Pelosi Delivers! What Now?

I must say I am surprised that with the massive money injected into the political process from corporate opponents of healthcare reform, I didn't really expect we'd ever see the day that significant reform would ever make through the House. This was a big day for the average American citizen.

I think the plan is far from perfect and does not go nearly far enough in introducing competition into the system. But it is still an enormous leap forward from where we have been stuck for decades. I still cannot see how a similar bill will make it through the Senate and for this reason my excitement is tempered by the dim prospects there. Unless something changes with Lieberman or Senate leaders are willing to use the process of reconciliation, the bill which emerges from the Senate is unlikely to contain a public option.

In addition, it now looks like it could be several months into 2010 before we see a final bill emerge from the Senate. Although this was a historic night for the country, the final bill is likely to be less robust than what we saw come out of the House this evening. I will now spend the next few weeks using my psychic powers to influence the feeble mind of Joe Lieberman. If you see him flip-flop again on healthcare reform I will expect full credit for my efforts and superpowers.

P.S. Let's give some credit to Rep. Cao of Louisiana for having the courage to defy the GOP and vote for this bill!

Another Supreme Court Nomination for Obama?

There are indications that the 89 year old liberal justice John Paul Stevens may be preparing to retire from the Supreme Court. He would be 90 years old when the 2010 term starts in October of next year. Although he was nominated by a Republican President (Gerald Ford) he is considered to be in the liberal wing of the Supreme Court.

If Stevens does announce his intention to retire it will be interesting to see if President Obama will shed his fantasy of bipartisanship and his desire for compromise and start representing the people who elected him by nominating a LIBERAL justice. After all, President Bush did not hesitate nominating two very conservative justices in the form of Alito and Roberts.

I feel that President Obama partially failed his first litmus test by not flexing any political muscle during the healthcare debate. He essentially let the minority party frame the debate and made him come to them instead of the other way around. We destroyed the Republicans in November and have significant margins in both houses of Congress, correct? I thought so, but the way things have gone on healthcare you would never know it. If Obama does not want to completely alienate his base and appear weak, I believe he will need to show that he is willing to take on the Republicans from a position of strength and fight for what he believes and nominate a highly-qualified LIBERAL justice to the Supreme Court.

Why We Need Universal Health Insurance

This article at MSNBC.com cites specific cases of Americans who are rejected by insurance companies for healthcare coverage. The heartless and illogical exclusionary practices employed by health insurance companies against hard-working and often perfectly healthy U.S. citizens is a national disgrace which can no longer be tolerated. Read the linked article for a perspective that shows how our current broken system affects U.S. citizens on an individual individual level. LINK