Why Every Republican Should Oppose ReidCare
It’s still a very bad bill:
The bill’s main problem isn’t its abortion provision or even the debate over the “public option” that Democrats will probably settle with an inartful dodge. The problem is more than $400 billion in new taxes and a half-trillion dollars in Medicare cuts to pay for a vast new entitlement that is certain to increase the cost of insurance, reduce the quality of medical care and ruin the federal fisc. This is the reason Democrats have no chance of winning over Republicans who have cooperated with Democrats on health care and other issues in the past.
Republican amendments on the Senate floor have tried to strip out these core elements, and so far Mrs. Snowe and Democrats Ben Nelson (Nebraska) and Jim Webb (Virginia) have voted with the GOP. Yet Democrats nonetheless want them to vote to provide the 60 votes needed to pass the manager’s amendment that Mr. Reid will spring at some point that will scale back none of these destructive flaws.
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December 14th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
OTOH, the mere fact that the Democrat’s ultimate guy can’t even control his own guest list for a state dinner leads me to believe they ought to be kept FAR away from important (and much more complicated) things like health care…
And the mendacity shown weekly by the tax-cheats and ex-cons running the Obama Administration proves they shouldn’t be trusted with repairing their own shoes…
December 14th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
- “It’s still a very bad bill…” – Not as bad as Medicare Part D, but the repubs pushed that one thru in the dead of night. And not as costly as the two tax cuts they pushed thru using reconciliation. History proves that republicans will vote for bad bills. They’ll vote for a bill even when they have no idea how to pay for it, something the dems won’t do. So whether it’s good or bad has nothing to do with it. What matters is it’s a democrat bill, and that’s why they aren’t voting for it.
- “The problem is more than $400 billion in new taxes…” – that most of you will never have to pay.
- “… and a half-trillion dollars in Medicare cuts…” – that were all subsidies to the poor private insurance companies so that they could offer the same services as Medicare under their name. The same private insurance companies that pay their CEOs $56K/hr. It needs to go.
- “…to pay for a vast new entitlement …” – not an entitlement – this is something that pays it’s own way. That’s why it actualy reduces the deficit over time. That’s a concept that republicans have never heard of.
- “…increase the cost of insurance…” – which the private insurance companies are going to continue raising anyway, while providing you (that’s right YOU) less coverage (have you even looked at your paycheck for the last 10 yrs?). But at least they won’t be able to drop you if you get sick, cap your payouts, or deny you service for a pre-existing condition. Hell, you might even consider starting your own business since you won’t have to worry about losing your insurance if you quit your job. Some folks call that “freedom”. But you’d rather be a slave to your job and the insurance companies and yet somehow consider yourself free.
- “…reduce the quality of medical care…” – We’re currently 36th amongst western industrialized countries, and in some categories, we’re behind some 3rd world countries. Really, the current quality of medical care that we have now isn’t that great and we’re paying twice as much as the rest of the world for it. And if you don’t have a job or vast sums of money, medical care is nonexistant.
- “…and ruin the federal fisc…” – you repubs have already done that. We’re picking up the pieces. Where you been for most of the decade?
- “This is the reason Democrats have no chance of winning over Republicans who have cooperated with Democrats on health care and other issues in the past.” – Not even. The reason is these repubs are scared of Obama, and scared that the dems may succeed – otherwise they’d let it go to the floor for a vote. A lot of the provisions that are in the bill were republican ideas in the past that they now disavow – such as the “death panels”.
- “Republican amendments on the Senate floor have tried to strip out these core elements…” – You mean make it more expensive by adding useless things, and by throwing in anti-abortin provisions that most private insurance plans (even the one used by the RNC until they actually read the policy – yeah, these are the guys I want running the country) already have.
- “Yet Democrats nonetheless want them to vote to provide the 60 votes needed to pass the manager’s amendment…” – No, dems just want an up or down vote. Remember those? You republicans were clammering for them back when you were in charge. Now this congress has gone on record with the highest number of procedural obstructions ever.
December 14th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
- “And the mendacity shown weekly by the tax-cheats and ex-cons running the Obama Administration proves they shouldn’t be trusted with repairing their own shoes…” – Where’s that $10B the Bush administration lost in Iraq? Must have went down the same hole that the WMD did. Yet you want to put them back in charge. Go figure…
December 14th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
Donks…always the victim