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Who's Dithering?
Author: BobR
Date: 11/18/2009 12:15:29
Former vice-president Dick Cheney recently criticized President Obama for "dithering" in the Middle East, instead of being decisive and bold. Obama's critics think he shouldn't waste any more time weighing the evidence, and should just make a decision and go for it. People's lives are hanging in the balance, and all this "dithering" is just going to cause more people to die.
Yet - when he brings that "decisive and bold" leadership which they claim to be clamoring for to the health care debate, suddenly they accuse him of moving too fast, of trying to rush things through. Why the hurry? It's not like people's lives are in danger, right?
Well... yes, people's lives ARE in danger. The National Association of Free Health Clinics recently held a massive free clinic at the Superdome in NoLa. Here is first-person account of what happened:
Four people were taken immediately to a hospital by ambulance. I highly recommend reading the entire article.
So if so many people are living on the edge because they are uninsured or under-insured, why isn't this a slam-dunk? Could it be the propaganda campaign being waged by the insurance companies, championed by right-wing and neo-libertarian ideologues and trumpeted through the streets by loud crass sheeple using it as an excuse to criticize a president they hate? How many commercials have you seen spreading lies about higher taxes, jobs lost, fear Fear FEAR!
Sadly, Congress is not helping. First, we have Rep. Stupak claiming he can kill the bill if his amendment is tampered with. On the other hand, we have reports that some of the Dems that originally supported the amendment are backing off, and would be willing to vote for the bill if the Stupak language was watered down. Congress dithers over minutia that is only important to them, while Americans die because they can't go to the doctor.
... And then there's the media which seems to be dithering over what the facts actually are and what they mean. It's hard to believe that these two articles are talking about the same AP poll. The first link reports that the majority of Americans are in favor of raising taxes on the richest Americans to pay for health care reform. The second article says that Americans are souring on the whole idea of health care reform (FWIW - the focus in the 2nd article was more like the 1st one when it originally came out, and then they changed the focus). Can these really be the same poll results? The media can't seem to decide on what to report as true, so they spin one way and then the other, and then claim to be even-handed.
No wonder everyone is unsure of what they feel about health care reform. While everyone that should be providing leadership dithers for political reasons, and the media dithers for financial reasons, the president gets criticized for NOT dithering. How is any of this helping?
Yet - when he brings that "decisive and bold" leadership which they claim to be clamoring for to the health care debate, suddenly they accuse him of moving too fast, of trying to rush things through. Why the hurry? It's not like people's lives are in danger, right?
Well... yes, people's lives ARE in danger. The National Association of Free Health Clinics recently held a massive free clinic at the Superdome in NoLa. Here is first-person account of what happened:
After watching for hours as the patients moved through the clinic, it was hard to believe that I was in America.
Eighty-three percent of the patients they see are employed, they are not accepting other government help on a large scale, not "welfare queens" as some would like to have us believe. They are tax-paying, good, upstanding citizens who are trying to make it and give their kids a better life just like you and me.
Ninety percent of the patients who came through Saturday's clinic had two or more diagnoses.
Eighty-two percent had a life-threatening condition such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or hypertension. They are victims of a system built with corporate profits at its center, which long ago forgot the moral imperative that should drive us to show compassion to our fellow men and women.
Four people were taken immediately to a hospital by ambulance. I highly recommend reading the entire article.
So if so many people are living on the edge because they are uninsured or under-insured, why isn't this a slam-dunk? Could it be the propaganda campaign being waged by the insurance companies, championed by right-wing and neo-libertarian ideologues and trumpeted through the streets by loud crass sheeple using it as an excuse to criticize a president they hate? How many commercials have you seen spreading lies about higher taxes, jobs lost, fear Fear FEAR!
Sadly, Congress is not helping. First, we have Rep. Stupak claiming he can kill the bill if his amendment is tampered with. On the other hand, we have reports that some of the Dems that originally supported the amendment are backing off, and would be willing to vote for the bill if the Stupak language was watered down. Congress dithers over minutia that is only important to them, while Americans die because they can't go to the doctor.
... And then there's the media which seems to be dithering over what the facts actually are and what they mean. It's hard to believe that these two articles are talking about the same AP poll. The first link reports that the majority of Americans are in favor of raising taxes on the richest Americans to pay for health care reform. The second article says that Americans are souring on the whole idea of health care reform (FWIW - the focus in the 2nd article was more like the 1st one when it originally came out, and then they changed the focus). Can these really be the same poll results? The media can't seem to decide on what to report as true, so they spin one way and then the other, and then claim to be even-handed.
No wonder everyone is unsure of what they feel about health care reform. While everyone that should be providing leadership dithers for political reasons, and the media dithers for financial reasons, the president gets criticized for NOT dithering. How is any of this helping?
