Aug 08 2009
Health-care reform makes democratic party show its ugly side
It’s been interesting to watch the democratic party come to grips with reality this last month or so. One thing though is becoming more and more clear, America did not experience a permanent shift to blue like some on the left would like to believe. And slipping poll numbers show that unless President Barack Obama begins to deliver on the kind of sweeping reform and change that he promised he will lose his perceived popularity.
As democratic lawmakers began campaigning for health-care reform all across the country they’ve ran into some surprisingly fierce opposition, prompting some legislators to abandon the town-hall meetings completely.
“I’m seeing the same clips everyone else is of these meetings that are turning into near-riots,” said Jon Schneider, New York representative Tim Bishop’s district director. “Obviously we don’t want that to happen.”
As much as the democratic party wants you to believe that all of these protesters are just rabid conservatives radicals the fact is that that is simply not the case for all of them.
Here’s where the ugly side of the democratic party begins to rear its head. Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the United States House of Representatives, recently accused the people at the meetings of “carrying swastikas and symbols like that.” The speaker then dismissed the protesters altogether, saying “I think they’re all astroturf” when asked if she thought there was a legitimate grass-roots campaign against the Obama-care proposal.
Pelosi isn’t the only one skewing the details, from claims that “the right wing extremist republican base is back” on D.N.C. web videos to senator Barbara Boxer claiming that the protesters were suspiciously well dressed (like that has anything to do with it?) democrats all over the country are dismissing large portions of their constituents in the fight for this bill.
In fact the democratic party is going past just alienating potential voters with their push for health-care reform, they’re even running ads attacking members of their own party who haven’t jumped in line behind the President.
Since President John F. Kennedy first tried democrats have failed on the lines of national healthcare. Could we be watching a repeat of history?
skwguitar,
Nicely done.
This is class war brother. We have seen and it has even been reported from the inside that the insurance companies are going balls out on this one. Neo-con recruits can be munipulated and the industry has the motive, means and opertunity to enlist their service, wittingly or otherwise. As Obama had built a network so have the neo-cons. Networks can do a lot of heavy lifting. But the polls show that most americans, most doctors and most nurses favor national health insurance. So the minorty must be all the more vocal and red bait the entire affair. If people are not afraid of change the insurance companies are just done.
I said insurance companies and really meant health insurance… However, Why do we need any of these insurance companies? Why not have a democratically controlled body that provided the essential services, health, home, auto insurance at the lowest possible rate, and not pay execs big dollars to loose money and get bailed out by taxpayers??? Insurance is a rackett, bust ‘em all up, why not??
I’ve enjoyed watching the DNC implode. The funny thing is how the insurance/pharmaceutical signed backdoor deals in support of the health care bill and still are blamed by the administration. The fingers from the Dems are pointing every direction possible.
First it was the Repubs, then it was insurance, then health care, then doctors, then the media and now the Dems are jumping on their own. The blame should be pointing to this so-called health care bill.
No voilence was involved until the SEIU (ACORN affiliate) showed up…but the main stream media only reports with a slant. Good reporting skwguitar!
@tailback
We never got along and actually, I closed down on you and the rest of those people who insist on not thinking things through before they open their mouths and place rude rants on my posts. I think for me what affected me most were the conversations on race relations.
I have learned that politics are not for those with weak stomachs - me being one of them with weak stomachs. It makes me sick to see the games and the lies people fool themselves into believing, how they twist words to go along with the lies they tell themselves.
From the start, I can remember Obama saying he would review any and all programs and take money away from those that were not serving a purpose and put that money on programs that were working or had more potential to work (not just about health care but all programs) yet a rant on my page today said the GOP came up with the idea of fraud based money in relationship to the healthcare bill.
My point is that people will justify their BS by whatever means necessary (I have been saying that since I was a teenager and it still holds true today only to a larger degree). People will lie to themselves and believe the lie and that is a scary place to be, when you begin to believe your own lies.
It is getting harder and harder for me to participate at this site because of the way people behave and rant and lie yet when I visit other sites I see that the attitudes are not just of this site but the attitude is out there, everywhere.
I feel sorry for the world actually as I see a new unawareness taking hold and I truly worry about the direction this world will be taking. The lines of division are becoming more and more distinct with the crazies growing by leaps and bounds - you say bipartisanship is a pipe dream, I feel you on that level, just like equality, world peace, and any other positive thing that would involve the coming together of people, and thought processes are being distorted by the lies people tell each other and themselves. Its a sad state of affairs truly it is.
I hope you find peace.
Tailback…you continue to believe what Obama has said. He also said such bills would be debated on live TV (CSPAN) and that hasn’t happened. He said the bills would be place on the web site and that seldom happens. As far as the deficit neutral claim…The CBO has said this is not such a plan…keep on believing.
I just know what I have read so far in the bill. Our representatives are supposed to represent us. They are the ones who should have read their own bills. They refuse so citizens are now reading this crappy bills.
Sen. Wyden’s bill is not being promoted by the Dems/Repubs. Obama and his cronies Pelosi, Reid, Waxman, Frank want the original bill. It does not matter that the CBO has shot holes in all their claims.
We hear the Dems crying but only a few short months ago, we witnessed their joy at the Repubs downfall after the election. Now that the shoe seems to be on the other foot and the Dems are back-biting each other…we have complaints about Repubs laughing? Give me a break.
Scotty-I want to thank you for providing justification for my decision. When someone I consider to be a friend twists and spins my words in the name of political ideology; it is indeed time to leave. You state that Obama’s plan is not deficit-neutral-please point out where I said that it is. I stated that Wyden’s bill IS. Unless your sources are more credible than those of Joe Klein’s of Time, whose article was as objective as you can get; then my claim that the CBO deemed HIS bill to be deficit-neutral is true. That’s all I said and yet you chose to spin it by saying that the CBO has found Obama’s bill not to be. The reason I mentioned it is to emphasize the need for debate.
I find it to be extremely short sighted to think that Obama is not aware that concessions need to be made. He may be a lot of things but stupid isn’t one of them. He is fully aware that without the support of the Blue Dogs; any bill that does not include fiscal responsibility is dead.
Finally, you chose to turn a personal observation into a generalization. I said that the absence of leadership and identity within the GOP ranks is counterproductive to the country moving forward. I have repeatedly expressed my hope that they could turn that around in order to bring more to the table. I then went on to say that I find this “rooting” for the Democratic Party and Obama to fail to be equally counterproductive. You attempt to justify it by saying something as sophomoric as “they did it so it’s OK for us to do it too.” Fuckin childish and completely off point as far as what I was saying.
As far as health care reform is concerned; your comments have been somewhat contradictory. First you advocate a healthy debate. You then proceed to say that it is just insurance reform we need. You follow that by telling of your disbelief at seeing the price tag on your Mom’s surgery (BTW-I sincerely hope she is doing well). Who do you suppose was responsible for that cost? It wasn’t the insurance company! It was the medical facility! So you actually advocated, albeit inadvertently, medical care reform. I requested an itemized bill, even though I wasn’t footing the bill, and was appalled at some of the charges ($17 for a band-aid).
I appreciate your passion my friend but you have shown that you are also caught up in conservative ideology and refuse to accept or even recognize the merits of anything unless it comes from your side of the aisle. That, my friend, is the difference between you and I and why these debates are nothing but head banging contests. All that being said; I still love you. LOL. Don’t be a stranger!
@truth2u- I appreciate your hoping that I find peace and I would like to apologize if I said anything that you found to be personally offensive. I have a tendency to get carried away and find myself derailed at times and turn my arguments into personal attacks. Again, I apologize.
YOU mean COMMUNIST PARTY_ is the new Democratic party-
@jan - Communist really? Do you know there’s a difference between communism and socialism? And did you know we’ve been heading down this path for years now, from both republican and democratic support?
Jan I’m going to go out on a limb and guess you’re a republican, pardon me if I’m wrong…
For as moderate as the republican party has grown there isn’t much of a difference between the dems and the repubs. Bush authorized the bailouts, increased the welfare state more than any other president, etc…
I know Max Doubt will back me up on this. As far as I can tell the only difference between the two parties is what big corporations/special interest groups get the moolah.
Now if you want to talk truly conservative parties, the constitutional party is hxc conservative, the libertarian party (lp.org/) still has strong conservative leanings, and the modern-whig party blends fiscal conservation with a more progressive social agenda.
And just for the record Jan, this is my blog and I meant to type what I typed. Don’t put words in my mouth and don’t tell me what I meant to say. Thank you.
Cheers!
@ tailback
I accept your apology – no problem - some things said cut deep but it’s not like I had not been there before it was more I was sorry to see things had not really changed.
skwguitar,
You got that right brother.
This whole debate is just ridicilous. I have no problem debating health care on the basis of the issue, but your saying that Democrats are the ones rearing their ugly heads. Are you watching the news. These hillbillies are so stupid and so ridicilous that it’s just pathetic. All you see is the same hillbilly Republican anger, screaming at people about facts that aren’t close to being true, just because they dont want black people to have free health care.
Lets call it like it is. Hillbillies are fat, stupid, racist people and thier showing it everyday on the news and at these silly rallies. These silly townhall meetings are the exact same thing as the John McCain rallies. A bunch of old, white, fat, racist, hillbilly people getting around and just seething at the teeth because there losing the power that they think they had. The truth is before George Bush no one even knew that there were this many stupid hillbillies in America and now everyone knows about it and thats why you silly republicans lost all control of the government. Your blog sucks and your probably a silly hillbilly too.
David,
You may be a bit hasty there brother skwguitar is pretty moderate and not prone to partisan demogogery. But I did find your charictorization of hibilly republicans rather amusing.
Take a deep breath. This health care debate has gone nuclear. But the title to this posting aside the copy is cogent and not a partisan rant.
David Rude haven’t heard from you in a while. How is your blog doing by the way?
You are jumping the gun a bit, but that’s not too much of a surprise. I’m not going to debate my politics - I let my writing do that. However as Max pointed out I try to maintain a fairly moderate and open perspective. Perhaps you did not notice how a day later I posted an article titled almost exactly the same as this one except it was about the G.O.P.?
No of course not because you saw this post in the comments section on today.com and then jumped in and spouted off a rant at the top of your head.
And it’s too bad, because despite the repetitive way you worded your little rant, I actually agree with a lot of parts of it. It’s all about perspective though, David.
And instead of trying to gain perspective on things, you David Rude, the Rude-Dude, billy bad ass, self-described “killer of the phillistines” and all that jazz, just spout off barely coherent streams of nonsense.
You remind me of this kid I went to high school with who hated Bush even more than I did. Anytime we had a rational debate going about Bush this kid would jump in and say something like “Bush likes to eat infant babies.” I mean yeah I hated Bush too, but really do us all a favor and just shut up.