Republicans are currently threatening to shut down the
government unless Democrats agree to “defunding” health care reform. Harry Reid
rightly calls the Republican leadership cowardly for caving in to the “Tea
Party anarchists.” According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition
of “anarchy” is the following:
A situation of confusion and wild behavior in which the
people in a country, group, organization, etc., are not controlled by rules or
law
More specifically,
a : absence of
government
b : a state of
lawlessness or political disorder due to the absence of governmental authority
c : absence or denial
of any authority or established order
This is an accurate interpretation of what kind of country
the likes of Senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, Representatives Joe Barton, Steve
King and Joe Wilson seek. Texas alone accounts for 12 Tea Party members. These
people want to gut government to the point where we actually do live in a
country where the only “law” is that enforced by whatever suits the National
Rifle Association and racist Council of Conservative Citizens. These people don’t
give a damn about ordinary people and their tribulations—especially those on
the lower end of pay and benefits scale; without protection from the federal
government, they are forever subject to the predations of these “masters.” Make
no mistake: Many senators and congresspersons seem to think that we still live
in the pre-Civil War antebellum period, and this country is one big plantation
where they and their corporate paymasters are the “masters,” and everyone else
are metaphorical “slaves” with no “rights” save those they are “given.” The use
of race-baiting tactics by the Right has the purpose of convincing many fools
to go along with this.
People may not be aware of this, but businesses initially
offered health care insurance not out of any altruism on their part, but
because it was a “perk” that lured workers to work at one company over another.
Businesses opposed universal health coverage because they saw it as an
infringement on their “competitiveness.” But that was before health care and
health insurance costs started spiraling out of control. Today many businesses
provide no or poor health insurance to its employees. My company offers what is
called an “income replacement” policy, not an actual health insurance plan; it
pays a minimal lump sum and you are responsible for rest. The “plan” is
actually illegal in the state of Washington, and listed as an insurance “scam”
by the state insurance commissioner. Indeed, no general practitioner in the
state will take you on as a patient if this is all you have to offer. Thus
preventative care is not an option; if you have an accident or hurt so bad you
have to go to the emergency room, good “luck.”
The state of Washington has bought into “Obamacare” and will
offer the health insurance exchange program; whether or not I can apply for it
is not clear, despite the fact that my current “insurance plan” is technically
illegal in this state. It is my
understanding that its very existence makes me ineligible for the exchange
program. In case you are wondering, the “situs” of the company I work for—meaning
where it is located “by law”—is Texas, that hotbed of Tea Party insanity and opposition
to health care reform.
Why should I—and many millions of people in this country—be outraged
by the actions of congressional Republicans and the Tea Party? Because once
again they behave as if they are the only people who “matter,” and damn
everyone else, regardless of the impoverishment of their situation and their
rights and needs. “Obamacare” represents the best chance that millions of
people who are not provided health insurance by their employers, have poor
health insurance or otherwise cannot afford it, can afford adequate medical
coverage that includes access to preventative care. While polls might reflect
the attitude of people who already have “theirs,” all that proves is that the
voiceless continue to go unheard. Since
Republicans are offering no alternative to “Obamacare”—their one “suggestion”
being the ability to purchase “cheaper” insurance from other states, which is
of course is exactly the kind of “insurance” I have—many of us can only look on
helplessly as these wretched politicians have the inhuman indecency to decide
if we should live or die, and how.
By the way, Factcheck.org tells us that all members of
Congress have access to both private and federal medical plans, all of which “cover hospital, surgical
and physician services, and mental health services, prescription drugs and
“catastrophic” coverage against very large medical expenses. There are no
waiting periods for coverage when new employees are hired, and there are no
exclusions for preexisting conditions.” Of course, the government pays the lion’s
share of the premiums; furthermore, “members of Congress also qualify for some
medical benefits that ordinary federal workers do not. They are eligible to
receive limited medical services from the Office of the Attending Physician of
the U.S. Capitol, after payment of an annual fee ($491 in 2007)…House and
Senate members also are eligible to receive care at military hospitals. For
outpatient care, there is no charge at the Washington, D.C., area hospitals
(Walter Reed Army Medical Center and National Naval Medical Center). Inpatient
care is billed at rates set by the Department of Defense.”
One may be forgiven for wondering what Republicans and their
Tea Party cohorts have done to deserve such generous benefits; after all, their
goal is to gut government to such an extent that they don’t have to do any work
at all. Who needs them? We all need to ask that question and why they have the audacity to tell millions of hard working people that they deserve less.
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