Chicago Sun-Times editorial: "it's time for Republicans to stop misleading the public"

[wndycty]

This editorial needs to go viral. Forward it, tweet it, recommend it, kick it, Facebook it, etc.

GOP cries foul over tactic they mastered

February 28, 2010

After Thursday's health-care summit in Washington, it's pretty clear that President Obama and the Democrats can't count on a single Republican vote to reform our nation's health-care system.

To get the job done, then, Senate Democrats may have to go it alone, passing a bill despite a threatened Republican filibuster by employing a procedure called reconciliation. The Democrats would need only a simple majority -- 51 votes.
-snip-

Democrats risk backlash from voters if they use reconciliation to deliver comprehensive health-care reform. But if left with no choice by the GOP, they should go it alone all the same. We suspect the voters will reward them in November, but only time will tell.

As Obama said, "That's what elections are for."

In any event, it's time for Republicans to stop misleading the public. Reconciliation is by no means a rarely used or inappropriate tactic for breaking through partisan roadblocks.
-end-

http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/2073742,CST-EDT-edit28a.article

[FSogol]

1. K & R n/t

[DJ13]

2. We suspect the voters will reward them in November

Not after the voters get their first mandated insurance notice.

[Tippy]

7. Mandated Insurance....Who will be angry?

The poorest won't because they have no means to pay this...The rich shouldn't, be for this should take some of the burden off them...I have a strong hunch it will be those who really can afford the premiums but don't want to, pay them are bitching the most about the mandate...

[Warren Stupidity]

9. The mass media brainwashing will manage to convince

the vast majority of americans, all unaffected by a mandate, that they somehow are affected. There will be lots of sputtering spuming nonsense, and people who get their insurance through their employers, the standard managed crap care we all have grown to loathe, will somehow get it into their heads that they have been victimized.

[wroberts189]

18. I will.....

My wife and I lost our coverage on Jan 1 2010 because of a 24% price increase and a total slashing of prescription and other benefits. As well as the elimination of a 30 day grace period to get our payment in if we had a low income month. The only thing they notified us on was the price increase ... the next letter was a cancellation notice as we were 15 days late on our bill.

The only benefit we were using was 1k in drug benefits (with 15-35 copay) ...they cut it in half.

We make too much money to qualify for subsidies the state offers... you might think we have enough to pay but we do not... after the bills are paid we barely make it through the month. Then cc companies turned all our cards into variable rate apr's ..that jacked them all up 10% to an average of 17-18% and slashed our credit lines... despite a 100% perfect payment history. They were able to do this because the Dems gave them time before watered down credit card reform went into effect ... on the 22nd of Feb.

Because our credit lines were cut to right above our balances our available credit disappeared and this hurt our credit. My next stop is to go beg our credit union for a loan to stop the interest gouging.

I am looking all over for a health plan we can afford... even just a high deductible catastrophic plan. They are all out of our economic reach.

We will now face fines for not being able to afford something.

After voting straight Dem. for over 20 years and dragging my wife off to do the same ...if they pass a mandate without an affordable public plan I will never vote again. Why? Because they never keep their promises and only a few are fighting for us. The rest are bought and paid for. If they want the pubs in charge again.. and it seems they do. So be it ...the pubs already ruined the country anyway.

And the first thing the pubs will do once in power is kill off the reform.

[Tippy]

22. I am sorry I didn't mean to sound insensitive

I have been voting Democratic for 48 years, it's still better than the alternative. If you quit voting, the Republicans win, it's as simple as that. For me that has never been an option. Sure I get disappointed, But I will NOT quit, that is exactly what the Republicans want. I always remember something my daddy told me regarding a man who we worked hard to elect way back when, he made it to the Governors mansion and turned out he went to prison. My dad said judge each individually, you can't blame everyone for what a few do. When I look back over the number of times we tried to get a Health Care bill passed and failed it's discouraging to be sure, but if we quit we won't get it this time. The bill is far from perfect but I know we still have the option to fix it over time.

[wroberts189]

24. No offense taken at all...

I just wanted to share my perspective.. I just want an affordable plan. We hardly ever see the doctor and most is copay/deductible. Lately I have been thinking HSA is the way to go but you still need a HI corp to do it ..and the price goes up. We are better off just saving but that can be hard to do if you have high interest debt you need to pay off.


I do not really know if I will continue voting. You can just look at my sig. too see how much I detest the pubs. I see myself voting *just* to vote against them. We will see what happens in a few months... pubs got 209 house bills locked up in the senate... Dems get those bills passed and they can show something.


The Dems. know the base is pissed.. it is not just me.

[PatSeg]

25. Individual mandates

without a reasonable public option is insane. Your story says it so clearly. I've heard similar stories come out of MA.

[Spazito]

3. Good editorial!

Recommended.

[Tippy]

4. K&R...for all the good it will do..

It's a dam shame Rethughs do what they do...The people I am angry at are Independents and Democrats who know better but won't stand up to be counted.

[notadmblnd]

5. if the media would stop giving them the opportunity or call them on it when they do....

there'd be no mis-information.

[prolesunited]

6. Thanks

Posted it on FB

[wndycty]

8. thanks for the thanks and the posting on Facebook

:kick:

[pleah]

10. K&R

[wndycty]

11. Kick

:kick:

[Bobbie Jo]

12. K&R

:kick:

[jmondine]

13. Is it also time for lions to stop eating meat?

In both cases, it's what they do. It's in their nature.

[wndycty]

14. LOL

:kick:

[Festivito]

15. "...it's time for Republicans to stop misleading the public" LOL!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: What else will they do?!

[Zoeisright]

16. I wish they would just goddamn use the word LIE.

Repukes LIE. They are LYING about healthcare reform. They LIE about everything. They wouldn't know the TRUTH if it bit them in the ass.

[Ardent15]

17. K and R

[upi402]

19. WTF?

:wow: pinch me

Is the Chicago Sun-Times going bankrupt and trying to win back people who can read or something?

[SoCalDem]

20. No.. It's TIME for the press to stop reporting their bullshit

or to at LEAST..report it AS BULLSHIT..and expose them for what they are.. fear-mongering, racist, greedy bastards..totally devoid of compassion, intellect or worth.

[DisgustedInMN]

21. Say whatever the fuck you want...

... if "reform" with Democratic Party fingerprints all over it, is passed, with mandates and without an affordable Public Plan, not available to EVERY American, NOW, the Democratic Party might as well concede EVERY election for the foreseeable future. End of game.

[progressoid]

23. "misleading the public"? That's all they know how to do.

[spanone]

26. k&r...

[redqueen]

27. 17 of the 22 reconciliation bills since 1980 were approved Republicans

The most recent?

Republicans in Congress used the reconciliation process in 2001 and 2003 to ram through massive tax cuts proposed by former President George W. Bush. The first bill cut taxes $1.35 trillion over 10 years. The second accelerated most of those tax cuts, increasing the national deficit in the process.

Wouldn't it be nice if news organizations covered news? Sad that this information has to come from editorials.

But then... informing the public isn't exactly the M$M's real job, is it?