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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThis Former GOP Congressman Loathed Obamacare Until He Lost His Own Coverage
06/27/2017 04:27 pm ET
Former Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.) said being unemployed with a preexisting condition made him appreciate the Affordable Care Act.
By Hayley Miller
David Jolly, a former Republican member of Congress who campaigned against Obamacare, said hes had a change of heart since losing his own health insurance this year.
Jolly, who represented Floridas 13th Congressional District until he was unseated last fall, opened up about his personal health care struggles during a discussion of the GOP health care bill Monday on MSNBC.
I lost my doctor, and I lost my plan in 2013, and I was angry about Obamacare, and I ran for Congress, Jolly said. But in 2017, as an unemployed person with a preexisting condition, I knew Obamacare was there as a safety net if my wife and I needed it.
Jolly became unemployed Jan. 4, when his term in Congress ended. He didnt elaborate on his medical condition.
More:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/david-jolly-obamacare_us_59529e05e4b02734df2de1be?section=us_politics
catbyte
(34,433 posts)Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)SummerSnow
(12,608 posts)raccoon
(31,118 posts)Kablooie
(18,638 posts)I'll bet he still thinks it should be denied to other people.
mnhtnbb
(31,401 posts)or worth it.
BigmanPigman
(51,624 posts)SweetieD
(1,660 posts)Bleacher Creature
(11,257 posts)He's basically admitting that he's entirely incapable of empathy unless he's able to see how something affects him and his family. It's disgusting and pathetic.
lostnfound
(16,189 posts)Was Jesus describing the two different mindsets?
Alice11111
(5,730 posts)when it happens to them or their families. Even then, it's single issue. They will change their tune about something, but only that one thing that gave them a light of reality.
subterranean
(3,427 posts)otherwise he'd still be voting to repeal Obamacare. (His replacement, Charlie Crist, voted against the repeal.)
Bengus81
(6,932 posts)Join the ranks ASSHAT of those who are BEGGING to keep the ACA in place--probably mostly Republicans.
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Hieronymus
(6,039 posts)Matthew28
(1,798 posts)That they never even consider the issue that they're attacking right up until reality hits them in the face. Let us hope that some of these people start waking up.
Dustlawyer
(10,497 posts)Thats their problem, they do not stop to think outside of the brainwashing propaganda. The propaganda keeps them pissed off and afraid, and hating "Liberals". They believe things like Obamacare are give aways to moochers and don't stop to even understand and give independent thought what they are really about because they are told how to think about it.
If we ever get control of the WH and Congress we need to bust up the media oligarchy, enact new laws governing truth in the news, and give the FCC some teeth!
Tatiana
(14,167 posts)This is the only way they will learn the lesson. You can present facts, you can offer testimonies, but until they themselves suffer in terms of their health AND THEIR POCKETBOOK, they will not have one ounce of empathy for anyone other than themselves. They are just like their narcissistic leader.
What I will say about Jolly is that I do enjoy his commentary on Lawrence O'Donnell's show now that he has had a slight change of heart. He is very anti-Trump. We need to flip more Congresscritters like him.
Turbineguy
(37,364 posts)You can learn things by looking out the window.
not fooled
(5,801 posts)Instead of living in the Faux bubble, the deplorables could actually inform themselves about the world and the consequences of policy decisions BEFORE they get enacted.
Nope, guess that's too much hard work. Apparently it's much easier to just coast along on hatred and ignorance until reality slams you in the face, then deal with the dire consequences thereafter.
Or, as I tell acquaintances who aren't deplorables but who shun politics because it's a turnoff and they "don't have time" to educate themselves and follow what's going on (vs. just turning on cable teevee which usually doesn't tell you anything): how much time will it take you to work to pay off your student loans? Years and years. Now, what if you had taken a little time to educate yourself about politics when raygun was destroying free college, then voted to protect your interests i.e. stopped him? Same applies to policy changes being made today, e.g. dumpcare. Educating yourself and voting accordingly takes a lot less time than spending your life indentured to GOPee policy decisions that put the onus on you throughout life instead of all of us working together.
Response to not fooled (Reply #17)
Turbineguy This message was self-deleted by its author.
ecstatic
(32,727 posts)BlancheSplanchnik
(20,219 posts)(Unless they're foxbots...I don't know what it will take to get them away from that cult).
I think there's a psychological thing going on too, similar to Co-Dependence, where they'd rather believe the words coming out of the abusers' mouths --slick, charming, just what they wanted to hear--than look at past actions as a map of what they'll do in future.
"He loves me (or He's on MY side). It'll be different for me"---the banner of the habitually abused, dependent personality.
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)renate
(13,776 posts)Slogans fit on a bumper sticker but are easily forgettable and dismissable. They need to be followed up with detailed information about how the differences are vast and real.
Although I think that for practical reasons, it's the Democratic party who needs to spell out exactly what the consequences of GOP policies will be. Most people don't have the time or the resources to work it out to the last detail.
Your example of student loans is absolutely perfect. How much time will it take you to pay off your student loans? What will you sacrifice in terms of saving for a house, or a 401(k), that you wouldn't have to sacrifice with the Democratic plan? Compare and contrast: this is how the two approaches affect you PERSONALLY, and for the rest of your life. How do you like us now?
broadcaster90210
(333 posts)I'll get back to you when I care. Don't wait up.
47of74
(18,470 posts)Javaman
(62,532 posts)something is only bad when it happens to repukes, everyone else can go fuck off.
fuck this dickhead, he helped Forster his own problem.
It's like buying a car and shooting out the tires then complain that you can't drive it home.
asshole.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)to know its benefits or failures. Why is that, this lack of empathy and inability to feel another's pain?
crosinski
(412 posts)I suspect somewhere in our past, maybe when were down to just a few dozen individuals in Africa, only those of us left willing to feed on our own kinsmen survived. That's why we have such a large number of people now with no empathy or compassion.
It would explain a lot.
And hey, I'm talking about my own ancestors here, so it does make one consider what one would be willing to have expunged from one's DNA.
Alice11111
(5,730 posts)of the species. They do not appear much different from other homo sapiens, but their brains lack the capacity for empathy, and often even logic. Hypocrisy, lying, and distortion are also key characteristics.
MiddleClass
(888 posts)I like the guy seems nice, until you realize the usual "I'm all right Jack" conservative mantra.
Now we need to get every conservative in Congress to see the same light through unemployment.
America would be a more compassionate country, ass holes
steve2470
(37,457 posts)These assholes don't give a shit about their fellow humans until THEY are in the same boat. Some of the worst of humanity are in the Republican Party.
RhodeIslandOne
(5,042 posts)Fuck you, asshole.
Alice11111
(5,730 posts)ecstatic
(32,727 posts)Why are they incapable of having empathy *before* tragedy strikes them personally?! Well... I guess a late and self-centered conversion is better than none at all. SMH.
47of74
(18,470 posts)Bed. Made. Lie.
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)Never thought I would enjoy voting for Crist. Sure felt good.
progressoid
(49,996 posts)Karma's a bitch.
IronLionZion
(45,514 posts)it's a fundamental difference between those of us who believe we all do better when we all do better, rising tide lifts all boats, society benefits from a healthy educated and confident citizenry, etc. vs those assholes who think they would be better off if others suffer, helping others means losing something.
For an interesting read, research the historical idiotic arguments opposing social security and many new deal programs during the great depression. And the end of segregation. It will blow your mind how people can be so filled with spite for others.
The individualistic nature of much of our country is why unions have been on the decline, and "universal" things are opposed.
I don't know how we can teach adults to care about other people. It appears we failed with many children too.
zentrum
(9,865 posts)......knows, "no one dies because of lack of health care access". And every Republican knows that pre-existing conditions are always life style decisions and an "individual's responsibility". And if the guy lacks employer supplied health coverage, there's always the Republican solution---"Why doesn't he just get a better job"?
It's all really easy-peasy.
dalton99a
(81,568 posts)and all that good stuff?
Oneironaut
(5,522 posts)So, it was bad when those "evil minorities" (um... I couldn't type what he would probably really say here) were "mooching off the system," but as soon as he needed it, it was okay? That's not personal progress - its selfishness! I bet that if someone was crying near him before about being in the same situation, he would have lectured them about personal responsibility and said, "I shouldn't need to pay for YOUR problems!" Now that he needs it, being a "mooch" is a-ok!
Btw., the enlightened thinker Ayn Rand was a "no good government mooch" as well. I find nothing more deplorable than the blatant hypocrisy "let em die!" Conservatives show toward our healthcare system and insurance.