David Frum admits bipartisanship was doomed to failure

rlk

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Sunday March 21, 2010 · 4:33 PM PDT

2010/03/21 · 16:33

David Frum just posted a most interesting blog entry, simply entitled Waterloo, in which he admits that the Republican strategy of refusal to compromise and negotiate is flawed.

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The message we should give the Republicans is

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The message we should give the Republicans is

Thank you sir, may I have another!!!

20 votes

Come back when you're ready to deal

61 votes

That's "Sir" to you, maggot!

7 votes

That's "Ma'am" to you, blastocyst!

8 votes

Return to the ninth plane from whence you came

32 votes

Pie

8 votes

Don't Ask, Don't Tell is an issue of NATIONAL SECURITY!!!

rlk

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Tuesday February 02, 2010 · 7:32 PM PST

2010/02/02 · 19:32

I am getting really, really fed up with the Republicans' constant hammering of us on spurious issues of national security. I think it's time we turned the tables on them on a real issue of national security: the policy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell poses a genuine hazard to national security, and we should pull no punches. You want to defend DADT? Fine, then you bear responsibility for any attacks or attempts that could have been stopped had we not deprived the country of the services of people who could have helped stop them.

rlk

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Friday January 01, 2010 · 2:14 PM PST

2010/01/01 · 14:14

I started writing this as a comment to k charles weeda's excellent diary, but it quickly became clear that this will be a bit too lengthly to be a comment.

I'm finding myself gradually coming to a few conclusions both about what a public option would look like and about the necessity of one:

I don't believe that a "public insurance option" is a sine qua non of health care reform.

A public insurance option would likely result in significant changes to the insurance market; it wouldn't simply be another competitor that keeps the private insurers honest.

There are forms of "public option" other than an insurance program that we should be open to.

rlk

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Friday December 25, 2009 · 6:36 PM PST

2009/12/25 · 18:36

In this diary, I discuss some strategic and tactical reasons why I believe it essential to pass and sign any kind of reasonably good health care bill (which I believe, with a few exceptions, the Senate one is) as soon as practicable. In particular, I believe that the tactical situation is currently as favorable as it's likely to be any time soon, and if we miss this window, we may be in for a very long wait indeed.

One thing I want to note up top is that I give President Obama -- and Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid -- tremendous credit for getting us to where we are today. There have been no large-scale expansions of medical care since Medicare and Medicaid over 40 years ago, and this is the very first attempt to cover the broad mass of young to middle-age adults that has gone anywhere at all in Congress, much less passed both houses (albeit with plenty of work left), and these three leaders have put in a tremendous effort to get us as far as we have.

Caution: some of this diary is going to sound a bit macabre. I apologize in advance for that, but I think that good planning has to consider the tactical situation, not just the strategy or policy goals.

Also, apologies for the length; it got rather longer than I envisioned. Read More

President Obama Has it Right: It's Universal Health Care That Matters, Not Whose Ideas!

rlk

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Thursday September 10, 2009 · 6:26 PM PDT

2009/09/10 · 18:26

I'm feeling frustrated with people who insist that the health care bill has to have a public option or a single payer, and that we should reject it if it doesn't. In my opinion, they couldn't be more wrong. People who say this are confusing the goal of universal health care with the means of getting there and possibly putting that goal at risk. And we really shouldn't care whose ideas get used. It doesn't matter whether they come from Dennis Kucinich or John Boehner. What is important is having affordable universal health care as quickly as we can. That's likely to mean that we're going to have to compromise, but let's get behind our President and the members of Congress who do support universal health care and drive something that works through, whatever it looks like.

A public option is simply one part of one approach to universal health care. But it isn't the only one, and by itself it isn't going to solve the problem. Not only that, but there are a lot of different possible public options, and not all of them will work well. Even a good idea won't work well if it's poorly executed. We have to get beyond focusing on the means and keep our eyes on the goal -- Sen. Kennedy's life's work.

More below the jump.

rlk

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Monday September 07, 2009 · 2:45 PM PDT

2009/09/07 · 14:45

We had a fine health care rally in Boston today, sponsored by Health Care for America NOW!, starting at the gazebo on the Common followed by a parade to Copley Square. The weather was perfect, the people were fired up, the pols were out in force, the Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society Brass Band provided the entertainment, and a splendid time was had by all.

A really big shout-out to the SEIU locals 1199 and 615 (and I think I saw others, too). They provided the parade marshalls, a lot of signs, several speakers, translations into Spanish for many of the speakers, and in general put a tremendous amount of time and effort into this. They deserve a big thanks.

UPDATE 20090907 1930 EDT: added a "how could I have missed this" photo

More, including photographs, below the fold.

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David Frum admits bipartisanship was doomed to failure

Don't Ask, Don't Tell is an issue of NATIONAL SECURITY!!!

Further thoughts on a public health care option

Strategic and tactical reasons to pass health care ASAP (UPDATED: fix links and a few other changes)

President Obama Has it Right: It's Universal Health Care That Matters, Not Whose Ideas!

Boston Health Care Rally Sept. 7, 2009 UPDATED