Pelosi and Hoyer say Healthcare protesters are "Un-American"

[FriscoDog]

Op-ed in USA Today:

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/...e-debate-.html

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'Un-American' attacks can't derail health care debate

By Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer

Americans have been waiting for nearly a century for quality, affordable health care.


Health coverage for all was on the national agenda as early as 1912, thanks to Teddy Roosevelt's Bull Moose presidential run. Months after
World War II came to an end in 1945,
President Harry Truman called on Congress to guarantee all Americans the "right to adequate medical care and protection from the economic fears of sickness." From President
Lyndon Johnson to
President Bill Clinton, to President
Obama's winning campaign on the promise of reform, there hasn't been a more debated domestic issue than the promise of affordable health care for all.

(Steny Hoyer/USA TODAY)
(Nancy Pelosi/USA TODAY)



We believe it is healthy for such a historic effort to be subject to so much scrutiny and debate. The failure of past attempts is a reminder that health insurance reform is a defining moment in our nation's history — it is well worth the time it takes to get it right. We are confident that we will get this right.
Already, three House committees have passed this critical legislation and over August, the two of us will work closely with those three committees to produce one strong piece of legislation that the House will approve in September.
In the meantime, as members of Congress spend time at home during August, they are talking with their constituents about reform. The dialogue between elected representatives and constituents is at the heart of our democracy and plays an integral role in assuring that the legislation we write reflects the genuine needs and concerns of the people we represent.
However, it is now evident that an ugly campaign is underway not merely to misrepresent the health insurance reform legislation, but to disrupt public meetings and prevent members of Congress and constituents from conducting a civil dialogue. These tactics have included hanging in effigy one Democratic member of Congress in Maryland and protesters holding a sign displaying a tombstone with the name of another congressman in Texas, where protesters also shouted "Just say no!" drowning out those who wanted to hold a substantive discussion.
Let the facts be heard
These disruptions are occurring because opponents are afraid not just of differing views — but of the facts themselves. Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American. Drowning out the facts is how we failed at this task for decades.
Health care is complex. It touches every American life. It drives our economy. People must be allowed to learn the facts.
The first fact is that health insurance reform will mean more patient choice. It will allow every American who likes his or her current plan to keep it. And it will free doctors and patients to make the health decisions that make the most sense, not the most profits for insurance companies.
Reform will mean stability and peace of mind for the middle class. Never again will medical bills drive Americans into bankruptcy; never again will Americans be in danger of losing coverage if they lose their jobs or if they become sick; never again will insurance companies be allowed to deny patients coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
Lower costs, better care
Reform will mean affordable coverage for all Americans. Our plan's cost-lowering measures include a public health insurance option to bring competitive pressure to bear on rapidly consolidating private insurers, research on health outcomes to better inform the decisions of patients and doctors, and electronic medical records to help doctors save money by working together. For seniors, the plan closes the notorious Medicare Part D "doughnut hole" that denies drug coverage to those with between $2,700 and $6,100 per year in prescriptions.
Reform will also mean higher-quality care by promoting preventive care so health problems can be addressed before they become crises. This, too, will save money. We'll be a much healthier country if all patients can receive regular checkups and tests, such as mammograms and diabetes exams, without paying a dime out-of-pocket.
This month, despite the disruptions, members of Congress will listen to their constituents back home and explain reform legislation. We are confident that our principles of affordable, quality health care will stand up to any and all critics.
Now — with Americans strongly supporting health insurance reform, with Congress reaching consensus on a plan, and with a president who ran and won on this specific promise of change — America is closer than ever to this century-deferred goal.
This fall, at long last, we must reach it.

Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is speaker of the House and
Steny Hoyer, D-Md., is House majority leader.

[weunice]

To the extent they are violent, disruptive, rude and disrespectful they are un-American. It doesn't say they are against people voicing concerns. It says they are against the kind of tactics people criticized Obama and his close buddies for using during their political careers.

Pot meet kettle.

[FriscoDog]

Also found this on the astroturf:

http://www.redstate.com/absentee/200...alk-astroturf/

[Dawgmatic]

I think Nancy Pelosi is un-American. Wretched heifer.

[TYLERTECHSAS]

Talk about "Un-American".

White House Launches
Health Tattle-Tale Site

Obama administration takes next step in its 'fishy' health care offensive, launching Web site that asks public to report 'wild rumors' and 'myths' | COMPLETE COVERAGE

[TechsasDawg]

I think Nancy Pelosi is un-American. Wretched heifer.

Careful now, Dawgmatic. You get the heiffers riled up, and you end up with sour milk for life!!!


TD
~~

[Dawgmatic]

Careful now, Dawgmatic. You get the heiffers riled up, and you end up with sour milk for life!!!


TD
~~

I'm already soured on Pelosi. Didn't mean to insult heifers. It was much nicer than what I was thinking. :icon_wink:

[FishingBack]

Lower cost and better care? Bull shiesta.

Pelosi is decidedly unamerican.

[SicemDawgz]

It's easy to see why she called her a heifer. No bull would touch that.:icon_wink:

[Rooster]

In all honesty, I don't why this "reform" is needed. The uninsured have Medicaid, they can walk into an ER and get treatment and not be turned away. Why is this plan needed?

[Guisslapp]

Because big government is the rage.

[FishingBack]

In all honesty, I don't why this "reform" is needed. The uninsured have Medicaid, they can walk into an ER and get treatment and not be turned away. Why is this plan needed?

Exactly. And even then, why control 100% of america when it's really the poor who have trouble? Why drag the rest of us down with them?

[weunice]

In all honesty, I don't why this "reform" is needed. The uninsured have Medicaid, they can walk into an ER and get treatment and not be turned away. Why is this plan needed?

Because the system is broken and everyone knows it who has been involved with it.

My son had a 2-inch brain tumor removed at a cost of well over $100,000 (he is OK, it was benign). After the insurance battle settled the surgeon got about $3,000. The ER I showed up with my son at was filled with uninsured people with low grade fevers and headaches. There is a huge gap in primary care that needs to be dealt with. Just like it does America good to have educated citizens, it does us well to have healthy citizens. I was told by nurses that hospital staff love insured folks like me because they know real money will show up after my treatment. They also told me 70% of the patients at said hospital are uninsured. In the current system doctors are paid for their services by the insured which means costs are elevated maybe 5-10 times to deal with the reality of the fact that so many cannot afford to pay.

My problem isn't that something needed to be done. Something does. Of course I strongly question the Democrats plan. You can follow the $$$ to the various medical lobbies and determine the outcome. Its going to favor Democrat friendly sectors over Republican friendly sectors. The talking points spell that out clearly. It isn't like we should be surprised. We will trade one broken system for another. One paid for by insurers, the other by taxpayers. I am sold a solution is needed. I am not sold this is the right plan without some significant rework (which if Democrats were swift, they would do) ....

[duckbillplatty]

I honestly don't know, Rooster. I have seen nothing in this attempt at reform that is going to make things better. I would be a lot happier with a healthcare system that is 100% provided by the government than this legislative abortion.

[Guisslapp]

Because the system is broken and everyone knows it who has been involved with it.

My son had a 2-inch brain tumor removed at a cost of well over $100,000 (he is OK, it was benign). After the insurance battle settled the surgeon got about $3,000. The ER I showed up with my son at was filled with uninsured people with low grade fevers and headaches. There is a huge gap in primary care that needs to be dealt with. Just like it does America good to have educated citizens, it does us well to have healthy citizens. I was told by nurses that hospital staff love insured folks like me because they know real money will show up after my treatment. They also told me 70% of the patients at said hospital are uninsured. In the current system doctors are paid for their services by the insured which means costs are elevated maybe 5-10 times to deal with the reality of the fact that so many cannot afford to pay.

My problem isn't that something needed to be done. Something does. Of course I strongly question the Democrats plan. You can follow the $$$ to the various medical lobbies and determine the outcome. Its going to favor Democrat friendly sectors over Republican friendly sectors. The talking points spell that out clearly. It isn't like we should be surprised. We will trade one broken system for another. One paid for by insurers, the other by taxpayers. I am sold a solution is needed. I am not sold this is the right plan without some significant rework (which if Democrats were swift, they would do) ....

The whole thing is a shell game and people with money are the ones stuck with the bill. Nothing will change in that regard.

As long as people don't pay the true cost for the health care they use there will always be pent up demand. There are not enough primary care physicians, because most people are not willing to pay them what they are worth. That sends everyone to the ER where Federal law requires the hospital to serve you. Well, America may be better off with healthy citizens we have to be careful what we make an entitlement, because anything that makes life more comfortable can quickly become an entitlement.