He will sweep back into Oregon as a savior and run for Governor...

Ya know, I'm no seer, but I remember in 1976 he came and spoke to my political science class at Univ. of Portland, and I remember being unimpressed. Just one person's opinion.

Great discovery now that the horse has long been stolen by a Master of Earmarks. Talk about a bunch of Muppets.

I am unimpressed as well.
Years ago, regarding an issue, a meeting was arranged by office with him,
it was like talking to a wall.
About a year ago at a town hall, a woman had a very good question about health care.
He made light of it by replying something along the lines of that well she was being rational now...(wonder how many times he has pulled that out of a hat)
People in this state need to be engaged as to who is on their side here!
Giving passes to elected officials when things aren't critical is one thing,
we up up against it now.

[He's] wrecking his party's message on health care for the upcoming elections.

Maybe its not just about getting Democrats elected, but actually reforming entitlements so they're sustainable for future generations.

I respect this move by Wyden, but I don't ever want to hear bi-partisanship praised on this website again.

When Gordon Smith crossed over and shook hands with the other side the D's praised him as being expansive and far sighted. C'mon guys, Wyden still kisses BHO's ring.

Another sellout.

Health care reform, 1992: Ron was there, fighting bravely for the insurance and drug companies.

He has his health care for life! So why should he care about anyone else?
Another politician who will retire to K Street.

I'm a sucker for policies that actually foster competition. Is the problem that he's only paying it lipservice in furtherance of the insurance companies' bottom line? It is brutal trying to find non-partisan analysis on this topic.

I'm a sucker for policies that actually foster competition.

Maybe you'd be good enough to explain how the current and proposed system of private health insurers fosters competition. Particularly since we don't know what coverage we really have until we get sick or injured, and then it's too late to change providers. And also because employers or unions, rather than beneficiaries, negotiate coverage terms and prices. And also because the prices for health care services themselves are unpublished and vary, depending on who is being charged.

....but actually reforming entitlements so they're sustainable for future generations.

When Senator Wyden and others in positions such as his put the brakes on corporations like Nestle coming into Oregon to capture our water, then we can talk about his interest in sustainability for future generations.

Go, Ron, Go!

So what? Wyden's old news. The real story is that Ecotopia is alive and well, and Kitzhaber's helping to bring a million new, clean jobs to the Northwest, along with Queen Christine:

“We have proof that our actions are already working,” said Washington Governor and Pacific
Coast Collaborative Chair Chris Gregoire. “Now we want to go even faster – and create up to
one million jobs in the next decade through the 2012 Action Plan on Jobs. Through
collaboration and low-carbon innovation, we have developed a win-win competitive strategy
that will continue to work well for all of our jurisdictions.”

http://www.pacificcoastcollaborative.org/Documents/Reports%20and%20Action%20Items/West%20Coast%20Leaders%20Launch%20Plan%20Joint%20News%20Release.pdf

Allan, if I could explain it I would. That was why I used the word "actually." You are dead on that there is not a functioning market at the moment because nobody has enough info to make wise choices. That is what kills the free-market proponents - they aren't advocating anything that guarantees actual competition.

I would like to think Wyden's old news, but he was reelected in 2010 so term ends Jan. 2017. Unless he resigns we will have about four more years of him. In 2004 he received 64% of the vote.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Wyden

2010 election:
Ron Wyden, 825,507 - 57%
Jim Huffman, 566,199 - 39%
Bruce Conk, Working Families 18,940 - 1%
Marc Delphine, Libertarian 16,028 - 1%
Rick Staggenberg, Progresive 14,466 - 1%
Write-ins 1,448 -.1%

... actually reforming entitlements so they're sustainable for future generations.

But that's exactly the problem with the Wyden/Ryan plan -- it's NOT sustainable, it's an even bigger and more blatant giveaway to the insurance industry than Obamacare (which is plenty bad enough in this regard). No private insurer is ever going to cover seniors without a massive public subsidy, which is sure to be much more expensive than the current program and provide worse outcomes to boot. Medicare has an administrative overhead of 1-2%. The private insurance industry can't come anywhere near that, especially with the seven-figure compensation packages its executives have come to regard as their birthright.

When reaching 65 does everyone have to be under the Medicare program?

There are supplemental policies in addition to that, but I am thinking that some that are well off financially would not like being under Medicare. I have heard that some Doctors do not take or only take a portion of Medicare patients. I can imagine that this would not sit well with the elite, they wouldn't want to be lumped in with everyone else, so they want to be able to jump out of this system and have their own private policy.

Is that what this is about?