Health Care: Consistency, Anyone?
As the health care debate rages on, both sides have become increasingly dramatic in their denunciations of the opposition. The left -- horrified that it may have blown the perfect opportunity for stealth nationalization of American health care -- has slipped into shrill ad hominem attacks, with prominent pundits such as Paul Krugman equating opponents of a public plan to fringe "birthers" who question the authenticity of Barack Obama's birth certificate. The right, on the other hand, has sometimes stumbled into brazen hypocrisy while trying to stop what can reasonably be described as a government power grab. Why must conservatives exaggerate when they have so much right reason on their side?
RNC Chairman Michael Steele has apparently decided that he will co-opt a perennial tactic from the liberal playbook: scaring seniors about Medicare cuts. The inconsistency of standing against the public option because of concerns about socialized medicine and exploding deficits -- while simultaneously opposing reform to a public option that is causing those problems now -- doesn't seem to have occurred to Steele.
Even worse was Sarah Palin's now infamous "death panels" comment. While all of us should be concerned about the government making end-of-life decisions instead of patients and doctors (the inevitable result of socialized medicine), Palin's comments were a rhetorical bridge too far. And GOP attempts to raise concerns about end-of-life decisions being made by bureaucrats instead of families lack a certain amount of credibility. After all, wasn't it the Republicans who attempted to push the federal government into the Terri Schiavo case? And wasn't that a perfect example of government inserting itself into painful, personal decisions that should be rightfully left to doctors and family? Is that not what many fear could occur as a result of ObamaCare?
It would further the causes of limited government and individual liberty greatly if at least one major party consistently stood for those principles. Unfortunately, the Republican Party too often merely cloaks itself in the language of those values.
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
Page A13 of 3Sep Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal “Health Care’s Intangible Cost: Legal Liability”, and quote WSJ:
“Total spending on medical malpractice, including legal-defense costs and claims payments…amounts to a little more than 1% of total U.S. health-care spending”.
Most GOP members of Congress don’t rally the torch for tort reform, but a few who do, don’t know do-do from shinola. ALL GOP members, Fox, Bech, Hannity, Limbaugh and crew should be educating their flock as to the $700 billion a year (and rising) of waste within the system. That includes most of the 20% insurers skim off premiums. 5% they took for administration and profits 15 years ago, O.K., but it is that extra 400% increased (and rising) that is OUR money and OUR waste. How can they steal like this for simply processing paperwork (money-changing)? Cause WE sheep for too long have allowed it.
Some nitwits in Congress are even kindly saying “we ought to see if they will correct the cost”. Are the fools? No entirely. Lot among the flock are with him. Anyone think those greedy pirates are gonna “see the light”? Heck, they’ve already good agreement from the Senate for a 65% reimbursement rate, if an insurer-only coop plan gets past. 65%! YOU would pay 35% in medical copays (+ your premiums, of course).
Only way to get insurance costs down lower is competition and only change (ONLY CHANCE) is a non-profit government option. Simple. Expand current insurer-dictated plans, via allowing us to op at full premium to join Medicare for those under 65 or join the plans in the Federal Employee Health Benefits program. Both at full premiums are lower than the pirates’ plans. Heck, they even do the paperwork for the FEHB plans. Won’t run um out of business. Might drive um back to reasonable pay for what little they do; like the 5% of 15 yrs ago.
What? You don’t want to save $$$? Yor $ is your $. Great. Keep your current plan, just don’t dictate to tens of millions of others the can not save some of their $.
The colossal exaggeration was Obama’s portrayal of doctors as greedy, cash-hungry monsters that rip out kids’ tonsils or lop off feet for cash. Come on, people. This isn’t about left or right… or even healthcare. This is about one of the largest attempts at a power-grab by a government in history. Our system needs reform, but it needs to start with the lawyers (whom Obama won’t go after) and TORT reform. Free market solutions are the way to go. $4 prescriptions at Wal-Mart is a fine example of a private industry helping the little guy.
We appreciate the video wherein Mrs. Pelosi said, “You be the judge, re: of carrying swatikas and symbols like that to a town hall meeting about health care”.
As to “equate freedom loving Americans to Nazis”, appears to some people who show up carrying swatikas and symbols of Nazism certainly to not equate true freedom-loving Americans. Those thugs remind many of some Germans in last 1920’s and 1930’s. Dispicable low-life un-American trash, my personal view. When I see them, I think of today’s Nazi skinheads.
How dare they show and use such evil symbols! Freedom-loving folk? No. No way at all.
Let us all not forget the FIRST person to equate freedom loving Americans to Nazis was….... Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?.....It was the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.
Calling protesting constituents “Nazis” is as reprehensible as calling them “thugs.“...
Might be, if members of Congress were calling protesting constituents “Nazis”.
Don’t seem to find such being doing. Do find some folks who saw protestors embracing symbols of Hitler and other forms of Nazism, calling them “thugs”. Some freedom-loving Americans might refer to them in harsher form, unless some themselves embrace Nazism as valid means of gaining power.
There seems to be bit of correlation. Nazis used a lot of high-pitched vocal disruptions and lies striving to gain power. We do see some similarity among protesters at town hall meetings at which they strive to turn into a riot. We see within some responses to letters to this newspaper, by twisting truth into lies and their condoning Nazi tactics at town hall meetings.
Both parties regularly pound the pulpit rather than remaining focused on facts and first principles. Calling protesting constituents “Nazis’” is as reprehensible as calling them “thugs.“
Once the GOP allowed their foundation of honest conservative values and behavior be hijacked by fear and hate, the new base of the Party won’t let go the tactic easily.
Allowing acceptability to embrace lies and smears as normal everyday policy harms the Party, harms America. Once it seemed the only means of success in Y2000 national politics, it became too easy to stay the course in Y2004 and beyond with expansion into the norm rather than just during campaigns for votes.
Never has there been such a massive onslaught of fear, lies, and hate as we have recently seen over the most important financial and basic civilized social issue as our nation’s health care delivery system.
Only one of many examples shows how deep into decay some people have fallen; death panels. When a financial benefit is proposed for our elderly, 18% of whom now fall into the poverty category, it is totally twisted. By denying Medicare payment coverage for optional choice of recipients to seek consultation from their physicians for optional services in the last portion of their lives, we burden further our (we) elderly. We’ll allow Grandma $250 to help bury Grandpa, but burden the meager finances of both by denying coverage for peace of mind that would benefit both.
Death panels do exist. They exist among insurers who deny the young, as did UnitedHealth telling Holly Bailey, “O.K.” (die) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKI9be55N00 and they exist among all of us in denying our elderly (we all at some point in time) a few extra $’s to help with our trusted physicians’ consultations as options for a peaceful mind when we all reach the last portion of our lives. Never did I imagine so many Americans would be so cold-bloodied, scaring old people, financially paining them, all for politics.
More examples of more fear, lies, hate? Read some of the responses to follow, as many so eat up with such, knee-jerk with further use of it.
Post a Comment(Requires free registration)
- Please avoid offensive, vulgar, or hateful language.
- Respect others.
- Use the "Flag Comment" link when necessary.
- See the Terms and Conditions for details.
Advertisement