Koch and Tea, Anyone?

o Echo Chamber Shutdown

      Republicans in Congress live in an echo chamber. They hear only their own voices coming back at them and think they are messages from On High. Columnist Pat Buchanan typified that Octobaer 5 by arguing that the government shutdown "is all about a petulant president whose prize program the people do not want but who insists it be imposed upon them." The echo chamber convinces Buchanan that such an absurd statement is truth, ignoring the 7 million people who rushed to sign up for the Affordable Care Act in the first 4 days although, he says, they do not want the "prize program."

o    The Koch Protection Racket

o    The Koch-and-Tea Party (KTP) in the House of  Representatives have declared that they will rule the nation like a Mafia protection racket. First, they shut down all the government agencies except those that have funding beyond their immediate control. Then, if you want to reopen one part of it, such as the WWII memorial on the Washington Mall, guarantee them lots of television publicity and they will let it reopen. If you need food for your baby through the closed WIC program, just get down on your knees and pledge everlasting loyalty to the KTP.

BUT, they will watch the entire government go up in flames rather than provide funding for programs they do not like. Never mind that doing so violates their own oath of office.  

More Give and Take

Several posts on Facebook have said that Congress and the President should not get paid while non-essential government workers are furloughed because the Republican House refuses to pass a funding bill. Not a bad idea (especially if it applied only to those House Republicans who are denying the funding).

HOWEVER, I’m sure the President and the 257 members of Congress who are millionaires (nearly half of Congress) can muddle through somehow without their salaries. Did you know that the new crop we elected to Congress just last year (Ted Cruz and company) also have a median net worth of $1 million? I don't think they'd miss the salary very much. But the 7 million people who ALREADY have tried to sign up for health insurance in the first 4 days of Affordable Care Act exchanges would suffer if that insurance had not been made available to them. (It IS AVAILABLE; the shutdown did not affect it, even though it was the reason for the Republican rebellion.)

Model T and Health Care

                

In Oklahoma, the Governor and Republican legislators lost federal funds for a state plan to insure some low income people because of steps they took to deny Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (which would have covered more poverty families at NO cost to the state for 3 years, and then just 10 percent state cost afterward). A citizen in Tulsa responded the following way:

My granddad's generation considered the Model T a great car. They loved its 20 horsepower engine, nifty 45 mph top speed and the great color selection (black).

Some of our state’s politicians must love the Model T. They praise “Insure Oklahoma.” They are not bothered by its limitations and evidently they haven't noticed that something better has come along.

The Affordable Care Act combined with expanded Medicaid would cover more people than Insure Oklahoma does. The ACA would accept people with pre-existing conditions. It allows children to remain on their parents insurance up to age 26 instead of 19 (the age limit under Insure Oklahoma). It eliminates lifetime limits on essential medical expenses. It prohibits insurers from dropping your coverage or raising your premiums if you get sick.

It provides free screenings and closes the prescription “donut hole”. It sets coverage standards that insurers have to meet. The ACA offers a greater selection of insurance products. The state exchanges of the ACA allow you to compare fifty nine plans from five different private insurers to pick the best fit for your family. But Oklahoma is fighting it at the Supreme Court.

While poorly informed politicians may extol the virtues of Insure Oklahoma, it isn't adequate for the needs of Oklahoma's uninsured. Like the Model T, Insure Oklahoma is just an outdated clunker that doesn't provide the benefits of the Affordable Care Act.

Youth Versus Wisdom

Koch-and-Tea Party freshman Rep. James Bridenstine used a news interview to proclaim his support for shutting down the government rather than allowing the Affordable Care Law to continue.

Mr. Bridenstine, you are young and eager. These are good qualities. But eagerness is no substitute for wisdom. A partial government shutdown is an extremely damaging action, not a wise action. It does not hurt me directly, at least not yet, but it is hurting many other people now and will cause long term damage to many, many more.

Your stated reason for the shutdown is your desire to be rid of Obamacare. Yet, already your House colleagues have conceded that the shutdown will not be able to do that. Now they seem to be playing games to see whether they can wring some kind of concessions from the majority in the Senate and from the President. Those goals appear to be mostly face-saving rather than any realistic attempt to provide good governance to the citizens whose interests you were elected to uphold.

I sincerely hope you have enough character to face reality in this situation, to help pass a straightforward continuing resolution to fund government operations for the near future, and to appoint a conference committee to negotiate with the Senate, as the Senate has requested, on a long-term budget.

Kochs Fund Health Care Fight 

NYTimes Oct. 5, 2013

”The billionaire Koch brothers, Charles and David, have been deeply involved with financing the overall effort (to kill Obamacare by shutting down the federal government). A group linked to the Kochs, Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, disbursed more than $200 million last year to nonprofit organizations involved in the fight. Included was $5 million to Generation Opportunity, which created a buzz last month with an Internet advertisement showing a menacing Uncle Sam figure popping up between a woman’s legs during a gynecological exam.”

Surely no comment is needed. Pay attention to how often the House Republicans claim “the people don’t want Obamacare.” These are the “people” they are talking about. Is there any doubt the Koch-and-Tea Party controls the U.S. House?