posted August 23, 2009
The Democratic Party has solid control of the United States House of Representatives, United States Senate and the White House. The current President won the election in a landslide victory. The President is the only national elected official who can claim he was elected on a mandate by the people. Why must there need to be bi-partisan support to get a health care policy reform?
The Democratic Party can accomplish any reform they want if they stick together. The Democrats in Washington should look to the recent election of Speaker of the House in the state of Tennessee as what can happen when they stick together.
Granted, sticking together is very hard for open-minded folks, but surely the Democratic Party has the support of the country given the past few Congressional and presidential elections.
It is high time the Democratic Party move on with reform of health care with or without the Republican Party. The insurance companies have spent billions propagating misinformation. The Medicare/Medicaid taxes all of us have been paying are not enough to keep up with the rampant exponential increase in medical costs.
There is no doubt that Medicare/Medicaid will not be there for those 30-40-year-olds upon reaching 65 if there is no reform. There must either be cost controls on the medical industry, increases in Medicare/Medicaid taxes, rationing of health services, or a mixture of all three.
Those of us who have no insurance know beyond a doubt that cash-paying customers pay less than those with insurance, except when catastrophic illness occurs. What is wrong with this picture? Medical providers and insurance companies are a part of the problem...not the solution.
The Democratic Party was ushered into office due to the blatant denial of the effects of deregulation in a mixed economy. Most of the independent voters who voted Democratic in the last election voted for: removal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, a public health plan option, increased education spending, and accountability in government. The Democratic Party is in control because the overwhelming majority of people in the United States wanted change. The voters don't want to be treated as they have in the past; like school children who don't understand what is good for them.
The small, vocal crowds showing up at town meetings aren't enough to stop reform. Andrew Jackson would have already had a health plan reform passed if he were the President. A man must not only know his limitations, but he must know his strengths, too.
Stephen Durham freethinker1963@yahoo.com
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If the Democrats stick together and run this through, the party of Pelosi and Obama can see what it is like to once again be a minority in congress in 2010. Anyone with a lick of sense has seen the latest national polls with the support for the liberal party sinking like the titanic. Voting for this healthcare option like it is will be the nail in the coffin of many Democrats, and deservedly so for not representing those who put them in office.
While the healthcare in the United Staes is not perfect, more government intervention is not the answer. Barack Obama himself said that Medicare and Social Security were major contributors to our national debt while running for office. What does everyone think this plan is going to do to the national debt?
Brandon Back
East Ridge
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52% of the popular vote of American citizens is hardly a "landslide victory." Neither is it anything close to a "mandate" by the American populace.
The way our system is designed the president may have been elected by a significant majority of the electoral college, but that isn't the entire population. This is a problem with our current education system; civics has been eliminated from the curriculum.
Government creates no product or service, if we exclude hot air. It performs no activity to generate a profit. Government is a consumer, not a producer. What it "gives" to one it must first take from another.
What government "gives" to one person it must take from someone else, someone who gets up every morning and goes to work to earn what is being taken away with the power of a government gun.
We have those who complain they cannot afford insurance. How many bubbaMobiles, yuppieMobiles, or other vehicles are being bought with cash that should be used for insurance? We all know those who will buy a house and then not have money to buy furniture or have a difficult time paying for utilities. How many of these are additionally under or uninsured?
If we're going to solve "problems" such as this we must look at both the macro as well as the micro issues, somewhat like an incident that occurred one time while at a friend's auto service shop. A couple came in wearing ragged cloths, driving a cheap car and had a slow leak in a tire. He felt sorry for them so he stopped what he was doing, repaired their tire, and they were on their way again. What he didn't observe, but I did because I look at such things, was that first they were smoking cigarettes, Marlboro, a premium brand. He also didn't observe the beer cans and whiskey bottles in the rear floorboards ... Budweiser and Jack Daniels, black, both premium brands. Looked to me like those folks were making choices. They chose to smoke premium brand cigarettes, drink premium brand beer and whiskey, and then look to others to provide their basic needs.
Now, if we additionally look at elected officials who refuse to listen to their constituents, those who elected them to their aristocratic positions in government in the first place, will call those constituents names and make accusations toward them when attempting to shove something down their throats they don't want, what's wrong with this picture?
Who's treating whom like children?
Where is the Constitutional authority for any of these? Oops, sorry, I really hate throwing ice water on a good rant and demands for additional government theft.
Royce E. Burrage, Jr.
Royce@OfficiallyChapped.org
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I agree completely with Stephen. I think most Independents and Democrats do. A Republican majority in this area does not reflect the entire nation.
Brandon seems to think the Democratic party can be voted out by the Republicans. Gosh Gee, when was the last time that really happened? Last time I checked, the Republican party was down to about 25-30% nation wide. And we all know how the last Republican President got there. There are numerous documentaries on that subject.
It is amazing to me that the party of "no" thinks that is all it takes. They believe lies without checking for truth. And even when the truth is spelled out for them, still spout lies from the rooftops in hopes that the ploy will deter voters and taxpayers from finding out the truth.
This is not my dad's Republican Party anymore. One minute you hear Republicans chant for their guns, quoting the constitution, but in the same breath, will tell you what you should believe in, what religion to be, and how you can wear your clothes. "Freedom for all", as long as you believe and live like Republicans do. (Don't get me wrong, I uphold the entire constitution, guns, free speech, etc...).
The old Republican party thought truth and honor were something to be proud of. In my Dad's time, being a Republican meant keeping your side of the street clean by telling the truth, watching out after your neighbor, and caring for one another. It would seem that many have forgotten that "people are more important than anything," even the way you feel.
Quite frankly, I think that instead of worrying about Democrats, Brandon, you might want to keep an eye on local Republicans and who is walking the talk. It only takes a little research to find that some of our Tennessee Republicans are crossing the line when it somes to our constitution. A little more research will find the letters from our forefathers, and the Treaty of Trippoli, article 11. Look and see for yourself.
Yes, Stephen, when all we hear is "no"s, yelling, and hate, I say go it without them. We put Obama where he is so that he could do better than the past eight years of Republican tyranny. Not once has Obama forgotten who put him there. I don't want big government. But Bush and Cheney left us with a mess that, like always, the Democrats have to clean up. I trust Obama to make the hard choices and do what is needed to be done. I trust him to know when the insurance industry is trying to hood wink the American people. And I trust him with keeping America's side of the street clean with the rest of the world.
Brandon, there are many people here in Chattanooga that feel this way. And I predict that within a few short years, we will see a Democratic majority in Tennessee. It doesn't take long for people to see that they have been lied to. What is really sad is that much of these lies are coming from the pulpits. Oh but just wait. The next generation of voters growing of age in the next five years will change everything. Until Republicans really do believe in the constitution, not just the parts they like, but the entire thing, such as freedom for all, rights for all, the future of their party is circling the drain.
Deborah Williford
deborahdtw@hotmail.com
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