THE GOP FALSELY CONTINUES TO SEE THE ACA AS THEIR “RED MEAT”

…What the GOP Logo represents today.

 

Conservative writers try to bend the truth about the ACA, while the American public continues to increase the numbers of those signing up for coverage.

 

It’s pretty disgusting how the conservative vultures have gone after the Affordable Care Act (ACA) instead of trying to help Americans get the health care they need.

These include the conservative columnist, Marc Thiessen, who has the auspicious history of being a speech writer for two well-known political losers.  That being, writing speeches for former president, George W. Bush, and his failed Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld.  Thiessen has now joined his Republican writer cohorts and he is also now going after Obamacare.

Yes, Mr. Thiessen has received his marching orders and talking-points from the right-wing radio and TV talkers, and probably also directly from the RNC Chairman, Reince Priebus himself.

The fact that the ACA web site is now working at an estimated 95% level, Thiessen still jumped on those Americans that might be losing their “junk” insurance plans.  (Even the insurance companies refer to these plans as being total "Junk".)  These were plans that, as an  example, if you lost a leg in a motorcycle accident, you would only get about $1000 cash and two doctor’s visits, and that was it!  Of course, you were getting this wonderful plan for paying $50.00 a month!  But now with the ACA, you would be directed to “real” insurance plans that might cost a bit more, but many people will receive subsidies that could make the total monthly cost less than that $50.00 per month payment.

Of course, Mr. Thiessen doesn’t happen to mention that little tid-bit of info.

Mr. Thiessen then says that 50 million Americans will lose their employer-based health plans.  This is a vast exaggeration, but yes, many plans will have to be adjusted so that issues such a pre-existing condition exclusions and too high of deductibles will have to be removed.  But there are a number of options that will make the employer provided policies much more comprehensive.  I know that in my own family, there are some employer provided plans that are basically a bad joke and will seriously need to be adjusted.

Next, Thiessen say that, “53% of Americans now say that President Obama is not “honest or trustworthy.  Americans are not just questioning Obama’s competence, they also are questioning his integrity.”   It is interesting that this exact comment came directly, word for word, from a Fox News commentator.  I would not be surprised if Mr. Frank Luntz, the official Republican “Talking-Points” writer put that phrase together all by himself.  The same comment is now being picked up and repeated by Republican politicians such as Senators: Mike Enzi (R-WY), Dan Coats (R-IN) and of course, Mr. Exaggeration, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX).

As usual, few of the Republicans on The Hill have many real thoughts or ideas of their own.  They instead rely on Fox News and those inaccurate conservative talk-radio commentators.

Yes, President Obama is getting hit hard for his past comments that people could keep their policies if they liked them, and the president has paid for it in spades.  But compared to the bucket-loads of lies that come out of the Republican politicians, and of course the right-wing radio and TV mouth-pieces, the president is the ultimate truth-teller.  This is especially true whenever these “talkers” are lying about the ACA.

To develop a program that is so large and complicated as health care for all Americans, just as Social Security and Medicare had their start-up issues, it will take a long time before all the kinks are removed from the ACA.  Just as these previous two great programs had their difficult issues, today they are both accepted and loved as necessary social programs.  Over time, the ACA will also  be in that category, and that’s what scares the hell out of the GOP.  And the GOP, has no alternate plan for helping Americans get health care coverage.  But they will still continue to go after the president and the ACA, whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Thiessen’s article then goes after the Democratic Representatives that are coming up for re-election in November 2014.  Especially, he comments as to how worried they are going to be about running on the ACA and on the president’s comment about being able to keep their previous plans. 

 

My guess is that by the time the election campaigning gets into full swing, these representatives will not be in that bad of a position regarding the ACA.  I would instead be more concerned about the Republican Representatives representing those districts with a large numbers of immigrant workers.  Just what have the do-nothing Republicans in Congress, that have controlled the House for two terms, done about dealing with the immigration issue?

And what about those Republican Governors that did not expand their Medicaid for millions of their voting citizens?  I think that will be a good deal for the Democrats to run on, while the Republicans continue running away from their constituents and their responsibilities.

The #1 State today that is going gang-busters with the ACA, is a Red state that has a Democratic Governor.  That state being Kentucky. 

 

It’s also the state of the current Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell and a presidential Tea Party wannabe, Senator Rand Paul.  These two, that continually rail about the president and the ACA, it’s their state that is by-passing all the other US states on a per-capita basis for signing up their citizens for the ACA.  And 40+% of those signing up in Kentucky are under the age of 35. 

And this is exactly what the GOP was saying would never happen, especially in Kentucky.

Thiessen finishes his article by saying that, “Americans are not just angry about a broken Web site; they are angry about a broken promise.”  I agree that when the ACA web site started off so poorly, and the press and the GOP were attacking both the site and President Obama, this was a real issue.

But the president promised that the web site would be fixed, and for the most part, it is working OK today.  And the site will continue to get better.  The president is also now starting to take on an offensive PR approach and the insurance companies are just now starting their multi-billion dollar advertising campaigns for their ACA health care plans.  The president is also going to continue using his “bully pulpit”.  He will do this by putting up real Americans telling their stories of success in getting health care for the very first time or with successful examples of being able to sign up for the ACA.

Eventually the ACA will become to everyday Americans just as Social Security and Medicare / Medicaid are to America’s retired and elderly today.  The difference with Obamacare is that these Americans will be introduced to the ACA early on in their lives and they will have it available until they will eventually need their own Social Security and Medicare or Medicaid.

And this is exactly what is worrying the Marc Thiessen’s and all the other American conservatives. 

They just don’t want any Americans to have affordable health care.

Copyright G.Ater  2013