The Growing Numbers They Would Let Die

Sept 20th, 2011

At the last Republican debate, every single hopeful candidate made the promise to end "Obamacare." There was also the issue of their base cheering the prospect of letting the uninsured die. Let's look at just how many more of us would be at their mercy compared to a decade ago.

Via CBPP

Medicaid should be expanded into a full single payer system.

Period.

There should be no substantial profit incentive in the delivery of medicine.

Period.

And politicians who stay silent while their constituents cry out in bloodlust should be disallowed all power.

Period.

Some In Tea Party Audience Cheer For Death Of Uninsured

Sept 12th, 2011

It is not often that this much is learned from a hypothetical. During an exchange tonight at the "Tea Party" sponsored GOP debate, Ron Paul beat around the bush when questioned about how society should respond to a major medical crisis involving an uninsured patient. When Blitzer actually pushed for once and asked, "are you saying that society should just let him die?" someone in the audience shouted "yeah!" This shout out was well received.

This was an audience composed entirely of self-identified Tea Party members. This is the dominant force in the current GOP base. The profound lack of fundamental compassion is, itself, un-American. The Founders never conflated concepts of "individual responsibility" with outright blood lust.

Uh Oh, Steve King Is Talking Again

August 4th, 2011

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) never disappoints. The new birth control insurance requirements are, of course, the end of the country as we know it.

The GOP War On Reproductive Rights, cont...

Feb 9th, 2011

As the article excerpt that follows notes, the Republicans have not been pursuing "jobs, jobs, jobs" with nearly the focus or passion as they have been exhibiting while shrieking "ban abortion! ban abortion!  ban abortion!" 

Brian Beutler reports for TPM:

"The House GOP continues to place its heaviest emphasis on fighting abortion rights, and they've taken a lot of heat for it. Progressives, Democrats, pro-choice groups, and others have spared little criticism, but they've focused most heavily on three distinct lines: the fact that Republicans are ignoring job-creation as a priority; the fact that one of their pieces of legislation would allow hospitals to refuse to perform an abortion on a dying woman; and the fact that, until recently at least, the GOP wanted to limit tax-payer support for abortion to exclude incidences of non-forcible rape.

Here's another one: The GOP's plan to ban tax-payer money from funding abortions includes giant tax hikes for businesses.

More specifically, it would eliminate tax incentives on employer-provided health care benefits if those benefits cover abortion as a medical procedure." 

Pardon my brief indulgence in using Speaker Boehner's language, but this sounds pretty "job-crushing" to me.