Lincoln criticizes Nebraska health care deal
LITTLE ROCK (AP) — U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln says a political deal that benefits Nebraska and may have clinched a lawmaker's support for health care legislation should be removed from the bill.
Lincoln told reporters Tuesday she was disappointed in a deal in the health reform package won by conservative Nebraska Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson, whose support gave Democrats the 60th and final vote they need. Under the provision, the federal government will permanently pick up the state's entire cost for an expansion of Medicaid, while paying the full tab for the other 49 states for only three years.
Lincoln, a Democrat from Arkansas, voted for the health care legislation in a Christmas Eve vote.
Republican attorneys general in 13 states have threatened a lawsuit if congressional leaders don't remove the deal from the legislation.
Comments (29)
Add commentToo late, Blanche
Blanche Lincoln (and Mark Pryor) cast their votes in favor of this bill, despite a strong opposition among her constituents. They both knew of the corrupt deals required to gain support from Sen. Nelson, Sen. Landreau and others. They knew that the bill was developed in secret, back-room meetings and that its 2000+ pages redistribute vast sums of money in the form of favors, new taxes and fees which had never been vetted in public. They knew this bill does absolutely nothing to address tort reform, or to fashion a healthcare system using free-market principles rather than government control. They knew that, just like Obama's election itself, their vote had become little more than a measure of political strength that the democrats could not afford to lose. If either one of our two senators had not voted for the bill, we would not be saddled with the back-room deal she now stands against, while ignoring the others. Since the Senate and House bills must be merged, she may have one more chance to do the right thing, but I'm not holding my breath. Unfortunately for Blanche, and for Arkansas, she is the only Arkansas senator up for election in 2012. I know I will not forget her when I get the chance to cast MY vote.
baitshop
Lincoln has turned her back on Arkansans. We called her office and voiced our opinion about the stimilus bill (which still hasn't worked after a year) and the health care vote that Lincoln cast and were told by her aide,"the Senator does not have to vote the way the people want. She votes the way SHE feels." Somehow, I thought that her JOB was to represent the voters who put her in office as to what was in the best interest of the majority. And the majority said NO both times. If this bill passes, few people who are supporting it, will certainly think differently when they have to start paying for insurance instead of going out on the town every weekend. (psst...all you young folks who don't feel like you have to buy insurance cause you are youg & healthy). How about that, we will have to pay for Nebraska's share of the medicaid as well as pay for our own states'?? And for all those folks who have kids...think about all those who will be killed by federally funded abortions. If you are for it now...why did you have your kids? Murder is murder....Something else to digest..look up "Bilderberg Group" and then look at what has been going on for the last 11 months with this adminstration. This is not what I fought in 2 wars to see happen to our country!
Unbelievable!
So, Senator Lincoln is mad that she didn't get the same deal for her state that Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu got for theirs? Whose fault is that, Senator?
She knew the deal they got going into the vote. Why is she just now figuring out that the deal stinks? If it stinks now, it stunk then, and she STILL voted for the unconstitutional monstrosity that is the "health reform" bill.
There are two ways of looking at this:
1) If you support the bill and Lincoln's vote in favor of it, then she has failed you because she didn't get any "goodies" bought with other people's money for her constituents in exchange for her vote and thus should be voted out because of her incompetence.
2) If you're like the remaining 63% of Americans who don't support this bill under any circumstances, then she has failed you because she ignored not just you, but the MAJORITY of her constituents and thus should be voted out for her incompetence.
In case you didn't notice, there's a common conclusion to both of those scenarios...
Act Now!
ALL of our elected officials in Washington will be up for reelection soon. Voting one out won't be enough. Let's all vote for the new choices and give someone else a chance to make real change. Instead, the old just corrupts the new. You know the "help me get elected and I'll sign your bill regardless of how stupid or expensive it is" is getting really old with me!!!
Last session our own state congress voted on the State Nut! Do you or I really care and is it worth wasting precious time on a nut. In Missouri, an elected official is trying to get a particular breed of dog as the State Dog!
We have all allowed this, it's time to change things--really change things. Are you up to it? Has any of you called Blanche yet, how 'bout Mark? I have, won't you join me?
Yup I agree Mark
No matter which side of the issue you stand on here, we where let down on this matter. So who's running in 2012? Can we get a volunteer?
affordable access, quality care, Republicans just say no.
Rasmussen poll AKA (Fox NEWS) YUCK!
70% of liberal voters nationwide say it would be better to pass the legislation rather than passing nothing at all. Most moderates (54%) and conservatives (80%) hold the opposite view.
"Figures don't lie but liars figure."
Goodness
...I'm NOT a Blanche fan...mostly 'cause she supported 99 percent of President Idiot's (Dubya, OBVIOUSLY) disastrous economic/war policies and wouldn't know a liberal Democratic policy if it smacked her. But saying the stimulus bill hasn't worked is contrary to the facts. We may not be clear of the economic disaster brought on by eight years of Republican overspending, but at least we're not hanging off the cliff anymore. (And, I'm saying this as someone who didn't support Dubya's bailouts nor Obama's follow-up bailout.)
At least Nelson got money for the neediest in his state; unlike Blanche's perks which tend to favor Wal Mart/corporate farms and dead folks. (But I thought this 'bringing home the bacon' was what our Senators/Representatives were suppose to do...Democratic, Republican or Independent.)
The worse thing about the current healthcare legislation is that, as usual, it helps insurers/pharmaceuticals more than the average American. (Might as well have been written by Republicans for all the corporate love it contains.) And, I resent the hell out of labeling some health plans as 'Cadillac plans' just so they can be taxed accordingly (no, I don't have one of em...wish I did). Many folks traded raises/etc so they could do the right thing and insure themselves/their families to the best of their abilities. So why punish folks for doing what we're taught to do. They could have, after all, grabbed the quick cash and headed to the casinos.
Basic universal healthcare for every human...it's what Jesus would've wanted. No American should lose everything simply 'cause someone they loved became ill.
Goodness
as crypted quill put it: "Figures don't lie but liars figure." Of the original stimilus, only 28% of 787 BILLION has been spent. Add to that, the bailouts of the auto industry, another bailout..."cash for clunkers". and now 1.2 TRILLION for heathcare which only 40% involves actual heathcare. So, I personally do not feel that we in Arkansas should pay the tab for Nebraska or the other 9 states who got a similar deal. It isn't about healthcare, it is about weaking our economy to the point of no return. They say we are the wealthiest country, then WHY are we borrowing from China to pay our bills, yet, that debt is not going down, not to mention our Government budget. When I borrow from a bank (back when they were loaning), I had to pay that back. What has our leaders given up for colleral for all this money? People need to look at the whole picture of the grave situation our country is in. Don't pay back any of your loans and then go to those people and see if you can borrow another 100 K...see what kind of answer you get. Not to mention, all of this legislature is unconstitutional. No where in it does it say the Government has the right to take over businesses, dictate to the citizens that they have to buy a product (insurance is a product).
"...No where in it does it
"...No where in it does it say the Government has the right to take over businesses, dictate to the citizens that they have to buy a product (insurance is a product)."
Well I agree, reader...sorta. Government certainly doesn't have a right to take private property and give it to a private entity. And, I hope Dems and Republicans legislatively squish the Supreme Court decision to allow such injustice. And, it's true most of our legal mandates to buy insurance (i.e. car insurance) were created for the benefit of insurers, not the average American (there's a state agency that exists for NO OTHER reason than to make sure insurers are notified when we're involved in a wreck...OUTSIDE of the laws that already mandate we report wrecks/etc).
And, I sure miss the budget surplus created by Bill Clinton. Ah, now those were the days of fiscal responsibility. Then along came eight years of uncontrolled deficit spending and economic ruin. Good thing Democrats are back in charge.
Whoops...I meant 'baitshop'
Whoops...I meant 'baitshop' not 'reader'...sorry.