Papa Ray

Most leftists see this bill as a starting point, thus they’ll support it as long as it doesn’t get too watered down. It is nowhere near what we want, or what we think the country needs, but it’s a gigantic improvement on what we’ve got.

The people Obama’s targeting are the stakeholders (aka: pharma, hospitals, Doctors, patient groups, etc) moderate Dems in the Senate and House. The stakeholders support it largely because it doesn’t go out of it’s way to screw any one of them. Before the Congressional break the moderates were behind it, too. They were negotiating hard, but they were behind it.

Obama only cares about the polls because Congressman care about polls. He knows that once this gets passed most people will like it. The nightmare scenarios that give them cold feet will not come to pass, and it’ll help a lot of folks.

The only question in my mind is how Congressman will react to the firestorm. I’d assume many of them would be a lot more timid because of it, but one of the big lessons of ’94 for Dems was that you don’t have a huge hullabaloo about reforming health care and then do nothing.

I didn’t vote for Obama, for reasons I made clear at the time. That does not prevent me from recognizing that there is a majority that want to see Heath Care reformed – a fact that was supported by the polling until recently. That the polls have eroded just tells me that Obama’s problem is not with Health Care reform, it is with the specific HR 3200 hairball that he has chosen to peddle.

I am not defending the 3 points in the post on ideological grounds. In fact, my inner libertarian disagrees with the whole concept. I am just trying to understand what a majority of Americans actually want out of Health Care reform and I think these three items are as good a guess as any. HR 3200 falls short on two of the three and people are figuring it out.

The real mystery is why Obama is choosing to peddle this particular piece of crap. It does not satisfy the left. It clearly does not satisfy the right. Polls show it is quickly losing support from independents and the elderly. I am wondering who is actually supporting this thing? If Obama stays on this path, all that are going to be left supporting it will be the hard-core kool-aid sipping Obama cult and Big Pharma – who bought and paid for this bill.

Now I know that it is a common rationale to offer the fact that both the right and left oppose a bill as evidence that it is really a good compromise and “centrist”. That is one possibility. Another possibility is that it is a really really bad bill.

“Also, bankruptcy doesn’t frighten me (or millions of others). I’ve started over many times in my life and succeeded where before I had failed.”
So Papa, were you thrown in jail when you declared bankruptcy and defaulted on your obligations or did the government regulations prevent this and help you (and millions of others) to rebound? And who do you think pays for you (and millions of others) failures? Look around at the citizens willing to pay taxes to provide you a safety net through your failures. Of course you’re not afraid of bankruptcy. Maybe you should be or it wouldn’t be so popular.

I have never defaulted on any obligations in my 48 years of life and have given back to the government much, much, much more than it has given me. Guess that’s your definition of “the group that wants the government to take care of you and your family. ” I succeed, I support other’s failures, and I’m the irresponsible one.

I am in the other percentage of people that believe the government has a role in the lives of it’s citizens. That role includes national defense, local defense, general safety (laws, regulations, building codes, etc) and some level of temporary safety net for those in need. Of course your opinion of what the government’s role in our lives will differ. Regardless our great nation has had some form of this for generations.

Although I am sure you know your state’s history, but Texas was procured through a war which was successfully run by our military. Land was given away free to early settlers by the government to accelerate migration there. Probably the biggest government redistribution of wealth through land transfers ever…and the people of your state benefited. How ironic.

You both don’t agree or believe that it is the individuals responsibility to either have medical coverage or the assets to cover catastrophic health events. That is fine, that just means that you are somewhere in the other percentage. But that also includes you in the group that wants the government to take care of you and your family. That is also your decision but one that I think you will long regret.

I for one don’t want someone else dictating what and what kind of health care my family will receive. Also, bankruptcy doesn’t frighten me (or millions of others). I’ve started over many times in my life and succeeded where before I had failed. That is why I’m proud to be an American, a Texan, because failure has made me stronger and taught me how to succeed. And in my sucess I have helped others make a good living and be sucessful. That my friends is how it is supposed to work.

Not, making minorities or the poorer class permanent victims where that all they can do is hold their hands out for more and more government assistance. People have to be allowed to fail and to assume personal responsibility or they will forever remain victims and never be allowed to succeed.

Soon if some (I will let you guess who) have their way, Americans will never succeed, but will just work for the betterment of their fellow man and the state.

That my friends will be the end of this once great Republic and mark the beginning of an America that will be no better than the countries that Chavez, Castro and others have destroyed.

Papa Ray
West Texas

Obama does need to do a better job selling this because you have to convince the majority that does have some sort of coverage that either: A. They are closer to not having coverage than they think. B. It is better for society in general for people to have medical coverage.

“What we want from the Republicans.”

Papa Ray
West Texas

You lost about 40 percent of Americans when you said the government health plan would protect Americans from going broke from medical bills. About that percentage believe that it is the individuals responsibility to either have medical coverage or the assets to cover catastrophic health events.

You lost about 50 percent of Americans when you used the words “manageable and fiscally responsible” in conjunction with anything that the U.S. Government is involved with/runs/manages or in some cases even oversees.

But other than that you pointed out the real reasons everybody is up in arms. Thank you for that.

Papa Ray
West Texas