Every member of Congress should be forced to vote on if "health care is a right"
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on September 23, 2009 - 1:05am.
Health Care
Hello Everyone:
I think that Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid can probably make more progress on the health care issue and put many House and Senate Republicans in a huge bind by forcing EVERY member of Congress to vote "Yes" or "No" on whether or not they believe that "health care is a right." This is something that is in their power to do at any time and it will put every member of Congress officially on the record!
Here is the huge bind that many Republicans in Congress will be in if they are forced to make this vote:
1) If they vote "No" on the question of if "health care is a right," then they will be in very big trouble with most of the country who "think the government should provide health insurance or take responsibility for providing health care to all Americans" even though they may not agree with Obama's health care plan:
Poll: Do Americans want government health care reform?
Posted: March 5th, 2009 12:52 PM ET
From CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser
WASHINGTON (CNN) – "As President Barack Obama hosts a Thursday summit at the White House on health care reform, recent national polling suggests that nearly three out of four Americans support government programs to improve the country's health care system.
Seventy-two percent of those questioned in recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey say they favor increasing the federal government's influence over the country's health care system in an attempt to lower costs and provide health care coverage to more Americans, with 27 percent opposing such a move. Other recent polls show six in 10 think the government should provide health insurance or take responsibility for providing health care to all Americans.
"That doesn't mean that health care reform is a slam dunk," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Americans tend to support those goals. The question — just as in 1994 — is how they will react to the details of future legislation to address those goals..."
2) If they vote "Yes" on the question of if "health care is a right," then they will be in very big trouble with Rush Limbaugh and with his wing of the Republican Party (who make up most of the hard core GOP base) because they very strongly disagree that "health care is a right," they are way out of touch about health care when they say that people should just "buy it" and "Pay for it yourself," and they think that our current health care system is "working:"
A) Here is where Rush Limbaugh very bluntly said that "Nobody has the right to good health" and that it is a misconception to believe that Health care is a "right:"
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_082809/content/01125110.guest.html
Dems Demonize the "Middle Man"
August 28, 2009
RUSH: "But nobody has the right to good health. Nobody has the right to good health. We live under so many misconceptions in this whole thing. Health care is a "right." Government or employers should provide it..."
B) Here is where Rush Limbaugh agreed with his caller who said "these people that think they're entitled to this health care and everything, they're off in their sleep. We're not entitled to it" and where Limbaugh said that people who believe that they are entitled to health care have "an entitlement mentality:"
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_082409/content/01125112.guest.html
Callers Report from Town Halls
August 24, 2009
CALLER: "Hey, you know what? I went to a Specter town meeting about a week ago here and I had the opportunity to ask Specter a question. But while I was waiting in line here came two buses, school buses from around Pittsburgh and they brought up SEIU and ACORN people. As soon as they got off the bus the first thing they were chanting was, "What do we want? Health care! When do we want it? Now!" over and over and over. Rush, this just shows the entitlist mentality of these people... these people that think they're entitled to this health care and everything, they're off in their sleep. We're not entitled to it.
RUSH: Wait a minute, now. One thing.
CALLER: Yeah?
RUSH: You're right that there are people in this country and way too many of them with an entitlement mentality, but the people that showed up on those buses were not people with an entitlement mentality. Those were part of Obama's army. These are people recruited from a White House website by the unions to go out and provide opposition to the people with genuine passion. These buses were hired. These people were organized. This was community agitation at its best. This was not a bunch of entitlement people showing up demanding health care. This was a bunch of thugs that have been hired to show up to obstruct you and other people from getting your message out..."
C) Here is where Rush Limbaugh said back in 2006 "Health Care Costs Money, So Buy It!" and "You can go to the doctor and you can pay him. (Gasping.) What a concept" (tell that to the millions of people who have lost their jobs and who truly cannot afford it right now):
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_082306/content/institute.guest.html
Health Care Costs Money, So Buy It!
August 23, 2006
RUSH: "But the idea -- and this is what stuns me the most, wounds me to the heart the greatest -- the idea that because you don't have health care insurance means you don't have medical coverage is absurd. You can go to the doctor and you can pay him. (Gasping.) What a concept. But for some reason the thought of paying medical care, just unacceptable. No, the company ought to pay for that. And there ought not be any copay, and I ought not have to pay a portion of it. I don't know where this comes from, but you have been trapped and you have been lured and you have been screwed into believing the liberal concept of life, that somebody else has to pay for it or else you can't have it..."
D) Here is where Rush Limbaugh said about health care insurance "Pay for it yourself! It's very simple" (also tell that to the many millions of people who have lost their jobs and who cannot afford it):
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_082809/content/01125110.guest.html
Dems Demonize the "Middle Man"
August 28, 2009
RUSH: "Here's the next one. "Rush: The insurance companies are already doing all the things we are fearful of government-controlled plan doing -- controlling payments to providers of what's covered and what's not. Many of us want to know what specific steps could be taken to take control away from the insurance companies and return it directly to the patients and providers."
Very simple! Pay for it yourself! It's very simple. If you don't like the insurance company, screw it. Now you're going to say, "But the cost is too high." Well, yeah, it is but we're not going to get the costs down until you start dealing with the doctor directly like you deal with the hotel directly or the automobile dealership directly or whatever else you buy..."
E) Here is where Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) said that our current health care system is "working" (tell that to the 46 million plus people in the country who do not have any kind of insurance):
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0909/12/cnr.02.html
CNN NEWSROOM
President Obama Speaks in Minneapolis About Health Care Reform; Conservatives and Liberals Debate Merits of Health Care Proposals
Aired September 12, 2009 - 14:00 ET
SEN. JIM DEMINT, (R) SOUTH CAROLINA: "We need small business plans that allow businesses to pool together all their employees and buy health care all across the nation.
The president voted against that and all the alternatives I mentioned when he was in the Senate. We have to get him to focus on fixing what's broken and not replacing what's working...
There is nothing in our history as a federal government that shows we can actually manage something this complex effectively. It doesn't make sense to throw out what's working. We need to just make it work better..."
The majority of the country do not agree with what Rush Limbaugh and Jim DeMint believe as I showed in the CNN poll above while most elected Republicans in Congress truly fear Rush Limbaugh and keep on apologizing to him because they know that he can instantly tell his many millions of followers to primary them the next time that they are on the ballot and they will probably get just what Arlen Specter got after he voted for Obama's economic stimulus package:
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/17860
GOP strategist John Feehery on why Republicans fear voting for the public option
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on August 22, 2009 - 3:33am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/17542
BREAKING NEWS WITH ANALYSIS: Arlen Specter to become a Democrat
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on April 28, 2009 - 1:03pm.
The majority position in the country is that "health care is a right" even though people may disagree about how to achieve it. But if even some Republicans in Congress can be forced to vote on the record that "health care is a right," then it may be easier for Obama to get them on board when it comes to seriously negotiating in good faith.
The main reason why so many Republicans in Congress are not negotiating with Obama in good faith right now is because they fear Rush Limbaugh telling his many millions of followers to primary them the next time that they are on the ballot if they do. But if they are forced to have to cast a tough vote on if "health care is a right," then they will have no choice but to make a very difficult decision between losing most of middle America if they vote "No" or risk getting primaried by upsetting Limbaugh if they vote "Yes."
I think that at least a few Republicans in Congress will probably vote "Yes" that "health care is a right" and once they start to come forward, then they may be easier for Obama to seriously work with because they will have already risked getting primaried by casting their "Yes" vote. There is no middle ground in that tough health care vote for Republicans in Congress that I can see!
In conclusion, the argument that "health care is a right" from the government is very easy to make in my opinion. Medicare for senior citizens is a right, police and fire protection for everybody is a right, a free education for anyone in public grade schools is a right, and the list could go on. All of these services are government provided and government paid and they are rights that people are entitled to!
I would really like to hear ideologues like Jim DeMint or Michele Bachmann have to answer the question in a public town hall of what the difference is between these government provided services being rights that people are entitled to and government provided health care also being a right for all people?
I would also like to hear these kind of people answer the key questions about health care that Rick Sanchez asked to Sen. Tom Coburn that I have not heard any opponents of health care answer so far:
1) "Well, what is interesting about that is that Senator Coburn just essentially said the government is not the solution.
But then you have to ask yourself, he (Tom Coburn) just told her (a needy woman who begged him for help at a town hall meeting) to come and see him. Isn't he the government?"
2) "By the way, after helping her, what will he do about the other 46,999,000 Americans who don't have insurance and the thousands upon thousands of Americans who say they do have insurance, but, like her, they're not getting coverage?"
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/17869
VIDEO: Rick Sanchez of CNN asked two very important questions about health care!
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on August 25, 2009 - 7:06am.
If any elected Republicans in Congress ever answered these questions with any of the stupid things that Rush Limbaugh or Jim DeMint said who I quoted above at a public town hall event with every major media outlet seriously covering the event, then they could risk being laughed out of office!
This is why I would really like to see EVERY member of Congress have to vote "Yes" or "No" if they think that "health care is a right" and answer the tough but very serious questions that Rick Sanchez asked!
Mitch Dworkin
http://mitchdworkin.com/
Check out my new political website!
http://www.securingamerica.com/
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/16039
RESOURCES: Speeches, Articles, and Career Highlights to help define Gen. Clark!
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on July 7, 2008 - 2:51pm.
http://www.securingamerica.com/ccn/node/7191
Listen to Gen. Wes Clark fight for Dems on Sean Hannity's radio program: An excellent example for all of us to follow and what we all need to be doing to help fight back against extreme right wing Neocon smear propaganda!
It is very scary knowing that Eric Cantor, being the number 2 House Republican right now, would probably be the House Majority Leader IF the Republicans ever win back Congress!
I would really like to see that YouTube video put in a health care ad so that people all over the country will know what a very high ranking Republican leader like Cantor really thinks about health care!
http://www.bdt.com/pages/Peikoff.html
"What is morality in this context? The American concept of it is officially stated in the Declaration of Independence. It upholds man's unalienable, individual rights. The term "rights," note, is a moral (not just a political) term; it tells us that a certain course of behavior is right, sanctioned, proper, a prerogative to be respected by others, not interfered with -- and that anyone who violates a man's rights is: wrong, morally wrong, unsanctioned, evil.
Now our only rights, the American viewpoint continues, are the rights to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. That's all. According to the Founding Fathers, we are not born with a right to a trip to Disneyland, or a meal at Mcdonald's, or a kidney dialysis (nor with the 18th-century equivalent of these things). We have certain specific rights -- and only these.
Why only these? Observe that all legitimate rights have one thing in common: they are rights to action, not to rewards from other people. The American rights impose no obligations on other people, merely the negative obligation to leave you alone. The system guarantees you the chance to work for what you want -- not to be given it without effort by somebody else.
The right to life, e.g., does not mean that your neighbors have to feed and clothe you; it means you have the right to earn your food and clothes yourself, if necessary by a hard struggle, and that no one can forcibly stop your struggle for these things or steal them from you if and when you have achieved them. In other words: you have the right to act, and to keep the results of your actions, the products you make, to keep them or to trade them with others, if you wish. But you have no right to the actions or products of others, except on terms to which they voluntarily agree"
Your assumption is that the Constitution and the principles on which America runs were frozen in time over two hundred years ago. However, the Constitution is a living, breathing document, and the American people can define a new right or further refine an existing one whenever they want to, subject to the process of amending the Constitution.
That said, I would argue (and would probably win) that the "right to life" includes and assumes a right to health care, to prolong and nourish life and relieve suffering.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."
By the way, DB, the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness aren't found in the Constitution. They're in the Declaration of Independence. The right to property isn't in either document except in the prohibition against unreasonable search and seizure in the Fourth Amendment, where the right is stated "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects...shall not be violated."
As Arky Sue pointed out in a newer thread, one of the objectives of the Constitution is to "promote the general welfare." What can be more fundamental to the general welfare than caring for the health of all citizens?
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."
"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
I submit that health care falls under the "general welfare" clause of the Preamble. You could make a bit of an argument for justice and domestic tranquility too.
The Preamble declares that: "We the People of the United States .... do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." The meaning is clear that all authority originates from the People.
The meaning of the word Welfare in the Constitution is different from its current usage. The constitutional meaning of welfare is: 1. health, happiness, or prosperity; well-being. [
...in this discussion is health. Promoting health is one of the reasons this government exists, and heretofore except for Medicare and Medicaid, it has done little about it.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."
Do you have one shred of compassion for those not as smart and talented as you??
Many, many people not as smart or talented have achieved far more than I ever will...and I'm not advocating taking away their rewards for doing that.
On the other hand, I don't have much compassion for people not investing in themselves through hard work (intelligently done) and then bitching about not achieving as much as others and figuring that they are entitled to what others have just be being a citizen.
One interesting thing I saw with the last Presidential campaign, is that my percentage of income donated to worthwhile causes like the American Red Cross, Cleveland Clinic, St Jude, American Cancer Society, and about 20 others exceeds the charitable percentage contribution amount of leaders like the Obamas and the Bidens and I'm willing to bet it is far in excess of what you've done Doug. Fortunately, we still have the freedom to decide which organizations/people deserve that help rather than the government making that choice.
While an undergraduate, my furniture consisted of a sleeping bag, cot, small table and two chairs (for 3 years until I started earning more) and small portable TV, but I didn't mind at all since I spent my time at the library, classes, studying with my classmates and working at a lab and finding out what I wanted to do in the future (those were some really fantastic years)...so I don't have much sympathy for people with a $250K house being underwater while they drive their SUVs and subscribe to their satellite TV, etc. - I know for a fact that it is possible to live [very] frugally.
For example, getting pregnant at 16 and then dropping out of school is not the fault of others...people need to take responsibility for their own actions (and part of getting pregnant at 16 means that you now get to work twice as hard if you want to achieve the same things). Being a drug addict is not the responsibility of others, although others such as drug dealers who may have facilitated that...ultimately, the responsibility is that of the junkie, not the evil capitalistic society.
In terms of stock market which is a bit higher stakes, the rules for success are really not that complicated, but most people have never taken the time to analyze their own investment mistakes and learn from them (or better yet, study mistakes of others and try not to make them yourself). I really don't understand people willing to work 8+ hours a day and not spend 30 minutes a day learning how to put that money to work and not lose it (part of the 'work hard, but intelligently' mentioned above).
It goes on and on...but ultimately, people control their own destiny and should take responsibility for their own lives (at least, that's my opinion). Not to say that there isn't a role for government in seeing that people get to play by the same rules (and we're far from that) and do things that people can't do individually, like provide for the national defense.
Many, many people not as smart or talented have achieved far more than I ever will..."
I would venture that most of those who have achieved more are considerably less self-righteous about it.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-yyiJpeA4w
Eric Cantor 'Try a Charitable Organization for Healthcare Relief' (3:04)
ObamaTheBlackFDR
September 23, 2009
Shame on you Eric Cantor! Is this what you would really say if the person who needed the operation was someone in your family who you are close to?
I would also like to see if you would vote "Yes" or "No" on the question if "health care is a right" and I really hope that Nancy Pelosi makes you have to cast that vote!