But the bipartisanship is on the side AGAINST the healthcare bill! There's 50 Democrats in the House who say they will vote against this stupid bill...and ANOTHER bipartisan group in the Senate who will do the same.

There's not going to BE any reform. The bill in question is economically unsound, per the CBO, and when Pelsoi allowed it to be read (because of the circus from the previous bill), everyone saw what was in it and were horrified. Case in point was page 16 which caused all kinds of heartburn!

Bottom line is, it looks like this bill has a snowball's chance in H@ll and I for one am THANKFUL!

...100% correct.

The Red Staters, for a variety of reasons, will fight health care reform until they themselves no longer need health care (i.e. they will have died).

There is something in their very being that causes them to believe what they believe...on matters such as health care.

When I saw the chart, I first thought it was something the democrats cooked up to show-up all the republican' obfuscations/intrigues/meanderings in their attempts to defeat reform. That this first came to mind, tells me that anything republicans produce at this point, could well be used against them.

He doesn't give a damn about health care, other than he thinks his wealth entitles him to superior health care, like it entitles him to better everything else. And he's terified of losing the advantage.

I cant' read it and even when I saved it and tried to expand it it wasn't legible. How am I supposed to critically think about the chart if I can't see the chart?

That said, I will agree that Republicans are obstructing and that (as one poster alluded to) the Democrats themselves are backing off. It seems to me the current health industry has many political backers in office despite the publics desire for reform.

I right-clicked on the link

thoughtfully sketched by the New Republic's Jonathan Cohn here

in the work "here" and I was directed to a site which attacked my computer, prompting me to download some "virus protection" software. I was only able to end the attack by closing my browser through the task manager. Also, Norton informed me that it had defended my computer from and attack by the website.

Why bother treating these scum like human beings. They should be exterminated like the subhuman dogs that they are.

One Republican. One Bullet.

Save America - Kill A Republican.

If they keep standing in the way of progress, then the rest of us will have no choice but to destroy them once and for all.

We spend twice as much on health care in the United States as any other developed country for the same, or poorer, outcomes. No doubt this is partially because of the appalling labyrinth Mr. Conason describes and also because of massive greed on the part of insurance companies and the pharma industry. So, it's quite possible that if done correctly, health care reform could actually end up costing us LESS while covering virtually everyone. Of course, this would surely have a significant negative impact on the bottom line of the very powerful health care industry, an industry that shovels vast amounts of lucre into the campaign coffers of the congresscritters (Republican and Democrat) who are now responsible for health care reform. This is why meaningful change, sadly, is probably not going to happen.

Without reform we are left with the worst of predatory capitalism.

Yeah. I've been studying this issue for 15 years now. See my blog. Link in my name. The handsomely paid execs of Big Insurance and Big Rx are not about to let their extremely lucrative enterprises be trifled with. Their congressional servants will, of course, do their part to ensure the de facto status quo.

that needs immediate attention. I suggest shock treatments to erase all of the propaganda and lies that they have been ingested from Hannity, Limbaugh, et al and impose an immediate quarantine of Fox News.

This, coupled with a diet that eliminates Republicans' favorite foods (red meat, Freedom fries, and cheap beer), should further reduce the healthcare cost load on society.

Failure to pass good and meaningful healthcare reform will happen because no matter how much power they are given the Democrats are spineless and in the pocket of the same wealthy corporations that rule the Republican party.

The Democrats betrayed the unions and working class today by withdrawing card check. They will betray all of us on healthcare reform.

And since Obama is carrying forward the Bush administration's policies on war and fighting terrorism and protecting the banking industry from accountability we can then declare Obama's Presidency a failure.

From Huffington Post

A bipartisan group of centrist and conservative senators sent a letter to the Democratic and Republican leaders on Friday urging delay in consideration of health care reform.

The letter, obtained by the Huffington Post, was drafted by Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and is also signed by Democratic Sens. Mary Landrieu (La.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.). Independent Joe Lieberman (Conn.), who caucuses with Democrats, signed on, as did Maine Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins -- moderates heavily courted by President Obama.

The organized effort to slow down the process is a blow to the reform effort. Obama has pushed hard for a final vote before the August recess, arguing that delaying until September could slow momentum and risk missing a historic opportunity.

The problem with Texas Representative Kevin Brady’s flowchart that he doesn’t yet realize is that it’s considerably simpler than what most of us deal with now.

Actually, Democrats seem not to want to address healthcare either. When(not if) the bill gets killed, it will be Ben Nelson et al that does the dirty deed. Neofeudalism is the goal of all those Democrats and Republicans working for corporate America. Serfin' USA!

Give anyone who wants one a free ticket to medical school so they graduate debt-free. Keep this up until the market is flooded with doctors. Build as many hospitals as the US treasury (in it's current reduced state) can afford to finance. Staff them with the unemployed. Eliminate patent protection for drugs so generics take control of the market. It couldn't be a worse outcome than what we've got!