Health Care Debate Revives Immigration Battle

[AlphaCentauri]

Source: NYT

Republicans argue that some of the voters’ concerns are justified because, they say, the proposals before Congress do not spell out procedures to verify the citizenship of those who would receive health coverage.

After testing their ideas with voters during the recess, Republicans said they would press for verification measures when the health care debate picks up again in Washington.

“The language is there, but without the verification you can’t frankly believe it is serious,” said Representative Lamar Smith, Republican of Texas, who added that concerns about illegal immigrants were clearly on the minds of citizens he met in his district. Mr. Smith said Democrats “intentionally left gaping loopholes” in the proposals that illegal immigrants could step through.

Broad explanations, not intricate detail, were what voters in Georgia were looking for in recent meetings with Representative Phil Gingrey, a Republican who was a practicing physician in the state for 26 years. Mr. Gingrey said there had been an influx of illegal immigrants in his district in the last decade.

“A lot of their kids are in the school system,” Mr. Gingrey said in a telephone interview. “They get a free public education without any question. My constituents don’t want the same thing to happen with regard to health care.”



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/health/policy/06immighealth.html

[mth44sc]

1. excuse me

but the only thing repubs are pressing for is the bills failure. Period. They got a million reasons why. Death Panels for cryin' out loud.

[Mithreal]

2. Better that those children come to school sick than be treated.

The stupid seem to be in charge.

[xxqqqzme]

4. And we thought we got rid of them

last November! These fucking TWENTY percenters need to understand that just because they whine, scream and shout their rude-ness, they are no longer are in charge of anything! I have been to 3 healthcare demonstrations this week and the teabaggers/deathers/birthers have turned out in pitiful numbers and this is in Orange County, CA! They have easily been outnumbered 4 to 1 each time. Their signs make no sense - 'abortion is not healthcare' Huh? 'deport Obama' to where? Hawaii?. They are rude, obnoxious liars and willfully ignorant. That they are even given the time of day is an insult to every thinking person. I am SO fed up w/ these 'thought processes thicker than mud' stupid people.

[Lasher]

15. Trying to force their square peg political ideologies into the round hole of reality.

Resulting in the behavior you describe - lies, willful ignorance, mindless belligerence, and more.

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. This layer # X in the endless non-discussion of health care reform

Just pass the fucking bill already, force it down those motherfucker's throats.

[Justitia]

5. Racist Liars. -eom

[tomm2thumbs]

6. hell, they don't take birth certificates as proof - what do they want, tattoo barcodes on our heads?

oh, actually, the answer would be 'probably'

[pampango]

7. Bet Lou Dobbs' ears perked up when he heard that his illegal immigration rants

will put him back in fashion. He was probably worried that none of the bills contained language covering illegal immigrants receiving health care under any reform measure. I guess if you're a repub used to lying about health care reform, you might as well push emotional buttons while you're doing it.

The repubs are smart (in their own perverted way). Not only do they stir up irrational resistance to health care reform, but with immigration reform likely this fall and next year, they are getting a head start on whipping up public fears about immigration, as well.

[nolabear]

8. Disease has no borders. Pain has no citizenship.

But apparently these people have found a vaccine for compassion, not to mention common sense. I don't care where someone comes from, I want them to get that swine flu vaccine, or treatment and advice to stay home and not give it to me. I want families to function, kids to succeed and contribute to our society, and in order for that to happen they need health, education and opportunity, all of which the conservative faction wants to deny them if they aren't citizens, as if that will make them disappear. My God, the arrogance is shameful.

[Rozlee]

9. That Scientologist asshat Lamar Smith is my Congressman

and he probably not only doesn't want health reform passed because our district is 87% Republitards, but because he thinks the alien Overlords or somebody will make us well so we don't need no stinking heath care bill. Jesus H. Christmas, that's why I don't even bother subscribing to the Kendall County News. I don't want to see his or Kay Baily Bitchyson's faces and columns spewing about saving our freedom from health care reform. Bad enough all the bumper stickers I see with "Socialist Medicine is Not the Answer" on the Escalades of 75-year-old clueless Medicare
recepients all over the place. "concerns about illegal immigrants were clearly on the minds of citizens he met in his district." Hah! Concerns about getting a hold of them to build their MacMansions, swimming pools, and do their landscaping on the cheap. The housing contractor that built our house built all the others in our subdivision, but none of his workers spoke a word of English. They were lucky I was around to translate (I'm half Mexican, half Cajun) when something got screwed up. Did he get reported for using an illegal workforce? Hell, no! People around here know they couldn't afford their homes built on the wages of American labor. My husband and I are getting good retirement checks from military retirement, social security and the VA, but we are going broke taking care of our kid's and grandkids medical bills. And I don't see no alien Overlord doing anything about their problems. Eat shit and die, Lamar Smith and your alien Overlord!

[earcandle]

10. Stupid repugs don't understand that disease isn't prejudice and it visits anyone

so rather than have it spread by immigrants who are not
treated, we need to treat them as well.  We don't want people
who are sick hiding away and spreading more diseases than we
can keep up with... especially if we are set up for a
pandemic, coming soon.

Jeezy peeezy, when we visit foreign nations we get treatment
if we are sick.  Are we that unfriendly now, that we would
rather have folks be unwell rather than treat them?  This
would not be an issue with national health care.

We need national health care like other modern countries have
and we need it now.  We are way too late.

The repugs are murderers.  Don't pay any attention to them.
They are in the death business.  They do not want to spend
money on people being healthy.  they know our bodies, when fed
well, don't get sick. If we use preventive medicines, they are
out of business. 

So let us put them out of business.  

[Indenturedebtor]

11. Grrr to hell with Pukes. Let them fight themselves

I'm sick of even hearing about them. But you know at least I got rid of my TV so I don't have the worthless pap that we call cable news in my house anymore.

[Zavulon]

12. Sorry, but if the bill isn't limited to people here legally, I won't support it.

I know a lot of people like to guilt trip others by saying that it's all about "compassion," but I've never bought into the idea of forced "compassion" for others. I don't support ANY benefit for illegals - health care, education or otherwise. I support taking away any incentive for people to be here illegally, period.

I realize I'm going to get flamed here for not getting all weepy-eyed about illegals, but I would ask anyone about to flame me to spare me the "But they're poor, just trying to build a better life for their families" argument. I've heard it hundreds of times and it doesn't move me. Millions of people are poor, we can't support them all and we shouldn't be forced to support people who think they should be able to cut in line because our laws are inconvenient for them.

[customerserviceguy]

13. You've made some good points

And there will HAVE to be some sorts of exclusions under comprehensive healthcare reform. Some people aren't going to get covered, such as those who broke our laws to be here, and some conditions are not going to be covered, list to be drawn up later.

We are not in a position financially or politically to give 100% free healthcare for 100% of the people who walk into doctors' offices, for 100% of the conditions people think that someone else should pay for.

[AlphaCentauri]

14. compassion under the government doesn't exist

it exited between humans but that is also becoming ancient history.


does compassion exist in the wars against Afghanistan or Iraq or the people in those countries? no it doesn't other wise the wars would be over by now.

There is no compassion for those in the US who use food stamps because thats a way to keep them happy and not to complain, that is not compassion.

Now do we have compassion for those people's countries where we have military bases or those countries who sell their natural resources for almost nothing and we transform them into expensive goods? no we don't care about them it's just about us, we don't care to pay those countries a little bit more for their non renewable natural resources so they can build working economies, no we don't care, we care about us. So when those countries expel their poor into our borders we come out with absurd arguments against those immigrants but keep consuming their cheap oil, metals, stones, with out complains.