The true difference between Republicans and Democrats is metaphysics. The GOP believes if you draw a bad hand in the game of life it is because you are bad, so tough luck. Democrats believe if you draw the short stick, it%u2019s just bad luck, and we should step in to make it as good as we can.
And as Paul Krugman points out, what we learned yesterday about the GOP is that they have no plank in their platform to deal with preexisting medical conditions, and the ability of health insurers to drop people that become catastrophically ill. It%u2019s our tough luck if it happens to us.
- Paul Krugman, What We Learned From the Health Care Summit
What really struck me about the meeting, however, was the inability of Republicans to explain how they propose dealing with the issue that, rightly, is at the emotional center of much health care debate: the plight of Americans who suffer from pre-existing medical conditions. In other advanced countries, everyone gets essential care whatever their medical history. But in America, a bout of cancer, an inherited genetic disorder, or even, in some states, having been a victim of domestic violence can make you uninsurable, and thus make adequate health care unaffordable.
One of the great virtues of the Democratic plan is that it would finally put an end to this unacceptable case of American exceptionalism. But what%u2019s the Republican answer? Mr. Alexander was strangely inarticulate on the matter, saying only that %u201CHouse Republicans have some ideas about how my friend in Tullahoma can continue to afford insurance for his wife who has had breast cancer.%u201D He offered no clue about what those ideas might be.
In reality, House Republicans don%u2019t have anything to offer to Americans with troubled medical histories. On the contrary, their big idea %u2014 allowing unrestricted competition across state lines %u2014 would lead to a race to the bottom. The states with the weakest regulations %u2014 for example, those that allow insurance companies to deny coverage to victims of domestic violence %u2014 would set the standards for the nation as a whole. The result would be to afflict the afflicted, to make the lives of Americans with pre-existing conditions even harder.
The GOP and the conservatives in particular just do not care about the poor and the afflicted. They have no moral right to govern us, since their interests are only with the rich, well-born, and the able.
The thing is, though, I don't think it's just the Republicans. I think it's the Democrats, too, that have interests that lie only with the rich. If they really care about the rest of us, they wouldn't be letting the minority party push them around.
To me it seems like the government is entirely out of touch with, not just the needs of the citizens, but reality, itself. Anyone with eyes can tell you unchecked corporate power is a bad thing. Anyone with a brain can understand how letting corporations outsource, play games with money and run amok for profit has done incredible harm to this country. Whether it's the cigarette companies, or the banks, or the military industrial complex, or the health insurance industry, or the energy companies, or the auto industry, lax regulation breeds serious abuse.
But our government keeps pretending that compromises can be made and that things as they were just a year or two ago weren't that bad.
It's clear: the Republicans don't want universal health care, they don't want to protect our environment, they love war and think companies should be allowed to do what they want. I used to think evil didn't exist. But, clearly, I was wrong.
When a political party moves against legislation that would guarantee health care for all, you know there's some serious amoral evilness going on. The fact that the Dems don't actually put up a fight and just wuss around and try to compromise makes them almost as bad.
I'm so tired of blogging about this shit. America, you're in trouble and your government is only making it worse.
What's worse is, I want to leave this country because I just don't see anything turning around any time ever.
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