Was Obama's Healthcare the biggest blunder & missed opportunity for a Dem?

[Shadows]

For a Dem nominee, I can't remember when you have a filibuster proof Senate Majority, the House, Presidency. It probably won't come again in 30-40 years atleast.

Obama campaigned initially on Single Payer. In AFL-CIO meetings & all, he championed Single Payer. He bailed out on Single Payer the 1st moment even when there was a lot of backlash from the grassroots. In NM Townhall after Presidency, the 1st question was why he was he not pushing through a Single Payer?

After that, Obama passionately promised everyone about a Public Option, it will be there 100% etc etc even a few months before the bill. The Public option without which they would be no bill !

And then he didn't put it in, not even a "Public option" but went ahead with a modified version of a right wing Republican Heritage Foundation Romneycare esque plan.

When FDR enacted Social Security, there was massive Republican opposition. When LBJ enacted Medicare, Republicans opposed it with the socialized medicine stuff, there was a massive campaign including ads, songs etc. Did he really expect that the GOP will support him ?

0 Republicans voted for the modified Republican Romneycare. He had all the votes & he caved in like a little girl.

If he had a public option, there would be competition, prices wouldn't skyrocket. Everyone knows ACA impacted Clinton negatively in 2016 due to big cost increases. The Public option would be better & cheaper & would be available after decades like SS/Medicare & would have beaten the competition for Private Insurance.

Do you consider this as the biggest Dem opportunity lost in possibly a century? And one of the biggest blunders which negatively impacted in 2016 when it was supposed to be a massive boon & positive legacy like Medicare or Social Security!

[(Still) muted by Kalwejt until March 31]

Blame the conservadems in Congress.

Obama and Trump have a lot of missed opportunities.

[Ban my account ffs!]

He got passed what could be passed.  It was basically a Republican alternative to Hillary's plan in the 90s.  It was immensely better than the status quo...and if people had an interest in making it work, it can work.

That said, I support single payer.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

You could probably fill ten books of missed opportunities by the Democratic Party postwar.

[(Still) muted by Kalwejt until March 31]

I don't think it's better than the status quo; both are bad.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

You could probably fill ten books of missed opportunities by the Democratic Party postwar.

[The_Doctor]

It's starting to look a lot smarter now that the Trump Republican Party can't repeal it.

[ApatheticAustrian]

let's wait 10 more years .....ronald reagan raged against 50 years ago and more and it is still going to happen.

[Associate Justice PiT]

It's starting to look a lot smarter now that the Trump Republican Party can't repeal it.

     Entitlements are notoriously hard to get rid of, even if they are poorly implemented messes. Obamacare was deeply flawed, but it will probably endure despite that.

[ApatheticAustrian]

It's starting to look a lot smarter now that the Trump Republican Party can't repeal it.

     Entitlements are notoriously hard to get rid of, even if they are poorly implemented messes. Obamacare was deeply flawed, but it will probably endure despite that.

it was so flawed too, cause the democratic coalition was fractured and has been countered by a massive wave.....

[publicunofficial]

It's starting to look a lot smarter now that the Trump Republican Party can't repeal it.

     Entitlements are notoriously hard to get rid of, even if they are poorly implemented messes. Obamacare was deeply flawed, but it will probably endure despite that.

It's flaws may allow a future Democratic majority to pass an improved healthcare bill in the future.

[Lief 🗽]

Obama literally never campaigned on singlepayer. What an outrageous lie.

[Cashew]

While it is true that Obama's first few years were spent as a terribly optimistic negotiator against a party that saw him as the incarnation of evil, a bigger part of the blame can be put at the feet of the Democratic establishment for imposing people like Joe Lieberman upon the people of Connecticut against the will of their own base, then they have the gall to claim "we need to be realistic, single payer is not getting passed"... of course it's not, you people made sure of that! Don't even get me started on their refusal to nuke the filibuster, which would have made all those issues moot in the first place, but no it can't be done they say.

[(Still) muted by Kalwejt until March 31]

He also campaigned on rejecting the individual mandate.

[Beet]

While it is true that Obama's first few years were spent as a terribly optimistic negotiator against a party that saw him as the incarnation of evil, a bigger part of the blame can be put at the feet of the Democratic establishment for imposing people Joe Lieberman upon the people the people of Connecticut against the will of their own base, then they have the gall to claim "we need to be realistic, single payer is not getting passed"... of course it's not, you people made sure of that! Don't even get me started on their refusal to nuke the filibuster, which would have made all those issues moot in the first place.

Yes, that is right. It was Lieberman and Nelson who killed both the public option, and lowering the age of Medicare.

[Mr. Smith]

While it is true that Obama's first few years were spent as a terribly optimistic negotiator against a party that saw him as the incarnation of evil, a bigger part of the blame can be put at the feet of the Democratic establishment for imposing people Joe Lieberman upon the people the people of Connecticut against the will of their own base, then they have the gall to claim "we need to be realistic, single payer is not getting passed"... of course it's not, you people made sure of that! Don't even get me started on their refusal to nuke the filibuster, which would have made all those issues moot in the first place.

Yes, that is right. It was Lieberman and Nelson who killed both the public option, and lowering the age of Medicare.

To be fair, Nelson hold Nebraska, there weren't better options.

But Lieberman over Lamont is inexcusable.

[Cashew]

While it is true that Obama's first few years were spent as a terribly optimistic negotiator against a party that saw him as the incarnation of evil, a bigger part of the blame can be put at the feet of the Democratic establishment for imposing people Joe Lieberman upon the people the people of Connecticut against the will of their own base, then they have the gall to claim "we need to be realistic, single payer is not getting passed"... of course it's not, you people made sure of that! Don't even get me started on their refusal to nuke the filibuster, which would have made all those issues moot in the first place.

Yes, that is right. It was Lieberman and Nelson who killed both the public option, and lowering the age of Medicare.

To be fair, Nelson hold Nebraska, there weren't better options.

But Lieberman over Lamont is inexcusable.

I won't claim that the defect bill would have been passed, but had Obama been half as tyrannical as the tea party claimed him to be, I like to speculate he could have extracted more concessions out of an isolated and besieged (deciding vote) Ben Nelson.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

I don't doubt that a President Hillary Clinton would have gotten something better passed in 2009 with the same Congress, but what can you do? She's a feminazi shill, and always will be!



F-ckers. The salt will never run out.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

The public option seems like the beginning of turning the US into a socialist state, plus the UK basically has it and from what I've heard from my relatives from there, you sometimes have to wait weeks or months for crucial surgery if you're on it. Not saying I could never be persuaded to support it, but as of now I remain convinced that the answer is some other revision of ObamaCare.

[ApatheticAustrian]

one sometimes wonder how austria is able to provide "socialist healthcare" without monthlong waiting periods for "crucial surgery" but i guess, little countries are always easier to run .....and someone would surely tell me soon how bad my healthcare is.

[Associate Justice PiT]

It's starting to look a lot smarter now that the Trump Republican Party can't repeal it.

     Entitlements are notoriously hard to get rid of, even if they are poorly implemented messes. Obamacare was deeply flawed, but it will probably endure despite that.

It's flaws may allow a future Democratic majority to pass an improved healthcare bill in the future.

     The Democrats have the advantage of not couching such a project in terms of "repealing Obamacare". That phrase will always induce fears of people losing health insurance, even if the Republicans really had a good alternative.

[ApatheticAustrian]

isn't repealing O-care practically in many cases ....repealing medicare?

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

isn't repealing O-care practically in many cases ....repealing medicare?

No. While it's true that ObamaCare made adjustments to Medicare, it did not make Medicare dependent on ObamaCare to exist. (Medicare and Medicaid are two completely separate programs)

[ApatheticAustrian]

isn't repealing O-care practically in many cases ....repealing medicare?

No. While it's true that ObamaCare made adjustments to Medicare, it did not make Medicare dependent on ObamaCare to exist. (Medicare and Medicaid are two completely separate programs)

ah, i misspoke.....

i meant, isn't repealing OCARE in some cases a policy which could runter under "take medicare away".

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

isn't repealing O-care practically in many cases ....repealing medicare?

No. While it's true that ObamaCare made adjustments to Medicare, it did not make Medicare dependent on ObamaCare to exist. (Medicare and Medicaid are two completely separate programs)

ah, i misspoke.....

i meant, isn't repealing OCARE in some cases a policy which could runter under "take medicare away".

Runter? That's not a word.