Andrew Sullivan: Health Care Amnesia

[babylonsister]

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/11/just-one-republican.html

Just One Republican
Andrew Sullivan


The GOP is trying to get voters to forget their fiscal recklessness over the last eight years. And the conservative media - which is sadly far too often just a partisan mouthpiece - is helping the amnesia along. One of the few principled fiscal conservatives in the Bush-Cheney years. Bruce Bartlett, is refusing to forget. He tells a classic tale of one Republican, Trent Franks of Arizona. Here is what Franks is now saying about the health insurance reform in the Congress:

"I would remind my Democratic colleagues that their children, and every generation thereafter, will bear the burden caused by this bill. They will be the ones asked to pay off the incredible debt," Franks declared on Nov. 7.

So what was Franks' position on Medicare D? He voted for it, after some of the most egregious Congressional arm-twisting in memory (so egregious Rove et al extended debate for three hours and turned off the C-Span cameras). What is the difference between Medicare D and the current health insurance proposal? You guessed it:

The Medicare drug benefit was a pure giveaway with a gross cost greater than either the House or Senate health reform bills how being considered. Together the new bills would cost roughly $900 billion over the next 10 years, while Medicare Part D will cost $1 trillion.

Moreover, there is a critical distinction--the drug benefit had no dedicated financing, no offsets and no revenue-raisers; 100% of the cost simply added to the federal budget deficit, whereas the health reform measures now being debated will be paid for with a combination of spending cuts and tax increases, adding nothing to the deficit over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. (See here for the Senate bill estimate and here for the House bill.)

The fantastic hypocrisy of today's Republicans - their refusal to come to terms with their own responsibility for the current fiscal crisis, their attempt to project their own profligacy onto a new administration struggling with one of the toughest economic legacies of any White House since Reagan - makes me ill. And how a man like Karl Rove can go on television complaining about the debt boggles the mind.

Well: it doesn't boggle the mind as long as you accept that he is a principle-free, ends-over-means tool.

[treestar]

1. Rethugs are blatant about this

They know they are responsible for it, but they also know the media will come to their aid and that they can fool a lot of voters.

[lxlxlxl]

4. agree...i cant believe the stuff that they get away with

our press rolls over for them. its really disgusting and disheartening.

[Kdillard]

2. Yep. Andrew Sullivan nails it. Not one Republican cared about the debt until

President Obama came into power. They gladly ran the debt up with no way to pay for it. And set out to destroy medicare with it.

[Dennis Donovan]

5. "Reagan proved deficits don't matter..."

...said Dick Cheney when pushing for tax cuts for the wealthy. And, not one republican said a word against it.

Deficits ONLY matter to Repugs when a Dem is in office...:eyes:

[Proud Liberal Dem]

7. Most Blue Dogs didn't care about the debt much either until now

and some of them are now threatening to allow the US to default on our debt if they aren't allowed to turn over decision making about entitlement spending over to an independent committee. Of course, I haven't heard on whiff from them about cutting any money out of the defense (offense) budget and/or pulling our troops out of Iraq to save some money and reduce the debt. I will NEVER support any calls to cut spending unless EVERYTHING is on the table, particularly because once everything IS on the table for cuts, people will finally realize how relatively insignificant social spending is on the national debt and how significant things like defense (offense) spending and "wars of choice" are. :eyes:

[izquierdista]

3. Turn on a dime

Republicans have a great ability to run up debt until 5 minutes before their term expires. Then right after the new government is sworn in, they find religion and preach about the evils of debt, saying that ALL "entitlements" must end, until a way is found to pay for them.

[firedupdem]

6. Rec'd n/t

[FrenchieCat]

8. If we had a real "Free Press" as stated in the Constitution,

instead of the Corporate Press we currently have, things would be very different.

I tuned into the last 5 minues of "State of the Union" on CNN, and there was John King
giving Senate Republican Minority Leader a blow job. The Senator was lying about everything,
attempting to speak for the American people, and John King's challenge was nowhere to be found.

After that, John King announced that we'd hear from the Republican candidate challenging Barbara Boxer, Ms. Fiorina. So then I turned it off.

It was nothing short of disgusting...and reminded me why I don't watch any of the Sunday shows anymore. Cause they are so predictable.....you know that a bunch of paid pompadours newsreaders will try and tear down this President, lie through their teeth, and nothing else.

[Hamlette]

9. we have a free press

it's just that the corporations have the money to run the networks. The only way around it is to go to a BBC model. Which is fine EXCEPT in our hyper political country, Bush would have cut it to shreds or it would have become like Pravda (Fox) to stay alive which puts us where we are today.

A fanatic from Australia runs it for money. (Oh, and a right wing looney from Korea runs a major newspaper. Actually, I don't care that Washington Times is a rag, I'm heart sick the Washington Post turned into a rag.)

As long as the GOP takes care of the people with money,the people with money, who own everything, will flock to the GOP.

Gotta hope this Internet thingie takes off :)

[TomCADem]

10. Of course, media outlets like Fox News Do Not Merely Promote Amnesia, But Historical Revision

The comment is spot on. None of the Republicans have stepped up, and accepted responsibility for their large role in bringing the current crisis to pass. Dubya had the weakest job creation record in decades, yet Republicans are able to tout the benefits of deregulation and tax cuts with impunity.