Rep. Dennis Kucinich, lobbied hard and personally by President Barack Obama, Wednesday became the first House of Representatives Democrat to say he'll switch his vote on health care and vote yes.
The Ohio congressman was one of 39 Democrats to oppose the House bill Nov. 7. But Obama campaigned in his northeastern Ohio area Monday, and talked to him on Air Force One.
"I’ve decided to cast a vote in favor of the legislation,” Kucinich told a press conference on Capitol Hill. “If my vote is to be counted, let it count now for passage of the bill, hopefully in the direction of comprehensive health care reform.”
Kucinich, considered one of the House's most vocal liberals, said health care is a "civil right" and called the battle for change "historic."
The House hopes to vote on legislation this weekend, but no date has been set. Democrats control 253 of the currently-filled 431 seats, and 216 votes are needed for a majority--meaning the party can afford to lose few more members than those who voted no last time.
LA - What about those with zero tax liability yet are receiving numerous government benefits, like welfare, food stamps, housing assistance, et al? "We" already pay for that. "They" already receive a lot for nothing. "They" already receive, collectively, billions of our tax dollars (and borrowed foreign money as well). When are we going to say "Enough!"? The point is - it's time to stop the seemingly-unending-and-ever-growing dependence on government.
Posted by: Dave | March 18, 2010 at 10:45 AM
@Suz: 18 months ago, if you had trotted out these arguments, your patently false statements would have been excusable. Let me set you straight on this: you are CURRENTLY paying for all of the uninsured right now. You pay for them with your exorbitantly high premiums and hospital charges. Here is why:
When Joe without insurance breaks his leg, he goes to the hospital. The total cost to x-ray, set, and cast the leg is $11,000. But if Joe had $11,000 sitting around, he would have insurance, wouldn't he? So now Joe is broke. The hospital needs to pay their bills and since the hospital can't collect the money from Joe, they raise their prices for everyone else to cover the difference. That means your insurance company needs to raise YOUR rates to pay for Joe's broken leg.
The current health care reform bill requires that EVERYONE who can afford health insurance buy it. Everyone except the very poorest of us must carry their own weight. It is the opposite of socialism. And it is a vast improvement over the current system which rewards people for shoplifting their healthcare.
But you would know this if you had been paying attention.
Posted by: LA2000 | March 17, 2010 at 04:51 PM
Health care is neither a civil nor a constitutional right. Individuals have the right to seek and pay for their own health care. Those individuals do not have the right to make other individuals pay for their health care. That is called Socialism. Wonder what Mr. K's bribe was?
Posted by: Suz | March 17, 2010 at 12:21 PM