I get it. Republicans have a fundamental disagreement about the role of government in our society. They were duly elected to hold a majority in the House of Representatives, and they are determined to pass a law to repeal the “Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act.” That’s their prerogative.
But please, for the love of God, for all that is decent and holy, could they please just change the title of their bill?!
As this article points out, the claim that the the health care law is “job killing” is factually incorrect.
Honestly, I think it just makes them look really dumb and immature. When I first heard about this, I assumed it was a joke from the Onion or something.
Like Blalron, I understand the fundamental disagreement about the role of government, I just wish they would debate honestly.
I think the reason they don’t is because they believe that if they debated honestly, rather than spinning and framing and outright lying, they would lose the debate.
It’s like they don’t believe that they can convince people of their world view. Why is that? It seems like they either have doubts about it themselves, or they have doubts about the ability of the American people to understand what’s best for them.
Or could it be that their world view includes a wildly disparate class system that the majority of people (who would end up at or near the bottom) would quite naturally reject if they really understood it?
Yea, I don’t think the name is doing the GOP any favors, it sounds like something grade-schoolers would come up with to make fun of a class they don’t like.
In the current climate of toning down violent rhetoric, it’s important to note that Boehner has come to favor calling it ‘Job-Crushing’ or ‘Job Destroying’ and not ‘Job-Killing.’
“Crushing” and “destroying” could still be considered pretty violent. How about “job eliminating”? (Of course, removing any reference to jobs would be the best course of action, but we really can’t expect that.)
Bingo. But you give them more credit that I do…I think most of them KNOW damn good and well that their agenda benefits a tiny minority and harms the nation overall…they are businessmen and lobbyists, almost to a one. THEY are the ones Franklin warned us about (“When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” ) yet they manage to convince us that it is really the poor, the elderly, the working class, the ill, etc… in other words, the other 97% of us, who are robbing us blind. :dubious:
shrug The name echos with their base, and a lot of their base believes that the HCR was pushed down the American tax payers throats, and that it will have a hugely negative effect on the economy (and already is, to them). By making the name of the bill so aggressively antagonistic the Republicans are showing their base that They Mean Business™…and that if the bill is shot down, it’s because the evil Dems WANT to kill jobs (or whatever).
Your point about what Franklin said is excellent. I’ve never heard it put that way before but it is right on the mark. A light bulb just went on for me.
It is the wealthy that are doing what Franklin warned about. It only takes a moments reflection to realize that if some group is abusing the system to extract money that it’s not the poor. If it were the poor they wouldn’t be poor, right?
Not all wealthy people are guilty of this, obviously. But, also obviously, if you’re looking for someone who is successfully abusing the system then you have to look for them amongst successful people, not the struggling poor.
The sad reality is that if they manage to repeal even the mild attempt at health care reform, then the current system will** continue to** **kill **jobs.
Well, you have to give the Republicans credit for chutzpah. They are always skillful at “framing” with language. The more basic the better. I keep expecting a bill named “Fuzzy kittens - for the children!” which, of course, would be a weapons bill. Or a bill named “bad bad stinky poo-poo” which, of course, would be something aimed at outlawing swarthy people.
The Democrats just don’t have this game figured out.
Can the bill be thrown out on the grounds that no “Job-Killing Health Care Law” exists and you can’t repeal a law that isn’t on the books in the first place?
