Via the National Nurses Movement at dKos:

Eight Healthcare Activists Arrested at Baucus Hearing

Is this a turning point in the single-payer debate?  Will the DC insiders be forced to listen to the public and healthcare activists--and not just big-money healthcare donors?

Both AP and Politico are reporting on the events at this morning's Senate Finance Committee, where brave healthcare activists, one after the other, stood up to protest the exclusion of single-payer reforms from the conversation.

CSPAN had the video up:

He says all views will be taken into consideration? How can that be when they aren't even in the mix?

Ass. I hope those "world's best bosses" kick him out on his ear.

I honor them and thank them for being willing to do this for us.

the minute they began to shout they forced his hand, demonstrators must be ejected from committee hearings, but they made their point. Keep up the pressure, this is how we won sanctions against apartheid South Africa.

He cares so deeply about their views that he wants them to agree to not be heard so that the hearing can go about their search for solutions without them. Wasn't that the WHOLE POINT of the protest: that single payer wasn't even included in the discussion?

I just got an email asking that we try to get more news coverage of this by phoning or sending emails:

ABC News - 212-456-7777 - netaudr [at] abc [dot] com
CBS News - 212-975-4321 - evening [at] cbsnews [dot] com
CNBC - (201) 735-2622 - info [at] cnbc [dot] com
CNN - 404-827-1500 - contact page
MSNBC/NBC - (212) 664-4444 - hardball [at] msnbc [dot] com - rachel [at] msnbc [dot] com - nightly [at] nbc [dot] com
PBS - 703-739-5000 - newshour [at] pbs [dot] org

Besides Huffington Post and the single-payer activist sites, we have coverage already from the arch-Satan WSJ (online) here.

During the past couple of months, I've seen Q&A with Sen. Baucus, Grassley, and Hoyer (on C-SPAN) - and it is clear that not only is single payer DOA but so is a Public Plan Option. Even Obama appears lukewarm in his support - but then I don't think there is anything Obama is truly willing to fight for.

It looks as if we'll get the worst of all possible worlds: a mandate to buy insurance based on a poverty level that bears no resemblance to reality with cut-rate policies that probably won't be worth the premiums anyways.

What I find especially frustrating is that Democrats continue to echo Republican insistence that individuals must be responsible for their own health care (lose weight, exercise, etc.) but never say a word about how Insurance company adminstrative costs (8-14% not including what individual doctors must do to fill out dozens of forms for diff. companies) and profits (all those high executive salaries) contribute to high health care costs.

Oh, Grassley is also dead set against comparative effectiveness; he doesn't want doctors to be reimbursed based on "govt" guidelines. Again, I've heard no Democrat point out to him that insurance companies spend millions (billions?) of dollars finding reasons to deny coverage.

... but a lot of confidence in the political process. Roses grow best in shit, and growth sprouts from decay. I'm sure the people fighting against apartheid, or against segregation, or for the independence of India, or for women's suffrage all felt much as you do -- as we all feel. But all those good things were accomplished. This can be accomplished.

- all about how "today on Capitol Hill the health care reform debate took another step forward" as "stakeholders, including AARP, America’s Health Insurance Plans, BCBSA, Chamber of Commerce, Families USA, the Kaiser Family Foundation, NFIB, and SEIU, participated" in the Senate Finance Committee hearing.

With a link to the CSPAN video, starting with Baucus stumbling over his words as he tries to gavel the single payer advocates out of existence.

that I'd suggest is doing more publicity for this kind of thing in advance (I think they could have gotten lots more than 8 people to stand up and speak) -- and having each protestor wait until Baucus gavelled the committee to order again before they started to speak out. If single payer advocates are going to be denied a voice, then these hearings have no legitimacy, and the more time spent "restoring order", the less time the insurance company whores get to talk....