This is a cross post of an post that I originally posted on Progressive Independence (visit the site it is a very good source of info….you can get there through my blogroll)
One side says we need a national health care plan….the other side says we need a health care plan but one like the one we have now…and then there are those in the middle, whose decisions will be made by the industry that contributes to their PAC……with that said….who leads in this dance?
Good question and the best answer would be…not the people that will be most effected by the decisions of the few in Congress. There is a dance going on in Washington…call it a ballet…the two step…or a tap dance….whatever you chose, but it is a dance and it is getting nothing accomplished.
Many have bad mouthed the GOP for their stance on health. Back about a month ago they offered the Patients Choice Act, this was their answer to the OBama plan. It contained several “ideas”, a word I use loosely, like disease prevention, a health care exchange for one stop shopping, health care pools and Health Savings Accounts, an old tired idea, where the person could open a savings account earmarked for health care and of course the usual tax credit for health care and finally, the old reliable “tort” reform. This is humorous but is always mentioned, make it cheaper by reforming lawsuits, which are about 1% of the total cost of health care.
That my friends is the GOP answer to health care for Americans. Okay, I paraphrased a bit but the general ideas are there. Well, that was last month…this month there is a different tune being sung by the GOP and the new “mouth piece” Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri.
“Our bill is never going to get to the floor, so why confuse the focus? We clearly have principles; we could have language, but why start diverting attention from this really bad piece of work they’ve got to whatever we’re offering right now?”
In other words, why give a plan as long as we can oppose the one offered. The GOP keeps dancing like a guy on crack, but not in a good way…they are in opposition, which is okay but at least give the American people something to grasp besides vague tax credits, pools, HSAs, etc. There attacks are playing well with dullards, but then that is where their base is now.
The Repubs keep telling us that the American people are against the Obama plan…that is not exactly what the polls are showing…..the American people want some form of accessible health care….but let us say that they are against the plan….then the GOP should tell us what the American people really want….so far that has eluded them. They had a plan, even if it was too weak, but now they do not or they do not have one they want to talk about.
The people should keep in mind that the people making a decision on their health care already have an excellent plan, so any decision they make will not effect them at all.
The August break is upon us and the dance of the health elves will continue through the summer…it is not over til it is over….but unfortunately for Progressives, it looks like the health bill will be watered down substantially if it is to get passed this year.
Single payer is dead…..public option is on life support……health industrey is spending $1.4 million a day in opposition……all lobbyists are working overtime….and the media is not helping at all…..so with all those symptoms…does a “good” health care bill look as if it will survive?
Sad to say….NO it does NOT!
Afterword: Watch for my posts I will be doing a lot on this health care situation–IMO, it does not look good for the people.