You know people have crossed a line with a reputable news organization like McClatchy deems it newsworthy to print State of the health care debate: Talk radio attacks an 11-year old. In it they describe how Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Michelle Malkin have viciously attacked the 11 yr-old orphan by lack of health care insurance. The story of his mother is heartbreaking:

Tifanny Owens died in June 2007 of pulmonary hypertension, which is described as high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs that can lead to heart failure. The disease is considered rare. While there's no cure, it can be treated.

The treatments can cost as much as $100,000 a year and must be "consistent and constant," said Katie Kroner, the director of advocacy and awareness for the Pulmonary Hypertension Association.

"It's extremely important to have health coverage," she said.

Owens was an assistant manager at a fast food restaurant when she became sick in September 2006. As she became sicker, she missed work and was eventually fired, leaving her without health insurance. She was treated twice in an emergency room and died at age 27 after a week of unconsciousness. Gina Owens has custody of Marcelas and his two younger sisters.

Gina Owens said her daughter didn't qualify for Medicaid. State officials said that without knowing the details, it was impossible to speculate on whether Tifanny Owens would have qualified.

Tifanny Owens might have been eligible for Washington state's basic health care plan, which is aimed at the working poor. The plan has had a long waiting list for some time, said Sharon Michael of the Washington state Health Care Authority.

"Right now, we have 100,000 people on the wait list," Michael said.

The neo-con punditocracy not only doesnt believe the story, but Beck insisted, without actually giving specifics, that Gina Owens had other alternatives. Limbaugh and Malkin had the nerve to parrot the same and even worse: that there was no proof his mother would have lived longer anyway since her condition is allegedly incurable.

Unbelievable.
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One of the most insane expectations to come out of Barack Obama's campaign for Barack Obama's presidency was the misguided notion that the President was going to act as Senator, Congressman, Attorney General and Supreme Court Justice. As Kriss (aka @insanityreport) reminded people this morning, POTUS doesn't write legislation: The President's staff can suggest, poke and prod...but at the end of the day its the 100 member senate & 433 member House that write bills.

Ezra Klein bipartisanship is unlikely to take root at Thursday's summit and Nate Silver seems to agree when he tweets "my gut instinct is more pessimistic than the consensus". Taking a quick look at the summary [PDF DOWNLOAD], am of two minds.

It's not a new "third way out" but a reconciliation bill. It goes after the Ben Nelson bribery FMAP provision by eliminating it and expanding Medicare coverage to all states --trying to make up for one of the biggest mistakes during the Health Care Reform negotiations. Yet, by making no mention of the anti-abortion provision or the public option, it leaves the first one intact and the second one out of this bill.

The only interesting addition is the hot-button government oversight and regulation proposal for a Health Insurance Rate Authority. By calling upon the need for more transparency and fiscal responsibility, it kind of smacks every obstructionist that has invoked those two arguments in their efforts to stop health care reform.

Yet am with Ezra and Nathan : Will this bill really make a difference? My gut instinct hasn't been screaming no since last night. It's been completely revolted since the day universal health care & insurance was not declared as a mission and a right during these negotiations. And as Stupak is still in, immigrants are still discriminated from coverage and the public option is out, there's still no reason to cheer.

Links to Key Provisions in the President’s Proposal:

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The Health Care vote in the house was close. And it still needs to pass the Senate. Poor branding, such as the term Public Option, didn't help the cause. But it's not too late to win the support of Republican enemies and the Teabaggers who control them. I submit a list of re-branding alternatives that will have Obamacare foes supporting health care reform faster than you can say Death Panels! Vote on which one will have the Teabaggers Teabagging for reform.
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The Private Option
The Keep the Government out of my Medicare/ Medicaid Option
• The Eternal Life Panels Option
• The "This Option Kills Commies" Option
• The "This Option Defeats Gay Marriage" Option

What am I missing with this political coat-hanger remedy to health care reform?

Here are the Democrats who voted to eliminate all insurance coverage for abortion procedures. Here are the Democrats who voted against health care reform. The following are the names that overlap:

1. Altmire
2. Barrow
3. Boccieri
4. Boren
5. Bright
6. Chandler
7. Childers
8. Davis (TN)
9. Gordon (TN)
10. Griffith
11. Kissell
12. Marshall
13. McIntyre
14. Melancon
15. Peterson
16. Ross
17. Shuler
18. Skelton
19. Tanner
20. Taylor
21. Teague

If denying women health care coverage for abortions was necessary to pass the bill, how come 22 of those 65 Democrats who voted against the Stupak-Pitts bill still voted against PelosiCare? I am missing the logic behind the need to throw women under the bus. After all, only 1 Republican voted with the Democrats.

Hot off the Congressional record, here are the names of the 65 democrats who thought it made sense to throw women under the proverbial Health Care Reform bus for the sake of getting the bill into conference.

These Democrats voted for the Stupak-Pitts amendment which would:

• Prohibit individuals who receive the affordability tax credits from purchasing a private insurance plan that covers abortion, despite the fact that a majority of health insurance plans currently cover abortion.
• Result in a de facto ban on private insurance companies providing abortion coverage in the health insurance exchange, since the vast majority of participants would receive affordability tax credits.
• Prohibit the public option from providing abortion care, despite the fact that it would be funded through private premium dollars.

The names of these champions of women's rights are found after the jump:
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This never ever gets old. H/T Metafilter.