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Why Republicans Are Handling ObamaCare so Poorly, and How to Fix That

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Why Republicans Are Handling ObamaCare so Poorly, and How to Fix That Empty Why Republicans Are Handling ObamaCare so Poorly, and How to Fix That

Post by Miles1 Tue Aug 20, 2013 8:00 am

borrowing this off Bryant on FB...

Why Republicans Are Handling ObamaCare so Poorly, and How to Fix That

A recent article from Think Progress was passed along to me from a Liberal friend; it was about Republican Representative Patrick McHenry (NC) “boasting about his votes to repeal” ObamaCare, and how he claimed his constituents were “clamoring for relief from the law.” But then, McHenry was confronted during a town hall meeting by voters demanding to know why Republicans “would take away the law’s protection for people with pre-existing conditions without offering any credible other alternative for reforming the health care system.”

Here is an excerpt:

Edwards and his wife, both 63, had health insurance until he lost his job during the recession and the East Asheville couple found themselves in financial trouble despite staying relatively healthy.

Both had pre-existing conditions and were denied insurance, making them eligible for a state plan called Inclusive Health.

“It cost us $1,300 bucks a month — extremely expensive,” Edwards said. “It taps us out every month. But at our age and health, we’ve got to have it.”

McHenry, 37, has repeatedly voted against the Affordable Care Act, choosing to either defund, repeal or delay it. In defending his position, he said he did agree with some aspects of the act, including ending discrimination against pre-existing conditions and extending the age children can stay on their parents’ health insurance. [...]

Edwards and others wondered why McHenry would vote against a plan they feel is better than nothing at all. He said he would not vote for something he feels is bad policy.


This is a perfect example of my biggest problem with many Republican politicians in office: they don’t understand marketing to the extent that it makes me want to figuratively hop in a car and play chicken with a brick wall.

What makes me say that?

If you look at the political landscape out there, you have two sides: One side is telling America that ObamaCare is the greatest thing since sliced bread and that to not support it is hateful towards Americans, and the other is saying it is hands down the worst piece of legislation and must be taken down immediately before America goes so far into debt that the ocean swallows us up. However, the latter – or Republican side – offers no alternatives or replacements for its constituents that may be attracted to certain parts of the Affordable Care Act.

ObamaCare was a great idea in theory. Just think: everyone gets health care, and no one gets denied by some greedy insurance company because of some health issue they had no control over. A lot of liberal policies are great in theory; just tax the rich a little bit more and feed the needy, right? Just take the guns away and crime goes down, right? Well, to the dismay of Democrats, theory differs greatly from reality.

Unfortunately for American financial backers, otherwise known as taxpayers, ObamaCare was implemented in such a hasty fashion that it may actually contribute to its own demise. It was voted in by a group of leaders (see: Democrats) that wanted to slam the bill through Congress before they had a chance of losing the monopoly they had on the House, Senate and White House. As Pelosi pointed out, they had to pass over 1,000 pages of complex health related legislation really quickly before they could even read or analyze or debate it …as if that could ever be a good idea.

We can debate all day about the long term costs of ObamaCare, the effect it has on employment, the constitutionality of various mandates, or the effect of ObamaCare related taxes on the economy, but doesn’t it seem like there is just far too much debate for something that is supposed to be a good idea? If it was so good, why is the implementation of some mandates being delayed, why is part-time employment spiking, why is the CBO projecting trillions in long term costs, and why are the new taxes necessary? Most notably, why are exemptions being handed out at all?

I truly believe that ObamaCare is not the best option we have as a country. If you don’t believe me, then you don’t have any faith in humanity beyond 2009. We are innovative, and we continue to come up with new ideas. To say that ObamaCare is the best that we can do is just dumb, and extremely pessimistic.

This is where my problem really comes in with Republicans on this issue. The GOP needs to have a better alternative, and the alternative needs to account for discrimination against pre-existing conditions and even extend the age children can stay on their parents’ coverage. They need to come up with a plan that lowers exorbitant insurance costs without introducing any questions of constitutionality. They need to come up with a plan so good that even Democrats can’t deny it. And I’m not talking about telling people at town hall meetings that more competition in the market or having more young people buy in will help, I’m talking about a concrete plan they can point to on television and on the House and Senate floors, and that has the support of insurance companies and doctors alike.

Until then, Republicans will continue to look like demons that want to prevent 30 million Americans from acquiring healthcare coverage, because that’s how Obama and the rest of his Democratic dividers and conquerors paint them in the media whether it is true or not. Blame the media for this? Maybe, but that’s the playing field Republicans are given, so they need to find a way to overcome that hurdle.

If they can continually point to a better alternative, the media and America will have to take notice. And let’s be honest, it may take some time and effort, but how hard could it really be to come up with something better than ObamaCare? It’s going to take leadership and planning, something which the Republican party really needs to think about taking seriously.

I read another article the other day where New Gingrich said pretty much the same thing at some recent GOP meeting - Republicans are all in favour of repealing obamacare but have absolutely no answers on what to replace it with.

"I would bet for most of you, you go home in the next two weeks while your members of Congress are home and you look at them in the eye and you say, ‘What is your positive replacement for Obamacare?’ and they will have zero answer,” Gingrich told state party chairs, activists, and operatives at the Republican National Committee summer meeting. “We are caught up right now in a culture – and you see it every single day – where as long as we are negative, as long as we are vicious, as long as we can tear down our opponent, we don’t have to worry, so we don’t.".

Republicans seem to be so busy being anti-Obama and anti-Obamacare (what's the count on failed votes to repeal it now, 40-something?) that they've forgotten to be pro any sort of alternative. Obamacare is a mess? Fine, you've made your point ad nauseum, now unless you have something workable that is an alternative to put forward, quit whining about it until you do.
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Post by Sir Pun Tue Aug 20, 2013 8:10 am

Who probably borrowed it from me lol

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Post by Sir Pun Tue Aug 20, 2013 8:15 am

The reps did have quite a few good ideas they tried to introduce back when this was being rammed through, but obama promptly reminded them that elections had consequences, and he won. In other words, every market based solution the reps put out, just wasnt of any interest to the dems. I still remember that "sausage making" process, where everything was done behind closed doors, and we were told we had to pass it to find out how much it screwed us over.

Anyway, so its not as if the reps have never had any ideas, it just seems that they gave up on them after passage, preferring to focus on repeal before replace. And still the emphasis on repeal because the law is going to be so damaging. But ive always said the reps need to do a better job at selling their ideas, and use phraseology the same way the left does

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Post by Miles1 Tue Aug 20, 2013 8:38 am

Sir Pun wrote:Who probably borrowed it from me lol
"to steal from one is plagiarism, to steal from many is research" Razz
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Post by Miles1 Tue Aug 20, 2013 9:05 am

Sir Pun wrote:
Anyway, so its not as if the reps have never had any ideas, it just seems that they gave up on them after passage, preferring to focus on repeal before replace. And still the emphasis on repeal because the law is going to be so damaging. But ive always said the reps need to do a better job at selling their ideas, and use phraseology the same way the left does
The problem there though is unless they say what the "replace" part is, they'll never get to the "repeal" part as otherwise it just looks like "we don't like obamacare because it has the word 'obama' in it, and anything he likes has to be bad". And at this stage even if they came up with something now they're still seen as the party of "no" and of obstructionism, and people wouldn't take it seriously enough as it'd just seem like more hollow rhetoric.
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Post by Marconius Tue Aug 20, 2013 9:28 am

Tell me again.......why exactly does this POS legislation need to be replaced with anything at all.

I mean, I know there are a lot of people who like others taking care of things for them, so they do not have to do it themselves, but sheesh.....why drag the rest down with us. Besides, without an amendment.....Federal government does not have authority to do it. It is way past time to retake our most important document and do things the way it was intended.
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Post by Sir Pun Tue Aug 20, 2013 4:57 pm

I dont have any problem with the no pre existing condition bit, but other than that, why doesnt the government have the authority to open up competition across state lines? But better yet why do they have the authority to prevent it in the first place?

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Post by Bryant Tue Aug 20, 2013 8:04 pm

Sir Pun wrote:I dont have any problem with the no pre existing condition bit, but other than that, why doesnt the government have the authority to open up competition across state lines? But better yet why do they have the authority to prevent it in the first place?
Interstate commerce clause.
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Post by Sir Pun Tue Aug 20, 2013 9:22 pm

I know technically bryant, im speaking more philosophically.

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Post by Dennis324 Tue Aug 20, 2013 10:39 pm

Miles1 wrote:
I read another article the other day where New Gingrich said pretty much the same thing at some recent GOP meeting - Republicans are all in favour of repealing obamacare but have absolutely no answers on what to replace it with.
Replace it?  Why replace it?  We didn't want it to begin with!  Rolling Eyes 

Btw..the GOP solution has always been to repeal Obamacare and instead allow all insurance companies to compete freely all over the country.  competition would supposedly then bring down the price of premiums.  that's been the GOP plan all along.
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Post by Dennis324 Tue Aug 20, 2013 10:42 pm

Miles1 wrote:
Sir Pun wrote:
Anyway, so its not as if the reps have never had any ideas, it just seems that they gave up on them after passage, preferring to focus on repeal before replace. And still the emphasis on repeal because the law is going to be so damaging. But ive always said the reps need to do a better job at selling their ideas, and use phraseology the same way the left does
The problem there though is unless they say what the "replace" part is, they'll never get to the "repeal" part ...
Don't bet the house on that.  If the GOP gets half a chance, Obamacare is gone.  Even if they never replace it with anything.  To replace Obamacare, is to suggest that the govt is responsible for Socialized medicine.  The GOP has always...ALWAYS been against that.  And the only ones who dislike that is the left.
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Post by Dennis324 Tue Aug 20, 2013 10:45 pm

Marconius wrote:Tell me again.......why exactly does this POS legislation need to be replaced with anything at all.

I mean, I know there are a lot of people who like others taking care of things for them, so they do not have to do it themselves, but sheesh.....why drag the rest down with us. Besides, without an amendment.....Federal government does not have authority to do it. It is way past time to retake our most important document and do things the way it was intended.
Exactly.
 
I'm not trying to be rude to anyone, but socialized medicine is a European Concept.  So its difficult for people in that system to fathom how our govt would not provide Socialized care for the people.  Capitalism is foreign to them.  What they fail to grasp is that the United States has functioned along pretty well for over 200+ years without Socialized medicine.
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Post by Bryant Tue Aug 20, 2013 11:15 pm

Dennis324 wrote:
Marconius wrote:Tell me again.......why exactly does this POS legislation need to be replaced with anything at all.

I mean, I know there are a lot of people who like others taking care of things for them, so they do not have to do it themselves, but sheesh.....why drag the rest down with us. Besides, without an amendment.....Federal government does not have authority to do it. It is way past time to retake our most important document and do things the way it was intended.
Exactly.
 
I'm not trying to be rude to anyone, but socialized medicine is a European Concept.  So its difficult for people in that system to fathom how our govt would not provide Socialized care for the people.  Capitalism is foreign to them.  What they fail to grasp is that the United States has functioned along pretty well for over 200+ years without Socialized medicine.
How is capitalism a foreign concept to Europeans? Last I checked Vincent de Gournay and Adam Smith were both European.

Canada is not European, but has socialized care (unfortunately not what the ACA is). Seems to work well.

Access to the health care system in the United States is dismal. Sure, we might have some great hospitals and doctors, but a large part of the population can't afford to go to them. My wife and I were just reviewing the health insurance options with her new job. The most expensive option (which requires a very substantial employee contribution) still has a $250 deductible. We don't make that much money. If I get sick, I might not be able to afford to see a doctor, even though we have 'good' insurance. The status quo is terrible.

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Post by Dennis324 Tue Aug 20, 2013 11:22 pm

Bryant wrote:
Dennis324 wrote:
Marconius wrote:Tell me again.......why exactly does this POS legislation need to be replaced with anything at all.

I mean, I know there are a lot of people who like others taking care of things for them, so they do not have to do it themselves, but sheesh.....why drag the rest down with us. Besides, without an amendment.....Federal government does not have authority to do it. It is way past time to retake our most important document and do things the way it was intended.
Exactly.
 
I'm not trying to be rude to anyone, but socialized medicine is a European Concept.  So its difficult for people in that system to fathom how our govt would not provide Socialized care for the people.  Capitalism is foreign to them.  What they fail to grasp is that the United States has functioned along pretty well for over 200+ years without Socialized medicine.
How is capitalism a foreign concept to Europeans?  Last I checked Vincent de Gournay and Adam Smith were both European.

Canada is not European, but has socialized care (unfortunately not what the ACA is).  Seems to work well.

Access to the health care system in the United States is dismal.  Sure, we might have some great hospitals and doctors, but a large part of the population can't afford to go to them.  My wife and I were just reviewing the health insurance options with her new job.  The most expensive option (which requires a very substantial employee contribution) still has a $250 deductible.  We don't make that much money.  If I get sick, I might not be able to afford to see a doctor, even though we have 'good' insurance.  The status quo is terrible.

there is a form of capitalism in Europe.  But Socialism rules the day in Europe.  That's part of the problem in Greece.  The nanny state, big govt handouts...Obama has tried very hard to move America to the European socialist model.

And you aren't telling me anything about not having much money.  I'm the poster child for that.  At least you have a job.  If it weren't for the VA, I'd be out of luck because I cant afford it.

But my point was not to say we don't need better access to health care here.  It was to point out how interesting it is that Miles seems to think we cannot function without some form of Socialized medicine.  As if Obamacare being repealed would send the US into third world country status.  Cool
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Post by Marconius Wed Aug 21, 2013 12:38 am

I wouldn't call modern social programs "socialist". There is a different goal in play. One is a serious attempt at something else, while the other is just stop-gap promises to barter more votes.
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