Fear and Loathing in MA

[Joanne98]

Last month it was hard to turn on the TV without seeing Dick Cheney and his equally odious daughter reminding us to be afraid. Rush Limbaugh is afraid; he fears that white males are the new underclass. Glenn Beck fears our downward spiral towards fascism. Republican Senators are fearful of a public option for healthcare because it will lead to socialism. Every news show is filled with Republicans who are consumed by fear and trying to make us afraid.

I admit it. I’m afraid. But it’s not what they were hoping for...

theKgirls's diary :: :: At first blush, my family looks like a poster for Republicanism. I have a master’s degree, but I chose to stay home with our two daughters. My husband is a high level executive and most weekends you can find him on the golf course. We live in a nice town with good schools. We even have a white picket fence.

So I wonder... If the Republicans can’t persuade us, just who is it they are reaching?

Our story is a common, utterly ordinary story. There have been no tragedies, but even I feel on the brink of disaster. We have been touched by the economic downturn, just enough to worry me. I worry about job loss, which ultimately means loss of insurance. And that panics me. I worry about how our savings for college and retirement have dwindled. I worry about my kids’ education. I worry...

So let’s talk fear. And loathing.

I fear my husband may lose his job because, although the small company he works for is weathering the downturn quite well, the large conglomerate that owns it isn’t. They instituted a10% reduction in work hours and pay for the summer. Of course, there hasn’t been any reduction in his sales goals, so he does the same amount of work for less reward. But he’s employed, so for that we are extremely thankful. Our fear is that this pay cut becomes permanent. Our bigger fear is that the next step is layoffs. And that means we lose health insurance...

I loathe Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh and so many of these Senators that criticize everything Obama is trying to do without ever offering a plan of their own. Except tax cuts, they always offer tax cuts... They are critical of the stimulus plan because it places too big of a burden on our children and grandchildren. While it’s nice to see Republicans finally caring about children, their concern is a bit misplaced. They had no problem spending trillions on an unnecessary war but won’t spend it on putting people to work. This isn’t them thinking they have a better approach then the Democrats; it’s them thinking "we’ve got ours, so screw you."

And what better example of "we’ve got ours" could there be than health insurance. While Senators enjoy that socialist style of healthcare, they are working overtime to make sure we never get it. On Monday, Andrea Mitchell asked Sen John Cornyn (R-TX) how the Republicans were going to pass their bill if 72% of Americans want a public option. He responded that it is a flawed poll and people do not want government coming between them and their doctor, coming into the examination room with them and making the decisions. I get that its hyperbole, but seriously, this is the argument? The government is coming into the exam room? Andrea Mitchell’s response to that drivel was to ask about Iran. No pushback of any kind. I’m guessing neither Ms. Mitchell nor Mr. Cornyn have ever had to work through an insurance company.

Let me tell you about the way insurance works, Mr. Cornyn. My eldest daughter stopped producing growth hormone and needed to take HGH replacement. A process that should have taken four to six weeks took over four months because the insurance company came "into the examination room between us and the doctor." The insurance company decided whether or not my daughter needed the standard battery of tests and treatment, not the doctor. There is already a bureaucracy; there is already someone between me and the doctor.

So while you Republicans fear socialism, I fear capitalism. I fear a system where profit comes before health. I fear a company that has the power to delay a test my doctor ordered to see if I have MS. I fear a company that has the right to deny surgery to repair a ten-year-olds broken nose because, despite all the evidence to the contrary, they determined the surgery was cosmetic.

continued>>>
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/6/24/744611/-Morning-Feature:-Fear-and-Loathing-in-MA

[southernyankeebelle]

1. The republicans fear that

the public option will work. If that does work they feel they will never win more elections. That is true. I am mad that even some of the democrats are afraid to pass the public option. I feel the poll is correct. I don't care what party you belong to people really do want a public option. We are all scared to death. I have tricare which is a retiree military health insurance. It is very reasonablely priced. It is socialized medicine and we are happy with it. I can't understand why people can't have this same option. I wish my son and his child could have this option. We pay based on my husband's retired military rank. We pay $115.00 per quarter. Our dr's co-pay is $12.00. Specialist dr $25.00. Most of our medicines run $9.00 or $3.00 some are more but not many. My son is a cook and has to pay over $300 per month for terrible insurance for he and his child. Something has to be done for working poor and middle class. It can't keep going on like this.

[annabanana]

2. One more rec.. let's front page this. . . n/t

[checks-n-balances]

3. K & R & bookmarked

Thanks for sharing this.