senate

The Senate and the House of Representatives agree: single-payer health care is the only way to provide real coverage for all. Insurance companies are never going to do the right thing and put people before profits, so the only option is to go around them, and politicians in both houses have voted to create a real health care system. In Vermont, that is. Mary Gerisch of the Vermont Workers Center joined us last month here on GRITtv to explain the grassroots organizing campaign that finally resulted in victory in the state legislature. She noted that two years ago, they were told that it was not politically possible to pass single-payer legislation, but they didn't take no for an answer. The insurance companies will no doubt keep fighting this bill—even one small state single-payer plan could provide a powerful example for the rest of the country. Already, California Democrats are reviving a bill that would create single-payer care in that state—and it's already moved out of the Health Committee. We've spoken before to Wendell Potter, formerly a CIGNA executive, about the way the health insurance industry fought national health care reform, and we know that misinformation, attack ads, and millions of dollars will be flowing Vermont's way as the bill moves through reconciliation and toward the governor's desk. But for now, Vermont—and all of us--should be celebrating the proof that a grassroots campaign can lead to victory for single-payer advocates and progressives in general. We're that much closer to recognizing health care as a human right. And much closer to the big fight which will show really, which side our for-profit insurers are on. Keep an eye on Vermont, people. An alternative model. . . the US has invaded small countries for less. Distributed by Tubemogul.

"Many important issues facing working people don't get the attention they deserve, and other issues get a whole lot of issues because they're sensational or if they divert attention," says Senator Bernie Sanders of the media's failures these days. He notes that we're now seeing a newly aggressive push from corporate interests and the politicians they sponsor, making attacks that have little to do with deficits. Senator Sanders joins Laura via Skype from Washington, D.C. to discuss the assault on programs that aid working families, the way the media helps conservatives wtih framing, and his state of Vermont's steps toward single-payer healthcare. Distributed by Tubemogul.

"But there's one big obstacle - almost as big as the rest put together - that has no pluses whatsoever, and that we don't have to be stuck with: the arsenal of senatorial death rays that goes by the quaint name of filibuster." So wrote Hendrik Hertzberg in The New Yorker, and he joins us in studio to discuss the various proposals on the table to end abuse of the filibuster--or end the filibuster entirely. He also discusses the Constitutional basis -- or lack thereof -- of the filibuster, and argues that simple majority rule is the best for everyone.

Congress is passing tax cuts for the rich as well as everyone else this week, while Don't Ask Don't Tell is headed for a stand-alone vote in the Senate. Is gridlock over, or are these just issues that actually have some bipartisan support? Meanwhile, Julian Assange may be out on bail, but the debate over the charges against him still rages, and Megan Carpentier of TPM reminds us that it's possible for the arrest to be politically motivated and the charges still not be false. Megan joins Laura in studio to talk austerity measures, tax cuts, Don't Ask Don't Tell, rape prosecution, and much more.