FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWK!!!!!
Well, I guess I'm not especially more screwed than I've ever been. Still uninsured, still one random illness away from homelessness or death. I don't trust this country as far as I can kick it. If our elected officials can't stop sucking that corporate titty long enough to save the lives of their voters, well... I'm off to Europe as soon as I can afford it.
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It's time to hire some demographic experts to help determine the most advantageous distribution of voters among the various legislative districts. We all move to our various new voting districts, get good people elected, and pass some decent laws. A six-year national service commitment is all that is needed from everyone and then we can move back home.

Disappointing and not unexpected. Thanks for trying, Senator Cantwell. Fuck you, Senator Baucus.

....i'm sending cantwell a check.

We are fucked.

The plan Baucus finally agrees to is going to make health care rates skyrocket, and it will fail to cover the uninsured. Which is going to suck from a public health perspective, and it's going to suck even more in a few years when costs are out of control, the insurance industry is even more powerful, and Republicans' "see, we tole yuh it was a bad idea" argument will gain traction.

I fully expect to see the Republicans shut down both Medicare and Social Security in ten years' time.

I no longer give a shit what kind of a bill they pass, since it's by definition going to be worse than no bill at all.

Thanks a fuck of a lot.

In a related story, 13 senators just received brand new luxury vacation homes, courtesy of the insurance companies.

conrad, who spent 5 mins complimenting the bill, voted no. then baucus voted no because "it can't get 60 votes"....

yeah jackass baucus, it cant get 60 votes with your attitude. fucking insurance cumrag...

I think we should just admit it now. The democracy is gone and has been replaced with a corporatocracy. We thought that if most of the people wanted a public option, that's what we'd get, right? It's a Democracy, right? Apparantly not.

Lyn

@11,
Well, Pelosi's already said that the house isn't going to pass anything that doesn't include a public option. So even if Baucus' POS passes the senate, it'll die in the house.

I think there are some house bills that include a public option but just haven't made it to the floor yet.

@11: reconciliation with the house bill can bring it back. these 3 DINOs aren't the final answer.

the senate was, is, and always shall be useless and corrupt. it is intended to be the plutocratic limit on democracy. you're free, but don't push it.

If you're upset with Senator Baucus about this, consider chipping in towards this Progressive Change Campaign Committee PAC advertisement that calls him out for going against the majority of his constituents and siding with the insurance companies he accepted $4 million from.

Agreed with fnarf, big time. The conspiracy theorist in me sees how futile the effort was and kind of wonders if this whole health care push was designed to fail from the start. My wacky ol' dad thinks corporate interests want to bankrupt the government so they can take over the joint. To me, it just looks like so much more evidence of the utter animal thoughtlessness of human greed. No one can stop the end of our species, but the rich seem to think this Nth degree of power or money will somehow save them When The Shit Goes Down. We're a fucking dead species walking, and we don't have the decency to show each other an iota of compassion (social services, whatev) as we sail into Oblivion.

If you want to have fun, phone the Montana Tourism Bureau and ask them about ski trips and such - and then after they talk for a while say "oh, wait, Montana, isn't that where the guy who killed the public option for healthcare is a Senator? in that case I'm not visiting your state".

it's fun!

@12: ZING. and ow. :(

There was an "Alice in Wonderland" quality to Max Baucus's explanation as to why he couldn't vote for the Rockefeller public option. He said he was against it because it couldn't get to 60 votes. Now, considering that he himself is one of the handful of key swing votes to get to 60, that's tantamount to saying, "I'm against this because I'm against this."

BTW, do you know the litmus test of the effectiveness of a public option or a coop or a trigger or some other attempt to give the health insurance industry competition? Whether Max Baucus and Kent Conrad will oppose it. If there's a coop or a trigger and Baucus and Conrad support it, rest assured it's bogus.

It's enough to make one think the only hope for American democracy is for large masses of educated people to establish settlements or kibbutzes or something in Montana and North Dakota.

THE MARXISTS HAVE BEEN DEFEATED!!!

It's only one step, but a big one towards sweeping them out of power forever next year!

@21 - move back to Cali and take Tim E with you.

YEAH! OBAMA FAILED!!!

Shit - I still have a piss-poor HMO, and with nothing to stop the cost from rising, soon your job's health plan will suck, too. But.... uh....

YEAH! WE WON! TEA PARTY AT MY PLACE!!!