John Boehner (R-OH), like the FOX "news" network, often practices the ancient mysterious art of "making sh*t up." That's what he did this morning in the above video clip.
"We first released our health-care plan in June, and over the last six months, we have introduced at least eight bills that, taken together, would implement this blueprint,"
So says Boehner. Did the GOP "release" their health care plan in June?
CNN reports…
The GOP released the guiding principles of its health-care agenda in June, but did not release a comprehensive legislative blueprint at that point. Republican congressional leaders have said the party is in the process of crafting a substitute.
The background here….
February 4, 2009…Boehner selects Roy Blunt (R-MO) to chair the Republicans' Health Care Task Force.
Roll Call reported: "House Republicans presented a four-page outline of their health care reform plan Wednesday but said they didn't know yet how much it would cost, how they would pay for it and how many of the nearly 50 million Americans without insurance would be covered by it."
Blunt, that day….
"I guarantee you we will provide you with a bill."
July 10, 2009….Congressman Blunt praised his Party's four page outline on the radio and declared, "Our plan is actually much more detailed than their plan has been… I think we're more prepared to debate our plan than they are."
Twelve days later, July 22, Blunt, amazingly, said this….
"Our bill is never going to get to the floor, so why confuse the focus? We clearly have principles; we could have language, but why start diverting attention from this really bad piece of work they've got to whatever we're offering right now?"
You know, "why confuse the focus", by following through on what he and Boehner promised? No package of health reform alternatives were ever written or submitted by Republicans. Blunt, himself, admitted that Republicans had no legislative "language."
That brings us back to today's Boehner bullpucky….
Boehner's four points …
Number one: let families and businesses buy health insurance across state lines.
Number two: allow individuals, small businesses, and trade associations to pool together and acquire health insurance at lower prices, the same way large corporations and labor unions do.
Number three: give states the tools to create their own innovative reforms that lower health care costs.
Number four: end junk lawsuits that contribute to higher health care costs by increasing the number of tests and procedures that physicians sometimes order not because they think it's good medicine, but because they are afraid of being sued.
Once again…no numbers, no fleshing out of much of anything…..just four Republican talking points "guiding principles", the same ones we've been hearing for years. What we haven't seen, however, is a genuine alternative plan….what CNN referred to as a "comprehensive legislative blueprint"…..proving yet again, that Boehner, in typical GOP fashion, simply "makes sh*t up."
Let's review what are, at best, four GOP talking points. It's all we have to work with from the party of no.
Number one…..it is widely known that the biggest health insurance companies operate in virtually all 50 states. So, "buying across state lines" accomplishes, what, exactly? Would it much matter if you purchased health insurance from Aetna in New York or Aetna in Iowa..do you think? In addition, taking Boehner's number one seriously, health insurers would relocate to the states that are the least restrictive on them, which would result in less consumer choice, not more.
Number two….Boehner sets forth no larger picture view of how "groups" would go about "joining together", to theoretically, create a bigger, and thus cheaper, insurance policy pool. As far as I know, nothing prevents groups from pooling together right now…..so while Boehner may think his number two is some brilliant breakthrough, it's pretty much a puffball of rhetoric.
Number three…"give states the tools to create their own innovative reforms that lower health care costs." Your guess is as good as mine on what the hell that sentence is supposed to mean. No further explanation, just like it's been all year for Republicans, is forthcoming.
Number four….GOP boilerplate. Tort reform. Wherever there is legislation being talked about, Republicans are always going after those Democratic-voting-and-contributing "trial lawyers." By implication, Boehner's idea of tort reform in health care would bring with it fewer medical "tests", fewer medical "procedures." Give health insurance companies a break by reforming punitive damage awards, capping punitive damages for doctors who might, you know, paralyze your child, or worse….which Boehner says would…..mean fewer medical tests and procedures. And that's supposed to be for whose benefit, again?
Just like back in June….Republicans have nothing to offer. No serious plan to extend coverage to all Americans….no serious plan to lower costs….nothing serious at all.
Still the party of the Boehner.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
I couldnt agree more Rev. What the hell is that idiot thinking? Is he too stupid or lazy to make up numbers?
Stupid and lazy…but plenty of time to go tanning!
I used to have respect for some Republican members of Congress….Dole, Lugar, Hagel, a few others….but now there's very little respectable Republican stuff to even evaluate.
I'm an Ohioan, and Boehner is an embarassment to Ohio, so I take it, you know, personally.
You can't really be surprised that they have not offered anything. Real ideas that help people go against the driving principle of the GOP. They have done a wonderful job of convincing people that government is incompetent and that you cannot trust or believe in government. Go back to Reagan's "government IS the problem" line. Republicans govern incompetently and then turn around and say, "See, government IS the problem."
So what have liberals done for America?
Why is liberalism good for America? Here is a short list of programs originally opposed by conservatives and which exist today because liberals made them happen.
Child labor laws
Clean Water Act
Collective bargaining rights
Federal fair housing law
Federal deposit insurance
Federally sponsored guaranteed student loan programs
Food stamps
Head Start
Investor protections of the Securities Acts of 1933 and 1934
Medicare
Public electrical power and the rural electrification system
Social Security
The Civil Rights Act
The 40-hour work week
The minimum wage
Unemployment compensation
Voting Rights Act
Women's suffrage
What conservative programs have benefited America?
Nixon did create the EPA. Would today's conservative create such an institution?
What a Wit!
The Reverand I mean. Note his skillful use of the double entendre. Yes, he still resorts to scatological profanity, but he did keep it to a minimum. By Reverand standards. And he has such fun doing it. Besides, insult is easier than argument.
What's a junk lawsuit? Who should determine what one is? Ironically, I once asked a Republican lawyer about tort reform as it relates to the health care industry. She said that if statistics were kept on medical malpractice deaths, medical malpractice would be the leading cause of death in the US. I don't think that tort reform is a good idea at all. I'm not surprised Boehner does, though.
Has anyone ever seen John Boehner smile?
Some good medical malpractice statgistics here — Center for Medicaid and Medicare services estimates that malpractice costs account for less that 2% of Medical spending and many many more interesting statistics.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/10/27/malpractice_reform/index.html
and "scatologically" I passed out enough candy last night as did all of my neighbors to increase medically spending in my community by 2% and now I have a sore throat this am — a small price to pay for having lots of fun.
C'mon Quid…I presented arguments. And this…"by Reverand standards"….you know I don't have any standards. I'm a liberal and I'm proud of those liberal accomplishments that jimmie listed…so, how could I have any standards?
SanDiego…"Has anyone ever seen John Boehner smile?"
Answer: No.
Thanks fourfoos for the link. The GOP has, for years, made a very big propaganda mountain out of a small tort reform problem hill.
jimmie…."Nixon did create the EPA. Would today's conservative create such an institution?"
Answer: You must be kidding.
The Conservative Pledge:
I, ________________________, do solemnly swear to uphold the principles of a socialism-free society and heretofore pledge my word that I shall strictly adhere to the following:
I will complain about the destruction of 1st Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 1st Amendment Rights.
I will complain about the destruction of my 2nd Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 2nd Amendment rights by legally but brazenly brandishing unconcealed firearms in public.
I will foreswear the time-honored principles of fairness, decency, and respect by screaming unintelligible platitudes regarding tyranny, Nazi-ism, and socialism at public town halls. Also.
I pledge to eliminate all government intervention in my life. I will abstain from the use of and participation in any socialist goods and services including but not limited to the following:
•Social Security
•Medicare/Medicaid
•State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP)
•Police, Fire, and Emergency Services
•US Postal Service
•Roads and Highways
•Air Travel (regulated by the socialist FAA)
•The US Railway System
•Public Subways and Metro Systems
•Public Bus and Lightrail Systems
•Rest Areas on Highways
•Sidewalks
•All Government-Funded Local/State Projects (e.g., see Iowa 2009 federal senate appropriations)
•Public Water and Sewer Services (goodbye socialist toilet, shower, dishwasher, kitchen sink, outdoor hose!)
•Public and State Universities and Colleges
•Public Primary and Secondary Schools
•Sesame Street
•Publicly Funded Anti-Drug Use Education for Children
•Public Museums
•Libraries
•Public Parks and Beaches
•State and National Parks
•Public Zoos
•Unemployment Insurance
•Municipal Garbage and Recycling Services
•Treatment at Any Hospital or Clinic That Ever Received Funding From Local, State or Federal Government (pretty much all of them)
•Medical Services and Medications That Were Created or Derived From Any Government Grant or Research Funding (again, pretty much all of them)
•Socialist Byproducts of Government Investment Such as Duct Tape and Velcro (Nazi-NASA Inventions)
•Use of the Internets, email, and networked computers, as the DoD's ARPANET was the basis for subsequent computer networking
•Foodstuffs, Meats, Produce and Crops That Were Grown With, Fed With, Raised With or That Contain Inputs From Crops Grown With Government Subsidies
•Clothing Made from Crops (e.g. cotton) That Were Grown With or That Contain Inputs From Government Subsidies
If a veteran of the government-run socialist US military, I will forego my VA benefits and insist on paying for my own medical care
I will not tour socialist government buildings like the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
I pledge to never take myself, my family, or my children on a tour of the following types of socialist locations, including but not limited to:
•Smithsonian Museums such as the Air and Space Museum or Museum of American History
•The socialist Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson Monuments
•The government-operated Statue of Liberty
•The Grand Canyon
•The socialist World War II and Vietnam Veterans Memorials
•The government-run socialist-propaganda location known as Arlington National Cemetery
•All other public-funded socialist sites, whether it be in my state or in Washington, DC
I will urge my Member of Congress and Senators to forego their government salary and government-provided healthcare.
I will oppose and condemn the government-funded and therefore socialist military of the United States of America.
I will boycott the products of socialist defense contractors such as GE, Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Raytheon, Humana, FedEx, General Motors, Honeywell, and hundreds of others that are paid by our socialist government to produce goods for our socialist army.
I will protest socialist security departments such as the Pentagon, FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security, TSA, Department of Justice and their socialist employees.
Upon reaching eligible retirement age, I will tear up my socialist Social Security checks.
Upon reaching age 65, I will forego Medicare and pay for my own private health insurance until I die.
Priceless.
Any signees? Ya' think?
Yes, priceless, as in, it doesn't have any value.