Over the past 30 years the Republicans have been working to promote their agenda and none of it seems to be for the betterment of America. They have worked hard to push the cutting of funding for infrastructure repairs to promoting their crusades in the oil lands. Now we are discussing heath care reform and the Republicans are pulling every dirty trick out of their playbook to stop it, from the classic propaganda of high taxes and the destruction of the middle class to trying to claim senior citizens will be encouraged to commit suicide.
But why are they fighting so hard? I have three answers and none of them will be very popular with the conservative element.
Reason number one, money. Lets be perfectly honest, Republicans claim they are for the common man and main street businesses but ever action only benefits mega corporations. Consider this, Cleve Killingsworth, CEO of Blue Cross received a pay increase of 26% pushing his salary, including a million dollar year end bonus to $4.3 million dollars*. How many people had to be denied coverage or life saving treatments in order to boost profits high enough to pay that kind of salary? And you know the lobbyists on K street make sure a chunk of those profits are funneled to their favorite memebers of Congress.
Reason number two, power. Corporate America has become the new feudal system. They control their employees with the threat of unemployment and the loss of benefits. As long as the unemployment rate remains high and insurance costs are out of control people will remain at a job, even a bad one, for financial reasons. High insurance rates are just another control mechanism and again, corporate America makes sure members of Congress are well compensated for maintaining the status quo.
And reason number three, the "gotcha" factor. Since 2005 the Republicans have been on a downhill slide. From Katrina to the Cheney shooting and the endless scandals of the "do nothing" Congress the Republicans haven't had a win in years. They suffered a humiliating defeat in both 2006 and 2008. They now have such a void in leadership that Sarah Palin, the clown princess of the Republican party, is actually at the top of the 2012 nominee list. They have no real plans or programs so the best they can do is try to tear down those of the Democrats in order to claim victory. The Republicans are desperate for some kind of win and they couldn't care less how the rising cost of health care affects the average American or to paraphrase South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint, they want the issue to be President Obama's Waterloo.
The Republicans are desperate to regain power in America. They have proven they will do anything to re-seize control of the government. Well anything but actually help Americans, after all that would be socialism!!!!!
* http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2009/02/28/blue_cross_ceos_pay_rose_26/
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Jim Stancil
hulagirl4evermore
phyllis45's Bright Eyes
desert_rat
Dianne Schuch - Lindsey
accidental dad
Salon.com
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Some practices BCBSMA have implemented include stopping reimbursing hospitals for the costs of their medical mistakes (lowers premiums), providing better benefits for home care to shorten hospital visits and reduce costs and hospital related infections, and the implementation of Concierge Customer Service where the company does a lot of the information gathering so the patient doesn't get lost in a sea of paperwork.
It's not perfect, but it's better than most health insurers, and it's not profit driven.
I am upset with CNN, MSNBC, and other Republican/industrial house organs which pose as "the final arbiters of what it is that we need to know". I find myself hitting the newspaper sites in order to blind myself trying to get some real news.
When maximum air time is spent on such idiotic and obvious lies as "the government will counsel you to kill yourself", I suspect that dirty dealings are going on.
At the end of it, I would guess that they're doing this simply because any Democratic failure is Republican gain. Forget what's good for the country and forget what the vast majority of us have repeatedly demanded. It's easier to convince people with lies and underhanded deals than it is to actually think and govern in the public interest.
I find the pay of CEOs of most businesses obscene. No one, absolutely no one is actually worth the millions they are paid.
I believe that this country is on the cusp of a new political epoch, and its one that will be marked by the ascendancy of progressive values. We saw a glimmer of this in the 2008 elections, in which the G.O.P. was routed. In fact, its entirely possible that the 60-40 margin in the senate would be larger were it not for the fact that only 1/3 of the Senate is up for election at a time. If all 100 Senators faced reelection every two years, as do House members, the margin for the Democrats would probably be greater than 60. We don't elect Senators that way, of course; I merely offer that as a slant on the recent election.
Health care reform is the defining issue of the birth of the new epoch. If real health care reform is passed, it has the power to assure that the Democrats can control the levers of power for several generations, just as social security and the New Deal did before it. Those programs relegated the G.O.P. into a compliant loyal opposition. If true health care reform is enacted, i.e. a public option (whose real intention is to pave the way for universal, single payer health insurance), the G.O.P as we know it today will be an historic relic.
Health care reform is a life or death issue for the Republican party.
They will stop at nothing.
Reason1... Maybe he could earn only 10 dollars a year and then we could save more people... Yeah evil elephants and their profit. Evil... Sorry but, your money argument is moot. It can be countered any number of ways that are to numerous to enumerate here (written this way since you are doing the number thing, reason 1-2-3). Do you really want some one who makes minimum wage running a company. Good grief, minimum wage employees can not make a hamburger the right way. Seriously, who made you the judge of all things? Maybe I should judge what your salary is and if it is fair. But I will not do that because I know how stupid that is.
Reason2 (loving the numbers thing) "Power" this is the liberal version of black helicopters. No sale. I does not even merit another poorly worded rebuttal sentence.
Reason3 Desperate... No we are not. I don not like Sarah Palin. In fact we Republicans really do not BUT we know you hate her. She provides the opportunity for liberal folks to show who they really are in a very public way. I love how upset people get when they talk about her and loose sight of their objective. It is a 2 for 1 treat served on a silver platter. You betcha!
Seriously, I think your miss the real point in this whole deal as it unfolds in front of you. The debate should be about choice and empowerment of the average person. Leaving things "as is" will not give anyone more choice. Creating a backdoor take over for government will ensure no choice is possible in the future. Making the opposition appear evil does not fix anything...
Here is some things to ponder:
Fixing medicare and medicade could save us all money and help deserving people in need.
Existing democrat plans in operation fail so hard it is easy to point out in history why we should not bet our future on them.
If you made Medicare and Medicaid work you may get some trust from the American people.
Republicans are not the problem. Democrats could pass this on their own. (So opposition is actually bipartisan, technically)
Consider that if you are here illegally and do not have insurance, going back home significantly reduces the number of uninsured and health care costs. It might actually raise the wages of the working poor who are citizens but explaining a market to a liberal is a lost cause.
Big tax credits for free clinic sponsorship could help 100's of thousands and meet some very basic needs.
Lying about any bill you are trying to pass ensures people do not trust you and move towards the opposition. (thank you)
Usage of the word "clown" only makes you look foolish.
Usage of the word "princess" makes you look petty.
Usage of them both "clown" and "princess" makes their separate consequences for the user gain exponential powers. You betcha it does! (wink)
So here is the real deal for those of you who do not understand this "crazy opposition" It has nothing to do with what the author claims. Myself and many other Americans are capable hardworking people who do not want you to "socialize" medicine in this country. To say that is not your intent is disingenuous at best. This is why it must fail.
Your analysis is neophyte and lowers the IQ of all people who read it seriously. The internet is a sadder place because of your blog. I hope no one pays you to do this intellectual thing your are pretending to do with your "Blog"
And before you complain about the quality of my post... consider who's blog it is posted on. Claude Monet is not going to show up to paint the side of a city bus. But I am certain you will develop a government program that will promise it and demonize the Republicans for calling it waste. Just sayin... (another wink)
I always rush to read any post that promises to explain the right-wing rationale for resisting the most urgently needed change (in this case, health insurance coverage).
We have hard evidence that you were on target here: your three points provoked what is clearly Palin-o-lalia in the form of Scott Lastname's rambling, fact-free comment. Often when on-duty rear guards make a stand the way he does, instead of a rationale, one must settle for rationalization:
"Your analysis is neophyte and lowers the IQ of all people who read it seriously.... The internet is a sadder place because of your blog."
Can't speak for the entire Internet, but these Party of No! observations have certainly left me (and my lowered IQ) feeling sadder.
1) Nobody is worth $4.3 million a year. And he is only one example of hundreds of people in the insurance industry making such salaries. Billions of insurance companies are paying more to their executives by denying live saving health care to people who paid in good faith. It's criminal.
2) If the Republicans weren't just after power then wouldn't they be working to solve problems rather than derail any and all Democratic programs? I see you have no answer for that question beyond trying to dismiss it.
3) I love Sarah. Every time she gets on TV the Republicans hopes for seizing the White House in 2012 slips just that much more. But it's standard rovian propaganda to declare "them liberals just hate....." whichever conservative is being discussed at the time. It's a hollow defence of a bad politician. Let me know when you have a real defence of "youbetcha" Palin.
And here are some things for you to ponder;
Medicare and Medicaid are the first items on the agenda. But instead of debating this the conservative element just came up with the lie that Democrats are trying to convince seniors to commit suicide. Shame on the Republicans for promoting such out and outright lies.
You claim the Democratic program fails badly but you provide nothing that in any way, shape or form supports that claim. I guess this is a "Because I say so" argument.
Again, Medicare and Medicaid reform are on the top of the list. And again we are back to the suicide lie.
The Democrats will pass the bill with or without the Republicans. They, unlike the do nothing Republican congress don't want to shut the other side of the aisle out of the debate. Wouldn't it be nice if the Republicans would join in instead of just the usual rovian fear and smear campaign? But then again they want this to be President Obama's Waterloo so they will do anything to derail it.
"It's all the illegals fault". Again a standard claim from the rovian playbook but nobody has ever come up with real numbers. Imagine that.
Tax credits vs. a government health program. What's the difference beyond people not being able to choose their own doctor? Isn't this exactly what you are against?
Yes, lying about the bill making claims that the Democrats are proposing cutting medicare and Medicaid plus tryign to convince seniors to commit suicide does turn people against the Republicans. I am glad you learned at least one lesson from all this.
Using comments like "socialist" and "low IQ" only makes you look foolish and petty. And if it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck.....
But I'll tell you what, you went through all the trouble to create a profile, why don't you inform us of the alternative Republican plan. Then we can see a Monet in a gallery where it belongs. BTW your entire two last paragraphs, Perhaps you should follow your own advice about being a neophyte with a low IQ.
The blue dogs may as well jump political party's for all the good they are doing for us. Rovian politics are killing us as a country. The biggest liars win and we let them do it to us.
When is Obama going to step up to the plate and start calling these assholes out? I love the fact that he is cerebral and eloquent, but sometimes you have to fight fire with the truth. The only way we will ever see bipartisanship again is after another terrorist attack. Otherwise that concept is dead.
Rated
Seriously, for the life of me, I don't understand, why when problems are pointed out to the poster, (mis-spellings, run on sentences, etc.,) they don't just go back and edit their post.
Unemployment and insurance are the two biggest bonuses to corporations that want to line their pockets while keeping their employees in a wage slave position.
Points well taken...