The Republican presidential race appears to have shifted from debating the economy to discussing social issues - same-sex marriage, abortion and, amazingly enough, birth control. The year is 2012 and ...
Mitt Romney believes that his best line of attack is making the claim that he has not spent a moment as a D.C. politician while his two main opponents, Newt ...
No two ways about it, Rick Santorum had a good night. Not only did he sweep Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri but he also got off the best line of the ...
Few would argue the fact that Citizens United has been a major player in the Republican primary...and many if not most would concede that none of it has been healthy ...
As if you needed another reason to not vote Romney.
Celebrity business magnate Donald Trump endorsed Mitt Romney for president Thursday, telling reporters he will not mount an independent campaign if ...
In a perfect world, the Republican contest to find a nominee to face Barack Obama would go on forever...or at least until August. You cannot attach a number to the ...
I suspect there are a ton of conservatives secretly agreeing with Begala and while it's too early in the game for Dems to get cocky, it's difficult to not smile ...
Quotes don't get much better than this one by Bob Dole.
"Why do people take such an instant dislike to me?" asked a perplexed Gingrich, to whom Dole bluntly ...
After the beating Gingrich took last night, it's hard to imagine under what scenario he can make a comeback. Florida is going to Romney and for Gingrich to regain the ...
There's a lot out there on the President's SOTU, so I'll keep my thoughts short and sweet.
The speech did what it had to do which was target liberals and independents ...
The highlights from last night's debate.
- Newt Gingrich can't wait to become president so he can revisit the early 60s and overthrow Castro in Cuba. War, baby, war.
- Santorum, who ...
It appears that the South Carolina verdict is forcing Romney to start taking Gingrich seriously.
“We’re not choosing a talk show host, we’re choosing a leader,” Romney said, saying that their ...
Mike Huckabee offers advice to Mitt Romney concerning his unreleased tax returns.
Let him [Romney] make this challenge: "I'll release my tax returns when Barack Obama releases his college transcripts and ...
Via Political Humor...
"Mitt Romney is coming under fire because even though he is a multimillionaire, he only paid 15 percent in taxes. That's not a tax, that's barely a tip." ...
Good line.
My guess is that after Romney fails to beat Obama in the general, Huntsman will be back in 2016. The most electable guy in the field and he could ...
I found this pretty funny...and accurate. It comes from a reader over at Balloon Juice.
So, let’s review. The contenders for the GOP nomination are
A vulture capitalist who believes that any ...
Lively little debate going on at one of last week's posts with Libertarianism put under the microscope.
ocLiberal:
I know I am in sketchy territory here, (start the indignant shouting now) but ...
In the contest to determine the winner of the Far-Right Politics gold medal, rack up a few more points for Newt Gingrich.
“I think an intelligent conservative wants the right federal ...
Via Political Humor...
"Congratulations to Mitt Romney. He won the New Hampshire primary last night. See, this is proof that even the multimillionaire son of a multimillionaire can beat the odds ...
We knew it to be true but getting it confirmed by one of their own is always nice…
Whoops. Rob Portman, a Republican Senate candidate in Ohio, has now admitted in an interview that the GOP doesn’t have a position on health care. Worse, he says he came to that conclusion after multiple discussions with GOP Congressional leaders about the issue.
Check out this nugget buried in a National Journal article (subscription only) about Portman:
Republicans have also taken some heat nationally for not focusing on health care in their campaigns in recent years, but Portman already has been speaking on the issue frequently.
“We have to have an alternative. … I will tell you, I don’t think there is a Republican alternative at this point,” he said. He said he reached that conclusion after talking to Senate leaders and lawmakers about the GOP’s position. “There isn’t one,” he said. “There’s a task force, and I applaud them for that.
A task force? No one in the GOP realized health care was a problem until now? The party of no ideas marches on.
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“[...]Rick Scott is the man who best embodies the spirit of the current conservative opposition. The name may not exactly be a household word, or it may ring a faint bell, but Politico recently reported that the millionaire Republican would be heading up Conservatives for Patients’ Rights (CPR), a new group that plans to spend around $20 million to kill President Obama’s efforts at healthcare reform.”
How anyone can look at the US Government and decide that they should take over health care is beyond me. Just look at Medicare and Amtrak and the Postal Service. Health care is expensive largely *because* of govt, the idea that it will make things right simply requires a complete lack of critical thought.
Socialist Health Care: only good for losers and statists. I would think that you would know, Mario, being a Canadian. So many of your fellow countrymen come down to get our health care when your government rations and delays.
Here’s what I know: I don’t know of one Canadian who would trade in their health care system for the U.S. system. I also don’t know of one Canadian who has gone bankrupt or had to mortgage their homes over an illness. And, I don’t know of one Canadian who is not covered by health care unlike the 47 million Americans who carry no health insurance.
If you want to see the problems, I recommend a short BBC Panorama documentary titled “What Now, Mister President”. It’s on the YouTube. Less than 30 minutes long.
I am a member of a forum that includes people from around the globe. Not one of them said they would change their healthcare for the US. UK, Canada, Austalia. A few I can’t remember.
“[...]According to researchers at Harvard University, a mere 20 percent increase in premiums costs 3.5 million workers their jobs, causes millions more to move from full-time to part-time work, and cuts the average income by approximately $1,700. CBO predicts that this 20 percent increase will occur over the next four years.
Today, more than 51 million Americans under age 65 do not have health insurance as of January 2009, and millions more drift in and out of coverage as their employment and financial situation changes. Approximately 87 million Americans under 65—nearly one in three—went without health insurance for some period in 2007 or 2008.
Even as the economy recovers over the coming years, swelling health care costs could cause businesses to continue cutting back on health care, dropping more of their employees into the ranks of the uninsured. A recent survey by Hewitt Associates found that approximately 20 percent of employers were planning to stop offering health benefits in the next three to five years, up from just 4 percent of employers in the 2008 survey.[...]“
No surprise here. Now watch Portman get knocked around by Rush and Portman backtrack on his statement.
They’ve called in the big guns:
“[...]Rick Scott is the man who best embodies the spirit of the current conservative opposition. The name may not exactly be a household word, or it may ring a faint bell, but Politico recently reported that the millionaire Republican would be heading up Conservatives for Patients’ Rights (CPR), a new group that plans to spend around $20 million to kill President Obama’s efforts at healthcare reform.”
http://26dems.blogspot.com/2009/05/swiftboater-and-medicare-defrauder-rick.html
And, worse, it seems he is very good at it:
“This Sunday May 31, following Meet the Press, a 30-minute “infomercial” attacking a public healthcare option is set to air on NBC. ”
According to Rachel Maddow (short edited video at the link) the man’s company paid $1.7 BILLION in fines for medicare & medicaid fraud.
How anyone can look at the US Government and decide that they should take over health care is beyond me. Just look at Medicare and Amtrak and the Postal Service. Health care is expensive largely *because* of govt, the idea that it will make things right simply requires a complete lack of critical thought.
Socialist Health Care: only good for losers and statists. I would think that you would know, Mario, being a Canadian. So many of your fellow countrymen come down to get our health care when your government rations and delays.
Here’s what I know: I don’t know of one Canadian who would trade in their health care system for the U.S. system. I also don’t know of one Canadian who has gone bankrupt or had to mortgage their homes over an illness. And, I don’t know of one Canadian who is not covered by health care unlike the 47 million Americans who carry no health insurance.
I challenge you to research that bogus 47 million number.
10+ million of those are illegal aliens. Many more are people who make lifestyle decisions not to spend money on insurance.
I have heard plenty of horror stories from Canadian health care. Plenty. So spare me your Democrat talking points.
I thought heard 55 million. Also, new report shows that the uninsured is what keeps costs high for the insured. Makes sense to fix that.
WASHINGTON – Health insurance premiums for an average family are $1,000 a year higher because of costs of health care for the uninsured, a new report finds.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090528/ap_on_he_me/us_health_overhaul_uninsured
If you want to see the problems, I recommend a short BBC Panorama documentary titled “What Now, Mister President”. It’s on the YouTube. Less than 30 minutes long.
I am a member of a forum that includes people from around the globe. Not one of them said they would change their healthcare for the US. UK, Canada, Austalia. A few I can’t remember.
As for comparison to Canada, check out the graph on this page:
http://www.yesmagazine.org/other/pop_print_article.asp?ID=1503
Is any system perfect? Not yet. But, U.S. is definitely behind. How did we get there?
I came across the article the other day as well.
“[...]According to researchers at Harvard University, a mere 20 percent increase in premiums costs 3.5 million workers their jobs, causes millions more to move from full-time to part-time work, and cuts the average income by approximately $1,700. CBO predicts that this 20 percent increase will occur over the next four years.
Today, more than 51 million Americans under age 65 do not have health insurance as of January 2009, and millions more drift in and out of coverage as their employment and financial situation changes. Approximately 87 million Americans under 65—nearly one in three—went without health insurance for some period in 2007 or 2008.
Even as the economy recovers over the coming years, swelling health care costs could cause businesses to continue cutting back on health care, dropping more of their employees into the ranks of the uninsured. A recent survey by Hewitt Associates found that approximately 20 percent of employers were planning to stop offering health benefits in the next three to five years, up from just 4 percent of employers in the 2008 survey.[...]“
http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/05/21/study-without-reform-premiums-will-increase-over-70-in-the-next-nine-years/