Can we all at least agree that not having access to affordable health care is a bad thing, or does the Tea Party hold a screeching "Up is Down!" position on that, as well?
Let's say not having health insurance, thus not having access to affordable health care, is a thing to be feared. One would be up at nights worrying about the health of ones family, putting off routine tests that could uncover a major issue, use expensive emergency rooms for easily treatable conditions, and risk bankruptcy to pay for it.
And let's say the President, along with health care professionals and other knowledgeable people, comes up with a plan for helping people without insurance. First, some 3 million people aged 21-26 are allowed to stay on their parents' plan. Then the legislation says insurance companies cannot deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions (which could be as irrelevant as an adolescent appendectomy). And also more millions have access when the legislation does away lifetime caps - potentially important for everyone but definitely important to parents of children with chronic conditions who could hit that cap at any time.
The concern for the economic impact of the ACA is pretty rich coming from supporters of both the sequester and the Iraq war. (And anyway, if people weren't spending hundreds a month for health insurance maybe they'd be spending more, maybe consumer confidence might uptick a notch.)
Ah, but listen to me. I'm using logic against Obamacare Derangement Syndrome, a condition that doesn't respond to logic and has no countenance for facts. The whole point of the opposition isn't to create a healthcare system that serves their constituents. That would involve actually sitting down and coming up with a better plan. No, the point of all of the theatre and lies and nonsense is to make PBO look bad. If they have to abort the entire U.S. economy to do so, so be it, because those ignorant, foaming at the mouth Tea Baggers must be catered to. (Funny how that senator overlooked the true "appeasement" taking place when he was waxing lyrical about Chamberlain and Churchchill.)
Either you have a better plan for people getting healthcare insurance or you don't. Hate PBO all you want but at least he has a plan, and isn't cowering behind the apron tails of The Market to fix inefficiencies and chasms the market created in the first place.
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But why all of the animosity, why the sizzling, white hot hatred? PBO won the 2012 handily over an opponent who pledged the repeal the ACA on "Day One." The Tea Partyers and the billionaires behind the scene have had nearly a year to go through their stages of post-election grief, so why the 11th hour drama, why the extortion, why now the pathetic "Push it back a year!" nonsense?
My theory is this: (Almost) Universal access to healthcare fills a certain cohort in this country, a certain demographic, with dread because health, life, and death underscore our common humanity. If you've been raised to believe in differences - racial, gender, religious, orientation, economic - and all of a sudden everyone is getting a benefit - even those people - it will be a blow to your self-image. You might not want to "pool" your health, your life, with people you've kind of looked down upon. " But...but...but, I'm special!" Indeed you are, and if you heaven forbid lose your job or have a preexisting condition you can pool up up with other such people and get an affordable health insurance plan.
As for the billionaires, one can almost see their logic in throwing millions in deceptive ads. If people see government successfully solving a problem, then their "Let's Privatize Everything!" Campaign loses a lot of steam. Maybe we don't need to pimp out our prisons, or education system, our environment to the highest bidder.
Worse of all, if it turns out that people like affordable health care, they might remember the party that tried to stop it with less than kindly favor.
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