Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

marmar

(76,985 posts)
Wed Feb 25, 2015, 12:19 AM Feb 2015

Once a piece of sh*t, always a piece of sh*t





With oral arguments in King v. Burwell just eight days away, Republicans are talking more and more about what they’ll do if the Supreme Court sides with them and effectively wipes out subsidized Obamacare insurance in two-thirds of the states.

On Monday, it was Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) speaking at the Heritage Foundation, where he promised to unveil a “short-term” fix that would avoid disruption -- thereby giving Republicans time to come up with a permanent alternative to the Affordable Care Act. On Tuesday, former Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) joined the fray with a Wall Street Journal op-ed that sketched out what such a plan might look like.

Should you take this talk seriously? Republicans have been promising to craft alternatives to Obamacare for as long as they’ve been trying to wipe it off the books -- in other words, for nearly the entire five years that the law has been in existence. They've come nowhere close to coalescing around a serious proposal. In this case, inaction may speak louder than words. At best, improving access to health care doesn't seem to be a priority for the GOP. At worst, it's not something they appear inclined to do at all.

Gramm’s op-ed reveals this as well as anything you’ll read or hear these days. In the piece, Gramm warns his fellow Republicans that if they get the ruling they hope for in King v. Burwell, it will unleash policy and political chaos. Without Obamacare’s subsidies, which can be worth hundreds or thousands of dollars a year, millions of lower- and middle-income Americans would suddenly find insurance unaffordable -- and would almost certainly have to give up coverage altogether. This, Gramm says, would place enormous pressure on state and federal officials to take immediate action. ........................(more)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/24/gop-obamacare-replacement_n_6745080.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013



8 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Once a piece of sh*t, always a piece of sh*t (Original Post) marmar Feb 2015 OP
I once saw Gramm screw up and forget his phony down home accent. I think he was talking brewens Feb 2015 #1
It'd be hard to find a more loathsome creature. nt Guy Whitey Corngood Feb 2015 #2
maybe gutting ACA would be good for dems NEXT year - repubs cut your health care, voters! nt msongs Feb 2015 #3
Ironic since the ACA was their alternative originally, ErikJ Feb 2015 #4
He's still alive? jberryhill Feb 2015 #5
Nicely done! Euphoria Feb 2015 #7
The Heritage Foundation created the idea of the individual mandate nakocal Feb 2015 #6
The big obstacle is TheKentuckian Feb 2015 #8

brewens

(13,400 posts)
1. I once saw Gramm screw up and forget his phony down home accent. I think he was talking
Wed Feb 25, 2015, 12:30 AM
Feb 2015

about social security and said something about his momma, pronouncing it correctly. Then he got this deer in the headlights look, catching himself as quick as that came out of his mouth and repronounced it mowmuh or whatever he usually uses. No good pal, I heard ya! He may have a genuine southern accent but he at least ramps it up speaking in public. I always thought Bushs' was a put on too, playing the yokels.

 

jberryhill

(62,444 posts)
5. He's still alive?
Wed Feb 25, 2015, 12:56 AM
Feb 2015

i met him once.

The GOP convention was in Philly and protests had tied up the bus route through center city from the Four Seasons (back when it was on the expressway) and South Broad to the convention.

So a lot of the delegates were apparently walking through center city to pick up other buses south of there.

I was talking on a payphone... wow, a payphone on a city street... And he comes walking by.

So I say to the person on the phone, "Senator Phil Gramm is here!" and he looks at me and his face lights up with the usual politician smile of "you recognize me!" And I continue the conversation with "Really! That slimy son of a bitch is looking right at me!"

That smile left his face faster than a rat at a cat show.

nakocal

(528 posts)
6. The Heritage Foundation created the idea of the individual mandate
Wed Feb 25, 2015, 01:01 AM
Feb 2015

The Heritage Foundation created the idea of the individual mandate. They should be happy that their plan was implemented. But instead they have disowned their own idea and are actively working to kill thousands of Americans so that the black man in their White House will not be able to claim any accomplishments. What a bunch of low-life, hypocritical, racist, anti-American, unChristian vermin.

TheKentuckian

(24,949 posts)
8. The big obstacle is
Wed Feb 25, 2015, 03:21 AM
Feb 2015

the TeaPubliKlans can't come up with an alternative plan because the Wealthcare and Profit Protection Act is already their best shot.
It is the dumbest, most wealth funneling, biggest industry propping up, scamtastic, population exploiting, poorest value, market oriented, most conservative, corporation enabling, universal care stalling plan that in any arguable way is workable.

The biggest problem with it for TeaPubliKlans is Obama particularly and Democrats generally not only implemented it but worse tried to take credit for it.
For addressing the right this is really a marketing problem, this should have been rolled out with Obama humbly declaring that Clinton had "over reached" and that he was going to use the "common sense", "freedom respecting" proposal first formulated by the Heritage Foundation and presented by Newt Gingrich as the responsible alternative to the "out of step" plan by Clinton and used the opportunity to have a "Sistah Soldier" moment to hippie punch and invite McConnell and Boehner to join him in bringing their party's brain child to the American people.

Nothing much would change but TeaPubliKlans could be saved from having to go through all these shenanigans understanding this is their scam and silly Democrats could be relieved of pretending this is our baby and that we love the right wing con instead of being the maximum massage of the system to reduce suffering that the insurance cartel would tolerate that could increase their profits and long term viability.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Once a piece of sh*t, alw...