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Liasson asserts there is "real anger" over public option, but polls say most people support one

August 09, 2009 1:27 pm ET

From the August 9 edition of Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday:

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Previously:

Ignoring polling, Wash. Post redefines "center" as excluding public plan

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    • Author by mk3872 (August 09, 2009 1:30 pm ET)
      13 2
      She's right. There is anger & outrage to a public option by the 1% right wing nut crazies who shout & scream loud enough that the ignorant news media (represented here nicely by Liasson) give them more credence than is proportionately represented.
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      • Author by oscar the grouch (August 09, 2009 1:52 pm ET)
        2  
        The number is higher than 1% (for anger and outrage). The number is even higher for those that would like to see some public options explored, other than those currently proposed.
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        • Author by oscar the grouch (August 09, 2009 1:59 pm ET)
          4 1
          Concern would be a better word to describe most of us. When the current plans are suggesting around an 8% payroll tax (with exclusions, of course) to fund the public option for health care that is currently consuming about 15% of GDP, some of us see that our employers will be glad to transfer current plans to a public plan and therefore 8% will not cover the cost and it appears that with at least some of the bills being discussed, that once the public option is chosen, there will be no backing out. And can anyone guarantee that the administrative costs will be as low as purported with Medicare, Medicaid, SS, when it appears those costa are running around 30% for the CARS program. But lets rush it through and let the bureaucrats sort out the details.
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          • Author by twseattle (August 09, 2009 2:44 pm ET)
            8 1
            It's not being rushed through and conservatives are squandering their chance for reasonable points like yours to be discussed by screaming like five-year-olds. If you left the last sentence out of your post you would find a very healthy discussion here. When you hit the 'talking point' button like that, you will be dismissed or have more swipes taken at you for that than get answers to your issues.
            Report Abuse
            • Author by jjamele2880 (August 09, 2009 3:09 pm ET)
              6 1
              That's what I thought, too. Bureaucrats "sort out the details" NOW. They just happen to be Insurance Company Bureaucrats making decisions based on profit. I'll take a govt. bureaucrat any day of the week, and twice on Sundays.
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              • Author by oscar the grouch (August 09, 2009 11:49 pm ET)
                  1
                I suppose our perceptions are colored by our exeperiences, but I have dealt a couple of times with government bureaucrats and I would much rather deal with private industry. I have found the ones I have dealt with to be inflexible, without compassion and, to my experience, sadly lacking in common sense. Hey, if your experiences are otherwise, great, but for me, it has not worked that way.
                Report Abuse
                • Author by elfish (August 10, 2009 5:27 am ET)
                     
                  A couple times? Wait until you deal with an insurance company, there's no comparison. I paid into the same insurance company for 35 years, never had a claim or a health problem. When I turned 50, they started trying to push me out. First they said I should switch to a local company. When that didn't work, they started getting real panicky. Every time I went to the doctor they would call me or write asking about everything I said to the doctor. They wanted to know every little rash. Finally they started raising my rates every three months. With in a year I could no longer afford the insurance, so I asked to switch to a higher deductible. Big mistake!! They turned me down and once you are turned down by one insurance company for anything, no insurance company will ever insure you.

                  Fortunately, I was eligible for the VA. It's the best medical care I have ever had. The first time I went, the doctor spent 1 and 1/2 hours talking to me! The most time I ever spent with a doctor before that was 5 minutes. I have been in the VA system for 8 years now. It is wonderful! Best preventive care I have ever received, no long waits, very cheap copays, drugs are cheap, MRIs are $50. I can't say enough good things about it.

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                  • Author by oscar the grouch (August 10, 2009 8:12 pm ET)
                       
                    Well, two out of two is a couple of times, not a good experience. Have had two health insurance plans (through employment) in 30 years, never had a problem with claims (as few as they have been).
                    Your experience with the VA is commendable. The brother of a friend had surgery to remove a melenoma a few weeks back, then they (VA) tell him, they may not have gotten it all and have booked him for followup in about 8 weeks (not the best experience). Again, our preceptions are colored by our experiences. Yours (with the government) have been good, mine not.
                    Report Abuse
            • Author by spartan5 (August 09, 2009 4:57 pm ET)
                2
              How is this not being rushed through. We gave president Johnson 18 month to hammer out medicare. Too many people regret the bailouts and the stimulus bill, and now are leery about rushing through more "change" without closely analyzing this thing. Nothing wrong with that. Although calling the opposition crazy isn't gaining any points for the Democratic Party.

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              • Author by mk3872 (August 10, 2009 10:01 am ET)
                   
                Spartan - health care reform has been debated and ideas have been researched for many years. This is not something that just suddenly was dreamt up in the middle of the night and is being rushed throuh. Additionally, it was debating during the presidential campaign for nearly 2 years.

                That it is being "rammed" through is a bogus claim and a bogus argument.

                All you ever hear is that Congress is too slow and does not act decisively enough. Then when they finally are about to something into place, powerfully lobby groups and corporations come into to try and derail things.
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            • Author by oscar the grouch (August 09, 2009 5:58 pm ET)
                 
              Yeah, I could have left the last sentence off, but I was just paraphrasing what I have heard from members of the administration and congress (and many posters at this site). The screamers and shouters (from either side) are not doing the discussion justice.
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              • Author by twseattle (August 10, 2009 12:48 pm ET)
                   
                Oscar, I've been pushing (and voting) for health care reform my whole adult life. Something is going to happen and the only thing shouting down representatives will do is increase the disenfranchisement felt by those doing the shouting when they realize that behavior kept them from having a real voice in the debate.

                We all like to be snarky and get our zingers in, but this website has a lot of smart posters who want real discussions instead of the name-calling (and worse) found elsewhere.

                Report Abuse
      • Author by Martha (August 09, 2009 3:16 pm ET)
        5  
        Then they report on Palin's "Facebook" page, with it's "death panel" accusation. NOT ONE news source checked Palin's record, well here it is, in all it's horrific glory.

        Here is the truth about Palin and what she has actually done about health care in her state, Palin administered her own "death panel":

        Palin’s Health Care Priorities and Alaska’s Daughters
        15
        07
        2009
        Today, Lisa Demer of the Anchorage Daily News has broken a story that adds another scandal to the growing list of scandals that have plagued this administration, and shines the light on Alaska’s very own health care crisis. Demer’s story centers on the horrendous condition of the Alaska’s state programs that are designed to help its most vulnerable citizens, the elderly and disabled.

        The situation is so bad the federal government has forbidden the state to sign up new people until the state makes necessary improvements. [snip]

        The moratorium is expected to last four or five months. State officials estimate about 1,000 Alaskans will be affected.

        A particularly alarming finding concerns deaths of adults in the programs. In one 2 1/2 year stretch, 227 adults already getting services died while waiting for a nurse to reassess their needs. Another 27 died waiting for their initial assessment, to see if they qualified for help.

        No other state in the nation is under such a moratorium, according to a spokeswoman for the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

        There are currently eight lawsuits pending against the state which also rang alarm bells on the federal level.

        Doctors and other health care providers wrote to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid with concerns that the state wasn’t responsive. Some alleged that the lack of state controls “has resulted in the death(s) of the active clients,” the federal review said.

        While the people served are frail and suffer from chronic health issues, the state never investigated to determine if any failure in service contributed to the deaths, the federal review found.

        “Thus, if someone passed away because a (personal care assistant) did not show up, for example, there was no indication this would have been reported or investigated,” the report said.

        The state plans to start doing fatality reviews.

        The state plans to start doing fatality reviews?

        So, it would appear, since we are the only state where the situation is bad enough to require federal intervention that the administration has had its mind on other things. We know, of course, that the governor has been busy with her farewell tour, flying all over the state and signing bills and doing little shout outs and quotes of the day on her twitter account, and getting ready to become a full-time celebrity.

        But what about health? What have been, and what currently are the administrations top priorities on matters of health and human services? It’s obviously not the care and well-being of our vulnerable seniors, so what is it?

        The administration is spending an awful lot of time on the upcoming ballot initiative that will address parental notice and consent for anyone under the age of 18 who is seeking to terminate a pregnancy. Here is the initiative language with recent changes in language underlined. parental20involvement20initiative1

        Two years ago, the Alaska Supreme Court on a 3-2 ruling said that a parental consent law was unconstitutional because it transferred the right to make such an important decision to a parent or a judge. They also stated that a parental notification law, however, might be constitutional.

        Although she stated she’d like to take this on personally, Palin, under the advice of her attorney, took a step back.

        “I got a preliminary opinion from Law (Department) just giving me a heads up that critics would certainly file an ethics charge against me if I were to sponsor an initiative,” she said. “So though I maintain I have First Amendment rights just as any other citizen does, I won’t flirt with the notion of giving critics more ammunition to keep filing wasteful ethics charges against me, but instead I’ll volunteer to be the first signature.”

        There go those critics again, demanding ethics. And there goes the governor again, not quite understanding the first amendment, or the ethics act.

        Planned Parenthood, recognizing that a girl who doesn’t want to tell her parents she’s pregnant, or fill out paperwork to get time off from school to go stand before a judge in superior court and convince him or her that she is mature and intelligent enough to make decisions about her own reproductive health, might just take the situation in to her own hands.

        Girls researching self-induced abortion on the Internet could find all kinds of bad advice, said Clover Simon, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood.

        In the week prior to Sarah Palin’s hurried announcement that she’d be stepping down as the governor of the state, a new scandal was brewing on the horizon. It didn’t get as much publicity as some of the other numerous Palin scandals, in part because everyone became preoccupied with her resignation.

        The fact that a frightened teen who doesn’t want to become a parent might do what others have done and just try to Google her way out of her predicament may have crossed the mind of Beverly Wooley, the state’s public health director, who was scheduled to appear before the legislature on this issue. She stated, earlier this month that she was forced out of her position, largely due to differences between her and the governor on the parental involvement issue.

        Wooley said she also intended to answer questions from legislators and said she would rely on data, not anyone’s personal beliefs. Whether she personally agreed with the governor is beside the point, Wooley said.

        She intended to refer to studies from states that already had passed similar legislation, she said. Some of the research shows that, with parental involvement requirements, girls tend to get abortions later in their pregnancy, which is riskier and more expensive, she said. Other research shows fewer girls get abortions, which abortion foes like Palin likely would applaud.

        And while Palin says she “will not hesitate to speak up in support of Alaska’s daughers,” her concern does not seem to extend to Alaska’s daughters whose parents are literally dying from neglect because of budget cuts and mismanagement. The “culture of life” seems to have an expiration date that our seniors have passed. And left out are Alaska’s daughters who will choose not to talk to their parents, and take matters in to their own hands rather than submit to the emotional stress, embarrassment and legal wranglings of convincing a judge that they were abused, or the victim of incest, or just not ready to be a parent.

        By all indications Lt. Governor Sean Parnell, who is set to take the helm of state on July 26th will have his work cut out for him. His predecessor has left him quite a mess. Where will his priorities lie?

        http://www.themudflats.net/2009/07/15/palins-health-care-priorities-and-alaskas-daughters/
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    • Author by skiploader1111 (August 09, 2009 2:07 pm ET)
      8 2
      The health reform bill hasn't past = BAD because Dems can't get things done.

      If the health reform had been past it would = BAD because Dems are shoving it down our throats.

      What Dems do is always BAD on Fox News.


      Also why is Fox News suddenly concerned about "anger" hurting the Dems and stopped making fun of "angry" protesters like they used to. After all Fox has always taught us before that angry people are only angry because of "sour grapes" from losing the last election.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by spartan5 (August 09, 2009 5:07 pm ET)
          4
        Has Fox News taught you that, because it seems I heard that on MSNBC. But no matter. The fact is that the majority of Americans are happy with their health insurance and feel the administration has exaggerated the number of uninsured my including illegal aliens and people who can afford it but chose not to. But for the sake of discussion, let's suppose there really are 2% of Americans who disparately need insurance. Does that qualify as a crisis that requires us to completely rebuild the health care system as we know it? I agree that there is much room for improvement, but this bill is overkill, in my opinion, and it leads one to believe that it is more of a power grab by Washington then something the majority of Americans need. This is invasive government, and I for one want my medical records to remain a matter that is between me and my doctor alone. There are better was to tackle this "crisis".
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        • Author by phredicles (August 10, 2009 4:09 am ET)
          1  
          Ooo, Ooo! Find the Talking Points:

          The fact is that the majority of Americans are happy with their health insurance

          Prove it. Define "happy". And how about the subset of people who've actually gotten sick and needed to make substantial claims against their private insurance; how happy are they?

          The fact is that the majority of Americans ... feel the administration has exaggerated the number of uninsured my including illegal aliens and people who can afford it but chose not to.

          Here I flat-out do not believe you. So again, Prove it.

          let's suppose there really are 2% of Americans who disparately need insurance.

          It's closer to 15% or more (47 million out of 300 million).

          it leads one to believe that it is more of a power grab by Washington then something the majority of Americans need.

          Then why did a substantial majority vote for the candidate who said during last fall's election, quite clearly, that he plans to do this?

          This is invasive government,

          How about the Patriot Act and warrantless wiretaps? Was that invasive government?

          I for one want my medical records to remain a matter that is between me and my doctor alone.

          How about a profit-sucking private insurance company? Does it bother you that they have your medical records?

          There are better was to tackle this "crisis".

          Please describe them. What's YOUR plan to address this?

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          • Author by foghornleghorn (August 10, 2009 10:45 am ET)
               
            I'm sure the ones who are "happy" with their health insurance haven't had to use it lately and really don't give a rats a** about anyone else.
            Report Abuse
            • Author by rtwmd1230 (August 10, 2009 1:20 pm ET)
              1  
              Those who are most happy with their health insurace are those who get it from the government (those on Medicare).
              Report Abuse
        • Author by robyn20094113 (August 10, 2009 7:33 am ET)
          1  
          Just saying the majority of Americans are happy with their health insurance, does not make it so.

          The people that are happy with their health insurance could lose it, then how happy would they be. They can also find themselves in a situation where they are denied by that insurance co. they are so happy with now, then what.

          I have found trying to get insurance companies to pay up very invasive and humiliating, in spite of the fact that I paid my policies in good faith for years.

          I have witnessed many people denied or cancelled when they needed health care. So being happy with your health insurance is no guarantee you will get health care coverage.

          So "be happy" and enjoy those premiums increasing at an obscene rate and your coverage going down. While you support the CEO of that company at an outrageous amount. I want something else.
          Report Abuse
        • Author by skiploader1111 (August 10, 2009 12:36 pm ET)
             
          Sure there are a lot of people are happy with their private insurance. Until they get catastrophically sick after years of paying premiums and get stuck with a huge bill from being denied coverage.
          Report Abuse
    • Author by Bballnj23 (August 09, 2009 2:55 pm ET)
         
      I Think Oscar has a very valid point, and his last line is nothing wrong its healthy and is probably a point that you made when Bush was president, Our own president Obama, when he was senator even made claims and complaints of government passing things with no public discussion such as the patriot act. Its healthy, lets be constructive with each other, not destructive.

      Quit attacking eachother.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by ForTheLoveOfEllipsis... (August 09, 2009 3:01 pm ET)
      10 1
      I would say that the anger the individual teabagger feels is real insofar as they're not going into these meetings pretending to be angry, but the enger, real or not, is not legitimate; its object is not real. They're angry about Sarah of Arc's "death panels" and "get your government hands off my Medicare" (the ultimate in precious idiocy that one), none of which are real. As such, the anger is real but illegitimate...
      Report Abuse
      • Author by Bballnj23 (August 10, 2009 6:47 pm ET)
           
        My biggest issue is the cost, and big government, i dont think they should be in our lives as much as they are now, letting them even more in i think is a mistake, can you tell me that you dont think that any senator or congressman are extremely shady and dont really care about us that are debating this?

        I think if we quit fighting and quit rushing and saying we are passing this no matter what before this certain time, things would be alot more constructive and productive and what do we really want out of healthcare reform? We all know we need it, and that is not something that quote on quote "teabaggers" dont believe, they are fed up as well.
        Report Abuse
    • Author by jjamele2880 (August 09, 2009 3:05 pm ET)
      8 2
      From what I've learned from Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh (not to mention Cheney2012 and others posting here,) what's REALLY upsetting a lot of Americans is the part of the bill that requires all babies born after January 1 2010 to have a little crystal implanted in their palm which will turn black when they reach the age of 65, at which time they'll be expected to report to Sleep Centers to be put down.

      (It's in the bill. It's Indisputable.)

      Report Abuse
      • Author by 1st Republic 14th Star (August 09, 2009 3:13 pm ET)
        6 1
        Too bad Farrah Fawcett is dead or she'd be available to play the role of the nurse who pretends to save you from Carousel by performing sub rosa cosmetic surgery, but actually plans to make sure you die as planned.

        Jessica 6 was so hot...
        Report Abuse
        • Author by twseattle (August 09, 2009 3:21 pm ET)
          4  
          Old-timer.
          Report Abuse
        • Author by ForTheLoveOfEllipsis... (August 09, 2009 4:18 pm ET)
          4 1
          Isn't it funny that the teabaggers are screeching about what amounts to a raving lie based on a 1970s TV series? It would be funny except for the fact that these moe-rons vote based on the barbage swirling around in their otherwise-empty heads...
          Report Abuse
          • Author by twseattle (August 09, 2009 4:48 pm ET)
            2 1
            Well, the 70's DO rule!
            Report Abuse
          • Author by Bballnj23 (August 10, 2009 6:49 pm ET)
               
            You guys are criticizing your own as well, why is this? There were democrats, independents, republicans, old , young, white, black, hispanic, asian, at these rallys. Why are you attacking people for non violently protesting when many were even your own.
            Report Abuse
      • Author by Truth Crusader (August 09, 2009 10:52 pm ET)
           
        Brilliant! I'll be borrowing this. I hope you don't mind.
        Report Abuse
      • Author by Bballnj23 (August 10, 2009 6:42 pm ET)
           
        lol!!
        Report Abuse
    • Author by wolf kotenberg (August 09, 2009 4:23 pm ET)
      6  
      When straddling the fence, one must protect the crotch...................
      Report Abuse
    • Author by carlo1993 (August 09, 2009 6:14 pm ET)
      3  
      Mara Liasson is a LINO- a liberal in name only.
      I listen to NPR all the time as I drive to my job, and they have been getting progressively more right-wing and more
      willing to buy the neo-con/pro-corporation hermeneutic even as they pretend to be balanced. Juan Williams was
      once a civil rights journalist but now he has
      made criticism of the President his main cause.
      I don't know why more liberals and radicals do not call out NPR- I think criticizing them is sacrosanct, sort of like admitting that your dad has become senile.
      I am not a liberal but a radical, a neo-neo-marxist, and I will have none of anything that accepts any conservative bias or slant
      at all.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by TheKidFromKountyMeath (August 09, 2009 11:55 pm ET)
      3  
      Well, considering the teabaggers owe their existence to tantrums over what the majority of the people have chosen, I guess it makes sense.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by NiceguyEddie (August 10, 2009 8:06 am ET)
         
      How the hell can anyone who doesn't own an insurance company possibly be "angry" about this? That's absurd. No normal person is so pationate about free market principles that they could be angry about the gov't offering a completing plan. Are they p!ssed off about the post office? If the plan's BETTER and people flock to it doesn't that PROVE that gov't health care is the way to go? If it fails miserably doesn't that prove that private plans are the way to go? That's what the FREE MARKET is all about!!! These people (ins CEO's and the idiots on the street that they've bought) are only ticked becasue they KNOW the gov't can do it better. If that wasn't the case they'd have NOTHIGN TO WORRY ABOUT!!!
      Report Abuse
      • Author by foghornleghorn (August 10, 2009 10:46 am ET)
           
        And the teabaggin' protestors will continue to be allowed to purchase their over-priced, under-covered, for-profit health insurance.
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