Will Voinovich Support Obama on Health Care?
EmailABC News' Jonathan Karl reports: There has been speculation that retiring Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, could be a stealth Republican supporter for Democrats on health care. After all, the theory goes, he’s a moderate Republican who has bucked his party in the past. And now that he retiring, he can’t be pressured by Republican leaders. “Watch Ohio Republican Sen. George Voinovich,” Carrie Budoff Brown wrote in Politico. ”No, really, keep an eye on this retiring senator. Don’t get hung up on Snowe and Sen. Susan Collins as the only possible Republican votes. … Democrats are hoping his retirement may liberate him to vote for a package in the end.” Based on what Sen. Voinovich told me, Democrats should look elsewhere. “As you know, I am a debt hawk,” Voinovich told me. ”I just think with the financial crisis we have in this country, we have to be careful of taking on something we can’t afford to pay for, particularly when we can’t afford to pay for what we’ve already got.” For Voinovich the bottom line is costs: ”We can’t afford what we are doing now. How can we afford to do more?”
Sen. DeMint: GOP Race Could Go Until Convention 
Obama Avoids Questions on Contraception Rule
This is not about more costs, that’s been happening all along, thanks to unregulated healthcare standards. It’s about smarter costs, and redistribution of the wealth – less profit for the wealthy heath care pimps at the expense of the ill.
It’s a fraudulant business. Reveling in profit by illnesses and misfortune of others is immoral.
If the Constitution doesn’t protect us, who will? ..a CEO making $9M per year?
Sen. Voinovich’s words are predictable. just as anyone else anyone paid to be a supporter against wealth distribution.
Posted by: gus amaral | September 9, 2009, 10:45 am 10:45 am
John Glenn has been the last Senator from Ohio who was demonstrably sane. Metzenbaum, Taft, Voinivich, [Kucinich as an outlier in the House] demonstrate something in the water that is not good for the mind. Did I miss anybody?
Boehner, the House Minority Leader is okay as far as he goes, but has the charisma of a car salesman.
Posted by: daveinboca | September 19, 2009, 12:54 pm 12:54 pm
I wrote to Voinovich a couple weeks ago asking him to support comprehensive health insurance reform. I got a letter back late last week saying he didn’t think we could afford it.
I then emailed him and asked where his “we can’t afford” it deficit hawkishness was when Bush got us into an unnecessary war in Iraq, wasted huge amounts of money in incompetent actions in that war, cut taxes for the rich, added prescription coverage to Medicare and started the bank bailouts?
How come spending us into debt is always OK and patriotic for wars or banks, but spending on the lives of our citizens is not?
Isn’t one of our inalienable rights that of life?
I also wondered how he can, in all conscience, refuse to support affordable insurance for all citizens when his own government paid health insurance package is the gold standard?
I ended by asking him to please work in a truly bi-partisan manner for a bill on comprehensive health insurance reform. I told him to ignore the no-nothings of the GOP and do it for his children and grand-children.
I asked him to please do it because it is right.
Posted by: Elizabeth Hagan | September 20, 2009, 6:50 pm 6:50 pm
Boy, Daveinboca, you sure turned things around on Voinivich with that zinger of yours! I’m sure your brilliant and oh-so-original comeback will sway his vote.
Posted by: buzz | September 22, 2009, 3:24 pm 3:24 pm
Correction – the brilliant comeback was from Elizabeth Hagan. Apologies to Daveinboca.
Posted by: buzz | September 22, 2009, 3:25 pm 3:25 pm
Voinovich is certainly correct that the high cost of the health care bill should rule it out.
But even worse is the idea that the government can take away people’s liberty to have the health care they are happy with now.
I don’t mind paying to help out the people who want health insurance but can’t afford it, but I don’t understand why that should require a government takeover of health care.
Posted by: edj | September 23, 2009, 8:44 am 8:44 am