If this health care bill does not pass, or if what passes is some obamanation that fails to cut costs or improve the system, the Democrats will have only themselves to blame.According to yesterday’s New York Times, HR 3200 weighs in at trim 1,017 pages. If you don’t want to read it, a New Jersey voice-over actress got 60 of her friends to help her read it into digital sound files that you can listen to online or download to an iPod. It takes over 24 hours to play the whole thing. What would you say the over/under is on how many Congressmen have read it? I’ll put $100 on “under” for any number over 50. It sounds fascinating. Here’s an excerpt:
“To the extent such provisions are not superseded by or inconsistent with subtitle C, the provisions of section 2705 (other than subsection A, paragraph 1, subsection A, paragraph 2 and subsection C) of the Public Health Service Act shall apply to a qualified health benefits plan.”
Is it any wonder no one trusts politicians? Instead of a simple, direct plan, the Dems have given us a Trojan Horse of a bill, in which I promise you they have hidden hundreds of gifts for their owners. Remember, drug and insurance companies don’t just own Republicans – than bought plenty of Dems too.
And then there is the “You lie!” issue. Joe Wilson is a jerk, and I don’t think the President lied; if you think you are telling the truth but you are wrong, you are not a liar. However, one thing keeps bothering me: has anyone seen a really objective analysis of the bill and what rights it gives to illegal aliens? I haven’t, and I’ve been looking. I would have thought the media would have been all over the substance of this comment. I know it is impossible to prove a negative, but shouldn’t this be a pretty straight-forward issue? Can’t the bill simply say, “No papers, no health care?”
I’d bet that more than 90% of Americans want a nonambiguous, no-health-care-for-illegal-aliens clause in the bill. So why isn’t it there? And if this most simple of all things can’t be made clear, what else is hiding inside HR 3200? If you want to stymie the right then draft a clear, direct bill that anyone can read and feel good about. This is the Democrats baby and it is an ugly child.
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17 comments:
How did you know I was a blue-eyed baby?
Enforcement of this is difficult with illegal aliens. A child born in the US is a citizen but the parents might not be. Could illegal parents go to a hospital to have their to-be legal child delivered?
An MD friend of mine said it will go down like this. The insurance industries will not be touched for fear of creating unemployment. The drug companies won't be touched for their strength. The fall guy will be the docs, who will work more for less. He also said that those who are protesting to keep government's hands off their health care should send back their Medicare checks.
There is language that excludes illegal aliens from this bill. The republicans are whining because there isn't an inforcement mechanism. Do they really think doctors and hospitals should be the enforcement arm of the INS? This is a preposperously disingenuous arguement (anybody surprised?) Emergency rooms will treat anybody that comes in and needs treatment. Their professional ethics demand this.
The language of law and medicine is just as indecipherable as the language of legislation. I'm not put off by the language in the bill but I'm taking the "under" on the number of reps that will actually read it. Republicans don't have to. They're voting no regardless of what it says.
Birdman is correct about what issue the Reps are hanging their "liar" hat on.
There was a provision in Reagan's immigration bill that said what the penalty was for businesses that hire illegals. As far as I've seen, a few illegals have come into the country and found jobs despite a specific provision for enforcement in that immigration bill.
Perhaps a rider to the health care bill stating that anyone determined to not have legal status that shows up at an ER will be transported to the halls of Congress would please the xenophobes. We know from the Terri Shaivo case that the medical expertise there is second to none.
I'm also in favor of the Republican proposal to allow people who can legally carry concealed handguns in their home state to carry them in other states. The rider to that should be that they could carry them into Congress also. I would love to see the bravado of our elected representatives if they thought someone in the gallery had a concealed weapon. After all guns don't kill people, people kill people so what's the worry?
I was under the impression that if you made a statement which you believed to be factual but was indeed flase you were a liar... or is it lawyer? Lawmaker?
Not a willful liar, but a liar nonetheless.
If you forget the case of soda or bag of dog food under your cart at the supermarket and leave without paying for it, have you not stolen it?
Where is William Safire now that we need him? I think if you say something you believe is true, and it is not, then you are just wrong - not a liar. I believe a lie must be willful to be a lie. "Intent to deceive" is a critical component.
Let me rewrite this bill.
The United States Federal Government shall provide free medical care to every citizen of this country. These expenses shall be paid from the General Fund. Any additional revenues needed shall be obtained from the Dept. of Defence Budget.
K I S S
The sad part about politicos is that they dont lie. They acually believe their own BS.
I don't believe Obama's statement in the least bit false. If the Repbublicans want to deal with the immigration issue don't conflate it with health care. Have the intellectual honesty to deal with the issue on its own merit.
Just becasue it's a hot button issue with "the base" doesn't mean you should use it to attack every piece of legislation presented.
If you think the media is going to challenge this administration or the congressial leaders, you're living in a bubble. They aren't called the "drive by media" for nothing. If the President stands up before the nation and with such conviction says this 1000 page document doesn't cover "undocumented residents" is either a liar or a fool. Worse yet he's taking all of us for fools.
The people who went to Washington know and understand just exactly what Congress and the President is trying to do. Common sense tells you that trying to ram a 1000 page bill through on a Friday afternoon before summer vacation that there's something there that most Americans wouldn't agree with.
Why the rush? Why did they rush a $800B stimulus package that had a 300 page amendment added in the eleventh hour - why the rush?
Do they think we are completely stupid?
Goodness. Heartfelt emotions over politics!
Don't get into a lather. Like all games, politics is played by rules. Do you believe baseball is all about singles, doubles, triples and home runs? It is also about balks, stealing and bunts.
You might be burning over this legislation but the Democrats have the ball and the inning is coming close to an end.
History is a hard taskmaster but everyone has felt its lash. I am still smarting from some calls made some 8 years ago when the election was called the wrong way to my taste. You might feel it was a golden era but there are plenty of fatherless and motherless children who cry themselves to bed at night over repercussions of political warfare which will be a footnote to history.
Good point about a rush to pass the bill. It is similar to Bush pushing to vote on the authorization to invade Iraq before a recess for the 2002 elections.
He was afraid that a delay would not be in his favor.
It is seldom that any bill passes that has universal approval and the longer it ferments the better the chance the opposition will defeat it. It is always politically easier to do nothing.
Washington doesnt think we'r stupid, they know that those of us who arent wont do anything anyhow. Excuss me, some of us vote.
This last election got us a president who: changed battlefields, not ended the war , sent almost a trillion dollars to the men responsable for the bad economy, cut deals with drug makers & insurance companies before his health plan came out & who has no clue where "Main St." is. All this while we lay back & congratulated ourselves for electing a black man.
The Senate Finance Committee just came out with a health plan. It requires all individuals to buy health insurance or pay a fine.
Would somebody please explain the wisdom of this idea?
If you can not afford to buy a plan how are you going to pay the fine?
Congress has some really smart people.
Why don't the Dems just listen, go back to the drawing board, clean up the waste and fraud in Medicare as a seprate option, and allow some $0 cost, free market ideas to work.
Allowing people to purchase insurance across state lines and medical malpractice tort reform costs the taxpayer NOTHING.
Giving individuals tax credits to purchase insurance costs very little and can be made revenue neutral when coupled with a company provided benefit as taxable compensation.
None of this has been tried, and before DC proposes a $900 billion dollar fix they should at least exhaust all of the lower cost alternatives.
Then we can start talking public option.
Just when you think you couldn't hate these guys anymore comes the gang of 6!!
As always -- AY is the final voice of reason. I also very much like KG's gun law suggestion. Let's make it a Constitutional amendment!
AY is the voice of reason here,however, it makes too much sense for any serious consideration from our elected reps. Good Christ--what happens to these people when they enter our Capital? diaappointing doesn't come close to a description here. Once Obama was elected race wasn't an issue. Election night and the emotions of that evening were wrenching and worthy of contemplative days. He is President now and needsd to follow through on this. Juevos please. Please make us proud of our vote. We are seeing an insidious showing of pornography from capitol hill. Dennis,run for office. You too Gaga.
AY is the voice of reason here,however, it makes too much sense for any serious consideration from our elected reps. Good Christ--what happens to these people when they enter our Capital? diaappointing doesn't come close to a description here. Once Obama was elected race wasn't an issue. Election night and the emotions of that evening were wrenching and worthy of contemplative days. He is President now and needsd to follow through on this. Juevos please. Please make us proud of our vote. We are seeing an insidious showing of pornography from capitol hill. Dennis,run for office. You too Gaga.
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