Healthcare Notes

I must be one of the few who applauds the Supreme Court's decision to uphold President Obama's Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (PPACA), according to various members of the GOP. If we take the right-wing seriously, by now most of us should be convinced President Obama is not an American and is hell bent on destroying the country via intrusion of government into our lives, among other things. Phooey!

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor appeared on Morning Joe today to disparage the decision. One of his oft-repeated phrases was "Americans don’t like this bill." Is he speaking for us in general, or just his narrow constituency cluster? Has he – or any other notable Republican – ever gone without health insurance or faced a financial catastrophe because of an illness?

First Thoughts made a good point:

Romney made this argument after the decision: "vote for me because I will repeal the health-care law." But is repeal a realistic outcome? On "Morning Joe," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said that Senate Republicans could do it through reconciliation. But conservative writer David Frum argues that Republicans would no longer have the high political ground; they'd find themselves in the same position Democrats did in 2009-2010. "Suddenly it will be their town halls filled with outraged senior citizens whose benefits are threatened; their incumbencies that will be threatened."

On a related note, many politicians were against the idea of "social insurance" (aka Social Security) when President Franklin Roosevelt introduced a limited form of benefits in the 1930s. Detractors of the program called it "socialism," even though it excluded women and minorities at the time. Can you imagine what would happen if social security benefits were taken away from the American people now? Not only would there be an uprising of epic proportions, it would likely plunge millions of senior citizens into the streets, homeless and living in true abject poverty.

So are we to accept government intrusion only when it suites the collective political agendas of the GOP? How different is the healthcare act from social security, really? And which politicians are lining their pockets with money from insurance companies in order to perpetuate their own greedy schema?

For someone who has been gouged and denied by insurance companies even while paying top-dollar premium and then going without insurance altogether for awhile, I can say having another option is a relief. Medicaid is fine and dandy, but coverage is limited and rather like being part of a nameless and faceless herd. In other words, "take a number" and move on.

Think Progress also makes some good points:

• Four Reasons Why the Court's Decision To Uphold Obamacare Is Good News for the Economy

To rebuff Cantor's claim that "Americans don't like this bill," he does not speak for me. I suspect I'm one of many millions who feels the same way.

Election Dread

I think my biggest fear about this year's presidential election is that people will vote for Romney out of sheer frustration with the economy, rather than looking at the big picture.

I'm of the opinion that policies administered by the Bush administration are what sent this country into a financial tailspin in the first place. Lack of regulation and foresight was a huge factor in the meltdown, which had nothing whatsoever to do with Barack Obama.

Bringing in another Republican will only make the situation worse, reversing us back to non-regulation and dinging necessary entitlements for those who need it most.

GOP Nuttery

Why are so many conservatives noisy about not having their rights and beliefs trod upon, but don't see the hypocrisy of forcing their fanatic views on the rest of us?

Go figure.

Stranger than Fiction

Love this picture - speaks for itself, doesn't it? Thanks to Teabonics and Blue Ollie for the reference!

Debatable Intentions

I'm not sure if it’s my predisposition to the left or if I'm among the many who feel this way, but I find it very hard to take any of the Republican candidates seriously.

I keep imagining future Presidential debates, and inevitably Barack Obama always comes out the winner. Whoever wins the GOP primary – Romney, Santorum, Gingrich, Paul – will never be able to hold a candle to the President in a serious, one-on-one debate. He'll simply wipe the floor with them. It's not just his forward accomplishments and track record – which cannot be factually disproven no matter how much negative chatter emanates from the right – it's his innate calmness, gift-of-gab, natural command and clear grasp of all political scenarios. None of the Republican candidates seem to have a deep understanding of the issues, nor do they appear to have a sincere connection with common, everyday people.

I listened to all the "Super Tuesday" coverage yesterday, and one theme seemed to be prevalent amongst most of the political pundits: The majority of conservatives are desperate to remove President Obama from office, even if means casting their vote for an unqualified right-wing candidate. Silly me - I thought doing right by the American people was top priority, not personal career advancements. It speaks volumes about the right-wing agenda, frankly, which is fully demonstrated by their ineffectual version of Congress.

Some might argue that replacing President Obama is "doing right" by the American people, which I heartily disagree with. Can you imagine going back to the days of an unchecked Wall Street, cuts in benefits for the poor and elderly, reversal of stem cell research, religious and moral bigotry, dismissal of global warming and free tax rides for the rich, just to name a few?

A return to right-wing policies will throw our nation backward, not forward, and bodes nothing but ill for the future of our country.

Ads & Endorsements

This is the "political" portion of my Irish Eyes blog entry about advertisements and endorsements:

The worst of the ad lots are products promoted by celebrities. I can't think of anything less influential or less credible than a celebrity endorsement. Who wouldn't hawk a product if they were paid gobs of money to do so? The product or cause could be a load of crap for all we know, and I'm not willing to spend the dough to find out otherwise - no matter who is at the advertising helm. I've been a fan of The Rolling Stones for decades, but I definitely would not buy a product endorsed by Mick Jagger or his band mates just because they insist on its goodness.

The same applies to celebrities endorsing political candidates. Who cares what they think, for God's sake? Their opinions are no more viable than anyone else's, even if they try to lead us to believe they have insight into their particular candidate. To me, it's just another example of the high and mighty who believes American masses are nothing more than a tribe of idiots with no thoughts of our own. Of course, there are idiots among us (including the high and mighty), but for the most part we are all quite capable of understanding the political spectrum and arriving at a decision on our own.

I care as much about political candidate endorsements as I do the right-wing opinions of my neighbors. I'm just not interested. I'm old enough to know my own preferences, and I've heard all the arguments many times before.

And that's all I have to say about that…

Clown Show

I've tried to keep my mouth shut about the assortment of clowns vying to be the GOP party candidate for President, but I can no longer bite my tongue.

Let's get real. None of the right-wing candidates inspire a great deal of confidence. In fact, I find most of them to be a major joke, some less than others. It's not my intention to unleash personal attacks per say, but please....can you imagine the robotic Ken-doll Mitt Romney as leader of the free world? Or Michele Bachmann - who likens herself to Margaret "Iron Lady" Thatcher - sitting in the Oval Office? And honestly, do we need another gunslinger wanna-be (Rick Perry) running the country? The scenarios are laughable, plain and simple.

All of them refuse to acknowledge the work President Obama has done, hiding their true feelings of ugly racism by attacks on his policies. I don't care how often or how vigorously they try to deny it, most wealthy (eg: white) people sitting in the right-wing echelon will never accept the President. We have the virtually non-functioning and aggressive blockage of Congress as a case-in-point. The right-wing mantra of Christian values et al is a load of hooey, conveniently used to suit their purposes in the moment.

I had to laugh out loud the other night when one of the candidates - can't recall which one - said it was time "to take our country back." Back from who, or what? If one of "them" is elected, does it mean we are to return to the destructive policies of George W. Bush via the demented Dick Cheney?

Who are they kidding?