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Elizabeth Edwards on Health Plans, Obama’s Lobbyists, Negatives + Late Deciders

By SusanUnPC on January 2, 2008 at 8:54 PM in Clinton, Democrats, John Edwards, Obama, Republicans

Despite his rhetoric about “change” and getting rid of “special interests,” Obama is hiring professional lobbyists throughout his campaign organization, announcing today that professional lobbyist and “former South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges” joins his campaign as “national co-chair.” (MSNBC)

Elizabeth Edwards spoke out, via CBS News, on “the ad [claiming] that Obama’s health plan covered more people than either Edwards’s or Hillary Clinton’s plans”:

“It’s just complete untruth,” she said. “I’ll speak on behalf of Senator Clinton as well. Both Senator Clinton’s and John Edwards’s health care plans cover one hundred percent of Americans and Senator Obama’s does not.”

Taylor Marsh considers Obama’s high negatives, highest of all the candidates except Giuliani:

Somebody tell Chris Matthews.

Obama’s negatives are up to 51%, even after the abject fawning of the press. …

Hillary is on Letterman tonight. It’s Dave’s first show back; because he owns his show, he negotiated a contract acceptable to his writers as well as to the Writers’ Guild. (Conversely, Mike Huckabee is crossing the picket lines to go on Leno tonight — and, below the pic, there’s an “oops.”)

hillaryclintononletterman.jpg

Oops:

… GOP hopeful Huckabee appeared confused over which of the two late-night hosts had reached a separate deal with the union representing striking writers.

Huckabee said he supports the writers and did not think he would be crossing a picket line, because he believed the writers had made an agreement to allow late-night shows on the air. That’s not the case with Leno, and picketers outside Leno’s Burbank, Calif., studio targeted Huckabee.

I’ll leave you at the “Crossroads” and with the news that Jesse Jackson’s wife is endorsing Hillary Clinton:

Via Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic:

Jacqueline Jackson, wife of Rev. Jesse Jackson, endorses HRC and tapes a South Carolina radio ad on her behalf. The Rev. himself is supporting, somewhat tepidly, Barack Obama.

  • liberalbuffet

    I work with the Democrats in Oregon. We all love Bill and Hillary, and most still do, to this day. BUT, whats killing her here is THIS>>OREGON WANTS INSURANCE COMPAINIES OFF THE TABLE WHEN IT COMES TO HEALTH CARE. She wont take them off. And that is going to hurt her in this state. Edwards is making ground here just because of that. Hillary scares the very people who love her. And she just may lose because she wont tell us what shes really going to do.

    • http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

      Well, that would be ideal, but it’d leave the legislation without any hope of passage. That’s why John Edwards and Hillary Clinton’s health care plans are VERY SIMILAR — nearly alike, says Paul Krugman. It’s the most realistic way of getting health care to ALL Americans.

      I’m always, in the end, a fan of the possible rather than the ideal. What do they say? Perfection is the enemy of good? Or something to that effect.

      It’ll be hard enough to pass Edwards’s or Clinton’s plans as it is! Let’s not doom the American people to decades more of no health care.

    • Retired

      “…because she wont tell us what shes really going to do.” This is exactly what killed her health care plan in 1992/3 when I worked with her. I thought that perhaps she had gotten past her compulsion for secrecy, but at least the perception that she has not is still out there (or up there in my case) in Oregon.

    • CognitiveDissonance

      liberalbuffet, as another Oregonian, I would also be more in favor of a single payer plan (i.e., medicare for all). However, don’t forget that Hillary’s plans gives you the choice of a government plan as part of the menu. In other words, you could choose a medicare clone as your own health plan.

      Personally, I believe that she put it together this way on purpose. To keep the health care lobbyists from buying up millions of dollars of hit pieces and running them non-stop on TV. But she is still keeping a single-payer alternative as an option. I would bet it would be the cheapest alternative on the menu, since it doesn’t have to make a profit. Now which plan do you think a majority of people will choose if price is an object? Or if they completely hate the health insurance companies, as most Americans do. I would have to believe the government option. That’s the one I’ll choose. And if most people choose this option, it could end up being a slow phase-out of for-profit insurance companies.

      If that is her strategy, I think it is a very sound one and will actually work. I just don’t think that a single-payer plan alone will make it through Congress. Doing it Hillary’s way will end up phasing it out the best way possible – by showing the world that we all prefer the medicare clone, not the hated insurance companies.

  • http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

    Atrios is saying that a certain candidate might be asking for his job back on a certain TV show.

    The Page sez the same.

    :::::

    Speaking of which, whatever happened to Sam Waterston’s Unity party? I never hear about it anymore. (Btw, Sam is now sitting in that certain candidate’s chair on that show.)

  • oldtree

    Oregon may have a ballot initiative in November that will settle the matter in a different way. And I agree with the Buffet, anyone that won’t speak of universal health care here in Oregon is going to lose a lot of ground, and the election in my guess.
    Edwards is addressing it. He can now win in any state.

  • Masslib

    I hope Hillary does well tomorrow night.

  • WMCB

    Hillary impresses me more and more every time I take another hard look at her.

  • Masslib

    Hillary Clinton has the same plan as John Edwards without the cumbersome “regional markets”. She’s the only candidate who has ever worked to pass UHC, and the only one who has ever successfully helped pass an expansion in federally funded health coverage(SCHIP, the single largest expansion in federally funded health coverage since Medicare). Further, she was the driving force behind the current SCHIP expansion. She passed a bill with Lindsay Graham to grant access to health coverage to military families. She has a record, not just a plan. Further, she’s a health policy expert. If you look at the details of what Hillary is proposing it’s similar to national systems in OECD countries, which by the way she directly cites as having better, less expensive health care because they don’t pay private insurers who spend the money on marketing and profits. Further, she contends that costs should be capped at a certain percent of income. I trust absolutely no one more than Hillary on the health care issue.

  • http://www.evergreenpolitics.com shoephone

    Sounds like Oregonians like Edwards a lot more than Hillary. The fact is, Edwards has tons of support in Western Washington as well.

    But, gee, it sure is nice of Taylor’s minions to toddle on over here to hijack these threads.

  • DCDemocrat

    I’m all fired up about Hillary! You go, girl!

    Huckabee was confused about who struck a deal with the union. Just another mistaken cognition in his poorly wired neural circuits.

  • Masslib

    shoephone, I’m not a “minion”. I like John Edwards. He’s, by far, my second choice. I think he would make a very good president. But I can not just stand by while the only candidate with an actual record of expanding federally funded health care is characterized as somehow deficient in that area.

    • susanunpc

      Me too. Btw, last night, I e-mailed MassLib about Elizabeth Edwards’ quotes because I thought she’d like to read it. Glad she came over here. I “met” MassLib via DailyKos a while ago.

      I read most of Taylor’s posts, but haven’t had time to read any threads — one of these days! And I keep meaning to turn on her radio show, if my little ‘puter will let me.

      I REALLY like John Edwards too. He’s got that grit, those brains, that capacity for work. Shoephone, I’m glad to hear he’s got strong support in Western Washington state.

      Watched C-Span last night — great coverage of all the last events. Edwards had TWICE as many people at his event as did Obama. John Mellencamp sang. C-Span didn’t give a # for those at Hillary’s event, best I heard, but it was huge. She had Madeleine Albright, Wes Clark, Ted Danson, her mom, daughter and her husband up there with her. Neat.

      • Shirin

        Oh goody! Madeline “the price is worth it” Albright who bears the blood of a million or so Iraqis on her hands.

        I was there when Madeleine Albright gave the commencement speech at Berkeley, and the beautiful and brilliant Palestinian woman who was the valedictorian threw away her speech and spoke extemporaneously and eloquently in reply to Albright’s typical political propaganda as a plane flew overhead trailing a banner, and students in the audience brought out signs and banners (and of course, were hauled away for exercising silent, non-violent free speech.

        Albright left abruptly before the ceremony was over and hid by lying down on the seat of her SUV as it screeched down the driveway, out to the street, and away.

  • Kathleen

    Hillary voted yes on the Kyl Lieberman amendment, do not forget this…she is a warmonger. Obama happened to be out of town that day. (Obama sat on the fence just as he did during the John Bolton and Condi Rice
    nomination hearings)…he tries to play it safe.

    John Edwards is the only candidate not taking Pac monies and has endlessly apologized for the very serious mistake he made by voting for the 2002 war resolution vote that gave the Bush administration permission to continue to lie our nation into an unnecessary and immoral war.

    Here is what Seymour Hersh said to Amy Goodman after Hillary voted for the Kyl Lieberman amendment.

    Amy Goodman/Seymour Hersh interview on Iran. Sy talks about why he thinks Hillary vote for the Kyl Lieberman amendment. Here is some of the transcript.
    AMY GOODMAN: Sy Hersh, I wanted to switch gears for the last question, and this has to do with it not
    just being Republicans who are sounding a drumbeat for war. The three leading Democratic presidential candidates—Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards—have all declared no options off the table. This is a clip from last week’s Democratic debate. It was the day the Senate approved a controversial resolution calling on the State Department to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization. At the debate, Democratic presidential hopeful Mike Gravel bitterly criticized Hillary Clinton for voting in favor.

    MIKE GRAVEL: This is fantasy land. We’re talking about ending the war. My god, we’re just starting a war right today. There was a vote in the Senate today. Joe Lieberman, who authored the Iraq resolution, has authored another resolution, and it is essentially a fig leaf to let George Bush go to war with Iran. And I want to congratulate Biden for voting against it, Dodd for voting against it, and I’m ashamed of you, Hillary, for voting for it. You’re not going to get another shot at this, because what’s happened, if this war ensues, we invade, and they’re looking for an excuse to do it. And Obama was not even there to vote.

    TIM RUSSERT: Senator Clinton, I want to give you a chance to respond.

    SEN. HILLARY CLINTON: [laughter]

    AMY GOODMAN: That was Hillary Clinton laughing. Fifteen seconds, Seymour Hersh. Your response?

    SEYMOUR HERSH: Money. A lot of the Jewish money from New York. Come on, let’s not kid about it. A significant percentage of Jewish money, and many leading American Jews support the Israeli position that Iran is an existential threat. And I think it’s as simple as that. When you’re from New York and from New York City, you take the view of—right now, when you’re running a campaign, you follow that line. And there’s no other explanation for it, because she’s smart enough to know the downside.

    #Here is Amy Goodman asking Seymour Hersh about why Hillary voted for the Kyl Lieberman amendment.

    “Finally, Jewish journalist Seymour Hersh recently broke the taboo against discussing the J-word in an interview with Amy Goodman, Jewish host of Democracy Now, on Oct. 3. When Goodman asked him why it is that Democratic presidential candidates feel compelled to join Republican presidential candidates in threatening an expanded Middle
    Eastern war against Iran, he explained that American Jews — and Jewish money — were pushing us toward war for Israel.”

    http://www.democracynow.org/2007/10/2/seymour_hersh_white_house_intensifying_plans

    Here is part of that interview where Hersh speaks honestly and out loud about the I-lobby and it’s influence on Hillary. This is a great interview of Amy Goodman with Seymour Hersh (two journalist that I deeply respect)listen for yourselves.

    Here is the link to when Mike Gravel questions Hillary Clinton’s yes vote on the Kyl Lieberman amendment. Gravel points out that Obama walked out. You get to see Edwards apologizing once again for his 2002 war resolution vote, and his reasons for standing against the Bush administrations and the neo-cons push for a confrontation with Iran

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npzN3dZR6JM

    THIS CLIP IS A MUST WATCH
    The way Hillary responded to a legitimate challenge was disgusting and alarming.

    Complete interview
    http://www.democracynow.org/2007/10/2/seymour_hersh_white_house_intensifying_plans

    http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2007/12/12/obama-talks-the-talk-but-wheres-the-walk#comment-96723

  • Kathleen

    Elizabeth Edwards is a breath of fresh air. Would rather see her in the White House than Bill.

    Enough of the Clintons.

    • norris morris

      This is not an infantile personality contest.

      Elizabeth Edwards is not trying to run for President. She seems nice. But not for President.

      She’s trying to get her hubby to do that.

      Hillary Clinton is far more qualified in our current crisis mode than any other candidate.

      I don’t have to want to have dinner with her.

      Grow up. America is in deep trouble.

  • Kathleen

    Just watched that Hillary tape that you posted Susan. I really do not understand how you or these voters can forget that Hillary voted for the 2002 war resolution and has never ever admitted that she made a bloody catastrophic mistake and then went on to vote for the Kyl Lieberman admendment. Putting our nation closer to a pre-emptive strike on Iran or supporting Israel pre-emptively striking Iran based on more unsubstantiated hogwash.

    I can not vote for Hillary just because she is a woman that just does not get it for me.

    Edwards has apologized for his 2002 war resolution vote and has taken a solid stance on negotiating and diplomacy with Iran. Hillary is Aipac’s girl, Obama sits on the fence and Edwards is not taking any Pac money and has very strong words about the lies that took our nation into war.

    Hillary is a warmonger plain and simple

    • norris morris

      Hillary is not a warmonger. That’s a learned slur. At the time all democrats [including edwards] voted to actually engage UN to continue looking for WMD’s, and she cannot say what intelligence she was privvy to as it’s rule you don’t break. Obama wasn’t around to vote. He was doing his political stuff in Chicago voting “present” to give local pols “cover”.

      No one in congress at least, mostly Democrats thought that Bush would actually manipulate Powell to lie for him and fake intelligence.

      She has said knowing what she knows now, it wasn’t something she’d do again. I’ve heard her say this, so where were you?

      As far as Kyl/Lieberman she responded carefully to this at debate in NH tonite. Almost all dems voted as it does NOT give Bush right to go to war. Obviously you did not hear her detailed response re: the terrorists in Iran and why this vote actually has validity.

      Since you’re such an uber pure, please note that Mr. Democracy Obama voted for the Patriot Act along with voting against Truth in Lending Bankruptcy Bill, and there are a few zingers that would surprise you when you go to:

      Washington Post online and access Politics, then pull down menu to Congress and you will see how Obama voted and how Hillary voted. Obama a rookie senator was absent around 40% of the time, and some of his votes are good, and some are…
      alarming. Look at Clinton’s and compare. I dare you.

      Obama was Chairman of Subcommittee of Foreign Affairs on Europe, and convened not one meeting. Has met Tony Blair[?] twice, made few trips abroad.
      And guess what?
      His subcommittee which gave the young Joe Biden his
      learning curve……under Obama…has accomplished nothing.

      Casting slurs and hate labels is not becoming to anyone who pretends to care about this country.

  • erik – longwalksinparis.blogspot.com

    Obama is the FIREWALL that former team Clinton players Rahm Emmanuel, David Axelrod, and the Pritzker family put up to thwart any real challenge to Hillary. Anyone with a little common sense could have figured this out when his candidacy was in the talking stages. Obama is nothing more but a Chicago pol with a fresh face and a nice smile. He knows his role in this political drama and plays it to the hilt.

    • norris morris

      I’m not so sure he’s a firewall. I believe that’s wishfull thinking. Oprah wasn’t kidding around in supporting him by inserting herself into a caucus to rev him up and poach Hillary’s 35 year olds.

      Oprah plays for keeps. BTW she runs a non union program, but enjoys personal membership in 3 craft unions. She’s tough and savvy and powerful.

      Oprah and friends have long ties to Chicago pols and Obama has been “planned” for a long time.

      She has put lots of money and time into Obama, and Oprah doesn’t create firewalls for Hillary Clinton.

      The dream is to have the first black President and they sense the moment is right, Republicans are vulnerable, and it’s our time NOW. Screw Hillary.

      OpraBama was the first time we ever saw a daytime merchandise hawker [and seller of dreams to 8 million women] give THE boost to the man with enough golden rhetoric to sway and mesmerize.

      Who is he?

  • sheerahkahn

    “Despite his rhetoric about “change” and getting rid of “special interests,” Obama is hiring professional lobbyists throughout his campaign organization, announcing today that professional lobbyist and “former South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges” joins his campaign as “national co-chair.” (MSNBC)”

    Susan,
    Just an observation, because I don’t follow all this like you, but from this statement I’m reading the following…
    “Hillary hasn’t hired any professional Lobbyists for her campaign.”
    Is this what you’re implicating?

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  • Mr.Murder

    Obama’s put a millstone on himself by taking up the mantle of demonizing Social Security.

    Of course, AWOL has laundered war funding for pork giveaways to Cheneyburton via the Social Security trust fund.

    Does Barack know something we don’t?

    He is supposed to take over and cover up the graft Bush did with Social Security by doing radical overhauls and changes in the plan.

    Bush’s buddy Colin Powell is Barack’s foreign policy adviser. This connects the dots over who will cover the SS scandal and the emerging lending crises that make the S&L scandal look like a walk in the park.

    Of course, back during the S&L scandal days USAID made Iraq into John Deere’s largest overseas customer…

    Are we seeing money funneled the same way once again? There was over nine billion lost at the time…

    Why is Obama less than six degrees of separation from some of the biggest policy blunderers ever, do we really want Colin giving him advice?

    • norris morris

      Colin Powell would not be the only problem facing rookie Obama. He’s smart about retail politics at the local level in Chicago with Dem Pols, but he’ll have to buy advice from people whose word he’ll have to take.

      How will he know? Powell will tell him as he told United Nations there was an imminent threat [with power point]?

      Obama is a skilled opportunist. He voted against Bankruptcy protection, and for the Patriot Act along with other goodies. Lieberman mentors him.

      He has been successful at moving very gullible and disaffected young people to swooning belief, and his impassioned rhetoric moves them along.

      He is a rookie. This country is in deep crisis mode. Enough said.

  • Mr.Murder

    BTW Biden, don’t kid yourself. Stop letting your hair curls get to your judgement. Powell will be the Sec. of State for Obama.

    You really have got a lot of ego to think otherwise. Joe Lieberman, redux.

    • norris morris

      Yes. Many of the also rans will expect [considering their behavior] to have a seat in the Obama Cabinet, etc.

      Obama will stack with Powell,etc., and he will need as much advice as Lieberman can arrange for him.

      It won’t be good.

  • norris morris

    Clinton and Edwards healthcare are almost identical. Clinton was very clear about what is contained in her plan. The same health coverage that covers Congress.She outlined in detail today in NH.

    Medicare is not entirely government funded. I pay for my medicare and its deductibles, etc., and pay for insurance that covers the 20% or more not covered by Medicare. It’s called Supplementary Medicare. And I pay for Medicare PlanD[drug plan] which is partnered with insurance companies. Price keeps going up. Clinton discussed this, too.
    Hillary has often discussed the necessity of Medicare’s bargaining for lowering drug costs, andfor dental care to become insurable in a meaningful way.

    She was clear today in N.H. with a group on the subject that Insurance companies in the Medical Pan would not be able to exclude anyone for prior existing conitions, and spent a lot of time going over many of the parts involved in Healthcare.

    Her plan and Edwards call for a mandate. Obama’s does not, and it is very problematical. The health and young would opt out, causing strain on plan, and others would avoid it for $$ reasons. Millions would remain uncovered.

    All of them offer far superior solutions to what we now have, but Clinton/Edwards is superior.

    It will be hard to do, but it can happen. However Clinton went into great detail and did not do what Obama has done, which is to fudge.

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