NEWS

Democrats: Win one for Ted Kennedy on health care reform - Politico

“Let’s win one for Teddy” became the new health care reform rallying cry Wednesday, as Democrats hoped an emotional outpouring over Sen. Ted Kennedy’s death would give reform efforts a badly needed boost.

A Timeline of Kennedy's Health Care Achievements And Disappointments - Kaiser Health News

Sen. Edward Kennedy never had to worry about getting quality healthcare, but he spent much of his career seeking to guarantee that all Americans had that same access to health services he had. "Every American should be able to get the same treatment that U.S. senators are entitled to," he wrote in Newsweek last month. "This is the cause of my life."

Dennis Rivera Leads Labor Charge for Health Reform - New York Times

For more than a decade, Dennis Rivera was New York’s mightiest labor leader, running a union of 300,000 health care workers that often bent Albany to its will as it scared — and angered — governors, Democratic and Republican, with its hard-hitting ads.

Obama asks docs to promote health care fix - Associated Press

The White House is asking doctors to help promote its drive to overhaul health care, marking an effort by President Barack Obama to regain momentum on the issue.

ENZI EXPLAINS HIS APPROACH TO NEGOTIATIONS - Steve Benen

Sen. Mike Enzi (R) of Wyoming, one of the Senate Finance Committee's Gang of Six, hosted a town-hall meeting on Monday in which most of his constituents urged him to drop out of the negotiations.

Byrd: Rename health care bill for Kennedy - Politico

Ailing Senator Robert Byrd, one of only two to have served longer than Kennedy, suggests in an emotional statement renaming the pending health care legislation for the late Massachusetts Senator.

Patrick backs push to appoint successor - Boston Globe

Governor Deval L. Patrick, breaking his silence on the future of Edward M. Kennedy’s Senate seat, yesterday embraced Kennedy’s request that the governor be given the power to appoint someone to the seat until voters can choose a permanent successor in a special election.

OPINION

Health Care Fit for Animals - Nicholas Kristof

Opponents suggest that a "government takeover" of health care will be a milestone on the road to "socialized medicine," and when he hears those terms, Wendell Potter cringes. He's embarrassed that opponents are using a playbook that he helped devise.

Don't Want a Public Plan? Well, What Do You Think of Medicare? - Washington Post

Opponents of health-care reform should be chanting "No more Medicare!" The arguments that have been made against the public option (a health insurance plan sold and administered by the federal government) apply with equal or greater force to Medicare.

Health Care Savings in CBO Mirror Are Larger Than They Appear - Change.org

The Congressional Budget Office is the “umpire” for legislation moving through Congress, including health care. But they’re not staffed by Nostradamus. An Op-Ed in today’s New York Times reminds us, their predictions about savings and costs for health care provision have a bad habit of being quite wrong.

Kennedy Could Be the Key to Party Unity on Health - Politics Daily

When President Obama and Congress return next month to confront tough choices on health reform, will Sen. Edward Kennedy's death be the catalyst for finally achieving what he called the cause of his life, health care for all? It's possible, but we don't know yet exactly how.

More Violence and Anger at Town Halls - OurFuture.org

Add Representative Jim Moran's town hall Wednesday to the constantly growing list of incidents of violence committed by right-wing extremists. Last night a man wearing a Cato Institute t-shirt punched a supporter of the proposed health care legislation. The victim of the attack, Jeremy, has written his account of the incident on Carrots and Sticks, a DC-based Action Think Tank.