This is a guest post although the author does not know he is posting here.
I came across this discussion on another board I monitor, but no longer participate in-primarily due to the fact that too many of its participants have descended into that intellectual hell known as "conservative and / or evangelical thinking". Shorter term: F*cked in the head teabaggers.
So its kind of refreshing to see someone have the continued courage to engage with these folks when its quite clear that nothing short of heads hitting concrete will get any opinion through to them. Nonetheless, I offer this to you -especially those who fear the ACA is a harbinger of the coming of the anti-Christ, to sit down and STFU.
Take it away guest poster: Outlandish statements from deranged tea party sympathizer in red.
Let me ask some questions about your statements below, since you did not provide details:
1. "I don't disagree with the concept of everyone having insurance. That is not what Obamacare does."
Really? Seems to me this is exactly what the law is designed to do – and affords those who wish not to purchase insurance the freedom to pay for the privilege of not purchasing insurance while placing everyone else at risk these individuals will get sick and we all have to pay to care for them.
2. "Obamacare is over-reach in government and it is designed to take control of just about every aspect of our lives."
Really? Every aspect of our lives? Perhaps you can explain exactly how does this law control every aspect if my life – your life? it seems to me, unless you are a rich hospital executive making $ Million plus compensation gouging patients for $50 boxes of Kleenex or $500 walkers, its just another payment you make a month – only from now on, you will have more choices.
3. "It reduces free markets ability to reduce costs, not improve it. It is intrusive into personal information and is a control tool."
Really? How? "Free markets" right now allow the food chain of greedy hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, "providers" of just about every item in the hospital to over charge for everything – and you and I have no practical way to stop the escalation of price gouging.
4. "I have laid out many times, a logical means of making sure everyone is covered or is responsible for their own medical costs and it uses economic incentives, not governmental tyranny."
At this point a request was made to expand on exactly what he meant. No rational reply was forthcoming.
In other words, I take your response to mean that having repeated the meaningless rantings heard on cable networks (from the typical gang of hate mongers) when pressed to provide details, you are at a loss to provide even a single supporting fact why the new – yet to be implemented law – is causing the "sky to fall, " why we are losing our freedoms, or other explanation of your rhetoric calling out the dogs of war to oppose this law. OK – but I will wait and see just what happens.
The last question and response is critical. Changing America's health care insurance system is long overdue. The ACA , in my opinion does not go far enough in this regard-but at least it is doing something. To hold the government-and by extension the US and world economy hostage to objections that were settled in the last election, truly makes me ashamed to be an American. In Britain right now they are having many similar discussions. The S.O. and I see them on TV every day. But Parliament has never not passed a budget. Only America. This is not something any American should be proud of…….or advocate. Those who do-are, as I have stated many times, more than a little selfish.
I'll Let Jon Chait explain it for you:
Most of us expected, at some level, that the election would cool the right’s apocalyptic fervor. Instead, the opposite has occurred. Paul Ryan candidly explained the calculation: “The reason this debt limit fight is different is, we don’t have an election around the corner where we feel we are going to win and fix it ourselves. We are stuck with this government another three years.” This is a remarkable confession. Republicans need to compel Obama to accept their agenda, not in spite of the fact that the voters rejected it at the polls but precisely for that reason.
The exhaustion of electoral channels against Obama has spurred the party to seize power through non-electoral channels. Their opening demand that Obama sign Mitt Romney’s entire economic plan into law in return for avoiding a debt default, while historically bizarre, followed perfectly from their legislative strategy this year…
Their aversion to compromise has been accepted as settled fact in Washington, reimagined not only as a new normal but as the way it’s always been. Republican Dana Rohrabacher defended the use of debt-ceiling threats to pry concessions from Obama like so: “People have to recognize there’s never any compromise until the stakes are high. In our society, that’s the nature of democratic government.” That is completely false. American political parties have forged compromises for decades without high-stakes threats to bring them to the table. Not to mention the fact that, by “compromise,” Rohrabacher means unilateral concessions by the president…
The hostage dynamic of the debt-ceiling fight has created a dangerous, historically unusual set of circumstances. One aspect of it is to set up a precarious, high-stakes negotiation, the failure of which could set off large, immediate, and irreversible damage. The second is to reset the balance of power between the president and Congress, allowing the latter to compel the former to submit to its agenda without concessions. Both these changes would permanently and dangerously alter the character of American government…
The only proper word for this is disgusting. And if you share Ryan's views, then you too are aiding and abetting the decline of your nation.