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Robert Reich Assails Obama Deal with Big Pharma as ‘Assault on Democracy’

By Larry Doyle on August 10, 2009 at 2:00 PM in Economy, Health Care, Sense on Cents (Larry Doyle blog)

Likened to extortion. Assault on democracy.

Strong charges put forth by Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich in regard to a deal cut by the Obama administration with Big Pharma (major pharmaceutical companies) to support his proposed health-care reform.

If you start to see a major advertising blitz by the pharmaceutical companies in support of Obamacare (and you will) and wonder how it happened, I strongly recommend How the White House’s Deal with Big Pharma Undermines Democracy, recently posted at Wall Street Pit.

Reich weighs in:

I want universal health insurance. And having had a front-row seat in 1994 when Big Pharma and the rest of the health-industry complex went to battle against it, I can tell you first hand how big and effective the onslaught can be. So I appreciate Big Pharma’s support this time around, and I like it that the industry is doing the reverse of what it did last time, and airing ads to persuade the public of the rightness of the White House’s effort.

But I also care about democracy, and the deal between Big Pharma and the White House frankly worries me. It’s bad enough when industry lobbyists extract concessions from members of Congress, which happens all the time. But when an industry gets secret concessions out of the White House in return for a promise to lend the industry’s support to a key piece of legislation, we’re in big trouble. That’s called extortion: An industry is using its capacity to threaten or prevent legislation as a means of altering that legislation for its own benefit. And it’s doing so at the highest reaches of our government, in the office of the President.

When the industry support comes with an industry-sponsored ad campaign in favor of that legislation, the threat to democracy is even greater.

We’re on a precarious road — and wherever it leads, it’s not toward democracy.

Do yourself the favor and read this entire piece by Reich and then share it with friends and colleagues. I know that Washington is bought and sold many times over, but this deal strikes more deeply at the heart of the democratic process.

Those aren’t my words, but those of Robert Reich!! I concur.

What do you think?

LD

  • helenk

    http://www.freep.com/article/20090807/NEWS06/908070387/Tempers-flare-over-health-care

    the has been an awakening in this country and there is no stopping it now.
    When is the last time anyone ever saw congress being held accountable and having to answer questions?
    Maybe this is a good thing. We forgot what our ancestors fought for and passed down to us. Now it is our turn to speak up for democracy. It is the peoples government but we have to remind them every once in a while, they have a habit of forgetting that.

    WOMEN WITH INTELLIGENCE AND EXPERIENCE,MEN WHO SUPPORT THEM AND COUNTRY BEFORE PARTY ALWAYS

    PUMAS,BUBBAS,EQUALISTS AND THOSE PEOPLE RULE

    • Jack

      What, is everyone against tradition?

      Obama blocks negotiation on drug prices and stops Canadian competition, these are the very same policies of Bush Jr.

      No to Change!

      end sarcasm.

      • Ellen D

        Speaking of Canadians – my husband just phoned me and said he heard on NPR a report on that crazy Canadian lady on the commercials who said she had to go to the States for treatment because she had a brain tumor and Canada told her she had to wait and if she waited she would be dead.

        Her doctors say she had a benign cyst. (Guess she was told she had to get in line after the REAL tumors).
        She is suing the Canadian government to cover her U.S. medical bills. No word as to how big the bills are and whether any have been paid for her in the U.S. by anyone. I look forward to the details on this.

  • Tricia Spiegel

    Thanks, LD. for this very important story. I felt something was “fishy” when that donut hole deal was announced. I was pretty sure that Big Pharma would not do anything that was truly caring and altruistic.

  • HARP

    An Updated List of What’s Really in the ObamaCare Bill:

    Note: the page references below may change as the bill goes through changes. It is not final yet.

    • Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure.

    • Page 30: A federal government health care advisory committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process)

    • Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer – they say in order to allow automated reconciliation with the related health care payment and remittance.

    • Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans (read: SEIU, UAW and ACORN)

    • Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to participate in a Healthcare Exchange.

    • Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No “judicial review” is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply, private insurers will be crushed.

    • Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages for participating plans .

    • Page 149: Any employer with a payroll of $400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays an 8 percent tax on payroll

    • Page 167: Any individual who doesn’t have acceptable healthcare (according to the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income.

    • Page 170: Any NON-RESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans will pay for them).

    • Page 195: Officers and employees of Government Healthcare Bureaucracy will have access to ALL American financial and personal records.

    • Page 203: “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax.” Yes, it really says that.

    • Page 239: Bill will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors and the poor most affected.

    • Page 253: Government sets value of doctors’ time, their professional judgment, etc.

    • Page 272: a review of cancer hospital payments will be undertaken and costs adjusted accordingly.

    • Page 280: Hospitals will be penalized for what the government deems preventable re-admissions.

    • Page 298: Doctors: if you treat a patient during an initial admission that results in a readmission, you will be penalized by the government.

    • Page 318: Prohibition on hospital expansion. Hospitals cannot expand without government approval.

    • Page 335: Government mandates establishment of outcome-based measures: i.e., rationing.

    • Page 341: Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs, etc.

    • Page 425: care provider must consult with government body regarding advanced care. More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia?

    • Page 425: Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory.

    • Page 425: Government provides approved list of end-of-life resources, guiding you in death.

    • Page 429: Advance Care Planning Consult will be used to dictate treatment as patient’s health deteriorates. This can include an ORDER for end-of-life plans. This is an ORDER from the GOVERNMENT.

    • Page 469: Community-based Home Medical Services:

    • Page 472: Payments to Community-based organizations: more payoffs for ACORN?

    • justme_kc

      can you post a link where you got all this information with those corresponding page numbers? I’d like to read the entire thing, including the blurbs you cut and pasted in their entire context.

      I’ve searched high and low in the net and the only thing I’m finding is only about 165 pages long.

      Please don’t call me names or say I don’t have a job. I’m an well educated, productive part of the community. I just can’t seem to find this darn thing in full.

      • Scout

        The bill can be read at opencongress.org. Look for HR 3200.

        While you’re there, you might want to peruse HR 676. That’s the real universal health coverage bill, and it’s about half as long as HR 3200. HR 676 has 86 cosponsors but Harry Reid says they won’t let it go for a vote because it doesn’t have enough support. HR 3200 has 8 cosponsors and B0 wants it, so it’s full steam ahead.

        First they sold us out to the financial institutions, now they’re selling us out to the insurers.

        How many times will this president and congress sell us????

    • Lisa

      HARP,
      Did you read this from the actual bill on line? I want to pass this on, but I want to make sure this is factual before I do that.

      • don tufts

        a doctor in indianapolis steven fraser posted this list earlier with the page and line numbers.
        i called his office [you can find him if you look ] and spoke to his billing mgr and thanked him for the letter .turns out he has read the entire bill and summerised for us lay people to understand.

    • mountainaires

      I see a little bit of obfuscation in this viral email, Harp. Maybe a little true, but not completely in context. But, there is one thing that drove me up the wall today while reading through the bill–this “tax” that’s not a “tax doesn’t apply to “non-resident aliens.”

      So, illegal immigrants in this country will receive health care coverage, but won’t be included in the fines levied against American citizens who don’t follow the law. Hardly seems fair to me. American citizens will be fined a specified amount, and they will be taxed above certain income levels to help pay for health care that illegal immigrants will receive for free.

      That’s not REFORM if you ask me.

      And, since Big Pharma will make windfall profits–same as it ever was–because the federal government won’t negotiate for lower prices according to the diktats of Big Pharma.

      That’s not REFORM if you ask me.

      http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_111/20090714/aahca.pdf

      • Katmoon

        And, since Big Pharma will make windfall profits–same as it ever was–because the federal government won’t negotiate for lower prices according to the diktats of Big Pharma.

        Talking Heads

      • Up

        illegal immigrants are not included in any of the five bills… where did you get that?

        See:

        http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/0522DNBUShealthcare.25377b8.html

        so much misinformation on NQ about what is actually being proposed with healthcare reform.

        • Diana L. C.

          By not being included, they get a free ride, in a sense. What American hospital is going to be able to simply turn sick or injured people away? We have now a system of hospitals that must take all patients? Where is that addressed? Who is going to pay for them?

          Oh, I know. We are.

    • Fredster

      Well I’m so confused. Here’s a link that also goes line by line answering some of the confusion about the bill.

      http://tinyurl.com/nnkuuv

      that’s one’s from the govt committee on education and labor

      Here’s one from the St. Petersburg Times which discusses an email circulating about the proposed bill.

      http://tinyurl.com/n7v4jy

  • J.J. (The P.U.M.A.)

    I have a strong feeling that the Pharmas will be sold out at the last minute, after they have spent their money on ads. It serves them right for doing business with the Mafia the Obamasiah.

  • tango

    Of course Pharmas going to make money. If not, they would’ve started advertising against the bill months ago. Since they’re not, it PROVES they are not threatened by whats in the current House bill.

  • tzada

    In another sign of the urgency gripping the pro-health care reform camp, billionaire George Soros has pledged to sink $5 million into the fight, the group getting the money confirmed.
    Soros — whose operation carefully guards the privacy of such donations — made the pledge to Health Care For America Now, the leading coalition of pro-reform groups, unions and providers, HCAN chief Richard Kirsch confirmed in an email that was forwarded to me. …
    The Soros pledge is noteworthy, because both sides will seize on it. The right will say it shows the real astroturfing is coming from the pro-reform side — billionaire bogeyman Soros is bankrolling this fight!
    The left will cite the donation to demand that HCAN show real results. Some on the left, such as blogger Jane Hamsher, have been asking why heavily-bankrolled HCAN hasn’t been able to secure more commitments from Dem members of Congress to stand firm behind a public option.

    http://hotair.com/archives/2009/08/10/guess-whos-funding-obamacare-advocates/

    AP to distribute Soros-funded ‘journalism’
    Slammed as ‘lapdog on leash sworn in advance to left-wing causes’

    The Associated Press is delivering to its subscribing 1,500 American newspapers content, it has emerged, penned by groups with financing from philanthropist George Soros and another far-leftist billionaire who not only campaigned for President Obama but also topped donor lists to groups like ACORN and MoveOn.org.

    The AP announced last month it will allow its subscribers to publish free of charge work by four nonprofit groups, the Center for Public Integrity, the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University, the Center for Investigative Reporting and ProPublica.

    Controversial Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., a friend of President Obama who was embroiled in a recent national race scandal, sits on the board of ProPublica. The group defines itself as “an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.”

    http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=106448

    • tzada

      We need to concentrate of the “elephant” in the room and no it is not the Republicans.

      • trixta

        Very nicely put, tzada! The elephant in the room (i.e. town hall rooms) is not the Republican Party but concerned Americans, regardless of Party affiliation.

  • elizabethrc

    Will wonders never cease? Reich was over the top in favor of Obama. I think if we who saw from the start who Obama really is can just be patient, I think this administration and this congress (lower case on purpose…they don’t deserve upper case)will implode. It’s just coming a lot faster than I ever dreamed.
    Soon the MSNBC crowd will be forced to report the truth because it will be so out there in full force that they will have no choice but to report it. Let’s just hope that the front office will fire Matthews, Maddow, Olberman, Shuster, et al, and replace them with reporters who have integrity.

    • Ani

      From your fingertips to God’s ears.

      Reich is a disgrace — he trashed Hillary in favor of Obama — and seven months into his administration we have this article? Amazing.

      You cannot tell me this guy couldn’t figure out what was coming. I refuse to believe that. Reich is too smart. What is the upside now for helping to foist this con on the American people and now complaining about it.

      • Ferd Berfle

        Reich was as big a traitor as Richardson Phat So.

        • oowawa

          Are the rats sensing something and beginning to look for an exit route off the sinking ship? To my cynical and embittered mind, it looks like Reich is sniffing the air and preparing for a way to disembark . . . Make way, Phat So . . .

          Rats get to leave first!

          • Ferd Berfle

            Are the rats sensing something and beginning to look for an exit route off the sinking ship?

            They are and when the rats are seeking an exit, that means it’s time to disembark, pronto.

          • bho boo

            I’ll cut more slack to a sensible bailing rat than to those who feign surprise as they go under and beg for our mercy.

      • Peggy Sue

        Ani, even on the far left blogs I’m reading complaints and backtracking and “oh, I’m so disillusioned.” Or, we’ve been punked.

        As you pointed out, how anyone can be surprised is beyond me, Reich included. It’s as if people are waking up from a stupor.

        But you’re right–the evidence was there all along. And yes, Reich did trash Hillary for The One, as did many Democrats who flourished under the Clintons. And they did it with absolute and disgusting abandon.

        Betrayal should have been the Democratic mantra, not Hope and Change.

        But I’m glad Reich was willing to write and publish this article and I can only hope that more Dems with clout [and clearing minds] will do the same.

        Otherwise, the whole country is going down.

        • Ani

          If you read the opening paragraph of Reich’s article, he is still being sychophantic. These guys always have to kiss the President’s butt. The underlying meme is:

          “please I still love you don’t call me a racist but I just have this little tiny criticism is that okay..?? Pretty please with sugar on top, Il Duce.”

          • oowawa

            Exactly, Ani.

            When you’re a bot
            You’re a bot all the way
            From your first genuflect
            To your last “I obey.”

            • Ani

              Kudos!! :)

              See? All those musicals we watched are coming in handy!

              • oowawa

                Thanks, Ani. The Muse, she flieth on gossamer wings . . .

            • Katmoon

              Hahhaa, love it; Can’t you see them dancing in the semi crouch, with koolaid joker grins and orange stained fingers. ROFL. Love it.

              I got bit by the “West Side Story” bug today too.

      • jbjd

        Exactly. He knew then what he knows now; he just never thought we would all catch on so fast. Now, he is merely providing himself some cover, anticipating the eventual collapse of BO’s whole cloth dominion.

    • felizarte

      Reich contradicting Obama? Is is a case of “rats leaving a sinking ship”?

  • tzada

    Two States strike back!
    Governors oppose DoD emergency powers

    A bipartisan pair of governors is opposing a new Defense Department proposal to handle natural and terrorism-related disasters, contending that a murky chain of command could lead to more problems than solutions.

    Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas (R), chairman of the National Governors Association, and Vice Chairman Gov. Joe Manchin (D) of West Virginia penned a letter opposing the Pentagon proposal, which they said would hinder a state’s effort to respond to a disaster.

    http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/governors-oppose-dod-emergency-powers-2009-08-10.html

  • pm317

    Yep, I read this yesterday on memeorandom. Notice the comments from Obots. They are excusing Obama as this is the way things are done. Deals for everyone but nothing much for the American taxpayer except perhaps more taxes because nothing meaningful is really being done about the costs.

  • carol haka

    RR supported Obama and trashed Clinton during the campaign. He needs a stake through his heart with the rest of the blood sucking creeps that brought about this nightmare!

    CAROL HAKA :evil:

    • oowawa

      Carol Haka the vampire hunter! That is indeed the mythic reality: Washington DC has been taken over by the vampire legions. And the bloodsucker-in-chief, Barackula Himself, masquerades as the Messiah, complete with halo.

      • tzada

        Did anyone see that picture of Michelle looking so hideously angry? She looked like a vampire, and I am not the only one who thought so. I have it, however the only copy I have also shows a vampire next to her. Guess I won’t show it. However if you go to Google images and put in Micheele Obama and vampire, it is sure to pull it up for you.

        • carol haka

          Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, isn’t the economy scary enough without seeing a routine photo of a “hideously angry” MO????????

          CAROL HAKA :evil:

  • Lily

    I really lost my respect for Robert Reich when he endorsed Obama during the Democratic primary campaign. His endorsement of Obama seemed more like an anti-Clinton move than a pro-Obama move….not that I think he’s off base on this issue. I just don’t think he is telling the half of it. He says,

    “But when an industry gets secret concessions out of the White House in return for a promise to lend the industry’s support to a key piece of legislation, we’re in big trouble.”

    My response is, “Oh, really, and what about all those concessions and promises Obama gave just to get into the White House. Reich himself probably got his share of some concessions in giving his endorsement. Now, the Obama people are probably not paying attention to his advice and he is ticked off. Surprise. Surprise.

    Everyone knows that 80% of the American public is glued in front of their TV sets and won’t be able to resist an advertising onslaught. Obama’s not worried I’m sure and to his superficial and expedient way of thinking, he probably believes that he’s getting the better deal because when his healthcare bill passes, his minions will be able to dictate who gets which and how many drugs.

    Reich is absolutely correct about one thing…our democracy is in terrible shape. No better time to turn things around than the present.

  • Patience

    I’m not among those who view the pharma industry as totally venal. It’s a business for sure, and like any other works to assure and maximize profitability. But we wouldn’t be having quite the same discussion about rationing healthcare, for instance, if it weren’t for the effect that successful drugs have had on the length and quality of life of consumers. There’s a LOT more involved in bringing effective drugs to the marketplace than NIH research alone.

    Having said that, I feel TV ads unnecessarily contribute to the high cost of drugs, and restricting or even banning them should be considered in any serious reform. Of course the MSM wouldn’t like losing such a big source of revenue. And drug companies wouldn’t willingly forego the ability to advertize, as one example, newer digestive-aid drugs that are more expensive than older ones that work just as well if not better. And free speechers would take issue too.

    But still, liquor and cigarette ads are already banned and it can be argued that those substances are a form of self-medication. So why not consider restricting or outright banning pharmaceutical ads?

    As for Robert Reich, he makes some very important points that I agree with.

    • tek

      Patience: You are exactly wrong. Big Pharma creates disorders and foists drugs on Americans who don’t need them and frequently die from them. That industry is just plain evil.

      • Ferd Berfle

        They are pushers.

        • http://noquarter foxyladi14

          they give drug dealers a bad name.

          • maryann

            I’m a pharmacist– I wouldn’t chastise the whole profession, really many people function strictly because of our drug arsenal, especially when it comes to truly lifesaving drugs, the new gene transcription chemos (I’m very hopeful about this new class), the antinauseants, pain meds truly impart real benefit, anesthetics, antibiotics, antivirals, antirejection…there’s a lot of drivel but the buffer between prescriber and patient is supposed to reduce the use of bad drugs — MJ wouldn’t be dead if the proper hierarchy and algorithm had been in place.

      • Patience

        Sorry tek, but I don’t agree at all with your sweeping indictment.

        I’ve witnessed serious illness in my family on which drugs have had a tremendously beneficial effect. However I do feel more work needs to be done by pharma when it comes to tailoring dosages to suit individual needs. IMO there aren’t always sufficient increments. As well, doctors need to make more effort to monitor their patients’ reactions when new drugs are prescribed, and when dosages of current drugs are changed.

        • Ferd Berfle

          Actually, less money needs to be spent on advertising; more emphasis needs to be placed on actually making the contraindications and warnings readable (i.e., no more 2-pt lower elbonian font); no more false claims; and no more sweet-heart deals with doctors.

          I won’t hold my breath waiting for any of this to happen and until it does, they are nothing more than pushers.

          • Patience

            Ditto about contraindication warnings and sweetheart deals.

          • maryann

            This is why docs should never profit from a prescription.

    • WMCB

      Big Pharma is doing the same thing that the banks and mortgage brokers did. Screw serving an actual, sane, productive purpose in society, and yes, making MONEY from it. That’s fine. I have never had a problem with banks or drug companies making as handsome a profit as they wished, so long as they were providing a service to society – whether raising capital for productive business ventures, or developing life-saving drugs.

      But just as the banks threw any concern for fiscal soundness or real investing out the window to go chasing after huge bonuses and “grab as much as you can before they get wise to the Ponzi scheme”, so too Big Pharma is gutting research, forgetting their productive purpose, and doing whatever it takes to drive the stocks and paper profits up. It is no longer about making helpful drugs and profiting from those discoveries (which I am all for). It is something altogether different now. Talk to the researchers and scientists employed by the drug companies. They are SICK over what the MBA money-boyz are doing to their industry.

      When industries become monopolistic, corrupt, tied to govt, and unconcerned with PRODUCING anything of value, then that’s not capitalism and that’s not competition. It is a cannibalizing of the markets and of the treasury. If someone wants to get STINKING RICH providing something of value to society, then I say go for it – and more power to ya. But this is not what is happening.

      • Katmoon

        I agree, concur and know first hand being dependent on medications for my RA. I began a voluntary study in June for a new drug for RA. Because of my ethnicity, and being new to the RA drug regime, I was a perfect candidate. Also my current meds were not helping any longer; my hands wouldn’t open, my feet were unable to bend, not fun. I had a choice to up to a biometric(Humera) I think beyond co-pay without “help” from a benevolent source(there are some which would make it a 5.00 extra payment for shipping), was $12,000.00. Yes, that did partially affect my decision, but more-so, I knew it was important to have the trials done, to help others in the future. No one, not my doctor, or anyone affiliated from my end makes any money off of this. Will the drug companies make money if enough people do this study and it works? I am sure they will. It is double-blind, regarding placebo vs. real thing, but guaranteed at 6 months into the trial to get the real thing.

        These were my choices, I could have gone to the next level at a cost of only 5.00; Am I advocating for the big Pharms, No, just know sometimes people make decisions based on what a future outcome may be for others. I believe I am still on a placebo, as I have seen no change. Again, it is worth the risk to see if this can create a drug to help others. When you have a chronic condition the choices become slimmer. Genetics can also play a role, where there is no fault, just the way nature creates some of our genes.
        There are a very small group of subset companies and organizations that make the best effort they can to help patients, the big pharms “donate” time, equipment and goods to them a tax write-offs; the sad truth is, as long as there are disease processes that destroy a person’s ability to remain independent, someone(most of the corps.) will scheme to make as much money as they can. At least I tried to help myself, and others, and hope I don’t have to give in to the next level of drugs, as eventually they will not work either.

    • bayareavoter

      I totally agree–get rid of drug advertising on tv! I’m with you–they do spend a lot on research and deserve to run a profitable business.

      We subsidized tobacco farmers and oil companies for years–why not make a deal where the drug companies can make their profit but we help subsidize research or something that makes drugs more affordable?

  • Tammy

    Is this even legal?
    Any lawyers out there who can tell me how our President can take money from Pharma via TV ads?
    Anyone?

    The 52-ers who voted for this Stalinist President are going to have a sad awakening when their medical care is rationed.

    • maryann

      This is why the president should never profit from prescriptions.

  • cathnealon

    Oh, now Reich the traitor is worried–what the hell did he expect? I have no use for these idiots who supported the One–talk about extortion–and I’m sure Big Pharma is just ecstatic–now they can start drugging the American people even more, especially the little old people who’ll “just get a pain pill” instead of treatment. I’m sure BO and the wife can’t wait to have Americans doped up so they won’t know who ACORN is signing up to register for the next election.

  • candymarl

    No one could have foreseen this. I mean just because Obama backtracked on FISA, DADT, DOMA, Indefinite Detention, expanding the war into Pakistan,and supported the multi-billion dollar bailouts what’s the problem?

    Nobody here saw this coming.

    Oh wait….

    • trixta

      My brother-in-law who, unfortunately, voted for Obama is now feeling like he’s been royally punked! One more PUMA to add to our growing community….

      • jbjd

        So, on what basis did he vote for BO? Because nothing he has done since after taking office is different from anything he did, before.

        • maryann

          Exactly. Punked? More like they had their head up their ass and were high on koolaid and now that the honeymoon is over they have no one to blame but themselves.
          I’m SURE they had to have heard the warnings:
          Muslim, Anti-American, Radical Marxist, Incited Genocide, Broke Tax Laws, Hidden Past…all ridiculed, all turned out to be true

          Oh well…if it makes them feel better, yes sweetie you were given a raw deal! They lied to you! How could you have possibly known?

  • Peggy Sue

    Larry, thanks for bringing Reich’s comments to our attention. I read his essay earlier today and it’s important because no one can pretend that Robert Reich is anything less than a Democrat, a liberal one at that. He was on board when Hillary Clinton hit a stonewall with her plan back in the 90s, so he’s well aware of the pitfalls in pushing for genuine health care reform [with the stress on health care rather than politics and influence peddling as usual].

    Reich, although a Obama supporter, has not swallowed every policy point hook, line and sinker, unlike many of his colleagues. Nor has someone like Susan Estrich, another solid Democrat, who has serious reservations about this package being jammed down our throats in a time of economic upheaval. Unlike Pelosi and Hoyt who apparently deem criticism unAmerican or a “conspiracy by the mob,” there are still some political voices out there calling for clear-headed consideration of what we’re doing, instead of jumping over the cliff like mindless lemmings.

    But I’m sure Reich will be crticized for the audacity to question the current DC wisdom that “they” know what’s good for us, regardless of the cost or unintended consequences.

    Things are getting ugly because ordinary people are mad as hell.

    “We’re on a precarious road — and wherever it leads, it’s not toward democracy.”

    Sadly, I also concur!

  • tek

    Isn’t it interesting that Reich lauded Obama over Hillary and now he’s switched sides. These d*** people put this joker in office and now they want to be dissociated from him.

    Just read a big article in Yahoo! News about hispanics following the healthcare debate and insisting that illegals be covered.

  • tek

    And may I just say, where does Obama get this “folks” crap? It was annoying when Dubya did it, and now Obama consistently refers to the American People as the “folks,” like we’re some ignorant peasants in Medieval Europe or something. I find it entirely disgusting.

    • Ferd Berfle

      The notion that my use of the term folks would irritate the American public is er, ah, um, uh… where’s that damn TelePrompTer

      • WMCB

        “Let me be clear…… I use the term folks because hey, I’m just a hard-workin’ blue collar folksy kinda guy. I’m one of you…”

        (That’s the tip-off when Obama is about to tell a whopper. He almost always prefaces with “let me be clear”)

        • Tammy

          It’s the same as prefacing a sentence with, “To be perfectly honest with you….”

          or
          “To tell you the truth, …”

          Those lines always come in front of lies.

          Good call, WMCB!

        • jbjd

          Or this: “The notion that…” (First the straw argument, then the lie…)

          • Ferd Berfle

            Those are all great! That One is a comedian’s dream.

            • Ferd Berfle

              And all of them prefaced with the middle-finger scratch followed by the shoulder brush-off..

            • jbjd

              I read comments from the bottom up and so, when I wrote my ‘notion’ comment, I had not seen that you wrote a comment mentioning BO’s use of that word, too. Sorry; did not intend to copy.

              • Ferd Berfle

                No problem, jbjd–it’s all good and a hoot, to boot.

          • Donna Brazile

            The Donna Brazilian all time favorite:

            “Let me be clear….”

            As if you need to state the obvious…

            Stop the lecturefest!

            • maryann

              They never sit down to a real debate and they sit amongst themselves all self-congratulatory that they are the elite intellectuals above the chattering classes. Sadly delusional.

    • Ani

      Folks is just one step up from “you people”…

      Wait. It’s coming if his poll numbers drop any further. You know, you people don’t know whats good for you. :)

      • Ferd Berfle

        LMAO. Too funny.

      • Patience

        Exactly so Ani.

      • http://noquarter foxyladi14

        you are right and they are dropping like a rock

  • Ferd Berfle

    You know, it’s a little late in the game to have a sudden epiphany about where the loyalties of That One rest as they have always rested with he, himself, and him.

    Reich should just go quietly away as no one should listen to any idiot who was fooled by the promises of a south-side tough wannabe like That ONe.

    • jbjd

      No, you know what? I don’t want him to go quietly away. I want him to announce publicly how duped he was by the ‘promise’ that was BO; how he witnessed the fraud by the DNC RBC and let it pass because of the greater good that would result; and how wrong he was for deserting HRC, who has a well-documented lifetime of doing work she promised would continue in the WH…

      • Ferd Berfle

        If he would do that, then I’d be content with a public mea culpa. He won’t, though, which still makes him part of the problem. We’ll see.

  • mountainaires

    I agree with Reich and I thank him for publicizing it. This is Cheney and the Energy Committee all over again.

  • mlr701

    Too bad Reich had to suck down the Obama kool-aid during the primaries instead of supporting the people he’d been friends with for 30 years. Glad he’s finally getting a clue, but I’m sorry it’s too late to do anything with it.

  • Doc99

    Well, Health Insurers were at the same closed door meetings as Pharma and thought they had made their deal with the devil. Then came the “Press Conference” and Obamacare was in trouble. At that point, they went to the polls because they needed a villain. Seeing that most opposition to the status quo involved stupid insurance tricks, they decided that health insurers would be the villains and health care reform morphed into health insurance reform. Pharma had dodged a bullet. Unfortunately for Ozero, Rasmussen shows more Americans fear government than fear the insurers. Ouch!

  • Tuppence411

    Larry- I always appreciate your posts because you can break down complex issues into a easily understandable information for us non-economists.

    I have recently had common every day encounters with purchasing pharmaceuticals that has me scratching my head wondering wft is “Big Pharma’s” business model in the USA?

    We recently adopted two shelter kittens. Shelter kitties needs lots of vet services and medicine. I am able to purchase name-brand, top-shelf meds from reputable manufacturers for about the same price as my insurance co-pay for “generic, from some fly-by-night lab, who knows where it was made with components inmported from India or China.” WTF. If Big Pharma can sell me quality meds at a reasonable price for my cats, why can’t they sell me reasonable price meds for me?? Aren’t there more people than cats or dogs in the USA?

  • PYW

    I still remember when Reich defended Obama’s health care “plan” against Hillary’s criticisms, using some of the lamest logic I’ve ever seen. He’s a smart man, and really should’ve known better. But so many of the Dem intelligentsia bought into the argument that Obama really was some sort of transformational, postpartisan figure, and he was one of them.

  • tango

    Oh this is great. Listen to all the times Obama promised health care legislation negotiations would be public and transparent.

    http://www.breitbart.tv/naked-emperor-news-obamas-mother-of-all-political-lies-and-the-town-hall-mayhem-it-caused/

    OBAMA = LIAR