Screengrab via KEYC-TV
Posted on 02/21/2014 1:52:14 PM PST by NYer
During a town hall-style agricultural symposium in Mankato, Minn., on Wednesday, Democratic lawmakers were left speechless after a citizen asked a very simple question about Obamacare.
Screengrab via KEYC-TV
The question: “I thought the Affordable Care Act would save $2500 per family. What happened?”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Tim Walz, both of Minnesota, seemingly didn’t know how to respond. In fact, the room erupted in laughter after the two just stared at each other. Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), who also attended the meeting, was the only one prepared to respond.
“I voted ‘no’, so I’ll let these guys handle that,” he said, sparking applause from the audience.
The uncomfortable moment underscores the reality that many Democrats are trying to distance themselves from Obamacare and even President Barack Obama heading into the midterm elections.
KEYC-TV captured the priceless moment on video and the local report was flagged by Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey on Thursday.
Walz eventually managed to piece together a response, which Morrissey says is the “line that Democrats will use in their defense in the midterms.”
“This health discussion has got to be broader, it’s got to point out where there are weaknesses and failures, it’s got to make sure we’re not leaving people behind or distorting the system,” the lawmaker said. “But don’t pretend there was some type of safe harbor before this where everything was just peachy keen.”
Pushing back at that assertion, Hot Air notes that before Obamacare was passed, Gallup reported in 2009 that “85% of Americans had health insurance — and 87% expressed satisfaction with their health care, while 61% were satisfied with the costs associated with it. Fifty percent of the uninsured were satisfied with their health care, although 69% were dissatisfied with the costs.”
Video at link.
I imagine all those new Medicaid patients are saving at least $2,500.
The ‘joke’ gets more interesting: I had a conversation with my tax gal the other day. It seems I stumbled upon the real reason the mandate was delayed.
The mandate includes qualifying employer-provided health plans that are provided as part of compensation...this includes many public-sector health plans, sometimes provided as 100% benefit or provided by negotiated labor contract as ‘employer contribution’.
No calculator exists where anyone can do the math, but the ‘mandate’ is supposed to have a ‘sliding scale’ with those with ‘too much benefit’ being taxed and those with ‘not enough benefit’ getting a new revenue stream akin to the ‘Earned Income Tax Credit’ (welfare).
I’m just guessing a whole bunch of lib voters on the public dole (including a whole bunch of public employees at the state & local level, including universities, might have seen their precious tax refunds evaporate before their eyes and taken it out at the voting booth...so they delayed it. (recall it was said, “...pass it to see what’s in it...”...I bet the darker part of the ‘regulatory regime’ took awhile to get worked out to parse in a simple outline for our puppet’s handlers’ comprehension)
The mandate as a ‘penalty’ for not having coverage was just a very public smokescreen, imho. Who knows...
That putrid puke on the right (glasses) was the one that ended up defending Obamacare.
The words he spoke “....problems, yes, but don’t pretend there was a safe harbor before this mess...blah blah blah”
I’d tell him to his face, “At least there WAS a harbor before this, safe or not - now it’s all beached.”
He only voted NO because Nancy didn’t need his vote. Remember that fellow Minnesotans.
THEY LIVE, and we’re the only ones wearing the Sunglasses.
The question that the MSM will never ask.
Then they shouldn't pretend that ObamaCare is an improvement and that it won't waste more money and lives due to government despotism and incompetence.
> Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), who also attended the meeting, was the only one prepared to respond. “I voted ‘no’, so I’ll let these guys handle that,” he said, sparking applause from the audience.
Thanks NYer.
The Witless Wonder, Amy Klobuchar, probably didn't understand the question.
Are they laughing with us or at us?
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