Oct
8
What’s So Bad (or Great) About Obamacare? (Part 1 of 9)
Several weeks ago, I decided to write an article – something I’d never done before – on the current legislation being proposed by Congress to address various problems in U.S. health care. I figured the research would help me get a better understanding of the issues, and maybe I could even find someone to pay me to publish it. Well, I never did pursue the publishing thing, but now that I have this newly-minted blog at my disposal, why not share the article with my fellow blogophiles?
I couldn’t cover every issue related to the health care topic, obviously, but the article does discuss some of the larger, more common concerns. It’s a little longer than I originally planned, so I’ve decided to “chunk it up”, probably into 7 or 8 successive posts.
I hope you all find it a worthwhile read….
What’s So Bad (or Great) About Obamacare?
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I mean, really? What is all the fuss about? Are these “protesters” causing all the ruckus at town-hall meetings genuine or just “astroturf” activists organized by Republican Party shills to lie about the currently proposed legislation (specifically, H.R. 3200) and use scaremongering tactics? And, since when is it “un-American” to stage civil protests of government policy or action? The Democrats certainly had no problem with it when they and their radical friends at MoveOn.org and Code Pink were the ones doing the protesting.
Full disclosure: While I’ve never done any work for the Republican Party, I am a member. But, I am also not averse to complaining and pointing out when the GOP politicians and/or leadership do something unwise, unethical, wrongheaded, or otherwise just ‘bad’.
So, are these just spurious, ideologically-motivated attacks? Well, no and yes.
Personally, I’m not so sure how appropriate or effective some of the behavior was that we have seen and heard at these town-hall meetings. To me, more ground could have been covered and (perhaps) progress made if there was a little less ranting and shouting down, however justified.
But, I certainly understand the fear, anger, and frustration expressed by these people. And, as far as I can tell, there is no “astroturfing” going on. (For the uninitiated, this term is used to describe alleged, fake grassroots gatherings and organized protests.) Sure, some conservatively-minded organizations are trying to help educate people on the issues and on the bill and are encouraging people to “get involved” and speak out. But, there are no covert, GOP-funded efforts to attack Obamacare just because they don’t like President Obama or Speaker of the House Pelosi, D-CA, or Senate Majority Leader Reid, D-NV, or anyone else who is pushing for this plan.
< to be continued… >
