Chain smoking does cure lung cancer, eventually.
Aaaand the circle is unbroken…
The Dem Congresswhores are (most likely) not being paid to oppose reform, they are being paid to not support it with unseemly enthusiasm. They have one eye on that lovely, lovely pot of money that may help ensure their re-election, and the other eye on their constituents. If they can stand there and say, with a straight face “Well, yes, I support health care reform, but I am a fiscal conservative, and this plan is too spendy.” In a middling district, split evenly, this may fly: liberals will sympathize, conservatives will applaud. He doesn’t open himself to attacks from the left, nor does he open himself to attacks from the right. Neither does he accomplish anything other than securing his re-election, but well, really…
Problem with this is that the support for reform is holding up, and it is a majority. At some point they must calculate: will my constituents punish me for not supporting reform sufficiently? Might I lose for not getting on board wholeheartedly? This is the point where many Democrats re-discover their liberal commitment.
Because campaign money won’t do you much good if everybody hates you.
As a legendary, perhaps apocryphal, Texas politician remarked: “Sure, I take their money. I take their money, drink their whiskey, screw their women and vote against them anyway!”
the Dems are making an effort to get health care reform. The Repubs are doing everything they can to stop it. So when election time rolls around, the people will know whose side the repubs are on. How much of an impact it will have I do not know, but the repubs can not afford to alienate the people in favor of big money forever without paying for it.
Grayson fires with both barrells! “The GOP is a lie factory.”
Actually, I think it’s pretty obvious that Republicans never wanted market-oriented health care reform, or they would have beat Obama to the punch. What they actually have is a fear of competition so intense that they won’t even accept competition from (they claim) the least effective competitor possible.
I’m not following this obvious point. Repubicans didn’t propose health savings accounts, expanding associated health plans, and tort reform to lower malpractice premiums in the last eight years? I don’t agree with those proposals (and two of the three were filibustered to death by Democrats), but they most certainly were proposed. I’m not sure how they would have beaten Obama to the punch for a public option (which you seem to be implying) because I fail to see how a government health care program can be seen, except with extreme political spin, to be a market oriented proposal. Government run businesses are by definition not free market oriented programs. Government run businesses are well justified because there are failures in a market, but let’s not kid ourselves that they support a free market.
Who wants a free market? Corporations will do everything they can to eliminate competition. They want to carve up areas and loot the shit out of them. Competition is good for the consumer, bad for business. I guess you can see why we don’t have competition. They want more mergers and acquisitions. Bigger and in control is what they want.
http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/ Back to Grayson. The second post 10/01 is about Grayson. I love it. They asked if he should apologize to Limbaugh. He said Rush called for harsh sentences for addicts when he was a user. and he is bent on having Obama fail .He said he is a sorry excuse for a human being.
He is not afraid to take on the repub big mouths.
- Love Grayson.
- Love Jesse Unruh, though he’s long dead.
- Not sure how those tie together.
Historically speaking, reform and regulations are awesome! As long as you’re in on it. Then people think the government is “doing something.” Meanwhile, it’s a total farce, maybe even worse than before.
I’m guessing the impact will be very little. Actually, I’m not guessing at all. My cite: the last 30 years. Give or take.
Did you notice the last election. It was a rejection of the republicans making an open season for the rich to steal. I think the dems do not understand how big a change people wanted. That is why they are pissing people off. Health care disasters .foreclosures. bankruptcies and unemployment is a reality that the politicians seem to be too far away from to see. But many Americans see it and feel imperiled. People do not like feeling insecure.
He shouldn’t apologize for them but he should realize that they are incredibly stupid.
Libs hold onto the view that the gov’t is a nanny for everyone and should give them ‘free’ health care.
Repubs have the view that health care isn’t ‘free’ and the best most efficient way to allocate it is through the free market as much as possible. And no, that doens’t include a ‘gov’t option’ which would face the same runaway spending problems Medicare has.
In the cold cruel world of republicans, some people can’t afford a lot of health care. And some people live in shacks and drive old cars or none at all. Should the gov’t put everyone in a nice house with a nice care too?
The gov’t should stay out of the system as much as possible, in some cruel people’s viewpoint. Somehow we’ve had incredible medical advances in this country without the gov’t making it ‘free’.
So, what happens when, in the “cold cruel world of republicans,” someone can’t afford a lot of health care and they get sick?
You’re saying Grayson’s comments were “incredibly stupid,” but you seem to be backing up his basic premise.
People aren’t asking whether it is appropriate to have a health system based entirely on free market principles.
When you’re talking about cars, well hardly anyone needs their own car. It is just nice to have. Even better if you think your fancy car impresses your friends, women, is extra fun or comfortable, etc. The free market is perfect for these kind of products.
Health care OTOH can create a hostage-like situation. ‘Say, that’s a nice life you got there. It’d be a shame if anything were to happen to it… pay up or DIE!!!’ Think about it. The free-market incentives in health care are all stacked on the side of insurance industry CEO’s, incentives that drive them to provide the least care possible for the highest price possible. You have to be an Ayn Randian to hold up the free market as some kind of inviolable religious principle to which the poor must be sacrificed… or else! Or else what?
Puh-leeze. Health care needs to move in the direction of incentives being aimed at improving people’s health condition, not padding the pockets of corporations. A more healthy population = a more productive and innovative population = More work gets done, more wealth for everyone. The top 1%'s share of it will decrease, but too fucking bad.
Grayson’s comments are correct, if maybe a little incendiary. Hell no he shouldn’t apologize. Repubs should take a lesson and make their controversial statements within the bounds of formal settings where they can be officially weighed instead of relying on unaccountable bloviators on the radio or TV to do it for them, those pussies!
RE-Cold Cruel World of Republicans: Have you seen this New Republic article that rips the guts out of Ayn Rand’s philosophy? Holy cow, read it!
This statement is in itself incredibly stupid - an incredibly stupid strawman argument.
Those on the left realize that health care is not free. They do think that it is in the best interests of a country if it’s citizens are in good health, and that the best way to accomplish this is to share the costs of good healthcare amongst all of the citizens.
I beg your pardon. They do – because, ever since WWII, we have been building everything in America around the assumption that everyone will have one.
Great, why does the gov’t need to be involved then?
Republican don’t say “don’t get sick and if you do, die quickly”. Republicans aren’t paying for your health care so why would they want you to die?
republicans would say “I wish you well with your life, if you get sick, hope you get well, but it’s none of my business really.”
They’re Americans, are they not? If they are not our people, whose people are they?