Fox’s Shep Smith Takes Down Fox News Talking Point On Public Option: ‘It’s Not A Government Takeover!’
Fox’s Shep Smith Takes Down Fox News Talking Point On Public Option: ‘It’s Not A Government Takeover!’
“Why would we not want a public option?” Shep Smith asked Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), kicking off a tense and lively exchange this afternoon on Fox News. When Barrasso quickly launched into his Frank Luntz-inspired GOP talking points, calling it a “government take-over of health care,” Smith — who’s been known to go off the Fox News reservation from time to time — pushed back:
SMITH: It’s not a government take over, Senator! That’s not fair and we both know it. It’s not a government takeover because what it would be is a government option if you have insurance now and you like it you can keep it. … That’s not a government take over if we’re being fair is it Senator?
Barrasso struggled to muster a response. “Well compare it to Medicare, which we know right now is going bankrupt,” he said. Later, Smith engaged in fierce advocacy in favor of the public option:
SMITH: As the costs have gone up, the insurance industry’s profits on average have gone up more than 350 percent and it’s the insurance companies which have paid and have contributed to Senators and congressman on both sides of the aisle to the point where now, we can’t get…what more than 60 percent of Americans say they support, is a public option. This has been an enormous win for the health care industry. That is an unquestioned fact. [...]
[E]very vote against a public option is a vote for the insurance companies, sir. It is!
Again, Barrasso replied with trite talking points. “We’re not even allowing the people of America to read the bill,” he said, later adding that “Washington is incapable” of running health care. “I want to be clear,” Smith told Barrasso, “this wouldn’t be Washington running the system, Senator. It would be a government run plan paid for by the people who sign up for the plan.” Watch it:
As Smith railed against insurance companies, Barrasso responded, “I’m not going to defend the insurance companies — I’ve been fighting them for the last 25 years of practicing medicine.” In fact, the Wyoming senator has received a considerable amount of contributions from the health care industry: Over $500,000 from health professionals and nearly $100,000 from the pharmaceuticals and health products industry over his career and nearly $40,000 bundled from health care lobbyists in the last two years.
Fox News constantly peddles the false talking point that the Democratic health care plan would be a “government takeover” (see e.g. Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, and Greta Van Susteren). Kudos to Smith for letting the Fox audience know that most of their anchors are lying to them.
Transcript:
SMITH: Why would we not want a public option?
BARRASSO: Well let’s take a look at what we do know. My concern is a public or what I consider a government take over of health care.
SMITH: Well I know, right.
BARRASSO: Is going to make it very challenging.
SMITH: It’s not a government take over Senator. That’s not fair and we both know it.
It’s not a government takeover because what it would be is a government option if you have insurance now and you like it you can keep it. If you want the government option, a government run, paid for by those who buy it, government run option to try to keep costs down. That’s not a government take over if we’re being fair is it Senator?
BARRASSO: Well compare it to Medicare, which we know right now is going bankrupt.
[…]
SMITH: Over the last ten years, health care costs in America have skyrocketed. Regular folks cannot afford it. So they tax the system by not getting preventative medicine. They go to the emergency room and are at a last case and we all end up paying for it. As the costs have gone up, the insurance industry’s profits on average have gone up more than 350 percent and it’s the insurance companies which have paid and have contributed to Senators and congressman on both sides of the aisle to the point where now, we can’t get what all concerned on Capitol Hill seem to believe and what more than 60 percent of Americans say they support, is a public option. This has been an enormous win for the health care industry. That is an unquestioned fact.
But I wonder, What happens for the American people when we come out with legislation now which requires everyone to have health care insurance — or many more people — but does not give a public option, therefore millions more people will have to buy insurance from the very corporations that are over charging us and whose profits have gone up 350 percent in the last ten years. It seems like ‘we the people’ are the ones getting the shaft here.
BARRASSO: And we’re not even allowing the people of America to read the bill or know what it costs. You’re absolutely right. I’m not going to defend the insurance companies. I’ve been fighting them for the last twenty-five years of practicing medicine.
SMITH: But with every vote against the public option, is a vote for the insurance companies, sir.
BARRASSO: No it’s not, no I disagree with you.
SMITH: It is. How can you disagree with that? It is the public option that would keep costs in check, which would keep prices in check, which would stop the big corporations, which have made 350 percent improvements in their profits over the last ten years. A public option would stop it, what else would stop that?
BARRASSO: I don’t believe that — you know — I don’t believe that at all, and that’s why they can’t even get the sixty votes that Senator Baucus had for it. […]
All of the studies in Washington show that Washington is incapable — incapable — of dealing with the waste and the fraud and the abuse in the system, and you’re going to see more of that. The more government take over you have of that the more that Washington runs the system, the worse it’s going to be for the American people.
SMITH: I want to be clear. This wouldn’t be Washington running the system Senator. It would be a government run plan paid for by the people who sign up for the plan.
BARRASSO: Well, that’s a Washington run plan.
SMITH: Yes. Paid for by the people that sign up for the plan. A not-for-profit to try to keep health care costs down. And that’s what in recent polls that more than sixty percent of Americans say they favor
BARRASSO: 100 percent of Americans want to keep the cost down, and so do I, that’s what I’ve been working for by the medical director of something called the Wyoming health fairs, to give people positive incentives to get their costs down and stay healthy.
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Shep, take a number, you’re unemployment case worker will be with you in a moment.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:04 pmI wonder if the FAUX-glued wingnuts squirm when he starts telling the truth at them. After all, they go there purposely to avoid that sort of thing.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:05 pmThe public option would be administered by illegals to deny health care to republicans and refuse claims to white people beat up by Obamis.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:06 pm“Mr. Smith? There’s a Rush Limbaugh on line 1 who says he needs to talk to you. NOW!”
October 6th, 2009 at 5:07 pmOne of these days Shep Smith will prove to be more trouble than he’s worth as a token “fair and balanced” journalist, and Faux News will show him the door. He’ll then have to ply his trade at a real news channel.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:08 pmShep is now into fact-checking. Fair enough ..
… YOU’RE FIRED!
You don’t violate an importany tenet of republican principles: CONFORMITY
October 6th, 2009 at 5:08 pmI am somewhat amazed that Shepard Smith still has a job, he must have know something really juicy, maybe some pictures.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:09 pmGlenn Beck is shedding sponsors faster than the ice is melting due to global warming. Maybe Rupert Murdoch wants some of those sponsors back. At least we can hope.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:09 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Crazy Legs says:
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October 6th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Why are you here , jackass ?
October 6th, 2009 at 5:11 pmPussy Legs,
Fiscal Responsibility (circa- January 20, 2009)
Why did we screw up the economy and necessitate a massive government intervention? It doesn’t help that we had anemic job growth that was wiped out with the Great Recession, choking off revenues, either.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:12 pmAnd now for something completely different.
When in doubt, blame Obama for something else.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:12 pmCrazy Legs says:
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Shep, take a number, you’re unemployment case worker will be with you in a moment.
You’ve spewed this at least 20 times, now. Has it happened, yet?
October 6th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Claims a turd who is part of the zero-for-nine-years prediction crowd ; irony is obviously lost on you …………
October 6th, 2009 at 5:12 pmHi Crazy Legs:
October 6th, 2009 at 5:13 pmStill not a work day for you? Maybe if we start slowly. Just open the front door and see if you can sitck your head out. If that causes too much anxiety perhaps you could try just your hand. Stick with me my f ucked up pussy weirdo friend. Together we will heal you…
Why are you here , jackass ?
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October 6th, 2009 at 5:14 pmShallI field that one for you Crazy Legs?
Crazy Legs says:
Has time and space altered the quote on the WW2 memorial yet?
Have you given your interpretation of Fox’s ‘right to lie’ argument in the Aker case yet?
Or are you just here to spew?
October 6th, 2009 at 5:14 pm15, Cut him some slack, he’s just having another sh††y day.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:14 pmCrazy Legs says:
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October 6th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
I’ll Google as soon as you leave , you GOP backing suckhole………..
October 6th, 2009 at 5:14 pmIt’s gotta bother Lazy Cregs that it is actually newsworthy when Faux features real fact-checking of a right-wing talking point.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:15 pmOr are you just here to spew?
—
October 6th, 2009 at 5:15 pmShall I field that one for you Crazy Legs?
Crazy Legs looks at the headline, scans the article and decides on his comment:
“SQUIRREL!”
October 6th, 2009 at 5:16 pmdb,
You’re correct. He has no work. I declined to hire him. Right now he’s on the floor wearing fish nets and posing his “crazy legs.” The trolls appear to be aroused but are trying very hard not to come out of the closet. Remember Stewart in his underwear?
October 6th, 2009 at 5:17 pmMandating insurance from the private market will not control costs, nor will a public option. A public “option” will just attract the people the private insurers reject. These people are rejected because they actually require treatment and therefore will be expensive. So the public option will end up being the most expensive and healthy people will leave it for the private sector, which will still be overpriced, but cheaper than the resource drained public plan.
So I am against the public option for the reason that I don’t think it will lower prices.
The ONLY way to cover everyone and control costs is a single payer system with with private insurance companies offering “extra cover”
October 6th, 2009 at 5:18 pmI thought this was a “Shep Smith sets the Karl Rove talking points aside for a minute” thread?
October 6th, 2009 at 5:18 pmI read somewhere recently that it would be next to impossible for Fuchs Noose to get rid of Shep w/o paying millions to him. It seems that Shep has been with the network since it began and has lots of stock in the company. I’m fairly certain this is very close to what I read.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:18 pmWhy do they even bother with those transient votes…
October 6th, 2009 at 5:19 pmIf the topic of this entry did have to do with the value of the dollar, then maybe we might Google it.
But I’m too busy accessing the Washington Generals website to get flag@ a spot on their team.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:19 pmI’ll bet the coward doesn’t answer the simple question of whydo you obsess with this place so?
October 6th, 2009 at 5:19 pmI believe this “Crazy Legs” jackass is Senator Tom Barr@sshole ………..
October 6th, 2009 at 5:20 pmGee, I wonder if Crazy Eggs is going link to Hot Air?
They do most of his thinking for him, don’ they?
October 6th, 2009 at 5:20 pmShorter Senator Bareass ~ I don’t know what the hell is on this sheet of talking points, but I’ll defend it to the death!
October 6th, 2009 at 5:22 pmLeggy? LEGGY? Listen up.
You got the president from 2001-2009 you paid for, with your RC Cola can.
Poor monetary stats is a trend and not easily reversable. The libs were brought in to clean up your mess, remember? We still have a lot of crud bubbling to the surface. It gets worse before it gets better when the cause is deeply entrenched, and the libs are doing what they can to get rid the home of the smell of eggs you pelted.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:22 pmCrazyMORON
You ignorant pathetic piece of garbage just STFU. You are too stupid to be bothering the adults while we talk.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:23 pmSo homebound pussy wannabe, about those goals and objectives. Are you afraid to share them? I suppose it doesn’t really matter as they are futile and insignificant. I really think if you invested your energies in something more suited to you you might find a niche somewhere…
October 6th, 2009 at 5:23 pmThe former L.A. Rams running back is hiring lawyers to see if he can get a certain troll to stop abasing his moniker.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:23 pmWhat is the half life of those down votes?
October 6th, 2009 at 5:24 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Crazy Legs says:
Since you’re all cowards, I’ll tell ya. The dollar has dropped 7% in just 6 months. Thanks, obama!
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Link to that please.
In the meanwhile. . .
The value of a dollar dropped by 40 percent during the Bush administration
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aH0_cYGS8Avc
October 6th, 2009 at 5:26 pmAs if the drop in the value of the dollar doesn’t have everything to do with the removal of our manufacturing base by every Republiklan administration since 1980.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:26 pmWho says they are ignored? You noticed them I assume. Did you wish to respond to them? Is there a reason you choose not to?
October 6th, 2009 at 5:27 pmFox News Anchor tells truth?
Now that is news.
JUST WHEN YOA THINK FOX IS A PROPAGANDA STATION SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS.
THE DITTOHEADS ARE CONFUSED.
SAVE AMERICA- MOCK A RETHUG.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:28 pmCrazy legs
October 6th, 2009 at 5:28 pmWhy do I frighten you so? I am just here to help…
By my calculations, CL’s calculation are just about worthless right now.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:29 pmLike many posting here, the Republicans started blaming Obama for everything about 15 minutes after he got into office, no wait even before he got in office. Actually I think Republicans started blaming Obama on election night.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:30 pmCrazy Legs I think they may have ment your one about the value of the dollar. Everyone is still trying to figure out how it relates to the topic
October 6th, 2009 at 5:32 pmWho knew – Fox News Theatre!
Sorry, it’s not mine. I read it somewhere, maybe here!
October 6th, 2009 at 5:33 pmCrazy Legs says:
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All the while lots of significant, worthwhile posts are completely ignored.
Buzz Worsham, Test Pilot says:
Shep, take a number, you’re unemployment case worker will be with you in a moment.
Like that one?
October 6th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
No ……Like this one , jackass ……..
bryan hussein says:
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Crazy Legs says:
Since you’re all cowards, I’ll tell ya. The dollar has dropped 7% in just 6 months. Thanks, obama!
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Link to that please.
In the meanwhile. . .
The value of a dollar dropped by 40 percent during the Bush administration
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aH0_cYGS8Avc
October 6th, 2009 at 5:33 pmOctober 6th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Excuse me while I fix the Senator’s comments to reflect reality:
There. All better now.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:34 pmDid hell just freeze over, or are the fox puppeteer censors suffering from temporary deafness from their weekend oxycontin binge?
Can you imagine if this was the norm for fox?
We’d already have a universal healthcare voted through by now.
Imagine. . . . . .
October 6th, 2009 at 5:36 pm(Where’s my John Lennon albumn and my damn incense. . . . .)
This comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Can you read deezero’s mind?
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October 6th, 2009 at 5:38 pmProbably not but you sure as hell can read my words and they eat you up whereas you are so defenseless…
Crazy Legs says:
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MCMetal says:
Can you read deezero’s mind?
October 6th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Don’t know who that is ; nor am I that concerned …….
I just noticed you have not posted a link to your unsubstantiated claim , you pathetic GOP leg humping weasel…..
October 6th, 2009 at 5:38 pmCrazy Legs is unnerved again. Notice the aimless flailing about…
October 6th, 2009 at 5:39 pmindependent989 says:
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Oh look a liberal wanting to raise revenue instead of reducing costs, how novel.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Oh look ; a GOP nut hugging moronic tool , pretending to be an “independent”.
How original ………..
October 6th, 2009 at 5:40 pmcrazyMORON
You couldnt calculate a second grade story problem. Higher brain function and YOU will remain strangers your entire life. You are a wortheless ignorant pile of dogshit. Dustmites are smarter than you will EVER be.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:40 pmThis isn’t red state. When admin allows it this is what it becomes. If you could fix it what would you do?
October 6th, 2009 at 5:40 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
http://tfc-charts.w2d.com/chart/US/M
Notice anything funny about this chart, Crazy Legs?
October 6th, 2009 at 5:42 pmjust ignore the argument.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:44 pm—
Maybe we missed the argument. All I saw was a standard trite intentionally loaded statement…
independent989
So you’re not conservative enough? I’m writing you off as a shitheaded communist liberal.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:44 pmoh look, a republican pretending not to be one while pretending to be fiscally conservative. How novel.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:45 pmCrazy Legs says:
By my calculations the dollar should be worth next to nothing by the end of obamas 4 th yr
And by the end of Obama’s 8th year, dollars will have negative value, so that by being paid money, you will become poorer!
Either that or you’re a shrieking psychotic moron, like every other member of the Republican party.
if he makes it that far!
What a curious comment. Please, by all means, tell us–and, by extension, the Secret Service–exactly how Obama isn’t going to “make it” to the end of his first term.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:47 pmBARRASSO: And we’re not even allowing the people of America to read the bill or know what it costs.
_____________________________________________________________
I can’t believe that Barrasso has the chutzpah to continue flogging this meme. This stems from an amendment put forth by Senators owned by the health insurance industry that would require any bill to be posted on the internet at least 72 hours to allow their lobbyists to examine it with a fine tooth comb and give further marching orders.
Cooler heads prevailed and the amendment was defeated — by people who weren’t owned by the health insurance lobbyists.
Since then, the health insurance puppets have been doing everything they can to convince the public that all health care legislation is being done in secret.
Which is nonsense. Every major piece of proposed and/or draft legislation has been posted on the internet somewhere. It’s quite easy to google the Baucus bill or HR3200, not to mention a whole lot of amendments. Just because the Senate isn’t willing to hold up legislation for 72 hours for the convenience of lobbyists doesn’t mean they’re operating in secret.
Let’s also remember that there isn’t a “final” bill anywhere for ANYBODY to read yet.
But hey, Senator Barrasso — you just keep beating that dead horse. Even though it will never gallop, I realize it’s all you’ve got.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:48 pmindependent989 says:
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October 6th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Where exactly in your idiotic post was the “intelligent point” , GOP ball monger ?
You and the rest of your Bush Adoration Brigade members have been yelling like mental patients for years over how tax cuts “raise revenue” ; now all of a sudden you suckholes are concerned about cost ?
Funny how not a one of you mental furballs ever questioned cost when it came to Bush’s Idiotic (and Illegal) Iraq Adventure , eh , skid mark ?
October 6th, 2009 at 5:49 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Tonight is Pick-an-Enemy Night
Trolls, my fine men, the rules are simple. Pick off a leftist, even if absent, and fling the most vile insults you can. Go back and forth, and again, post even if no one’s around. Going unchallenged is nothing new to us.
Try to pick off all the women first. Just try.
Sorry, Zooey’s mine.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:51 pmwith fiscally liberal beliefs that money grows on Fu**ing trees
October 6th, 2009 at 5:52 pm—
Oh I mistook you I thought you said argument, not argumentative. Why discuss anything with anyone who has no intention of having an open discussion.BTW: why the hell don’t independents ever get elected to anything if there are so damn many of them?
Indepedent because I am ashamed of my GOP says
No it comes from the incredibly stupid zombie meme your ignorant wingnuts LOVE that Liberals are tax and spend. You are stupid and you are brainwashed and you are doing nothing but regurgitating some stupidity you were TOLD to believe
October 6th, 2009 at 5:53 pmHerbert Hoover is an excellent example of how Republican economics works ,989?
October 6th, 2009 at 5:53 pmindependent989 says:
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October 6th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
“Fiscally responsible cancervative” ?
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
WHERE ? Reagan ? Bush the Elder ? Bush The Boy Blunder ?
And please , try to claim you didn’t support all 3 of those turdburglars ……….
October 6th, 2009 at 5:53 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
You have failed at every turn. Name one, just one success story for the right. Name one instance where you cut costs on anything. Can we say health care or gasoline or milk.
You pretend to know the answers even after walking away from failure to leave someone else to clean up the mess you made and you think you have a right to provide solutions even now. Sit down and shut up.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:55 pmBristol Johnston says:
Aww Bristol, don’t bother Levi right now, he’s busy cracking nuts, this time with protection.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:55 pmBesides, it looks like you could take out the average troll all by yourself.
Oh I’m sorry. The argument that I was referencing was the age old one where liberals are historically in favor of raising revenue instead of cutting costs where as more fiscally conservative types, like myself, are in favor of reducing costs instead of raising revenue.
And that usually entails some lobbying, and wining and dining customers, and kickbacks. Yes we know all about your worldview, and how morally corrupt it is.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:55 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
independent989 says:
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Actually I think that the whole Carter vs Reagan comparison is pretty fair. Or the future, Obama vs Huckabubba.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Reagan sucked ass ; as has EVERY Republican president of the last half-century ………
October 6th, 2009 at 5:56 pmMmmm, someone with ethics working at Fox?
Bet he eats in the lunchroom by himself.
But he probably couldn’t stomach his food with the likes of Beckerhead, PervOrielly, DropOutBartender Shaun around.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:57 pmindependent989 says:
Actually I think that the whole Carter vs Reagan comparison is pretty fair. Or the future, Obama vs Huckabubba.
You mean patriot (Carter actually served) vs. terrorist coddler-in-chief? Or did you forget Reagan sold weapons to the same terrorists who held Americans hostage?
October 6th, 2009 at 5:57 pmFox “news” – liars & propgandists. Thanks, Shep.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:58 pmwhile simultaneously supporting the terrorists in Central America…
October 6th, 2009 at 5:58 pmindependent989 says:
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MCMetal says:
independent989 says:
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October 6th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
“Fiscally responsible cancervative” ?
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
WHERE ? Reagan ? Bush the Elder ? Bush The Boy Blunder ?
And please , try to claim you didn’t support all 3 of those turdburglars ……….
So how did Reagan spend again? Tax cuts aren’t spending, they are cutting.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Ronnie Retard almost BANKRUPTED THE US , you colossal ignoramus …….Read some REAL history books , not the crap they distibute at RNC headquarters , tool…..
October 6th, 2009 at 5:59 pmWhat’s pretty fair? The economy didn’t turn around until his third year in office, the point when the federal reserve finally let off on the interest rates.
Conservatives have raised the cost pressures on the government substantially. You want to cut off those obligations cold turkey? Sorry, you’re on the hook.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:59 pm$90 hammers and $1000 toilet seats were raygun’s specialty,
that, and cutting federal revenues in half by untaxing corporations and billionaires, which was way worse than doubling spending.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:59 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
So how did Reagan [waste] again?
I’ll say it slowly: Star Wars.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:59 pmCrazy Legs:
October 6th, 2009 at 5:59 pmPull over. You are all over the road….
This comment has been voted down. Click to read.
You’re dishonest. If you can’t admit that the government grew to it’s largest size in history under raygun and that he was the largest deficit spender in history who borrowed us into debt then you are just dishonest.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:01 pmYes that roaring economy and the demise of the Soviet Union.
No, that roaring deficit (higher that all previous presidents combined), and the “demise” that caught Reagan’s intelligence (oxymoron, I know), flatfooted?
Right.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:01 pmIt’s not a government takeover
A ‘government take over’ is what the corporate lobbyists in Washington have done to our Representative Democracy.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:01 pmFred
October 6th, 2009 at 6:02 pmYou are assuming an intent to have an honest discussion. With all do respect Fred that is clearly not our frineds desire.
Shep is allowed to say something mildly center leaning every month. So that’s 5 seconds of truth a month on a 24 hour entertainment news network. Fox’s new slogan should be “0.005184% truth, and you can count on it!”
October 6th, 2009 at 6:02 pmindependent989 says:
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#
MCMetal says:
independent989 says:
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Actually I think that the whole Carter vs Reagan comparison is pretty fair. Or the future, Obama vs Huckabubba.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Reagan sucked ass ; as has EVERY Republican president of the last half-century ………
Yes that roaring economy and the demise of the Soviet Union. Damn, that was a mistake. Where is Carter when you need him…. Oh there he is in the White House. Thank God.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
The “roaring economy” that accumulated the BIGGEST DEFICIT IN US HISTORY until Chimpy McFlightsuit came along , GOP stooge ?
OH , and BTW
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA @ Your ignorant GOP rube ass , believing the CONCOCTED GOP BULLSHIT STORY of Ronnie Retard being the reason the Soviet Union crumbled …..
October 6th, 2009 at 6:03 pmI don’t recall any reputable liberal voice claiming that “money grows on Fu**ing trees”.
Can you provide a link to one? Or did you simply conjure up the most unflattering false and simplistic characterization that you could fathom?
And why the façade of “independent” when yopu’re simply going to regurgitate right-wing talking points? Are you an “independent” like Bill O’Reilly?
October 6th, 2009 at 6:03 pmYes, I forgot about all the defense spending. Remember the Bradley personnel carrier, with aluminum armor? That couldn’t even ford a 5-foot deep waterhazard without sinking?
October 6th, 2009 at 6:04 pmI’m guessing 989 didn’t personally experience the reagan economy.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:04 pmI did. It was great for those in upper 95% income brackets.
I’m not. It sucked.
Reagan had great press, though.
independent989 says:
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Ronnie Retard almost BANKRUPTED THE US , you colossal ignoramus …….Read some REAL history books , not the crap they distibute at RNC headquarters , tool…..
And how did he do that? Must have been all of that spending legislation that he sponsored.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Yeah …..That “Star Wars” defense system sure turned out to be a real bargain , eh , tool ?
October 6th, 2009 at 6:04 pmindependent989 says:
where as more fiscally conservative types, like myself, are in favor of reducing costs instead of raising revenue.
how’s deregulation working for ya?
October 6th, 2009 at 6:05 pmindependent989
October 6th, 2009 at 6:05 pm—
Yes or know will you admit to that which Fred has brought so kindly to your attention?
Hey braindead, there was a recession under raygun that extended into bush one and cost him re-election.
I know it’s inconvenient but there was no roaring economy exept for the very rich, just like under bush.
Oh, and for god’s sake stop acting like raygun had anything to do with the economic collapse of the soviet union. In fact he lied about it to make them seem like more of a threat so he could overbuild the military. He spent plenty and we paid for a long time.
You got nothing.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:05 pmI believe that his statement was right in line with fiscally liberal beliefs that money grows on Fu**ing trees and poor people are responsible for almost all job creation that gov can’t create.
Strawman. If the economic mindset that cutting taxes for the wealthiest would send the jobs from above, why was the Bush administration’s job groth anemic?
Mind you, despite the CONTINUED oil shocks and inflationary cycle during the Carter administration, job growth was DOUBLE than that of Bush’s two terms, a figure that looks especially handsome when adjusted for populations differences between the two admins. That means Bush’s job growth failed to keep up with population growth.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:05 pmor “no”
October 6th, 2009 at 6:05 pmNothing like a butt sniffing Raygun loving troll in the air, mmmmm smells like bullshit.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:06 pmRaging economy? My GOD you are a brainwashed moron. The economy was MORIBUND during the entire Raygun fiasco of an administration. Liberals BELIEVE in America and want to invest IN America when we do its dragging conservatives kicking and screaming. Rural electrification? The GI Bill? Cons DONT believe in America they believe only in MONEY. So they want to throw money at rich people hoping to beg some crumbs off their table. THAT isnt an economic policy it is wishful thinking at BEST and our economy TANKED because we gave conservatives their way mostly since 1980. Its all deregulate and give tax cuts to the rich. Brainwashed morons like you are mesmerized by the shiny object the right spins in front of your magpie brains and you dont notice the abject failures of the policies you just want to repeat them. Its religious dogma. It needs no evidence just keep doing it. Right now you are saying we need to do MORE of what got us in this mess in the first place. At the point of the worst economic crisis since the great depression you want us to do what Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover did not what Roosevelt did. Yeah, thats good thinking
October 6th, 2009 at 6:06 pm“Ronnie Retard being the reason the Soviet Union crumbled …..”
ahem… dare we mention the demise of the Soviet Union being drastically accelerated by it’s long, expensive, and ultimately fruitless occupation of Afghanistan?
October 6th, 2009 at 6:07 pmI’ve read that every time Smith “goes off the reservation” and starts talking about actual facts, Fox News gets huge numbers of angry letters from its viewers demanding that Smith be fired. Fox News viewers want everyone at Fox to stick to the party line. To paraphrase Dubya, they’re all supposed to catapult the propaganda.
But Smith has been with Fox for a long time. Maybe Smith’s job is safe because he helps keep Fox viewers in an angry frenzy.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:08 pmI remember the Reagan tax cuts, it is now 2009 and I’m still waiting for mine.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:08 pmRaygun did nothing except screw most of the people in this country and that includes alot of the trailer park people who so dearly love him.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:09 pmRab
Well to be fair his policies helped make a lot of people DEAD in Central America too.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:11 pmSomeone point out to the Senator that Medicare loses less money percentage wise than does the cushy government plan that covers his fat ass.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:11 pmEugeneDebs,
He also made sure Iran had a good supply of weapons too.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:12 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Noeseeum has a GOOD point. Afghanistan can ruin an empire without ever having to invade. This is one thing that I disagree with Obama on, I think we should be targeting their opium industry. Crumble that and the the other dominos fall. But that requires revising the drug laws here in america, another thing Obama needs to get going on.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:15 pmRonald Reagan: “Why I’m for the Brady Bill“
October 6th, 2009 at 6:15 pmPhillip Morris says:
I support global warming.
Good for you, I hope you burn.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:15 pmDon’t leave out the million Iranians that died in the Iraq Iran War, with Reagan arming Iraq. Mustard gas,included.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:16 pmDon’t leave out the million Iranians that died in the Iraq Iran War, with Reagan arming Iraq. Mustard gas,included.
Um, he was arming both sides, with his clandestine arms shipments to Iran. Yup, a real profile in courage, that guy.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:18 pmLets see the harvard establishment think their way out of fission.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:18 pmIt seems to me I remember Reagan cutting and running after the Marine barracks bombing.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:18 pmPhillip Morris says:
I support global warming.
Then set your hair on fire, like a good little soldier…
October 6th, 2009 at 6:19 pmI may have gotten my trolls mixed up. I’m dealing with flag@etc… on the beck thread and he is pretending to be a reasonable person and offended by our behavior towards him.
You are right about this one, my mistake.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:20 pmI’ve got it in the bag.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:20 pmnoseeum says:
“Ronnie Retard being the reason the Soviet Union crumbled …..”
ahem… dare we mention the demise of the Soviet Union being drastically accelerated by it’s long, expensive, and ultimately fruitless occupation of Afghanistan?
Anyone who thinks Reagan and Afghanistan did in the USSR is mistaken. For a historical point of reference, John Foster Dulles would be a good start. His policies were in effect long before Reagan.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:21 pmGoldman Sacks says:
I’ve got it in the bag.
Wear a condom next time.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:21 pmThe trolls are so boring, from now on my comments are going to be liberal/progressive only. I’m tired of being lumped with the losers.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:22 pmCrazy Legs-
Why is it that each day when I come home from work, I come to TP to catch up on the latest, and all I see day after day, night after night are your wandering rants? Don’t you work? And If not, could you please take some time to read, so that at the very least, your comments will be well thought out so you could at least be taken seriously?
October 6th, 2009 at 6:22 pmHey, Phillip Morris.
What do you know about the FSC carpet glue that the republicans legislated into cigarettes seven years ago?
October 6th, 2009 at 6:23 pmWho is this John BareAss-O? Never heard of him before!
Looks like the insurance companies are busy shopping in the Montanas and Wyomings and other states where almost nobody lives. That way, they can purchase 3 or 4 or even 5 Senators for the price of one!
October 6th, 2009 at 6:25 pmCrazy Legs-
Restless Leg Syndrome? Are you menopausal?
October 6th, 2009 at 6:25 pmRepublicans sure love their leaders stupid. Reagan had such bad Alzheimers he could barely function his second term. To Republicans that’s a plus. The Soviet Union had been waving the white flag for years but Reagan ignored it because you can’t bilk the people for trillions of dollars in defense spending without a perceived enemy.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:27 pmokie dokie says:
“Hey, Phillip Morris.
What do you know about the FSC carpet glue that the republicans legislated into cigarettes seven years ago?”
They were so happy the glue worked to reattach all those carved wooden tobacco leaves to the front of the chamber they ordered more than I knew what to do with, so….
October 6th, 2009 at 6:29 pmThey were so happy the glue worked to reattach all those carved wooden tobacco leaves to the front of the chamber they ordered more than I knew what to do with, so….
So… you put the glue to better use? That stuff will rot your brain, dude.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:33 pmwhy went the wrong side party brings up there st. ronnie that they never seem to mention the largest tax hike ever.
mmmmmm wonders why.
and you repugs, it was not ronnie that brought down the USSR ok live with it. hell the Saudis had more to do with the USSR collapsing then ronnie did.
but then again your side all ways have problems with history math and geography.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:34 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Rupert sez: All rrrrrright – where is the real Shep Smith and what have you done with him??
October 6th, 2009 at 6:38 pmMeanwhile, Glenn Beck scribbles furiously, on his blackboard, “Fox News is part of the Librul Media”. “ACORN, Communist, Fascist…”
October 6th, 2009 at 6:40 pmI’m a college-educated republican. I avoided the liberal arts crap and majored in business administration. I kept it $hort and $weet.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:43 pmI bet Shep Smith doesn’t buy the conservative’s notion to rewrite the bible and stating that Jesus was really a hedgefund manager and not a carpenter like we all thought.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:45 pmPersonally, I think that Shep has pictures or Rupert and Roger in a very compromising position. Though, for the life of me, I can’t imagine why a person with any integrity at all would want to stay employed by FAUX.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:45 pmangels81 says:
I remember the Reagan tax cuts, it is now 2009 and I’m still waiting for mine.
Little guy wants money from the government. LOL!
HORK HORK HORK
HURK HURK HURK
HARK HARK HARK
HEEE HEEE HEEE
HAAR HAAR HAAR
(ladies …)
October 6th, 2009 at 6:49 pmPeople with integrity are overemployed.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:51 pmI’m beginning to see a pattern here…
October 6th, 2009 at 6:53 pmFox is in a continual uproar… Beck gets out of control, and someone else pops in to create another distraction.
Murdoch creates a lot of smoke and noise, not just to distract progressives and conservatives alike, but also to keep his own loyal viewers in constant turmoil. He knows they’ll be back to see the next episode.
Chaos theory.
I suspect Shep wants to get fired so he can go work somewhere reputable. They probably won’t let him out of his contract just because they’re so evil.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:54 pmI have to say this guy made my day. Finally a voice of reason on FOX News of all places. He’s a hero in my book. Shepard, I’ll buy you a beer if I ever meet you in person.
From the spineless Left, the No! Right and the media that’s afraid to actually report on it (and giving the pundits all the air time instead of doctors, people that need health care, people that have gone bankrupt and so on) this is a breath of fresh air.
Keep it going Shep! Get the ball rolling!
October 6th, 2009 at 6:54 pmWhat the GOP REALLY means … says:
——————————————————————————–
People with integrity are overemployed.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Then how do Republicans still hold elected office ?
Besides Diebold , I mean….
October 6th, 2009 at 6:55 pmWhat the GOP REALLY means … says:
“People with integrity are overemployed.”
I hear you, man, we take the jobs nobody wants.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:58 pmSometimes 2 or 3 at a time.
What the GOP REALLY means … says:
Sorry, Zooey’s mine.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Ahhhh, but how would you survive once you have me…?
October 6th, 2009 at 7:06 pmYears of lies – working for an organization that lies and pushes a right wing agenda will eventually take their toll. I think Smith is finally facing the fact that he sold his soul when he went to work for Fox. He feels the guilt and if he has any notion that he is a journalist – he wants to make amends for his failures. I guess late is better than never. Don’t know the terms of his contract – but I believe he will leave Fox before long.
October 6th, 2009 at 7:07 pm…and across the land cancervatives began foaming at the mouth and having seizures when faced with the inconvenient truth from a fuax “news” anchor
October 6th, 2009 at 7:13 pmoh my f’n gawd…
young duncan hunter on hardball… used the term “islamo fascists”…
i haven’t heard that for a while… well, maybe since i’ve heard about his old man… whatever happened to him…
he said it twice… and “camel drivers” (or the like)…
and ike skelton just sat there and let him talk like that…
…
October 6th, 2009 at 7:15 pmThe dollar has dropped 96% since 1913 so not much further it can go, huh? Japan wants to be paid in Yen. China is not buying treasuries as it was. Gold is up. I guess thats PBOs fault as well?
October 6th, 2009 at 7:18 pmI know this is way OT, but it’s too, too good.
Conservatives now want to rewrite the Bible to get rid of its “liberal bias”. So much for that “literal word of God crap, huh?
This is as real as conservapedia is, so y’all be the judge…
October 6th, 2009 at 7:18 pmHey, ralph. Consider this:
Do you think Daryll has something to do with the Bible re-write?
October 6th, 2009 at 7:20 pm“Conservatives now want to rewrite the Bible…”
Again?
October 6th, 2009 at 7:21 pmZoo, I’ll bet that if it wasn’t Daryll’s idea to begin with, he’s at least submitted a few passages already. maybe this new “ConservaBible” will actually include the phrases “shaking the devil off” and “idle minds are the devil’s workshop”.
October 6th, 2009 at 7:23 pm“Do you think Daryll has something to do with the Bible re-write?”
He needs work for his idle hands when he’s down there on the beach…
October 6th, 2009 at 7:23 pmand andy card just said, “i think he’s seeing the world the he wants it to be, not the way it IS…”, and i have to say i agree…
‘course, for different reasons…
October 6th, 2009 at 7:24 pmjust thinking out loud…
October 6th, 2009 at 7:24 pm“Conservatives now want to rewrite the Bible…”
October 6th, 2009 at 7:26 pmand this time, the setting is going to be north dakota because you know the middle east is full of…you know, brown people…not that i’m racist or anything but jeebus couldn’t possibly be brown and clearly he was a ‘mericun.
Anyone who thinks that either solution is the right solution every time is an utter imbecile. Sometimes you increase spending, sometime you decrease costs. Use the appropriate tool for the appropriate problem. Sometimes you…get this…do both simultaneously. Wow! What a f***ing concept!
Too bad for you the modern Republican party isn’t fiscally conservative, at all, eh? Funny how ridiculous spending has spiraled out of control, and the ability to pay off debts has decreased whenever they’ve been in office the last half-century. It’s almost like cutting taxes while simultaneously increasing spending can lead to recessions and horrific debt or something. Oh…right.
Too bad for you the stronger states in the Union, economically, have higher minimum wages, and thus more of the populace is at or near a living wage. Funny how they also have higher levels of education, higher average standards of living, etc, etc, etc, ad nauseum.
Funny how much more smoothly the economy works when folks willing to work can actually contribute meaningfully to the system as a whole. Why, it’s almost like a positive feedback loop or something!!! Oh, wait!
Funny how much less smoothly the economy runs when folks willing to work bust their arses with multiple jobs, and still can’t meet a basic standard of living. It’s almost like their only recourse is to seek aid, or die. Oh, wait!
October 6th, 2009 at 7:27 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Yeh, Indpendent, the repubs havent been fiscally conservative since before Reagan and the two crisis, Savings and Loans fiasco an housing bubble/credit implosion both happened during (R)Bush times.
And this other thing your typing about, blah blah poor people blah blah. Tired old finger point.
October 6th, 2009 at 7:34 pmIts not, its giving the financial middle man, insurance companies in this case, some competition. Remember when the republicans were anti-trust?
October 6th, 2009 at 7:36 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
TaxPayer says:
“It’s a government takeover of health care, which is 1 step further for a government takeover of everything in your life.”
i got a question for you. where were you during the bush years when the federal government grew eponentially? too busy hugging tub o lard limpball’s nuts to see what was going on?
October 6th, 2009 at 7:37 pmcancervative guy,
how many award for journalism has faux news gotten?
October 6th, 2009 at 7:38 pmconservative guy, are you capable of sticking around and defending your position?
You seem reluctant to do so always. Is this because you’re intimidated?
October 6th, 2009 at 7:39 pmIm suprised they even allow this homosexual lefty on fox news.
Cmon, we all know they are more interested in op-ed controversy creation than falafel inserting. Oo. Wait. That wasnt Shep.
October 6th, 2009 at 7:39 pmSo, Taxpayer sockpuppet… you’re fearful of “a government takeover of everything in your life”, huh?
And you’re presumably convinced that government is incompetent, am I right again?
So… if an incompetent body tries to takeover everything in your life, doesn’t it stand to reason that, being as incompetent as you claim, it would fail miserably?
October 6th, 2009 at 7:41 pmralph,
October 6th, 2009 at 7:41 pmcancervative guy’s “position” is legs behind his ears waiting for tub-o-lard rush to inject him with his talking points.
You’re pretty late, boys. The assigned talking points have been timely spewed by the initial flock. They’ve collected their coins and went home. I won’t have any of this sneakin’ in a day’s work. You lose. Go home with lint.
October 6th, 2009 at 7:48 pmHow conveniently the stupid trolls appear when they are needed to make a point about the failings of the authoritarian mind. It’s quite possible that the propagandists at FAUX are familiar with the “backfire effect” and trot out ol’ Shep to “debunk” the propaganda knowing full-well that it will just reinforce it among the sheeple.
Look at our trolls. They keep on with the same tired talking points without even acknowledging that Shep eviscerated a blatant lie and left the good Senator flopping like a fish in a fryer. Indeed. Shep’s bold and accurate assertion that there is no imminent “government takeover” of health care under consideration has merely reinforced their Belief that that’s exactly what’s being proposed.
October 6th, 2009 at 7:58 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Bozo The Neoclown says:
how many award for journalism has faux news gotten?
Fox News and journalism is a contradiction.
October 6th, 2009 at 8:00 pmconservative guy is a goofball…
October 6th, 2009 at 8:00 pmmarrkk1976@yahoo.com says:
Soon there will only be the government option. Can you see it now???
October 6th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Yeah, slippery slope to single payer. Boo frickin’ hoo.
October 6th, 2009 at 8:09 pmHeh! Is anyone taking bets that marrkk1976@yahoo.com misses the irony when he argues that there are “too many assumptions” about things like radiometric dating, evolutionary theory, and global climate science?
October 6th, 2009 at 8:10 pmEvery employer will jump on the government option because of lower costs, thereby only offering their new employees the government run option. Soon there will only be the government option. Can you see it now???
All the more reason for strong unions! Good point! Union shops are much more likely to have excellent employer-funded benefits, and to require those benefits in contracts.
Very good point. Go Union!
October 6th, 2009 at 8:12 pmI said good day, sir!
October 6th, 2009 at 8:14 pmIt’s funny how all the “free market” loving stupid trolls never even consider that private insurers might just find a way to compete with a government option. What’s to keep innovative thinkers in the industry from designing a product that the government, with all it’s problems, can’t compete with?
If free market capitalism is so wonderful? I would think that a well run business would have no problem competing with a plan administered by a government that the Reichwhiners insist can’t do anything right.
October 6th, 2009 at 8:14 pmI did not intend to create an active link of “mark”s” name. Please good people. Don’t harass him on my account. Thank you.
October 6th, 2009 at 8:19 pmAbsolutely right.
We ALL benefit from an educated populace. The economy runs better, we reach a higher standard of living collectively, and even though my wife and I don’t have children, I am glad to pay my school taxes.
Similarly, we ALL would benefit from an efficient delivery of health care to all. A healthier workforce means better productivity, universal access to preventive care means fewer expensive problems down the road and better care for children means healthier lifestyles and fewer long-term problems as those generations enter adulthood.
You misperceive if you think we “close-minded liberals” don’t realize this. We know perfectly well what it means. The difference is, you don’t seem to be able to wrap your head around the concept of the stronger and more fortunate being asked to help the weaker and less fortunate as a matter of public policy.
October 6th, 2009 at 8:19 pmseems ralph has already said it better than I…
October 6th, 2009 at 8:21 pmmarrkk1976@yahoo.com
Since those pesky liberal blue states pay the most taxes, what they want (read: a CHOICE) should be provided if they want it. That is non of our business.
It’s extremely baffling that a major political party (MINE!) would say there shouldn’t be a good option provided because it would BE CHEAPER!?!
You have the gall to openly say these things while aspriring to a fast return to power? ARE YOU ALL INSANE??
October 6th, 2009 at 8:21 pmI wonder if that private school is “affiliated with evolution”?
October 6th, 2009 at 8:27 pmor maybe it is just rich kids with too much disposable income and not enough supervision. Drugs and promiscuity rule those residential private schools…
October 6th, 2009 at 8:29 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Mark and I will believe what we want to believe. Our party has reduced itself to a ideological exercise. Government cannot work because we’re intent on destroying it.
In order for society to function properly, you libs need to go door-to-door and ask. In order for the teachers to teach, the claims to be paid, the military to train and deploy, the police to enforce, the roads to be paved, you need to ask Mark kindly for his charity. Because like all wannabe tough guys, he’s a mythical self-made man.
Sorry, ralph the wonder liberal. Toil all night. Well-composed arguments don’t sway us.
October 6th, 2009 at 8:43 pmExamples? Military, police, schools, post office, medical care/insurance under the VA and Medicare, Social Security etc.
Are any of them perfect? No. But all are successful and compete favorably against the private alternatives.
And it’s ridiculous to assert hat there is “universal access to preventative care”. That statement is the opposite of true.
October 6th, 2009 at 8:43 pmInsinuating the government can run a more efficient “delivery of health care to all” is grossly naive.
October 6th, 2009 at 8:43 pm—
So does it follow that it would be grossly naive to think the government can provide an efficient national defense?
This comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Perhaps I should ask more nicely? I still haven’t heard a convincing argument why a private insurer can’t compete against a government option. Wouldn’t one think they will tighten their belts and improve their services so that they can stay in business? After all, Social Security didn’t put those who specialize in retirement investments out of business. Why would that be the case for insurance?
October 6th, 2009 at 8:52 pmThen by all means, please explain why an educated populace is a detriment to a modern economy. This should be interesting.
Well, considering that once premiums are paid and a claim is made for medical services, the interests of the insurance company shareholders are better served by denying care than paying for it, it seems to me that the goal of health care delivery is better served by an agency whose mission is more aligned with that goal than with the betterment of shareholders.
And a good example of public/private competition might be parcel delivery. FedEx and UPS do pretty well, yet the USPS, which by law also has to provide low-margin mail delivery competes pretty well.
Public libraries provide very cost-effective competition for book stores and Amazon. Your example of private schools is another good example.
How do you figure there is “universal access to preventative care now”? Are you suggesting the emergency room?
We already ARE “dictated”. Isn’t that what you object to? Paying taxes for things you don’t use? Welcome to a modern industrialized society.
And keep in mind that “socialism” is only a scary word to you guys. Those of us who are adults about social policy recognize that what frightens you so badly as “socialism” is already a deeply ingrained of this and every other developed nation on earth.
October 6th, 2009 at 8:52 pmEver wonder why?
—
October 6th, 2009 at 8:57 pmNo because it is really simple. By definition public schools must take all learners as school attendance is compulsory. Private school need not educate those they don’t feel like meeting the needs of. See the difference. Thus you wish to compare that which is not comparable… All set now? Like I said it really isn’t too hard to explain. Ever wonder why private school teachers need not have any qualifications to teach?
Children who are schooled outside the public school system, with the possible exception of those home”schooled” with the Buybull, tend to have economic advantages over those who are in he public school system. Many are born with connections.
Plus, the vast majority of successful people in this country have public school educations. But I am glad for another example of a private enterprise, education, that was not killed by the governments “takeover of schools”. Thanks.
October 6th, 2009 at 8:58 pmPer the CBO Social Security will start running deficits next year. It will take in less money than it spends.
Also Medicare is soon expected to be bankrupt with again more expenditures than revenue. For some reason the politicians will not allow the cost of healthcare to be passed along to voters.
The “government option” is also very likely to run with losses financed by taxpayers. There is not any requirement they break even nor repay the government investment in them.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:01 pmTherefor they can break any private company or companies at will.
One could take exception to the exact dates but our economic prosperity had it’s best thirty years roughly between 1940 and 1970. A period of increasing regulation.
One could argue that the second worst, compared to 1900-1930, thirty years were 1978-2008. A period of decreasing regulation.
Curious, no?
October 6th, 2009 at 9:04 pmYeah, and that’s primarily because the ratio of student to educational resources is much higher than public schools can afford, and generally the involvement of parents in the educational progress of the children is much more intense.
So there are significant advantages that private schools will always have over the limitations of public schools. Public schools are charged with the huge challenge of education EVERYBODY. The disadvantaged as well as the advantaged. Private schools don’t have to devote resources to children with learning disabilities. They don’t have to deal with disciplinary cases — they can just expel them, no questions asked.
Of course private schools have better outcomes on an individual basis. And they serve a critical purpose. But that system alone could never deliver the broad, educated workforce that a modern economy depends on. It would leave far too many citizens uneducated and unemployable.
That’s essentially the situation we have now with health care. The private insurance companies take care of the low-hanging fruit — the healthy, the well-heeled — and there’s no one left who can make enough of a profit on the poor or the already sick to make it worth covering them. So they tax our resources in the emergency room or they clog our bankruptcy courts trying to pay their medical bills.
And this is the system that you guys want to see continue.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:06 pmOne could also argue that one would be a fool to attempt to use N-dimensional systems to try and validate predetermined biases….
October 6th, 2009 at 9:07 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Easily fixed. Just raise the income limit on what is the most regressive tax in our nation’s entire tax code.
Right now, no one pays anything into SS beyond what is taxed on $100,000. Raise that to $250,000.
See what that does to the balance sheet.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:09 pmmarrkk1976@yahoo.com says:
There is universal access to preventative care now…
October 6th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Really? Where can I find this “universal access,” please?
October 6th, 2009 at 9:10 pmI don’t recall whether it was snopes or factcheck who did a marvelous examination of the claims that SS and Medicare are “going bankrupt”. The short version is that such claims assume a continuation of the recession and don’t include any possible remedial action. Such action is on the docket for the Congress and will be addressed. However, since the emergency is less dire than some others, it may be a while.
In other words, such claims don’t allow for a correction of the mistakes, many if not all Republican initiatives, that have strapped the systems.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:11 pmSure… Medicare is dealing with the same health care system as private insurers. If health care accounted for 8% of or GDP, like Canada’s does, instead of 16%, Medicare’s expenses would be roughly halved. Problem solved. If Republicans hadn’t made it ILLEGAL for Medicare to negotiate the prices of drugs, that might have made a difference, don’t you think?
Just one more example of Republicans screwing up government and then using their own incompetence to claim that “government can’t work”.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:13 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
All those who teach in public schools go to private schools.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:13 pm—
What does this mean and who that is educated ever uses “all”?
Besides the military? What the hell is this? Slective opinion? Either the government can get shit right or it can’t. You don’t get to select which things it can and can not do to suit your own agenda…
October 6th, 2009 at 9:15 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Oops says:
211 All those who can afford it go to private schools.
Bullshit! My family certainly could have afforded private schools. I spent my high school years in a very affluent community that used it’s advantages in tax base to build a school system that has compared favorably to private schools nationwide for more than sixty years. My classmates and I have done very well, thank you, and we include a sitting mayor and two state reps as well as the majority who have excelled in a number of professional, academic, and scientific pursuits.
Public schools, like any other, depend on the commitment of the parents to make their school the best they can while preparing their children to be good students. And it’s all tied to, if not dominated by, affluence and how well the school district can use those resources.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:18 pmAlso as of today, public schools still do have the option of expelling unruly or disruptive children.
—
October 6th, 2009 at 9:18 pmHaven’t been in school lately have you? So what is it about those Catholics?
This comment has been voted down. Click to read.
So after the expulsion, who is required to meet the compulsory education costs of the learner? Look this shit up first next time okay?
October 6th, 2009 at 9:20 pmI think marrkk1976@yahoo.com feels more comfortable in a setting where he’s told what to do 24/7.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:20 pmCatholic schools? Are you kidding? They are backed by one of the largest fund raising organizations the planet has ever known.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:21 pmI don’t get it. Huh??
October 6th, 2009 at 9:22 pmThe military IS the only thing the government can actually run correct.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:22 pm—
Correctly? So are you going to explain by what magic this is that the government of the greatest nation in history (well that is what I have been told) can only do one thing. It is absurd from the get go… I smell agenda…
marrkk1976@yahoo.com says:
The military IS the only thing the government can actually run correct. I have no agenda.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
Yeah, those private contractors are working out very well — cost effective too.
*eyes rolling*
October 6th, 2009 at 9:22 pmmarrkk1976@yahoo.com says:
I don’t get it. Huh??
October 6th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Am I the only one who finds this ironic…?
October 6th, 2009 at 9:23 pmThe kids that got all sexually messed with by those fine catholics aren’t so sure about their schools
October 6th, 2009 at 9:24 pmI really like this idea that the military is the only thing the government can do right. It is so utterly zany.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:26 pmYes they do. They have significant advantages over public schools, as I mentioned above. First and foremost is that they are able to be very selective about who the admit. Discipline problems, learning disabilities, children with emotional problems, none of them need apply. That makes a huge difference in the classroom experience. The autonomy of Catholic school administrations gives them greater latitude in enforcing discipline and in requiring achievement. If a student fails to reach a certain level of achievement, he can be expelled, and the school does not have to account for him. He’s off to the public school, where civil authority demands that he be educated.
It’s fairly easy to reach a high level of student accomplishment when you can just sluff off the poorly-performing kids and let someone else be responsible for them.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:26 pmWhy would someone assume that a huge complex organization can only do one thing correctly and all other tasks it will utterly fail to accomplish?
Does this make sense to anybody?
October 6th, 2009 at 9:28 pmdbadass, that IS zany.
Good description.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:29 pmBarrasso: well, compare it to medicare, which we know is going
bankrupt.
Well, DUH.
The whole PRINCIPAL of Medicare is non-profit, IDIOT !
Does he believe taxpayers should be making a profit from peoples sickness and disease ?
How about a bankruptcy tax, or a homeless tax, or lost your
October 6th, 2009 at 9:31 pmjob tax, or my cat got run over in the street tax.
Mathazar, ya lost me.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:34 pmThe Pentagon is chock full of civilian lackeys who fight tooth-and-nail for their government bread so they can pay the the $3,000 mortgages on their Northern Va. enclaves. So while the taxpayers spend billions for hawks to analyze a bunch of weapons systems, cutting the crap out of excess civilian desk jockeys and mercenaries , to the industry whores, is “cutting defense spending.” Nice try, but it was Rumsfeld who proposed cutting uniformed personnel until 9/11 and had underway Air Force uniformed cuts until Gates halted it. Rumsfeld also proposed cutting the Marine Corps by 5,000 Marines, even after 9/11.
The fear tactic “cut defense spending” used against the dems coincides with the rise of the military industrial complex, and they will continue pushing that line of attack to protect it. Let’s not be helpless forever to stop them.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:40 pmThe military IS the only thing the government can actually run correct.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:41 pm—
Sorry. It is just so wonderous. Drive Safe…
This whole conversation reminds us the utter cowardice of the GOP. The military loses a few trillion, largely under Republican control? Shit happens.
Medicare, Social Security, the USPO and others show the effects of recession, largely under Republican control? They failed! Scrap ‘em!
The poor Reichwhiners are still incapable of seeing shades of gray.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:42 pmOops! I should have added, “…and lack the courage to try much of anything.”
October 6th, 2009 at 9:43 pmHow much exactly did Bush steal from Social Security?
October 6th, 2009 at 10:00 pmOT
Tom Delay pulled a Palin in “Dancing with the Stars”.
October 6th, 2009 at 10:01 pmAh the vote down baby. Pussies bum me out too…
October 6th, 2009 at 10:13 pmSorry Ralph, my point was that the great society should not be making money from the misfortune of its populace.
Hope that makes more sense.
October 6th, 2009 at 10:17 pmOh my God! I can’t believe that they haven’t fired Mr. Smith for telling the truth. That’s not what they do at Fake News Channel. If they can’t lie about it they don’t report it. How doesn’t Sheppard stand to work with a bunch of liars every day with throwing up his lunch? Greta Van Sucken, needs to get off her UGLY knees and stoping sucking Sean Mannity long enough to get some air. She’s the ugliest woman on the planet, so I see why she’s interested in jerks like Mannity, Beck, and fat drug boy (Rush LIMPbaugh). Come one no one else including a drunk sailor would want that. If she was the last woman on earth I’d rather pass up on that.
October 6th, 2009 at 10:21 pmAll of a sudden he got a spark of truth and commonsense. Tomorrow is another day and his
October 6th, 2009 at 10:31 pmoppositeinsane POV will be heard.Got it, Mathazar. Thanks for the clarification.
October 6th, 2009 at 10:33 pmI am so sick and tired of the double speak. He says he has been fighting the insurance companies. Yea Sen. John Barrasso, you are really sticking it to those insurance companies by mandating them 47 MILLION more customers. I have an idea. While we are at it, why don’t we just ban the public option for police protection then mandate everyone purchase protection from Blackwater and fire protection from KBR? That would really stick it to them! Bet it would take at least 6 months to triple their profits with government punishment behind it.
October 6th, 2009 at 11:31 pm“Government is baaaad…it can’t do anything…it should stay out of our lives….
(unless of course it is to force people to buy private goods or give no-bid contracts…shhhh don’t tell anyone.)
October 6th, 2009 at 11:33 pmJesus with a mortgage, Zooey! “Free Market Parables”?
Seeing a stranger lying injured by the side of the road, the Galt Samaritan said, “Can you afford my help?”
October 6th, 2009 at 11:51 pm.
Y’all do know that the specious argument made by the Senator, “Well compare it to Medicare, which we know right now is going bankrupt,” is a strawman argument set up to bolster the Senator’s claim that Health Care Reform WITH a public option is akin to a Government take over.
NEITHER POINTS ARE EVEN RELATED TO ONE ANOTHER!
IF the public option was a Government takeover of health care, akin to Medicare, then is the Senator willing to defund Medicare, since Medicare was his rebuttal?
GAWD THESE SENATORS ARE DENSE!!!!!!!
.
October 7th, 2009 at 12:51 amRE: Crazy Legs @ 44:
FLAGGED! Death threats against the President are NOT acceptable.
October 7th, 2009 at 12:54 amGee…marrkk1976@yahoo.com just slithered off with his tail between his legs, huh?
October 7th, 2009 at 1:58 amwiley says:
Jesus with a mortgage, Zooey! “Free Market Parables”?
Seeing a stranger lying injured by the side of the road, the Galt Samaritan said, “Can you afford my help?”
October 6th, 2009 at 11:51 pm
The next version of the bible, wiley. Ha!
October 7th, 2009 at 1:59 amMight I propose a “prisoner exchange” between Shep Smith at Fox for Lou Dobbs at CNN?
October 7th, 2009 at 11:40 amNo no no…it isnt a govertment take over…yet…
it has to be done a little at a time..step by step..so the sheeple do not realize what is happening until it is too late. Like our civil liberties. soon..while you all argue over left and right…you will be looking out from behind a chain link fence wondering..wow..how did we get here?.. I will laugh at you. as you wait for the next train to mass gravesville.
mmm mmm mmm Barack Hussein Obama mmmm mmmm mmm
save the people from themselves! we live to serve you great and powerful leader..
squash all who oppose us!
pathetic morons…
October 7th, 2009 at 6:26 pmThank you for your sharing.!
October 11th, 2009 at 5:11 pmHe’s the only one of them I can stomach. And he’s often right. saç ekimi
October 13th, 2009 at 6:18 am