Thursday, October 3, 2013

Obamacare

Republicans: You lost the election. I don't want to hurt your feelings by bringing it up again but it is true, you lost. I have the newspaper clipping to prove it. The election was fought on many issues but right front and center was Obamacare. You lost the election by five million votes because more people wanted Obamacare than did not want it. Take your lumps and wait until the next election before you start choosing new drapes for the White House.

It is like the Yankees loosing the World Series to the Dodgers and the next day demanding they be awarded enough additional runs to overturn their loss. No. You lost. Start rebuilding for next time. There are no "negotiations". Live with it.

I think that Obamacare is going to turn out to be one of the most popular programs the US Government has ever introduced and I think the Republicans realize this. Link. They see a small window of opportunity to defeat it (just because they hate Obama) and they are doing everything they can to take advantage of this opening, no matter how much harm they do to the economy and to the loss of international reputation the US suffers in the process.

When Social Security was introduced in the US it was also met with predictions of disaster and I see there is still a tiny loonie faction screaming "Train Wreck" over it. Try to get rid of SS now, you will see what a train wreck is.

21 comments:

  1. I like how you think and how you write. Good post Croft.

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  2. Logic? Thought? Thinking of the future? Much less the health (physical) of the nation? Nah! This is politics played by the stupid - I mean both sides of course!

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  3. 100% agreement from me, Croft. Good post.

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  4. National health care has been an issue all the way back to the Kennedy administration. Republicans are now acting like this is something unheard of. They had eight years under the Bush administration to act. Obama did indeed run (and win twice) with health care reform as a major goal. What they are doing now, driven by the Tea Party, is despicable. They say that Obama should compromise. Compromise on what?! It is the law of the land. A president can't reverse the law. So, the Republicans want to defund it and are holding the country hostage. Despicable.

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  5. The law of the land kind of like DOMA was law of the land? Like the one Obama refused to enforce. Okay then.

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    1. Not quite correct Don. Read the DOJ statement which was clear that Obama did not support the constitutionality of DOMA, but that the law would be enforced.

      http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/February/11-ag-222.html

      Specifically where it states: "Several lower courts have ruled DOMA itself to be unconstitutional. Section 3 of DOMA will continue to remain in effect unless Congress repeals it or there is a final judicial finding that strikes it down, and the President has informed me that the Executive Branch will continue to enforce the law."

      Subsequently, DOMA was held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, contrary to the ACA which was held as constitutional by the Court. ACA is the law of the land Don.

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  6. Thank you, a Canadian, for having the courage to be so forthright in sharing your perspective on what is going on in the US gov't. Bless you Croft!

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  7. Actually Bill, no.

    http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/02/president-obama-instructs-justice-department-to-stop-defending-defense-of-marriage-act-calls-clinton/

    And from that link some plain language.
    "President Obama believes that section – Section 3 — “is unconstitutional” given the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment (including its equal protection component), Holder wrote, and the president has instructed the Department of Justice to no longer defend the law in those two lawsuits"

    So yes Bill, quite correct.

    Should we also include the Dream Act that wasn't really an act but an Executive order?

    http://www.christianpost.com/news/legal-scholar-says-obamas-executive-orders-are-misuse-of-power-76896/

    No, Obama and his administration have tons of examples of him ignoring laws he doesn't like. DoMA is just one of them.

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    1. The administration decided to withdraw from two lower court cases based on ONE section of DOMA they felt was not constitutional, while still enforcing the law. The fact is Don that DOMA was ruled unconstitutional and the ACA was ruled constitutional. The country is being held hostage because the Tea Party Republicans don't like it.

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  8. All indefensible laws eventually face repeal. Slavery, segregation, the ban on interracial marriage, DOMA... They all eventually disappear from the books one way or the other as the country matures.

    If the GOP ever regains the Presidency and feel they have sufficient public support, they can take steps to attempt to repeal whatever they feel to be inconvenient to their goals.

    In the meantime however the Republican rank and file are registering for coverage under the Affordable Care Act and are discovering that they have been lied to by their leadership. A simple Google search will turn up many examples of this. The dead horse has been sufficiently flogged.

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  9. Mr. Cruz is screaming as we speak,while the old guard Republican bus runs him over. Politics, sports for old people, ya gatta love it.

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  10. Have you checked with your Union brethren in States for how they are feeling about Obamacare?

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    1. Actually, yes I have. My Union is currently considering merging with the Steelworkers so I went to their USA website and found this article:

      Hope Delivered: How the Affordable Care Act is Helping USW Families
      http://www.usw.org/action_center/economy/download?id=0020

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    2. There is some concern from workers who have negotiated Health Care Coverage that is better than Obamacare and whether they can keep these plans. There are ongoing negotiations over how to best serve this group of workers. It is a pretty short list as only 12% of American workers are Unionized. A solution will be reached.

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  11. http://lubbockonline.com/interact/blog-post/may/2013-08-24/afl-cio-rejects-obamacare

    Yes, the internets are full of stories about the unions being upset that obamacare is going to ruin their Cadillac insurance.

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  12. Until the cost of healthcare in the U.S. is addressed - there can be no solution relating to whom pays what.that will make any sense. It seems so logical to start at the absurd costs - and yet it never seems to go in that direction - it is always about where the money comes from - not the why is it so damn expensive.

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    1. Agreed! Doctors in the UK are on salary. They must perform so many hours and receive a healthy paycheque, just like a pipefitter or cook (only they are paid more). Drug companies must be reigned in as well. A pill that costs pennies to produce is sold for $20. At that rate just how long does it take to pay for the R&D it took to design it? You are right, it is out of control.

      Controlled costs and single payer is the only way to go. Doctors threaten to leave the country? For where? Canada? Cuba? Mexico? England?

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    2. It think what will happen is we will have far fewer Doctors.

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  13. I stumbled across a blog by a now-deceased cancer patient in the UK. While undergoing treatment for her cancer that had progressed to stage IV, just to have her blood drawn for some routine blood work she had to wait for 2 hours (!) in a clinic while suffering pain from a metastasized tumor in the spine. She lived in London. See http://caroleandcancer.blogspot.com/ for a story of cancer treatment in the UK.

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