Howard Dean: ObamaCare is "a giant bailout that makes AIG look cheap" (Wizbang)

H/T to HotAir, who provide this partial transcript:

DEAN: There is something worse than passing no bill. This bill isn't very strong. In fact, the only piece of reform left in it is the public option. The insurance reform is gone, essentially, because what they did is they have guaranteed issue -- they have to, er, the insurance company has to ensure you -- the problem is they don't have community rating any more. They, they, they, the Senate bill, I think, charges three or four times as much for sick people as they do for healthy people, and the House bill is twice as much. ...
DEAN: You know, we did this ten or fifteen years ago in Vermont, and you can charge 20% more for your most expensive clients as you can for your cheapest clients, and that's it. Now if you can afford to buy health insurance if it's 20% above the bottom price, but you can't afford to buy health insurance if it's twice as much or three times as much, so guaranteed issue doesn't do you any good unless you have real community rating. Real community rating doesn't exist in either the House or the Senate bill, so the old argument, which I used to make, was that we ought to pass this thing just to get the insurance reform. There isn't any insurance reform left in this bill to speak of. ...

DEAN: You know, what this is is a giant bail-out. This is a bail-out that makes AIG look cheap. Sixty billion dollars a year go to the insurance companies under this bill. Now if we can get a public option, I think that's OK, but if you don't have a public option, why would you want to stick the taxpayers with yet another bail-out? They bailed out the banks, they bailed out AIG. This is a trillion-dollar bailout. ...

DEAN: I would vote with Bernie Sanders. I would vote to kill this bill if it does not have a public option, because that is doing harm to the nation. It's not just, "Well, there's some of this" -

PRESS: Yeah.

DEAN: This is a harmful bill to the nation without a public option, because it's going to take trillions of dollars, billions, well, trillions over several decades from our kids. The Republicans are right about the rhetoric of the bill. But if you get reform, you can fix it. If you don't get reform, you got the system that we have today, you are gradually going to start uninsuring people, because we are not going to be able to maintain this system. This system does nothing to control costs.

Crossposted(*).

Comments (11)

Socialism fails everytime i... (Below threshold)

1. Posted by 914 | November 27, 2009 11:16 AM | Score: 0 (4 votes cast)

914:

Socialism fails everytime its tried.

Posted on November 27, 2009 11:16

Dean is only concerned abou... (Below threshold)

2. Posted by GarandFan | November 27, 2009 11:21 AM | Score: -1 (5 votes cast)

GarandFan:

Dean is only concerned about the 2010 elections and that if this bill passes, the elections will be a Democratic blood bath.

Dean can take his 'public option' and shove it.

Posted on November 27, 2009 11:21

"There is something wors... (Below threshold)

3. Posted by Oyster | November 27, 2009 11:37 AM | Score: -1 (5 votes cast)

Oyster:

"There is something worse than passing no bill." It's getting Dean in front of a microphone and proving he can't construct a cogent sentence.

YEEAAARGH!

Posted on November 27, 2009 11:37

"This is a harmful bill ... (Below threshold)

4. Posted by Victory is Mao's | November 27, 2009 12:04 PM | Score: 2 (6 votes cast)

Victory is Mao's:

"This is a harmful bill to the nation"

Howard Dean is now a traitor to the Democratic Party and must be shunned by all good liberals. And by shunned I mean punched, kicked and bitten.

We did it to Lieberman and we can do it to you too, Dean. STFU if you know what's good for you.

Death to unbelievers!

Peace.

Posted on November 27, 2009 12:04

DEAN: This is a harmful bil... (Below threshold)

5. Posted by DaveD | November 27, 2009 12:46 PM | Score: 1 (3 votes cast)

DaveD:

DEAN: This is a harmful bill to the nation without a public option.

This particular bill is harmful to the nation even with a public option.

Posted on November 27, 2009 12:46

If you think Barry is a lou... (Below threshold)

6. Posted by GarandFan | November 27, 2009 1:20 PM | Score: 0 (4 votes cast)

If you think Barry is a lousy president, can you imagine how bad Dean would have been?

Posted on November 27, 2009 13:20

I'm thinking he would have ... (Below threshold)

7. Posted by JLawson | November 27, 2009 4:09 PM | Score: 0 (2 votes cast)

JLawson:

I'm thinking he would have been better than Obama - Dean at least indicates he knows when reality's about to hit and hurt big-time. 2+2=4, and he knows we're way over what we can spend now.

Obama? No, actual hard-fact REALITY is just a foreign concept when you're 'reality-based' and everything can be spun, twisted, or re-explained to suit your ideology. 2+2=a new friggin' pony and a lifetime supply of bubble gum for everyone!

Posted on November 27, 2009 16:09

jacksmith.... the cut and p... (Below threshold)

8. Posted by Marc | November 27, 2009 5:14 PM | Score: 1 (3 votes cast)

Marc:

jacksmith.... the cut and paste drone.

P.S. Please, don't bother telling us "more later," unless you come up with an original thought of your own which is highly unlikely.

Posted on November 27, 2009 17:14

jacass...AKA JAC ASS... ... (Below threshold)

9. Posted by 914 | November 28, 2009 12:27 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

jacass...AKA JAC ASS... Wheres your wander in credentials? The non tax payer league showed up unexpectedly? WHERES YOUR BUS PASS??

Posted on November 28, 2009 00:27

#1OK ALINSKI acoly... (Below threshold)

10. Posted by 914 | November 28, 2009 11:27 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

OK ALINSKI acolytes... You voted negative? Wheres Your model of success??

Posted on November 28, 2009 11:27

Success in the Alinsky mode... (Below threshold)

11. Posted by JLawson | November 28, 2009 11:36 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

Success in the Alinsky model isn't better governance, 914 - it's taking an existing system and putting it under great stress with the intention of destroying it. What comes afterwards is supposedly a 'People's Paradise' - which seems to rapidly turn into a 'People's Hell'.

It's far easier to destroy than create. It takes an artisan considerable time to create a delicate glass vase that's a thing of beauty. It takes a child a fraction of a second to drop it on a hard floor, and laugh at how funny the sound of it breaking is.

We are at a point where the left is anticipating the marvelous sound the current system they don't like will make when it is destroyed, without their anticipating the effort needed to construct a workable alternative, or the pain and loss caused by their destructive glee.

Posted on November 28, 2009 11:36