"No wonder polls indicate a majority of Americans are suspicious of or openly hostile to the plan."

wsws

The Obama administration, in the guise of “reform,” has crafted a measure that will enable the health insurance companies to rake in untold revenues from millions of new customers forced to purchase bare-bones health coverage. Moreover, hundreds of billions of dollars will be cut from Medicare, the program for the elderly and disabled. There is nothing progressive about the health care measure; it is not a step or half-step forward. It represents a full-scale social regression.

No wonder polls indicate that a majority of Americans are suspicious of or openly hostile to the plan.

Congressman Dennis Kucinich knows all this perfectly well. As recently as last Sunday, in an op-ed column published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, he pointed out, “Unfortunately, the president’s plan…leaves patients financially vulnerable to insurance companies. It requires all Americans to buy private health insurance policies, while failing to ensure those policies do what they are supposed to do—protect people from financial catastrophe caused by injury or illness… [T]he bill that the president is proposing is a step in the wrong direction.” The piece clearly implied that Kucinich would vote against the measure.

Aside: On Monday, March 15 President Obama held a rally for passage of the health care bill in the district represented by Kucinich. The Congressman traveled to the rally with the President aboard Air Force One. Two days later Congressman Kucinich held a press conference to announce he would be voting "yes", but in doing so said he would not retract any of his previous comments regarding the health care bill.