Observations at a Health Fair: Why the Rethugs are against the ACA

[Cane4Dems]

I had a very interesting weekend helping out at my first health fair, one entirely run by a student organization of our med school and open to anyone who doesn't have insurance and needs free medical care.

Throughout the day these were the major observations I made:

(1) The number of people that attended this fair simply astounded me- I knew our healthcare system is broken but I was shocked that there was a 2 hr waiting time by the middle of the morning....and most of the people waiting in line didn't mind the long wait!

(2) The ACA was a major point of discussion among my discussions with many patients. A lot of them said that they never truly understood the effects of Obamacare, but that this recent govt. shutdown made them interested in learning about it. And a lot of them said that after their research they realized that they had many misconceptions about the program.

(3) Most said that after reading up about the ACA they immediately made an effort to sign up for it or are planning to do so. So even though Democrats have never been good at selling the program in my honest opinion, a huge thanks to the dumbass Republicans for putting spotlight on the ACA.

(4) Most of the people who said that they would be beneficiaries of the ACA also told me that they've never made an effort to be involved in politics, but now they are truly motivated to do so. One young lady told me that she feels an obligation to vote for Democrats in future elections and that she'll make an effort to tell her friends and family to do so too. One person told me that they had been a pretty staunch republican for most of their life, and that now they feel ashamed of being one. One middle-aged man even told me that the ACA has made him "a democrat for life"

.....and its point #4 which truly scares Republicans. The reason they keep fighting against it is that they know that the ACA is a great program- one that the masses will truly embrace. They know that once people realize how much the program is helping them they will want to vote in the party that helped establish it aka the democrats.

The republicans know that with the changes in demographics they are already on their last legs (along with taking the wrong stance on every important issue). And with the impending success of the ACA they are truly toast.

[TheMastersNemesis]

1. The Real Truth Is That That GOP Wants The Takers And Useless Eaters To Die.

They believe they are going to stop the Affordable Care Act in this country and will just destroy the economy and take even their supporters with it. We are dealing with a very abnormal situation here.

[Ikonoklast]

21. One Must Be Careful Of What One Wishes For....

The GOP just might be horribly surprised one day to wake up only to find just who the majority of the citizens of this nation now consider "Takers" and "Useless Eaters".

[calimary]

34. Well, many of the red states already are.

The red states, on average, chow down on far more in tax benefits and pay-outs than they pay in. Many of the red states are classified as "taker states."

[Cha]

2. Wow! So, ironically the gop/teabagger Gov Shutdown is

making more people investigate ACA/Obamacare!

How's that for Blowback.

Thanks Cane4Dems

[DhhD]

12. And voting Democratic will keep the ACA active for everyone, no matter their medical condition

as they age.

[Benton D Struckcheon]

3. No such thing as bad publicity.

Cruz shoulda thought of that.

[annabanana]

22. HA! Love lovelove it! . . n/t

[KauaiK]

4. If you real enough history, the GOP has taken the wrong stance

on EVERY issues since the Civil War from child labor to the women's right to vote, to civil rights, etc. I only hope this latest GOP created debacle will be the demise of the Republican Party.

[Bjorn Against]

7. I would actually say that since Reagan they have been consistently wrong

The Republicans were far more progressive at one time, Teddy Roosevelt and Fighting Bob LaFollette both had Republican ties as did many in the Civil Rights movement. The Republicans were actually once more supportive of Civil Rights than the Democrats were, although it took a Democrat in LBJ to actually get the Civil Rights Act passed, he had to go against many in his own party to do so. The south was almost entirely Democratic then and now it has flipped to almost entirely Republican as all the white racists left the Democratic Party and became Republicans.

The Republican Party was at one time in history a respectable party, but they became more and more corrupt over time and have now morphed into something truly awful.

[Historic NY]

5. Thank you, if you don't have health you have nothing...

people are finally getting it.....Obama does care.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. Four strong points, well stated. nt

[Curmudgeoness]

8. Your points are well stated, and thanks for posting the experience.

Also, thanks for volunteering at the health fair. I am sure it was quite an eye-opening experience. And you were part of the solution. Win/win.

[tblue37]

9. #4 is precisely the point Orrin Hatch made--that if the ACA is allowed to function, the

Dems will never lose another election.

[MyNameGoesHere]

10. It is something more I believe

As a nation we have lost touch with the Americans that first experiences social programs on a grand scale. They were implemented in the same kicking and screaming fashion we see with ACA. Yes they were wildly popular. And, it essentially made the republicans to "wonder in the desert" for 30-40 years. But through gerrymandering, time, and one hell of a media campaign people forgot that democrats are the peoples party. That time is upon us once again. Soon you will see the publics answer for "Who is capable of helping the common person more?" Why democrats of course. Back to wondering in the desert you fools. You could have been a part of it but you chose derision over kindness, compassion and good governance. You chose poorly.

[Iliyah]

11. K & R

[bluestate10]

13. Most importantly, any one that is currently paying for health insurance and don't have

an employer paying will realize how much republicans have lied to them about the ACA. Republicans have and are seriously lying about the law. Once people begin to see how much they have been lied to by republicans, other lies that republicans have told them will fall under closer examination.

[Grins]

14. "...once people realize how much the program is helping them..."

"They know that once people realize how much the program is helping them they will want to vote in the party that helped establish it, aka the democrats. "

Absolutely correct. William "The Bloody" Kristol knew what happened in the UK when they installed the National Health Service - conservatives were toast for years because they opposed it. Today, the Tories support the NHS as it has become a third rail in British politics.

[Heather MC]

15. The Republicans could have worked with the Dems on this bill

and then fought over who got the credit for the success
instead they fought against it, helping to draw a clear line of Distinction between which party cares about Us and which one doesn't give two fucks

[Dawgs]

16. I explained Obamacare to my Mom this way.

Say Obama decided to offer an inexpensive smart phone to everyone as long as they signed up for the government plan. Now say that the government plan only cost $25 a month and that everything was included (unlimited texts, data, long distance, etc.).

You would initially see a lot of tea-party republicans and libertarians get upset about it, but eventually most would buy one and it would become really popular - aka Social Security.

[TBF]

17. But it's deeper than that - it is not just unpopularity of the party

because they are certainly capable of fixing voting machines (we know they have done that previously). They know it will cost $$$. Right now they are paying for defense and giving themselves tax breaks. When the dust settles and republicans are asked to pay for domestic programs they fight it - they would rather push around the rest of the world with their military might and let poor folks suffer. They simply do not want to pay for it. They are at heart greedy assholes.

[caseymoz]

18. Republicans are against anything that . . .

. . . directly or indirectly raises wages or raises taxes on the wealthy. It's really that simple.

It comes down to their constituency wanting more money. The wealthy want to hold on to more of it when they get it, and they want a large population of desperate people that they could hire at minimal cost and discard or replace at will.

Health care is now almost an equal motivator to work as wages are. Without that incentive, the wealthy are going to have to raise wages, and people are more likely to quit their jobs when discontent.

[BobbyBoring]

19. One way you can always tell if something is good or bad for US

If something benefits the average American, the rethugs are against it!

[ramapo]

20. Where is this?

Just curious what state you're in, especially if it is a red one.

[Cane4Dems]

23. its a purple state

Florida

[libodem]

24. You know what?

If it is not a clean bill? It is a dirty bill. Filthy dirty.


Just like 'them'.

[Leopolds Ghost]

25. How is forcing people to purchase health insurance in a govt-setup marketplace or pay a fine liberal

Answer: it's not. Newt Gingrich came up with the idea as a way to permanently stave off single-payer health coverage.

As I mentioned on this site many years ago, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Tom Daschle sat down with the Insurance lobby to write the bill. They agreed that it was a way to prevent any push for single-payer, and to protect the profits of the Insurance industry by ensuring that people could not avoid paying for private health care. As quoted in the Washington Monthly, years ago when the Hillary plan was being drafted.

They also wanted to make sure that any funding for the nonexistent "public option" came out of the pockets of people being fined, not our of the insurance industry profits. Why? To ensure that the public option did not compete with mandated private individual health coverage for the uninsured.

Also watch corporate health care be converted to individualized health exchange credits on the open market, given the perverse incentive to do so.

Watch "liberal" democrats trumpet this fact on DU, the way they trumpet how many people Clinton "got off" the welfare rolls.

[juajen]

37. On what do you base your information?

I would like to read it, not throwing up barriers to your post.

[Leopolds Ghost]

40. Washington Monthly. However I would have to look it up since it came out a long time ago.

Before Obama ran for office, certainly.

[gopiscrap]

26. Wow

[Hoyt]

27. Those with pre-existing conditions like ACA. We gotta make it clear to "well folks" benefit too.

The key to ACA, now and in future, is to have folks who don't need it immediately see the benefits in the program. If "well folks" continue to gripe, it will never be improved.

[dreamerBoy]

28. EASY MUST READ "Inside the GOP" (Dem research)

You cannot understand why the GOP is acting the way it is without understanding how those people think ...

http://www.democracycorps.com/attachments/article/954/dcor%20rpp%20fg%20memo%20100313%20final.pdf

[calimary]

35. Welcome to DU, dreamerBoy!

Glad you're here! Good stuff. Know thine enemy! Much valuable and illuminating information - which is more than likely merely to reaffirm what a lot of us already believe. Good to see it verified - YET AGAIN. Man, reading through some of that - there are way too many frickin' paranoiacs in this country! And MAN do they have it wrong! ALL wrong! But they sure have helped themselves to the Kool-aid. No wonder they're uncomfortable about where they stand - and reluctant to voice it honestly (or even write it down) unless they're sure they're with like-minded people. Well, in my opinion, they SHOULD be uncomfortable about where they stand. Because they're just damned WRONG!!!!!

[AAO]

41. Just read the whole thing

I think everyone should. It actually humanizes some of these people as you can kind of understand their irrational fears. They're dead wrong of course, but they dont't know that and they are very afraid.

Do I feel sorry for them? Not on your life! Or your healthcare!!

[dreamerBoy]

29. Opposing Health Care is all about keeping the labor force weak in the South

Tea Partiers are NOT ignorant, irrational hicks. They know exactly what they're doing and they're going about it in a very rational way.

http://www.salon.com/2013/10/06/tea_party_radicalism_is_misunderstood_meet_the_newest_right/

[dougolat]

39. Excellent! even more of a must read IMHO...Thanks ...nt

[tulsakatz]

30. health care voters

.....and its point #4 which truly scares Republicans. The reason they keep fighting against it is that they know that the ACA is a great program- one that the masses will truly embrace. They know that once people realize how much the program is helping them they will want to vote in the party that helped establish it aka the democrats.

I agree. Until now, I thought republicans wanted to get rid of it because they knew it would be successful. But now I believe they're afraid they'll lose republican votes since Obama & the democrats just saved them a bunch of money on health insurance!! Republicans love money & they'll remember that for a long time!

In Ken Burns' documentary about the Dust Bowl, one person they interviewed said her dad had always voted for republicans. But when he saw the efforts of FDR to change the conditions that led to the dust bowl, he began voting for democrats instead!!

I think the ACA could do something similar. Republicans are already terrified because they see their base (white voters) is dwindling. They see that the country is becoming more diverse & that their policies are not popular with non white voters. If they lose even more because of Obamacare, it may be a very long time before they win another national election!!

I read an article a few days ago that said something similar (that Obamacare could create more democratic voters)...

Until now, social welfare programs in the United States have exhibited a “big hole,” Professor Skocpol said, consisting of nonpoor working-age Americans and their children. Obamacare closes a big chunk of it.

“The main beneficiaries tend to have lower wages, employed in smaller businesses that are not providing health insurance,” she said. “They are not elderly. They are also not the poorest.”

And they might be grateful to Democrats for the benefit.

To conservative Republicans, losing a large slice of the middle class to the ranks of the Democratic Party could justify extreme measures.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/02/business/economy/why-the-health-care-law-scares-the-gop.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20131002&_r=1&

[EC]

31. If the republicans had a single brain cell

between them all, maybe they would have jumped on board and taken some credit for setting up a good health plan. But they don't even have that, so they fought it instead.

[underpants]

32. Excellent

+

[BillyRibs]

33. Point 2) Comment,

Their is no such thing as bad press.

[calimary]

36. Welcome to DU, Cane4Dems!

Great to have you with us! Wonderful assessment you have here! I like the part that suggests the GOP is on borrowed time because people are going to see that the ACA is helpful to them and will save them money, ie: a KEEPER! They're selfish and mean-spirited and they just plainly don't want to help you. And if you're on the correct side of that, you can count on many electoral victories to come. Victories so locked in that they can't even cheat successfully!

They ARE INDEED on the WRONG side of history! It's amazing how many good ideas they fought against. They deserve to be an endangered species. As the Democratic governor of Kentucky said in a recent editorial (paraphrasing): "GET OUT OF THE WAY so I can help my people!" They don't want to help anybody. They believe the catch-all answer should be "you're on your own, pal." They think everyone's problems will somehow magically disappear if they just start a business and keep on voting republi-CON. Eventually it will trickle down to them! There simply MUST be a pony under all that horse-shit!

WRONG. AGAIN.

[Cane4Dems]

42. thanks for the warm welcome!

I love this site and everyone part of it! Glad to know us liberals are standing united while the rethugs are trying to destroy the country

[Berlum]

38. k and r

nt