Posted on 09/15/2009 4:34:05 AM PDT by Kaslin
The aftermath of Joe Wilson shouting out "You lie" at a shameless liar in the midst of a shameless lie about health care has turned out to be one of the most Orwellian moments in recent memory.
After Wilson's outburst, liberals, in and out of the mainstream media, rushed to tell us that it was Wilson, not Obama who was wrong. Why, there was simply no way that illegals would be covered!
But then, a funny thing happened: the Senate started working to close the loophole that Wilson pointed out. You know, the one that allowed illegal aliens to get coverage. Soon thereafter, the White House quietly followed the Senate's lead and started backing that provision.
Meanwhile, the liberal netroots, which had almost unanimously said Joe Wilson was the liar, started yelling at the top of their lungs that the bill shouldn't be changed to fix a problem they claimed didn't exist 24 hours earlier.
Unfortunately, this sort of deception has been the rule, not the exception in the Democrats' health care push. In fact, Barack Obama has sold health care by saying, in effect, "Anybody who has anything negative to say about health care reform is just spreading myths."
It's a shame that Barack Obama has chosen to go this way, because our health care system does desperately need to be reformed and conservatives would be very willing to work with the Democrats to do it. In fact, in a recent poll of 74 conservative bloggers, every single one of them said that they'd be "willing to support health care reform that primarily emphasized market based reforms." If Obama were to take that approach or even if he were to simply focus on helping the 8-10 million Americans who want health insurance but can't afford it, I suspect he'd have no trouble at all getting strong bipartisan support for a bill.
Instead, we're being fed a steady diet of deception by the very same politicians who are telling us to "trust them" while they take over 1/6th of the US economy. So, if there are any other Republicans in Congress who can take the heat, there are a lot of other lies about health care that still need to be addressed.
1) The President is working with Republicans: Obama has refused to meet with Republican leaders on health care since April.
2) Republicans haven't suggested a plan for health care: Republicans have actually submitted 35 plans.
3) The public option won't put the insurance industry out of business and lead to a government takeover of health care: Of course, it will. That's the whole purpose of putting it in the bill. Don't take my word for it, listen to Barney Frank explain it in his own words.
4) Medicare won't be cut to fund this health care bill: Actually, there are $500 billion in cuts to Medicare planned to help pay for this bill.
5) The health care plan won't add "one dime to our deficits either now or in the future." There is simply no bill that fits that description winding its way through Congress. According to the neutral Congressional Budget Office, the House bill adds $220 billion to the deficit over 10 years -- and even those numbers rely on very unlikely streams of revenue coming into the program. Moreover, the CBO only estimates numbers 10 years out. Over the long haul, all evidence points to costs skyrocketing into the stratosphere just as Social Security and Medicare have over time.
6) Preventative care will be required in these bills and it'll save money: Studies show that preventative care increases, not decreases costs. That's not only because of the cost of the tests, but because it leads to large numbers of people being treated for potential problems that would never end up coming to fruition.
7) Health care reform will help create more jobs: That's simply not true. According to the Natural Federation of Independent Businesses, this health care bill would wipe out 1.6 million jobs.
8) Abortion won't be covered under the bill: Unless the bill specifically says abortion isn't covered, it's covered by default. Abortion is not mentioned in the House bill and thus, is covered.
9) This bill won't lead to rationing of health care and people being denied life saving operations: Of course, it will. Barack Obama himself has even alluded to it with his famous, "Maybe you're better off not having the surgery, but taking the painkiller" quip. In nations like Canada and Britain, long waits for surgeries and people being denied proven life saving operations for financial reasons is commonplace. How can anyone believe that we're going to copy their system and not have the same result?
10) Obama's "Plan" doesn't have these problems you're talking about: Obama hasn't submitted any sort of plan to Congress. In other words, there is no special Obama plan. His only "plan" is to sign anything that Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi can push through Congress.
At the end of the day, there's only one question you need to ask yourself to decide whether you should support health care reform: Do you trust Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barack Obama and the army of bureaucrats in DC enough to allow them to make life altering medical decisions for you and your children? If not, then it's time to stand up, speak out, and take action before this bill is passed and irrevocably changes our country.
Indeed! Thanks for the post.
That is why I like Health Savings Accounts or Catastrophic Injury Insurance plans. The problem with insurance plans is that the government has done everything they can to FORCE insurance companies into businesses which they do not wish to participate: mental health, chiropractic care, etc...
Imagine if all car dealers were told that they HAD to have a service department! Many dealers have contracts with local shops to provide these types of services, but instead they are told they MUST provide those services. More importantly, they would be required to have licensed, trained mechanics for each and every part of the car. The dealer’s prices would go UP to pay for a department that may or may not make money. Have you ever noticed that those dealers have higher sticker prices than dealers that do not have service departments? Obviously, some people like to have a full service dealer and those people shop there, but others would prefer to pay a lower price for their car and take the chance of finding a good dealer later.
Anyway, catastrophic insurance is like hurricane insurance: your home (you) gets repaired (medical treatment) only if a hurricane (specific illnesses or cost triggers) strikes! All other repairs, fixes and regular up keep is at your own cost!
The HSA’a are even better, because it would allow consumers to shop around and find a better price. I will give you an example: lasik eye surgery. For the longest, lasik surgery was expensive and not covered by insurance. Now, the cost has dropped dramatically and you can choose from several different providers and insurance even covers some procedures. You don’t like the price at Key-Whitman, you can go over to Tylock.
I am sorry for taking such a long trip to my point of view, but I needed to let people understand my view on this subject. Let me start by saying that if you can help your fellow man, then you should do so. The morally correct thing to do is always help when you can and whoever you can. I give money to charity, I give money to the homeless and I have even paid for other peoples meals at restaurants. I had the money, I had the want in my heart and I did it.
But, it is NOT the job of the US Government (see US Constitution), to mandate morality. More importantly, I do not always HAVE the money to pay for other people’s meals. Government involvement means that no matter what, I have to pay for other people’s meals and I have to eat less or even worse, my kids have to eat less - all because it is the “right thing to do.” Last time I checked, taking from one person, even if you give it to another for a good cause, is still THEFT!
A majority of what!?
The Republicans have proven that, when in power, they can't do anything except try to act like the Democrats - but in slow motion.
For all the fireworks and thunder this last weekend, and all the commotion about how many people actually showed up at the rally or not, or whether the lamestream media covered it appropriately, I haven't heard what great thing was actually said at the rally. I haven't heard what plan was actually laid out, or any leadership at all for that matter. The main point that I've heard came from the rally is, basically, "let's flip the house back to Republican in 2010". Well, whoop-de-freakin'-doo... Is that really what ~1 million people traveled all the way to D.C. to hear or to accomplish?! Let's go back to the failed, spineless Republican leadership that contributed to the mess that we're in right now? If the plan is to go back to drinking the Republican Kool-Aid, you can count me out.
Do I have the answers? No, I don't know what the answer is. I was hoping to hear some concrete plan of action come out of this big rally. Everyone got all dressed up and made their signs and showed up in higher numbers than anybody every dreamed of - but what of it? What now?
(Lest anyone think I'm a Democrat plant - think again. Check my sign up date (I'm FReeper #255), I've been involved in several GOP congressional campaigns and conservative organizations, was president of a conservative Republican club, and have organized and executed rallies and counter protests to further the conservative cause. So, don't even go there.)
Oh, and thank you for posting this. The 10 points are excellent and I’ve saved them for later use.
I know there are many who are for third parties, which is alright. But if you want a third party to win, you have to decide on a third party and the candidate that would have a chance to win
Bookmarked
Worth a ping.
Yep. It was.
When you’re right, you’re right. I can find no flaws in your logic.
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