for Washington to look out for their interests and their future.

Rounding the turn, with the health care finish line in sight, President Obama today took to the airwaves in his weekly address to hammer home once again the need for health care reform, the obstructionism of Republicans and the benefits that will accrue as soon as health care legislation is passed.

First, he focused on the efforts of Republicans and their insurance company handlers to stymie progress, pulling no punches:

Now, despite all the progress and improvements we’ve made, Republicans in Congress insist that the only acceptable course on health care is to start over. But you know what? The insurance companies aren’t starting over. I just met with some of them on Thursday and they couldn’t give me a straight answer as to why they keep arbitrarily and massively raising premiums – by as much as 60% in states like Illinois. If we do not act, they will continue to do this. They will continue to drop people’s coverage when they need it. They will continue to refuse coverage based on pre-existing conditions. These practices will continue.

Then legislation, which will offer “the same kind of choice of private health insurance that Members of Congress get for themselves,” has some benefits that won’t kick in immediately, he explained, but some aspects will kick in this year: tax credits for small businesses, elimination of the donut hole for seniors, free preventative care, no denial of coverage for children with pre-existing conditions and a new appeals process for those who feel they’ve been unjustly denied.

If we act now, all of this will happen this year. Millions of lives will improve. Some will be saved. Many families and small business owners will have health insurance for the very first time in their lives. Doctors and patients will have more control over their health care decisions, and insurance company bureaucrats will have less. This future is within our grasp.  

Finally, he sounded a warning near the end of his remarks, pointing out the consequences–including economic ones– of failing to act at this point of the health care crisis:

But we also know what the future will look like if we don’t act – if we let this opportunity pass for another year, or another decade, or another generation.  More Americans will lose their family’s health insurance if they switch jobs or lose their job. More small businesses will be forced to choose between health care and hiring. More insurance companies will raise premiums and deny coverage. And the rising cost of Medicare and Medicaid will sink our government deeper and deeper into debt.

The full transcript can be found at the White House website and beneath the fold.

America has a new group among the marginalized. I’m not talking about people of any particular race, creed, sexual orientation, or gender. I’m speaking of the victims of corporate intolerance.

In last Saturday’s national radio address, President Barack Obama said he is ready to compromise with Republicans on healthcare but is not satisfied with doing nothing.

My health is absurdly good, so I’ve never had medical insurance billing confusion until recently when part of a routine checkup was originally billed as non-preventative. This meant I had to pay for it. To make a long story sort, after almost a year, numerous phone calls and letters, it now appears it will be [...]

Yesterday, President Obama wrote to Congressional leaders to summarize last week’s summit, and to reiterate the Republican ideas that are already in the package, and those he thought were worth “exploring further.”

He followed up today with his statement on health insurance reform and the way forward, which he makes clear is reconciliation. From his prepared remarks (via e-mail):

“I don’t believe we should give government bureaucrats or insurance company bureaucrats more control over health care in America. I believe it’s time to give the American people more control over their own health insurance. I don’t believe we can afford to leave life-and-death decisions about health care to the discretion of insurance company executives alone. I believe that doctors and nurses like the ones in this room should be free to decide what’s best for their patients.

The proposal I’ve put forward gives Americans more control over their health care by holding insurance companies more accountable. It builds on the current system where most Americans get their health insurance from their employer.  If you like your plan, you can keep your plan. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. Because I can tell you that as the father of two young girls, I wouldn’t want any plan that interferes with the relationship between a family and their doctor.”

….

“So this is our proposal. This is where we’ve ended up.  It’s an approach that has been debated and changed and I believe improved over the last year. It incorporates the best ideas from Democrats and Republicans – including some of the ideas that Republicans offered during the health care summit, like funding state grants on medical malpractice reform and curbing waste, fraud, and abuse in the health care system. My proposal also gets rid of many of the provisions that had no place in health care reform – provisions that were more about winning individual votes in Congress than improving health care for all Americans.”

….

Both during and after last week’s summit, Republicans in Congress insisted that the only acceptable course on health care reform is to start over. But given these honest and substantial differences between the parties about the need to regulate the insurance industry and the need to help millions of middle-class families get insurance, I do not see how another year of negotiations would help. Moreover, the insurance companies aren’t starting over. They are continuing to raise premiums and deny coverage as we speak. For us to start over now could simply lead to delay that could last for another decade or even more. The American people, and the U.S. economy, just can’t wait that long.

So, no matter which approach you favor, I believe the United States Congress owes the American people a final vote on health care reform. We have debated this issue thoroughly, not just for a year, but for decades. Reform has already passed the House with a majority. It has already passed the Senate with a supermajority of sixty votes. And now it deserves the same kind of up-or-down vote that was cast on welfare reform, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, COBRA health coverage for the unemployed, and both Bush tax cuts – all of which had to pass Congress with nothing more than a simple majority.  

I have therefore asked leaders in both of Houses of Congress to finish their work and schedule a vote in the next few weeks. From now until then, I will do everything in my power to make the case for reform. And I urge every American who wants this reform to make their voice heard as well – every family, every business owner, every patient, every doctor, every nurse.

Expect “up or down vote” to become the mantra for the next few weeks.

In one sentence, Republicans at last week’s health care summit explained to the American public why the GOP’s insistence of leadership has been empty, shameless,…

Democracy for America (in an email blast):

Blanche Lincoln is a Wall Street puppet for the insurance industry that has contributed over $2 million to her campaign. While over 56% of Arkansas voters wanted the choice of a public option, Lincoln vowed on the Senate floor she’d filibuster healthcare reform unless the public option was stripped from the bill. Senator Lincoln stood up and the insurance companies won [...]

Bill Halter is a solid Democrat, an Arkansas progressive, and a populist leader. He’s fought for working men and women and delivered real change for Arkansas. His track record as Lt. Governor proves it [...]

We told the Healthcare Villains we would not forget. We showed them how popular the public option was in their state and nationwide. We warned them not to choose insurance companies over the Americans people.

Now it’s too late for Senator Blanche Lincoln.

Fox News:

Check out billhalter.com, and you’ll see instantly why incumbent Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-AR, who was already facing a very rough re-election effort with her abyssmal approval ratings, should be even more worried.

A fresh-faced, charming young lieutenant governor, named Bill Halter, in announcing his bid to take on Lincoln, is actually seen getting out of a pickup truck at one point in the campaign ad (is this the Scott Brown formula??) — and even more astounding, one of the things he touts is healthcare reform.  It’s not clear what version, because he rather craftily keeps it general in nature. Halter castigates Washington as “broken” – a place that’s “protecting insurance company profits, instead of protecting patients and lowering healthcare costs.”

Sam Stein, Huffington Post:

The race is likely to become a proxy battle for the larger debate within the Democratic Party between progressives who believe sticking to core values is the best way to win office and the self-styled pragmatists who argue that they must adopt more conservative positions when running in traditionally more conservative states.

John Brummett, Arkansas News:

Republicans will celebrate the Democratic divisiveness and that Lincoln must now deplete her mammoth resources in the primary.

Establishment Democrats, meaning party insiders, didn’t like Halter anyway, certainly don’t like him now and will rally the apparatus, to the extent it exists with effectiveness, to push him back.

Right away we need to see if Halter, whose impetus into this race is from the unlikely left, favors card check, cap-and-trade and the health care reform bill as advanced by Harry Reid and modified last week by the White House. Those are three good opening questions for him when he files tomorrow. The state’s business establishment, meaning the chambers of commerce, the Farm Bureau, the utilities, will be scared to death of Halter.

Meantime, there’s been an interesting dynamic lately as I’ve been around the state talking to this group and that. It’s that I deliever some remarks about the anti-Obama fervor in the state and how Lincoln is caught up in it, and then the first question I get is from some liberal mad at Lincoln from the other direction over health care or estate taxes.

Politics is largely about passion, and I see none for Lincoln and the potential for some for Halter.

MoveOn, in fundraising email:

Blanche Lincoln is one of the worst corporate Democrats in Washington. That’s why 92 percent of Arkansas MoveOn members voted to support Bill Halter over Blanche Lincoln in a primary election. Instead of fighting for the health care reform Arkansas families desperately need, she took nearly a million ($866,000) from Big Insurance and HMO interests and then played a leading role in opposing the public health insurance option. She took $1.3 million from Wall Street banks and helped kill legislation that would’ve allowed struggling homeowners to stay in their homes.  And she sponsored a bill to roll back the Clean Air Act to protect corporate profits. With Bill Halter, our Arkansas members see a candidate who will stand up to special interests.  Arkansans deserve someone who’ll fight for them, not Wall Street.

MSNBC’s First Read:

While Arlen Specter vs. Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania and Michael Bennet vs. Andrew Romanoff in Colorado are competitive Democratic primaries, they haven’t featured the same level of involvement from the left that we’re now seeing in the Lincoln-vs.-Halter race.

Max Brantley, Arkansas Times:

Lincoln’s money quote:  ”I know that I am not only fighting for you, I am fighting for what is fair and right.”

For who — credit card companies? Polluters? Health insurance companies? Wall Street tycoons?

Another money quote: She’s the rope in a “tug of war” between outside special interests.

Special interests: Working men and women of Arkansas. Sick people in Arkansas. People who want to breathe clean Arkansas air. People who favor sustainable agriculture. Those kinds of special interests are indeed tugging, against the Chamber of Commerce and tycoons of Arkansas on the other end. And losing with Lincoln.

The big health care summit happened last week. Literally dozens of Americans were glued to their televisions to watch it. The President has released a…

How does the rest of the club of affluent countries manage to insure everyone for 9 or 10 percent of GDP, and have a healthier and longer-lived population, to boot? They do it, of course, through universal, socialized insurance. What every other nation has in common is that they have taken the commercialism out of their health systems. But most Democratic politicians and policy wonks behave as if the option of a national health plan simply did not exist.