Tuesday, October 02, 2007

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out

You can open up a copy of your local newspaper or peruse the comments that the freepers and other anvil-headed creeps post in the online version, and on pretty much a daily basis you can expect to see attacks on single-payer health insurance proposals. There are also entire television networks featuring opposition to the same.

*Opponents of it tell vague tales about Canadians flocking to the United States in vast droves because their own system is so faulty. They exaggerate.

*They call it "socialism." Just like your local police and fire departments. As if that were a bad thing.

*They claim that it's "not free." Nobody ever said it was.

*They even say that you will not be able to choose your own doctor. As if you could with your company plan, if you are fortunate enough to have one.

But their boldest lie is when they try to tell us that most of us really prefer the system already in place.

[snip] "In a recent CNN poll (5/4-5/6/07), 64 percent of respondents supported the idea that "government should provide a national health insurance program for all Americans, even if this would require higher taxes." And a recent CBS/New York Times poll (2/23-27/07) found 64 percent support for the idea that the federal government should "guarantee health insurance for all," and 60 percent supported paying higher taxes to provide such coverage. Additionally, 50 percent believed "fundamental changes" to the healthcare system were necessary, and another 40 percent thought the country needed to "completely rebuild" the system."

Then they trot out their "liberal media" canards.

You can't fool all of the people all of the time. We have that google-thingie and the intertubes now.



"I have thrown out these as loose heads of amendment, for consideration and correction; and their object is to secure self—government by the republicanism of our constitution, as well as by the spirit of the people; and to nourish and perpetuate that spirit. I am not among those who fear the people. They, and not the rich, are our dependence for continued freedom."

From Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Samuel Kercheval, dated 1816. The University of Virginia Library has all of Jefferson's letters available online.

Jefferson is a very soothing balm and a great antidote to the billious and foamy rightwing rant-fests that are so ubiquitous throughout the electronic media these days.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wonderful. And I'm coming here after just reading a WaPo op-ed by Harold Meyerson pointing out that if the private system could have solved it, it would have and it didn't. Fiction is the present approach to public affairs by the GoPervs. And I say to you what I commented there; hush. We need them to keep on letting the public know they're its enemy. Then the Dems can get in office and start cleaning up their mess.

from Ruth

Anonymous said...

Let's not forget our country already has socialized medicine in place for a certain segment of our society and it's called Medicare. I've been looking around for the last five years of so for a person who is eligible for Medicare but declined due to it being "socialized medicine". You know...they refused due to their principles. I have yet to find one person!

KarenM in NC

Dirk Gently said...

meanwhile, presifake bush will not sign on to schip because is is "the first step toward socialized medicine." candidate clinton is careful to say that hers is not a big government health plan.

what is wrong with these people that they so blatantly choose to ignore the majority of the american public?


Say it with me now:

Single Payer Not-for-Profit Health care provides MORE choice, not LESS.

Oh, and as long as we're at it, try this one:

Socialized Medicine is a GOOD thing.