www.forbes.com Honestly, can the House of Representatives do anything more to prove just how out of touch they are on issues affecting Americans? I mean, this past week, for the 38th time, the GOP-led House passed a Bill to gut, maim or disable (whatever you call it) the major provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act, aka Obamacare. Why? Because they know they cannot repeal Obamacare outright, so by "biting at its heels" they believe they can win their cynical propaganda war against Barack Obama.
So entrenched has the GOP become, they operate in direct opposition to what benefits most Americans, yet they are continuously supported by their communication arms in the Media and their ever-adoring political base. 'There you go again, Rubin, making outrageous statements that just cannot be justified."
Really? Most Americans have probably heard the news that once again, the House passed a Bill (for the 38th time) to destroy Obamacare. But have Americans heard that House Democrats attempted to amend the proposed House Bill with efforts to preserve provisions of the Healthcare Law that we all like?
HR 2668, the GOP initiated Bill to eliminate all of the most important provisions of Obamacare as law was widely reported in the Media, but little coverage was given to the efforts by House Democrats that proposed their own amendment to HR2668 to restore provisions for pre-existing conditions, a vital aspect of the healthcare law. Specifically, according to The Associated Press, Democrats proposed an Amendment that would preserve three (3) elements of Obamacare, 1). a ban on insurance discrimination on the basis of pre-existing conditions or gender, 2). to ensure curbs on out-of-pocket costs is preserved and 3). maintaining tax credits and rebates to make health insurance affordable. And the score on the vote for this amendment in the Republican controlled House? 230 Republicans against to 193 in favor! For the record, there are 234 Republicans in the House of Representatives!
Do Americans realize that Obamacare includes provisions that improve our personal stakes when it comes to health care? Do Americans realize there are provisions in Obamacare that we all actually want or need? Has President Obama done such a poor job communicating the benefits of Obamacare that Americans are easily manipulated into believing anything Republicans claim about the law? And where is the Media in this mess? All (including Obama and the Democrats) AWOL - Absent Without Leave. Knowing this to be reality has led the GOP to engage in serious management/manipulation of information that leaves most Americans out in the cold when it comes to health care, all the while the electorate seemingly says "Thank you, may I have another?"
So how can I make this claim? Easy. Ask many American what provisions of Obamacare they might like and most will tell you "Nothing!" But why? Because they have no clue what Obamacare is about. Instead they have been convinced through repetitive manipulation to believe Obamacare is a "Socialist plot designed to destroy America as we know it!" Why else does the Ideologically Oriented For-Profit Media still portray Obamacare as a failure, even though its provisions don't take full effect until 2014 and after? Why is Obamacare continuously portrayed as something worthy of discussion as if it was still a mere proposal before Congress? Obamacare is the LAW. So why the continued debate? Could it be so that the GOP can continue to polarize the electorate knowing it is less and less informed on the real issues. Is it safe to claim Americans today now have the lowest level of political knowledge and efficacy in the history of the United States?
How many Americans do you know that have suffered because of insurers withholding coverage due to some "pre-existing condition?" Hell, according to Texas and like-minded States, we all have pre-existing conditions if we felt any pain from conception! Don't most Americans want to save money by limiting the amount of co-pays insurers can demand before the provision of medical services? Show me anyone who wants to pay more and I will show you.... well, I'm trying to be nice.
Do Americans deep down want to ignore pains or symptoms of serious illness that could be detected and cured before becoming deadly, just because they fear what treatment will cost them? How many Americans
skip filling prescriptions because the monthly expense for their medication is too high? Or skip potentially life-saving colonoscopies or mammograms because they feel they cannot afford them? Of the 230 members of the House voting to strip these common-sense provisions from Obamacare, 229 were Republican members, including my very own representative! Are we paying attention America? Who benefits from such action? And what alternative does the GOP offer us? As of this writing, none! In other words, the GOP demands it is in our best personal interests to take something away from us, but offer us nothing in the alternative! Do people really favor this approach? Is repealing Obamacare what Americans really expect and demand? Do we have any clue what is going on in Congress? Will anyone call out Republican incumbents on these actions in the 2014 Mid-term Elections? Will anyone ask the simple question, "Why?"
President Harry Truman once wrote, "You can always amend a big plan, but you can never expand a little one." Instead of moving to repeal Obamacare, how about the Republicans come up with a better alternative instead of wasting time on Bills that have no chance of being enacted into law? How about the Republicans stop efforts to repeal Obama's initiatives and instead move to bigger things? Nah, that would require change and the word "Change" was co-opted by Obama so it no longer can be embraced by Republicans! It's time to tackle real issues, not the small and petty political ones. If members of Congress cannot handle big issues, perhaps they should stay home and let others take their spots! Keep this in mind as 2014 approaches. Let's put folks into office with BIG ideas and send those with small minds home! Sweep Congress Clean in 2014!
So entrenched has the GOP become, they operate in direct opposition to what benefits most Americans, yet they are continuously supported by their communication arms in the Media and their ever-adoring political base. 'There you go again, Rubin, making outrageous statements that just cannot be justified."
Really? Most Americans have probably heard the news that once again, the House passed a Bill (for the 38th time) to destroy Obamacare. But have Americans heard that House Democrats attempted to amend the proposed House Bill with efforts to preserve provisions of the Healthcare Law that we all like?
HR 2668, the GOP initiated Bill to eliminate all of the most important provisions of Obamacare as law was widely reported in the Media, but little coverage was given to the efforts by House Democrats that proposed their own amendment to HR2668 to restore provisions for pre-existing conditions, a vital aspect of the healthcare law. Specifically, according to The Associated Press, Democrats proposed an Amendment that would preserve three (3) elements of Obamacare, 1). a ban on insurance discrimination on the basis of pre-existing conditions or gender, 2). to ensure curbs on out-of-pocket costs is preserved and 3). maintaining tax credits and rebates to make health insurance affordable. And the score on the vote for this amendment in the Republican controlled House? 230 Republicans against to 193 in favor! For the record, there are 234 Republicans in the House of Representatives!
Do Americans realize that Obamacare includes provisions that improve our personal stakes when it comes to health care? Do Americans realize there are provisions in Obamacare that we all actually want or need? Has President Obama done such a poor job communicating the benefits of Obamacare that Americans are easily manipulated into believing anything Republicans claim about the law? And where is the Media in this mess? All (including Obama and the Democrats) AWOL - Absent Without Leave. Knowing this to be reality has led the GOP to engage in serious management/manipulation of information that leaves most Americans out in the cold when it comes to health care, all the while the electorate seemingly says "Thank you, may I have another?"
So how can I make this claim? Easy. Ask many American what provisions of Obamacare they might like and most will tell you "Nothing!" But why? Because they have no clue what Obamacare is about. Instead they have been convinced through repetitive manipulation to believe Obamacare is a "Socialist plot designed to destroy America as we know it!" Why else does the Ideologically Oriented For-Profit Media still portray Obamacare as a failure, even though its provisions don't take full effect until 2014 and after? Why is Obamacare continuously portrayed as something worthy of discussion as if it was still a mere proposal before Congress? Obamacare is the LAW. So why the continued debate? Could it be so that the GOP can continue to polarize the electorate knowing it is less and less informed on the real issues. Is it safe to claim Americans today now have the lowest level of political knowledge and efficacy in the history of the United States?
How many Americans do you know that have suffered because of insurers withholding coverage due to some "pre-existing condition?" Hell, according to Texas and like-minded States, we all have pre-existing conditions if we felt any pain from conception! Don't most Americans want to save money by limiting the amount of co-pays insurers can demand before the provision of medical services? Show me anyone who wants to pay more and I will show you.... well, I'm trying to be nice.
Do Americans deep down want to ignore pains or symptoms of serious illness that could be detected and cured before becoming deadly, just because they fear what treatment will cost them? How many Americans
skip filling prescriptions because the monthly expense for their medication is too high? Or skip potentially life-saving colonoscopies or mammograms because they feel they cannot afford them? Of the 230 members of the House voting to strip these common-sense provisions from Obamacare, 229 were Republican members, including my very own representative! Are we paying attention America? Who benefits from such action? And what alternative does the GOP offer us? As of this writing, none! In other words, the GOP demands it is in our best personal interests to take something away from us, but offer us nothing in the alternative! Do people really favor this approach? Is repealing Obamacare what Americans really expect and demand? Do we have any clue what is going on in Congress? Will anyone call out Republican incumbents on these actions in the 2014 Mid-term Elections? Will anyone ask the simple question, "Why?"
President Harry Truman once wrote, "You can always amend a big plan, but you can never expand a little one." Instead of moving to repeal Obamacare, how about the Republicans come up with a better alternative instead of wasting time on Bills that have no chance of being enacted into law? How about the Republicans stop efforts to repeal Obama's initiatives and instead move to bigger things? Nah, that would require change and the word "Change" was co-opted by Obama so it no longer can be embraced by Republicans! It's time to tackle real issues, not the small and petty political ones. If members of Congress cannot handle big issues, perhaps they should stay home and let others take their spots! Keep this in mind as 2014 approaches. Let's put folks into office with BIG ideas and send those with small minds home! Sweep Congress Clean in 2014!
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