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   The traditional college visit has gotten more interesting. And more manipulative.
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October 31, 2009
WHEN HALLOWEEN BECOMES APRIL FOOL'S.... It's one thing to set low expectations for House Minority Leader John Boehner's (R-Ohio) weekly address. It's another to actually hear the darn thing. For example, just a few days after conceding there is no GOP alternative reform proposal, the House Minority Leader now believes there is a rival health care plan after all.
I see. Take a brief printout with some talking points, combine it with eight unrelated pieces of weak legislation -- not one of which has been endorsed by the party's leadership -- throw it in a blender without a coherent policy structure, and viola! House Republicans have both a "plan" and a "blueprint." And to think I questioned the seriousness with which the House GOP took policy matters. Don't I feel embarrassed. Boehner went on to point to a handful of ideas Republicans like, some of which are already in the House reform bill. He added that the majority's reform package will "put unelected boards, bureaus, and commissions in charge of who gets access to what drug and what potentially life-saving treatment," which is obviously untrue. Boehner also said reform "will cut seniors' Medicare benefits," which is obviously untrue. Boehner then complained about the debt -- which he helped add $5 trillion to by supporting Bush/Cheney policies -- and economic growth -- which he wanted to stunt with a five-year spending freeze at the height of the economic crisis. DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse responded, "Apparently, John Boehner has his holidays confused because his remarks are far better suited for an April Fool's address." —Steve Benen 3:35 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (18)Comments
It's frightening to know some people are April Fools all year long. Posted by: athena on October 31, 2009 at 3:45 PM | PERMALINKAs Brad Woodhouse shows today, the Democrats are frequently able to come up with good, short, pithy responses to Republican talking points. What they lack is the message discipline needed to drive the message home. Posted by: tanstaafl on October 31, 2009 at 3:45 PM | PERMALINK"and viola! House Republicans have both a "plan" and a "blueprint." A viola joke? or just another Boner? Posted by: jrosen on October 31, 2009 at 3:52 PM | PERMALINKWho listens to Boner anyway? He's so stoopid he can't even pronounce his own name. Posted by: Winkandanod on October 31, 2009 at 3:59 PM | PERMALINKHe added that the majority's reform package will "put unelected boards, bureaus, and commissions in charge of who gets access to what drug and what potentially life-saving treatment," which is obviously untrue. Besides which, those boards and bureaus already exist. But since those boards and bureaus make regular donations to the campaign funds of pinheads like Boehner, that's okay. Posted by: Roddy McCorley on October 31, 2009 at 4:09 PM | PERMALINKRules on Republican Talking Points for Health Care Reform: 1. Be against. That pretty much sums up the last six months. Am I missing anything? Posted by: inkadu on October 31, 2009 at 4:29 PM | PERMALINK"And to think I questioned the seriousness with which the House GOP took policy matters. Don't I feel embarrassed." No, what's embarrassing is that AP's Will Lester dutifully recorded everything Rep. Boehner said without any apparent attempt to get a response from the Democratic Party or even an non-partisan expert. Posted by: Sonic View on October 31, 2009 at 4:32 PM | PERMALINK"put unelected boards, bureaus, and commissions in charge of who gets access to what drug and what potentially life-saving treatment" How is it untrue? Medicare does this now, all private insurers do this. (I have done this job myself). Yes, they are only deciding what they will "pay for," rather than what is "allowed", but the *standard of care* for the professionals and institutions is developed with input from the funding sources. I can't think, of hand, of a high priced and proven efficacious treatment that is denied payment or coverage by insurers. (They have other ways of avoiding payment). Posted by: flubber on October 31, 2009 at 4:45 PM | PERMALINKFlubber - Show me the Republican that makes the distinction between "allow" and "pay for" that you just made and I will consider your point. Listening to Republicans, you'd get the idea that the government is going post National Guard at operating room door to ask you for your papers while you're on the gurney. Posted by: inkadu on October 31, 2009 at 4:58 PM | PERMALINKRepublican 'legislation' is like a tranche. See Wall St. for a clarification, I'm sure they have. Posted by: anomaly on October 31, 2009 at 5:06 PM | PERMALINKflubber: At the risk of validating some lurking right-wing troll's anti-HCR paranoia, I would like to make a comparison to Canada. Because they are what we want to become: a democracy with a universal health care program. We can look at them to see how some of the practical matters shake out. The thing about Canada is, if the folks don't like how the health insurance program is working, they can elect people who offer changes they think will work better. So it is *not* unanswerable to the people. This is precisely the opposite of the private insurance companies here in the US, where all the power is held by the insurer, not the insuree. If you don't like how your private insurance plan is working, tough luck; they're not going to listen to you. Particularly if you live in those areas of the US where you are limited to, at most, two different private insurers. Posted by: Shade Tail on October 31, 2009 at 7:02 PM | PERMALINKIt's californication, not californiacation. Posted by: Mike on October 31, 2009 at 7:03 PM | PERMALINKOh, well. I posted in the wrong string and misread the one I intended to post in. Californicate it! Posted by: Mike on October 31, 2009 at 7:08 PM | PERMALINKI can't think, of hand, of a high priced and proven efficacious treatment that is denied payment or coverage by insurers. Like a liver transplant? I guess you can argue that there's no high-prices and proven efficacious treatment that is routinely denied payment or coverage. That's part of the problem -- a lot of people are capriciously denied those treatments and have to fight for weeks or months to get them. Sometimes your insurance company will pay without a problem, sometimes they won't, and you don't know which it's going to be until you incur the bill. Posted by: Mnemosyne on October 31, 2009 at 9:24 PM | PERMALINKWho listens to Boner anyway? He's so stoopid he can't even pronounce his own name. *********************************************** One person that does is that used Repiglican Cunt called John King and his 'State of the Union'... yes, this used cunt has BONER on his show with another all star cast of repiglicans only today ... Posted by: stormskies on November 1, 2009 at 8:59 AM | PERMALINKGreat sharing.I would like to ask What for winning against Manchester United? Whats Rafa Benitez thinking? Torres and benayoun were still fit and can have some more impact on the game. Why substitute them with reserve players? 2 red cards for Degen and Carragher somemore. Rafa Rafa, pls resign or come on American owners and sack him! This is the worst Liverpool in history... Posted by: lokenkristianna on December 4, 2009 at 2:32 AM | PERMALINKPost a comment
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