We Don’t Need the Party of No Ideas, Guys
This was disappointing to be sure. Even after the Democrats ran up the white flag and admitted there would be neither cap and tax nor health care reform prior to the August recess, Roy Blunt (R-Mo) initially informed us that the GOP wouldn’t bother offering their own alternative to reforming health care. (Hat tip to the Plum Line.)
“Our bill is never going to get to the floor, so why confuse the focus? We clearly have principles; we could have language, but why start diverting attention from this really bad piece of work they’ve got to whatever we’re offering right now?”
After being reminded that he was the head of the House GOP Health Care Solutions Group and that they had already said they were “drafting legislation,” Blunt issued a revised statement.
“Our reform plan to lower costs, increase access, and improve quality was released weeks ago and it is well-known. There’s a variety of tactics that could be employed during the debate on the House floor and the leadership won’t make a final decision next week until the Democrats announce how they will proceed.”
Where to even begin, Roy? Yes, anyone who regularly follows the reindeer games of the beltway would admit that – at least in the old school play book – there’s nothing more fun and profitable than giving the Democrats enough rope to hang themselves and sitting back to watch the ensuing train wreck. But are you interested in nothing beyond winning short term? Wouldn’t you rather win and actually govern and build consensus?
Some of your folks were recently talking about a system of local cooperatives, seeded with government funds, which could work like a credit union and provide lower cost care through group savings. What happened to that? And there was a previous idea to simply establish a means test for people who actually can’t afford health insurance and offer them a five thousand dollar stipend which could only be used to purchase insurance from the many private plans currently available. Combined with the savings for waste and abuse which both parties claim can be found, that one would come in costing some multiple of tens of billions. Yes, that’s still a lot of money, but compared to the amounts the Democrats are flushing on a monthly basis, I bet you could have most of your crew doing back flips to vote for a plan with that price tag.
Yes, support for some sort of public, government owned and operated monstrosity is evaporating like summer dew on the grass. And we know that the Democrats won’t even bring any plan you generate up for a vote. But you’re still drawing a salary and you have work to do. Show us you have better ideas instead of no ideas. Don’t leave us in 2010 and 2012 with a choice between “The Party of Bad Ideas” and the “The Party of At Least We’re Not Democrats.” If you do the latter, you may not be rushing toward the sweet election day victories which are now beginning to look as if they are within your grasp. Even if you win that way but don’t produce results, we’ll kick your butts back out of the majority just like we did in 2006 and 2008.
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10 Responses to “We Don’t Need the Party of No Ideas, Guys”
I don't know why it didn't get more attention (and even more so, I don't know why Blunt and others in the GOP leadership don't talk a lot more about it), but Rep Ryan sponsored a bill back in May which was “Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.” The bill is HR2520, The Patient Choice Act of 2009.
So, Blunt is accurate when he says that nothing the GOP authors is going to see the light of day in Nancy's House- but I don''t know why he doesn't bother to specifically credit Ryan and his cosponsors and explain that they already have tried to put legislation forward but have been shot down.
CS, “So, Blunt is accurate when he says that nothing the GOP authors is going to see the light of day in Nancy's House…”
The same thing with the GOP controlled the house, no Dem bill would get to the floor. I agree with Jazz, more ideas need to come out to reform health care so the best solutions from whatever party can be used.
My representative, Jim Matheson (D-UT) is a “Blue Dog” and is fighting for the Co-Op idea and I'm very proud he is.
Do they really need to prove that Pelosi won't let their bills to the floor?! The Dems bill is bad enough, like watching a car accident, I want to look away but I can't. They are right not to divert attention from this. The old rule is when your opponent is committing suicide, get out of the way.
The other rule is that when you are elected to the government, you periodically attempt to govern, not only prepare for the next election.
“Some of your folks were recently talking about a system of local cooperatives, seeded with government funds, which could work like a credit union and provide lower cost care through group savings. What happened to that? And there was a previous idea to simply establish a means test for people who actually can’t afford health insurance and offer them a five thousand dollar stipend which could only be used to purchase insurance from the many private plans currently available.”
Yes, these are exactly the sort of ideas that I want to see coming from the Republicans. My guess as to why they were not pursued (and to CStanley's observation, as to why the GOP is not pointing out that legislation was shot down by the Dems) is that these plans would have cost the government money. And we all know that taxpayers support government. It's probably easier for the GOP to go after Obama than to have to explain why their plans, even though less costly than the Dems' plans, would still be taxpayer supported.
At the moment the GOP's strategy for gaining support is to shoot down Obama. That may change tomorrow and perhaps they will try to paint Dems as obstructionists.
Who knows what the GOP is thinking these days?
Apparently some Tea Party leadership are laughing at and spreading racism because they think that's more effective than using rational arguments against the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association endorsements of HR 3200.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/…
CStanley's link is currently returning an error message, do I can't get any details from this proposal. But if the author is a Republican named Ryan, he must be Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.
I guess he must be the same Ryan of Wisconsin who voted in favor of the Medicare Prescription Drug of 2003. (The brief summary of this piece of legislation from the Wikipedia includes the A former US Comptroller calling it “probably the most fiscally irresponsible piece of legislation since the 1960s”.)
Here's the record of the House vote on the 2003 Medicare bill.
You'll note the Yea votes by all the usual subjects:
Ryan of Wisconsin.
Boehner.
Blunt.
Cantor.
You can look at the list yourself. 204 House Republicans voted in favor of it.
Currently the Democrats are trying to reform our health care system, with its spiraling costs and millions upon millions of uninsured Americans. Debate rages over things like the CBO score, in the shadow of poorly considered legislation like the 2003 Medicare act. It seems to me that Democrats are being more honest about costs that Republicans ever were when they controlled the White House and the Congress.
It also seems to me that Republicans think that if they stop health care reform, they'll benefit. I'm not sure how well founded that idea is. The costs will still be spiraling. Millions upon millions of Americans will still be without insurance.
And Republican are not the party of financial responsibility.
The other aspect of GOP participation that doesn't get much notice would be the continuing efforts of Baucus(D) and Grassley(R) to come up with a bipartisan plan in the Senate.
Actually, the Republicans are not obliged in any way to provide an alternative new federal entitlement, and those who assume or insist on this are being dishonest. Of course, by offering no entitlement, or opposing the entitlement that liberals want, or at a greater level preferred by liberals, the GOP earns wrath.
The Republican Party has plenty of ideas, it's just that they are about making sure that their financial backers make the most possible money on the back of the American Public. As far as they are concerned we have the best health care system in the world in that Insurance Companies, Drug Companies and their various other corporate supporters can rape the public at will.
And unfortunately, the Republican Party cannot get up in the morning and tell the public what it's ideas are because if they did they would lose every election cycle as far as the eye can see, so they lie, create pointless diversions (Gays and Guns) and appeal to the racists (Southern Strategy). When they win, they do such a fine job governing (Heck of a Job Brownie) that even the corporate media cannot shield them from their greed and stupidity.