Healthcare is 'a privilege...not a right': GOP lawmaker

[MiaCulpa]

Source: Raw Story

President Obama is set to convene a summit on reforming healthcare Thursday, and some Republicans are already taking shots. Rep. Zach Wamp (Rep-Tenn) told MSNBC's Tamron Hall that Obama's proposed healthcare plans would be a "fast march to socialism", and that he believes that healthcare is not a right because many choose not to have insurance.

"This is almost class warfare in order for him to be able to say everyone now has health care. Listen, healthcare is a privilege," said Wamp.

The MSNBC anchor was almost taken aback by the "privilege" remark and asked Wamp to explain. "If you have cancer right now do you see it as a privilege to get some treatment?"

"I was just about to say, for some people it's a right but for everyone frankly it's not necessarily a right," he said. "Half the people uninsured today choose to remain uninsured. Half of them don't have any choice, but half of them choose to what's called 'go naked' and take the risk of getting sick. They end up in the emergency room costing you and me a whole lot more money."

Read more: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/GOP_Rep._Healthcare_not_right_0305.html

---

Full article and video at the link.



-Diane

[FiveGoodMen]

1. Which is precisely whats wrong with it.

We need to agree that it is, in fact, a right.

[radfringe]

62. he made the case for universal health coverage

..."They end up in the emergency room costing you and me a whole lot more money"

if they had universal coverage - they wouldn't be using the emergency room as a way to get health care....

[FiveGoodMen]

93. Absolutely.

The glorification of selfishness has done a lot of damage to this country.

Before Reagan, I think people would have been quicker to see through such nonsense.

[madaboutharry]

2. I don't understand these people.

How did they get so fucked up?

[SharonAnn]

46. But he's a strong Christian and part of The Fellowship. He must be Christ-like, right?

[No Elephants]

71. Clearly, Christ thought the uninsured had a right to treatment. I cannot recall one

story of His healing anyone who had health insurance (or big bucks).

[burythehatchet]

67. Conservatism is a mental illness.

[No Elephants]

72. More and more, I think many of the differences between Dems and Pubs are hard wired.

[BOSSHOG]

3. So no doubt wamp added that he would

give up his excellent taxpayer provided privileged health care for him and his family immediately. Ain't it incredibly ugly, hateful and downright evil conservative values are.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

4. HEY ZACK, IF I HAD BEEN ABLE TO AFFORD HEALTHCARE 10 YEARS AGO...

I WOULDN'T HAVE A TOTALLY OCCLUDED RIGHT CORONARY ARTERY.

YOU POOPHEAD

[eleny]

5. Which is why they lost

[Tempest]

27. And it seems they never want to win again

Wamp just gave the Democrats another campaign ad for the 2010 elections.

[Bigmack]

61. IF the Dems will use it...

The only place I see video of the Repubs making dumbshit statements is on the Daily Show.

[No Elephants]

74. Good point. Dems need to get the truth out there early and often.

[Posteritatis]

6. "For some people it's a right" - well isn't that nice (nt)

[alstephenson]

37. Nice, indeed.

I saw this POS on MSNBC this morning and it's been burning me up all day. He needs to be the poster child for health care reform.

[christx30]

59. The thinking that they have is...

it's a privilage that you have to pay for. A right is something that you can exersize without it costing anyone else anything.
You can speak out against Chimpy and no one else has to pay for it. But you can't go into a doctor and say "I have a right to healthcare. Give it to me now." A doctor has to be paid for his services, as well as anything that he uses to take care of you.
To be able to walk into a place and demand service with no outlay of money on your part or any way or paying for it would be tantamount to slavery. I mean... think about it... If someone came to you and said "I want you to mow my lawn. You have no choice." what would you think? That's what they mean by healthcare not being a right. Someone else has to pay for it when you partake in it.
Or I could be wrong and they are just pricks. I just know from listening to the right wing rants that my dad made me listen to all the time when I was a kid.

[eridani]

70. Or it could be a public good that everybody has to pay for, like the fire department

Everyone in my fire district has the right to service from the fire department should it be necessary. A heart attack is not like an iPod; it is like a house fire.

[No Elephants]

73. By him, it's a "right" if you can afford to pay for it. Otherwise, die

young, simply because you cannot pay for a doctor, like my son's friend did on December 30, 2008.

(RIP, Dave.)

[classysassy]

104. Its a right

if you are an elected or unelected congressperson or president.

[SammyWinstonJack]

123. Seems to be a 'right' for Congress, but not for the rest of us.

Take away their taxpayer funded health care plan and they would scream bloody murder. Hypocrites!

[UpInArms]

7. Rep. Zach Wamp (Rep-Tenn)

take away his taxpayer paid for insurance

right f***ing now!

[MiaCulpa]

9. It would be nice to take away his insurance.

See how quick he screams for Universal health care.

-Diane

[closeupready]

13. Got that right.

:mad:

[GReedDiamond]

58. Rep. Wimp...

...is a SOCIALIST when it's beneficial to him, or his corporate overlords.

What a fucking scumbag.

[vssmith]

65. Right!

We want everyone to have healthcare paid by the same people who pay for his

[No Elephants]

75. BINGO! I'd rather pay for health insurance for some unemployed shlub than for some jerk whose

salary I am already paying and who is probably getting rich from lobbyists to vote against my best interests.

[Turbineguy]

8. Well, it may not be a right

Strickly speaking (as in guaranteed by the US Consttution). But a healthy society is a good investment.

[Melinda]

108. Actually, under 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd emergency healthcare IS a right

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (42 U.S.C. § 1395dd) or EMTALA is a United States Act of Congress passed in 1986 as part of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. It requires hospitals and ambulance services to provide care to anyone needing emergency treatment regardless of citizenship, legal status or ability to pay. And there are no reimbursement provisions.

The Congree critter is sadly uninformed. Under EMTALA, anyone in need of urgent medical assistance is now legally guaranteed to receive it.

Emergency medical care -- it's a right.

[vduhr]

117. I've heard that argument before, and it's weak.

Yes, you can go to the emergency room for anything that you feel is an emergency, even a sore throat, but if you have cancer or any long-term illness, where do you go for healthcare without health insurance? An illness that may be curable, could be fatal if no treatment is available. Remember the boy that died from a tooth infection?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/27/AR2007022702116.html

I hate it when people assume that all situations fit the same mold.

[gratuitous]

10. Did Wamp's head spin off his neck?

Trying to make sense of this, and head off just presuming that Wamp is an imbecile. Not an easy thing to do: He says that some people (fortunately, he doesn't get too specific) "choose" to go without health insurance. And when those nameless, faceless people get sick anyway, they cost everyone a whole lot more money. So, wouldn't it make sense to set up a system so that people paid a little into the system through their taxes, and no longer cost everyone else "a whole lot more money" with their foolish and self-destructive choices?

I mean, like it or not, practically everyone is going to need to avail himself or herself of health care at some point over the course of a lifetime. Doesn't it make sense to set up a system where doing so doesn't destroy every other aspect of a person's life by incurring ginormous bills?

What a dimwit. Tennessee, do your duty by the rest of this country, and turn this ignoramus out of office at your next opportunity.

[glinda]

11. Wamp having his job is a privilege and not a right.

[Believing Is Art]

12. "Choose not to have insurance."

Yeah, instead they chose to keep a roof over their family's heads and food on the table. The great unwashed, living beyond their means.

[No Elephants]

76. Or, they chose an economy in which even food and a roof are becoming luxuries. Oh, no. That was

our gubbamint and the likes of AIG, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, et al. And most of all, Ronnie Raygun, Dummya and their accomplices.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

14. Wamp: Some animals are more equal than others. (nt)

[santamargarita]

15. A fascist pig is bad enough, but a fascist hillbilly pig is much worse

Have I told you today how much I hate these people!

[BlueIdaho]

16. Class warfare, socialism, Yadda Yadda Yadda...

Wake me up when he starts comparing us to the Nazis.

SSDD

[Roy]

55. Ooops.. I must learnto read.

[antimatter98]

17. Obama is foot dragging on his promise: give us the same hc as Congress gets.

Obama: where is execution on your promise?

Are you too busy handing our money to the banks to worry about health care?

So far, we see Obama/Geithner handing trillions to the banks and letting social
issues slide. Time to get this president's attention with some million man/women
marches on DC. We can't slack off even if our president is on this issue.

I sense strongly that Obama's team and his 'strong direction' on health care is
at the total control of the health care industry. WHERE IS COMMON SENSE from these
people?

Let's march on the White House, and soon. This is a pitch fork moment for all of us.

[Butch350]

22. How would you suggest this be done? (Health Care reform)

[Tim01]

32. All poor people should have free health care.

And the rich people should pay for all of it.

[Thothmes]

41. No, poor people

should have access to health care at no direct charge if they cannot afford it. Everyone else should pay to support the system with a progressive tax structure. The tax should not be punitive in nature.

[Tim01]

44. You said the same thing as me.

You just said it in a way that makes it sound like it is something it is not.

[tabasco]

48. No, you said rich people should pay for all of it.

A progressive tax structure ensures a stable capitalistic society, in which wealth and power does not become concentrated in the hands of a few.

Middle income and lower income people pay taxes too.

So, why are you a liar?

Maybe pick up a history book and read about the Gilded Age. You seem kind of ignorant.

[Tim01]

50. So the poor people get health care free.

And everybody else pays. The rich pay the most. Very little difference.

No need to start slinging insults.

[elias7]

56. Next, the poor people will want public education for free

Who are these poor people, and why don't they have more money?

[Tim01]

69. You make a good point with this comparison.

I'll have to think about that a bit. Unfortunately your good example is also a bad example. I've seen the recent public education in this country first hand.Rich people pay to send their kids to private schools for a reason. The public schools used to work just fine, but they don't anymore. I think Bushes "no child left behind" is probably the biggest problem. Teachers spend all of their time teaching to a handful of kids who refuse to learn, and don't care if they get in trouble.
But still a good comparison.

[elias7]

112. So the poor people get education for free, but it's OK since it's substandard and optional

[Name removed]

82. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Tim01]

89. No need for insults.

I only know what freep is because it is used as an insult here and I looked it up. And Mccain is not my candidate.

Now, I am all in favor of poor people having health care. But I don't believe that is what would really happen. Emergency rooms are a perfect example. My own personal experience with the local emergency room is that it is clogged with people who are abusing it BECAUSE it is free. It has people in it who are not very sick but go there because they don't have to pay for it. Some of the people I talk to don't know how to go see a regular doctor because their parents never saw a regular doctor, and they have never seen a regular doctor. Rednecks show up at all hours with their whole drunk entourage because they got into a big drunken fight and few people got banged up a little. They become very concerned about their little cuts and scrapes and have no intention of paying the $500.00 bill they have racked up,but they are eager to argue with the doctors so they can all go out for a smoke break.
In all honesty, when I go to my doctors office, the people there are just as sick or injured as the people in the emergency room, with the exception of car wrecks.The doctors bill is about 1/6 that of the emergency room, and it actually gets paid. I know of locals who end up in the emergency room because they are lonely/bored(not making this up), and others because they are too drunk to walk.
People who are truly poor, and really want to work, won't go to the free clinic and wait 6 hours to see a doctor when they need to be at work.

So my objection is based on my own personal real world experience. My objection is that I do not believe it would save money. I do not believe it would be beneficial to poor people. And I believe it would be a huge drain on the economy,which of course would create more poor people. I believe it would be worse than what we have now.
I'd be happy to help poor people who need help, and want to work. THAT IS WHAT I DO.

[wildflower]

98. But don't you think if health care were available & affordable to all,

they wouldn't have to go to the emergency room? The ER could go back to emergencies only, and money would be saved.

[Tim01]

100. Sure that makes sense.

But is when we expect everybody else to make sense where we run into trouble. I've actually been in the emergency room working on equipment, doing my job, more injured than the people who are in the emergency room for treatment.Seriously.
If the emergency room is free for them, and the local free clinic is also free, they will go to whichever one is more convenient for them.
Just like all the people that call 911 for the most ridiculous stuff. In some areas they have had to add additional emergency phone numbers to handle all the non-emergencies that were being called into 911.
As I have had personal experience with the local people who use the free health care(emergency room), I don't have much faith in their desire to do what is right, instead of what is convenient for them.

[elias7]

113. Tim01 is essentially right on in his description of ED's-- it won't change though

Many of the users described already have insurance: medicaid. It is definitely a sub-population of uninsureds and medicaid folks, but there is a definable group that have a sense a righteousness about our duty to treat them, i.e. their implied right of free medical care. That mindset is entrenched. Unless a single payer system requires some sort of co-pay and enforces rules about non-urgent/urgent/emergent care I imagine the ED won't change, and will probably get worse. The sense of entitlement would be about a right to free care, fuck the right channels, and from a position of empowerment, rather than it now being about the fact we can't turn people away or collect on the debt.

[vduhr]

118. They're all in service jobs that pay minimum wage so the rich can buy their lattes and

yell at their waiters for screwing up their orders. It's so hard to find good help these days!

[Name removed]

78. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[prolesunited]

95. Is that what you RW friends told you?

[Itchinjim]

63. Uh, it's been a month an a half since he took office and you call him a "Foot Dragger"?

So we should march on the White House with pitchforks in hand? Lay off the caffeine dude.

[ComtesseDeSpair]

18. Hmmm...

"Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness". Seems to me, you can't have life or the pursuit of happiness if you don't have health. Seems like a right to me, asshole!

[Thothmes]

43. Where in the Consitution does that phrase exist.

[tabasco]

49. Are you implying that life, liberty and pursuit of happiness

are not rights guaranteed under the Constitution?

Good luck with that, Ace.

[Thothmes]

51. Again what sections of the Constitution

guarantees those "rights".

[BlueIdaho]

60. These "Inalienable Rights" are not in the constitution

They are in the Declaration of Independence. Sheesh.

[No Elephants]

79. So many people confuse the Constitution with the Declaration and never realize it.

[tabasco]

97. Try the Due Process Clause.

I can see you in court, arguing that the government can kill you or put you in jail on a whim.

Are you really that stupid? I've heard the same argument from clueless freepers who consider themselves constitutional experts.

edit:

By the way, the Constitution is a grant of rights to the government, not to the people. People retain all rights, including those written in the Declaration, as ordered in the Ninth Amendment.

[Thothmes]

103. They can

ask 140,000 Japanese americans about how they were treated by the American government. check out those guys in Gitmo. The Constitution defines what the government is allowed to do and what it is not allowed to do. It does not say that it should do anything for your healthcare. The fact that they do is because some administrations have taken it upon themselves to take that action. There is no consititutional guarantee that you are entitled to health care at the tax payer expense. It remains a privilage until another administration takes action to codify a governmental responsibility to provide that health care. Again it is not in the Consititution.

[tabasco]

114. LOL. You tried to say life and liberty aren't guaranteed under the Constitution.

Now you're continuing your dumbassery.

[Thothmes]

116. Again, show me in the Constitution where those are guaranteed.

If you can read the document.

[ComtesseDeSpair]

96. Oh duh...

You got me. That was an indefensible error. But still... healthcare IS a right!

[Butch350]

19. Slapping the crap out of this guy would be a privilege...

[guyton]

20. what a great one-liner

Pretty much sums up the "ethics" of the repugs.

Would probably say the same thing about health care for kids -- your parents chose to have kids before they could afford health care, so we don't owe you a thing, go ahead and die.

(of course I don't have to mention the pro-lifers want to take that choice away too!)

[frylock]

21. does this fuckin idiot even listen to the shit coming out of his grocery hole?!

"They end up in the emergency room costing you and me a whole lot more money." YEAH -- NO SHOOT, SHERLOCK.

[AndyTiedye]

23. Hopefully the Tenn. Democratic Party Recorded These Remarks

Seems to me the next Congressional campaign for that district has just written itself!
I hope the Tenn. Democratic party recorded this.

[SharonAnn]

47. He's going to run for TN governor in 2010. What's scary is, he might win!

[AndyTiedye]

53. Surely He Can't Win if People Hear That He Said This

It's right up there with "Let them eat cake".

[No Elephants]

80. Sadly, he may be able to. Some of these folks have been brainwashed to vote and

otherwise act against their own best interests. On this thread, Tim01 seems to be an example of that. Defending the rich and greedy against themselves, even after the bailout. I'll retire to Bedlam.

[Bozita]

24. Does the Cong. health policy cover problem's with a ZWamp creature's gills?

[Tab]

25. No.

For a long time, I wasn't insured. I didn't CHOOSE to be uninsured, I couldn't frickin' afford it.

I ended up baing on major medical, which means that they cover for big things (like if you get hit by a train) but everyday things are up to you. I was okay with it, because that's all I could do, but with a family now, and a child, and a major illness, we've been fortunate enough to have insurance, but I sure as hell didn't "choose" to be uninsured.

And, frankly, even with insurance, and co-pays (which I believe in because they require the patient to have some ownership of their medical service usage), even the co-pays themselves are costing us a ton of money. If you have a major medical problem and see doctors 3 times a week (not to mention what your spouse or other family members might need) those $20 co-pays add up quick.

And when you look what the doctor's are billing the insurance company - sometimes up to $200 for a 5 minute visit (seriously - I get the statement) I'm just appalled.

[nbcouch]

26. No, no, a 1000 times NO

Jeez, why is it that every few days we are made to suffer the ravings of yet another dickhead from Tennessee?

Let's start with the proper foundation for this debate, shall we? Healthcare is not a right, nor is it a privilege. It is a MORAL IMPERATIVE. Any society that cannot or will not find a way to care for the health of its citizens is an amoral society, and certainly does not deserve to be called civilized. For the uncivilized among us, like Zach Wamp, the need for education on this point and many others is most dire. For example, Zach needs to be taught that the overwhelming majority of the people who choose not to have health insurance make that choice because it so FUCKING EXPENSIVE. Somehow I doubt Zach has ever had to choose between paying insurance premiums and eating or having a roof over his head.

Neither is there anything civilized about declaring that access to healthcare should be dependent on how sick one is. Once you start discriminating, setting up thresholds and criteria, etc etc, you are quickly back to an economic system of healthcare, and that's exactly what we are trying to eliminate.

One last point - Zach complains about a "fast march to socialism." This of course is just what the doctor ordered (sorry), after eight years (or more) of a fast march toward Corporatism. Social-ism is precisely what we demand, so get with the program, Zachster!

[barbtries]

66. kick and rec

your post. you lay it out clearly and concisely. thank you!

[damntexdem]

28. Oh, please, please, keep saying this, GOP!

We need you to have totally crushed yourself when health reform comes before Congress. And you've been doing such a good job so far, just keep it up.

[No Elephants]

83. I agree. Keep saying things like this. Also, keep saying you want the POTUS to fail, especially

with his recovery package.

No half measures or mincing words, now.

Say it loud, say it proud and say it often.

Stand up for what passes for your principles, Pubs!

The other 75% of us want to hear it straight from the pig's mouths.

[SandWalker1984]

29. Hey Wamp, I can pay for health insurance or roof over my head but can't afford both!!!

Being self employed, I can afford to pay almost $18,000 a year for health insurance for myself & spouse -- or pay the bills to keep a roof over our head. We cannot afford to do both! So he thinks I want to live this way, worrying every day that we are literally one health care incident away from bankruptcy?

You want meaningful healthcare reform? TAKE AWAY ALL HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR CONGRESS. Let them walk awhile in our shoes. I guarantee they will see the light then.

[KamaAina]

52. So now you think a roof over your head is a 'right'?!

You're as good a salesman for socialism as Obamessiah!!!

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[wackywaggin]

30. OK it is a privilege.

And the american people are revoking the privilege to all lawmakers of this country and giving the privilege to the people that need it most.

[BR_Parkway]

31. Some people huh? They must be the one's who can pay but would

rather keep their cash and risk dying? hmmm, must be Republican - fine, we don't have to cover them. Less to vote these stupid assholes back into office next time. geeze

Someone needs to make a "I can't believe he said something that stupid" smilie - it might be the most used one for the next 8 years

[Sheltiemama]

33. Aw, crap.

Not all people in Tennessee are this stupid or arrogant, I swear.

[hedgehog]

34. Even if you accept the Congressman's premise that people

willingly forgo health insurance and end up forcing the rest of us to pay for their care at an ER, wouldn't it still make more sense to set up a single payer program in which every person pays a fair share of the cost?

[Mr. Hyde]

42. and by everybody, do you mean everybody that has a job and who pays taxes?

[No Elephants]

84. Do you mean those who pay taxes at Buffet's effective rate, or those who pay at his secretary's

higher rate? Those who are greedy failures, or those who pay taxes to bail out greedy failures?

And who is willing to see someone who cannot find a job die for inability to pay for a doctor or a test?

Again I ask you, Mr. Hyde, on which board does Dr. Jekyll post?

[bamacrat]

35. What a douche bag.

If you are a human you deserve healthcare. Poor people who choose to go "naked" because they need that extra money to buy food or gas were just unlucky, sucks for them they werent able to get the education needed for a decent job that pays enough to live off of and have health care. What a piece of shit. All people poor or not, lazy or not should have the right to healthcare.

[NewEnglandKnowledge]

36. Life even before Liberty

The constitution guarantees the right to Life, even before
Liberty.  What we need to impress on society is that Health
Care is part of the right to life.  In this age, where we have
the ability to better the lives of everyone through modern
medicine, I would like to follow the principles of the
Hippocratic Oath.  The power to heal is a gift for us all, not
to be withheld for profit.  And most certainly not to be used
to exploit the people.  If doctors were paid by performance,
and not by the visit, the market would correct itself.  If
pharmaceutical companies didn't take government R&D grants
and then sell us the medicine at 700% mark up, people would be
healthier.  Health is an industry that has no supply, only
demand.  Capitalism does not account for the opportunity cost
of keeping people healthy.  It is an investment in the economy
as a whole that does not benefit individual companies, but all
business.  This can not be reflected on a single balance
sheet, which is why health care can not be a private
enterprise.  The economic benefits of Health Care Reform
affect every industry positively, except the Insurance and
Medical fields.  So a capitalist or economist, cognizant of
the positive macro effects of Health Care Reform on the
worldwide economy, can not oppose it.  But individual
companies invested in the profits of the current system cannot
support it.  Why then do the fiscal conservatives abandon
their cost conscious principles at the mention of long term
investment, the very foundation of transcendent business
models?  Sacrifice is always called for by those who yearn to
decrease the size of government and fight against social aid. 
Personal responsibility is their mantra.  So why can't the
sacrifice be made by those who have profited from the ails of
humanity, and why isn't it the responsibility of persons who
know there is a better way, to bring us to that better place. 
Why must the poor be the only ones to sacrifice?  In a purely
capitalist view, every major corporation would be freed from
Health Care responsibility, small business would be free of
workman's comp, and employees would be free to maintain their
daily health to increase productivity of every business in
America.  If there was ever a sacrifice to me made in the name
of fiscal conservatism, this is it.          

[barbtries]

68. welcome to du

:hi:

[2Design]

38. wamp gets healthcare paid for with our tax dollars - he is already accepting

socialize health care - but only for him

[sarcasmo]

39. Those idiots never want to get re-elected again.

[DebbieCDC]

40. Where does this dickhead come from with this shit?

"For some it's a right but for everyone frankly it's not necessarily a right"????? WTF???? And he says OBAMA is starting class warfare??? My head is spinning.

HALF the people today "choose" to remain uninsured and HALF don't have any choice? Where is this clown pulling these stats from? OxySlob's ass?

[and-justice-for-all]

45. Who the fuck is this dipshit?!

Oh, a repuke corporate loving fuckwad...go figure.

Health care is a RIGHT, not a Privilege!!!PERIOD!

I would like to very much slap the taste out of Zach Wamps' mouth!

[sakabatou]

54. The GOP really hates anyone that isn't rich

[durablend]

81. And white!

Don't forget that!

[No Elephants]

85. Yet, the majority of Republicans are not rich. Go figure.

[rolltideroll]

92. They vote against their own self interests.

The republican parties best weapon is the ignorance their base has of how separation of powers work. For instance, Roe v. Wade established abortion. That falls under the judicial branch, short of a constitutional amendment, the president can do nothing in the immediate to address Roe. I understand they want to appoint judges who will overturn, but in reality Roe did much more than cover abortion. It helped establish a right to privacy, overturn Roe, that notion takes a body blow.Gay marriage is the same way. I am of the humble opinion that it will ultimately come down to the way we read the Equal Protection clause of the 14th amendment. Try explaining the nuances of this to a R, all they have is passing an amendment to ban it. In short, for a group of die hard patriot resistance fighters, they are amazingly ignorant of the government they love.Perfect people to build a dictatorship upon. I believe the term is "useful idiots."

[CBHagman]

57. I'm glad that DUers have picked up the story.

I caught the interview, and I must say I could almost hear the brain cells dying every time Wamp opened his gob to say another ignorant or/and vicious thing.

What was great was that the interviewer called him out on the right versus privilege notion.

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

64. I wonder

Is there anybody who would choose NOT to accept free insurance coverage from an employer if they are not already covered on another policy.

Is there anyone in Congress who chooses not to accept insurance coverage?

Is there?

I bet not.

I would ask that dude.

[Outbreak]

101. There's a big difference

between health coverage from an employer and universal health care coming from a government. The employer covers it as part of your compensation. It's part of your salary. You work and earn that benefit.

Also, have fun actually getting cared for with universal health care. This is definitely one of those cases where you get what you pay for.

[Outbreak]

102. There's a big difference

between health coverage from an employer and universal health care coming from a government. The employer covers it as part of your compensation. It's part of your salary. You work and earn that benefit.

Also, have fun actually getting cared for with universal health care. This is definitely one of those cases where you get what you pay for.

[Ikonoklast]

109. Do you know anyone cared for under socialized medicine?

Or are you just regurgitating the Republic talking points?

My sister, her husband and son live in Spain and the level of health care there and the access to it puts anything I have here in the states to absolute shame.

And if you think for one minute that health insurers never ration care, limit care, or deny care to those that are covered and need to sue the insurer to live up to the contract, are naive beyond belief.

Try to get an insurer to allow a specialist from out of their system see you, and pay for it. Good luck with that one while they decide if your life is worth them spending a few extra dollars on it.

[wickerwoman]

110. I've lived in three countries with socialized medicine

and in every single case got vastly, vastly superior care than anything I've received in the US... with the added bonus of paying pennies for prescriptions and being able to drop into any hospital I wanted without calling the f*in insurance company for a consult first.

By definition those most in need of health care can't "work and earn" the benefit so you're setting up a Catch-22 that results in a literal death spiral for thousands of Americas. And that's not even taking into account the number of people who have lost their homes and livelihoods trying to care for sick relatives.

[jtrockville]

77. It's a "right", not a "privilege" in developed nations.

[harun]

86. "The United States is alone among developed nations with the absence of a universal health care

systems."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_systems#United_States

[dgibby]

87. Thanks for posting this.

I just sent it to Rachel. Hope she uses it! Does anyone have an e-mail address for this idiot? As A taxpayer, I'd like to request he refuse his "socialized" medical care.

[mbperrin]

88. If this man's parents had had access to mental health care, they wouldn't

have named him Zach Wamp. Sounds like a Vonnegut character.


Just sayin'.

[reggie the dog]

90. night and day

between the USA and France, here in France health care is a right.

[rolltideroll]

91. GOP to uninsured

Drop dead.Literally.

[Deja Q]

94. "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" - maybe he'll be denied care when he needs it.

[fascisthunter]

99. So in Essence, The GOP Lawmaker is making a case for Universal Healthcare

good job!

[someone else]

105. Not a right or a priveidge

It's a necessity and it's already being paid for in a fractured and inefficient way with too many sucking hind tit.

[fascisthunter]

107. exactly and Welcome to DU

:thumbsup:

[rolltideroll]

111. Welocme to DU

[Hansel]

106. Spoken like a true "everyone has a right to life until they are born" party rep.

Just makes you wonder how far an ER doctor would get with this defense. "Why sure your honor, of course I could have resuscitated her. I just didn't feel she deserved the privileges of my services."

:shrug:

[EndElectoral]

115. I see. It's all those damn bastards who don't have healthcare's fault. Jesus, how do they sleep?

[defendandprotect]

119. Let's remove that "privilege" from ALL Senators/Representatives until . . .

the nation gets the same health care they have and which we pay for---!!!

[PittPoliSci]

120. find me 10 people that choose not to have healthcare...

...and i can find you 10 rich, greedy, bastards.

[47of74]

121. Boils my blood

This guy is a pig.

[steven johnson]

122. The right to cost-effective healthcare

The stimulus package included $1.1 billion to be set aside for analyzing and comparing medical treatments for various illnesses to determine their effectiveness.

This same mechanism is used in the UK to ration healthcare. I suspect the 'right' will be redefined as a 'right to cost-effective' healthcare.

Healthcare costs are projected to increase from $8,100 per person this year to $13,000 by 2018. Some cost control mechanism seems inevitable.



Stimulus Gives $1.1 Billion for Illness Treatment Research>

Text

[anonymous171]

124. Take away his healthcare. See how he likes it. nt

[defendandprotect]

125. k i c k