Alan Grayson’s remarks are not the same as Republican Death Panels

More fake disdain from the Republican Party and political fat-ass pundits today.

Recently in an after hours session of the House, Democrat Alan Grayson help up a sign that said “Die Quickly”.  His verbal assault went further.  He said that the Republican answer to health care is “don’t get sick, and if you do, die quickly”.

While we all now this was a joke and a bad one at that, he was simply trying to make a point.  Let’s face it, the Republicans still can not come up with a health care plan but the are clairvoyant because they know that Democrat plan is wrong.  Wrong, Wrong, Wrong, NO, NO, NO.  But don’t ask them what the right plan is, they have no idea.  So I understand Alan Grayson’s opinions and tactics.

However, Republicans are comparing this to Joe Wilson’s “YOU LIE” comment at a joint session of congress.  Republicans are saying that Grayson should be censured or reprimanded in some way.  They say it is an unacceptable outburst of hate and misinformation.

Hmm.  Let’s think.  Wilson was the first person EVER in the history of the Congress to interrupt the President by yelling out disagreeable remarks during a joint session.  There are rules of conduct in Congress and Wilson stepped way over the line by yelling out “YOU LIE”.  He owed the President an apology and owed the Congress one as well. 

Alan Grayson merely put up a sign in a late night session of Congress when almost nobody was there.  None of the Republican leaders in Congress stuck around to hear all of the debates and to listen to “the juniors” like Grayson when it was his turn to speak.  It was below them.  The place was almost empty.  If it weren’t for C-SPAN catching it on tape, I’m not convinced many would have noticed Grayson’s remarks.  Bringing theatrics and visual aids is a long-standing tradition in Congress.  Grayson was trying to make a point.  Maybe Republicans don’t want you to die quickly, maybe they do, but it was a joke.  Not a funny joke, more of a ploy to get some attention.  A tactic to expose Republicans for what they are: in the pockets of the health care industry, and doing everything they can to maintain the status quo.

Alan Grayson’s sign CAN NOT be compared the Republican’s “Death Panel” crusade.  Republicans flooded the airwaves, both on talk radio and television, trying to convince the American public that Obama’s health care plan includes Death Panels and that they want to kill off grandma.  That tactic was real, scary, and many people truly believed it.  This is the perfect spot for a comment about the ignorant, hate-filled Republican base but I’m going to rise above it).   The words “Death Panel”  became part of the Republican mantra for weeks on end, and even when they knew it wasn’t true, Republicans still would not come right out and admit it there was no such thing.  They would talk in circles so as not to have to blatantly admin THERE ARE NO DEATH PANELS IN THE HEALTH CARE BILL.  I’ve heard them on political talk show saying things like “well there’s no real proof but if you read between the lines. yadda, yadda, yadda, and “government takeover of healthcare” blah, blah, blah.

Alan Grayson was trying to get people to WAKE UP.  For some reason, many politicians don’t understand, or just don’t want to understand, that without OPTIONS from which American’s can choose for their own healthcare, then there is no reform.  Covering pre-existing conditions isn’t going to cut it for people who DON’T HAVE INSURANCE anyway.  For people who don’t have insurance, or are under-insured, everything is a pre-existing condition.

The public option needs to be nothing more than an extension of Medicare or Medicaid to everyone who want it or needs it.    Placing some puny little rules on insurance companies doesn’t stop those insurance companies from jacking up prices and forcing Americans through miles of red tape to get the coverage they are due.  There is no way to enforce the “new rules” that might be imposed on insurance companies.  If an insurance company wants to cancel your policy, they will now cancel an entire line of business.  For example, they could easily say “Healthcare Plan A is being discontinued because it is no longer profitable”.  This is well within their rights.  If they can’t cancel individual policies, what is to stop them from cancelling insurance on a wide-spread basis using loop holes in the legislation.  Nobody can force an insurance company to continue a product that they are losing money on; so they will just discontinue it.  It happens every day.

And here’s one last thought:  My tax dollars pay for Federal Employees healthcare, yet I don’t have adequate healthcare myself.  What if we take away all healthcare for Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court until Congress can figure out a way to give  all Americans the same health coverage that they have.  Then they can apply for it and fill out all the paperwork just like the rest of us.  If a federal employee is single, he will pay about $160 a month (or $77 dollars per semi-monthly paycheck) for his insurance.  But he will get one of the richest plans in this country.  I pay about that for myself and have a $3,000 deductible before my “insurance” even kicks in.  Yet, I am paying for this sample employee’s health insurance.  We could have the same illness and he will live, and I will die, because I don’t have $3,000.

Do you folks even begin to get this yet?

Back to Healthcare – Max Baucus should just become a republican

Oh, the intrepid Max Baucus.  If he weren’t such a complete idiot he wouldn’t be good at anything.  Yesterday the Senate Finance Committee, led by the fearless Baucus voted against the “Public Option” twice, based on two separate amendments by two different Senators, Chuck Schumer, and Jay Rockefeller.  Although Schumer’s amendment received more “Yes” votes, Democrat Senators with backbones were hard to find within the remaineder of the 23 panel committee.  For Democrats to vote “No” on a public option at this point is ridiculous.

Baucus tried to defend himself by saying:

It is my job to get a bill through with 60 votes and because nobody has proved to me that a bill with a public option in it can get 60 votes I must vote against it.”

No, that is not your job, MAX.  It is your job to help PASS a bill that the American People WANT.  And at this point almost 70% of Americans want an option outside of the classic employer-provided healthcare.  How can you write a bill that includes a public option and then vote against your own bill because you don’t think you have enough votes to pass it.  That makes NO SENSE.  You are a complete idiot who gets far too much in campaign contributions from big Insurance companies.

So in essence Max Baucus is trying to get us to believe that he LOVES the bill, it’s fantastic, I would totally vote for a public health insurance option.  If only he knew that everybody else would vote for it, he would have voted for it too. 

So, American People, are you buying this?