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Monday, July 27, 2009

Blue Dogging with the GOP: Making America Sicker and an Economic Basket Case

BUZZFLASH EDITOR'S BLOG
http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/9076

By Mark Karlin

Oh, even as articles and television coverage of rural Americans lining up for hours for free medical care at an outdoor medical clinic in Wise, Virginia, hit the air, the Blue Dog Democrats and Republicans continued to find common ground in obstructing healthcare as a right for all Americans.

Yes, the Obama Administration, which ran such a masterful and disciplined messaging political campaign, has appeared somewhat lost and lacking in vigor in pushing healthcare reform. That has provided an opening for big money and its lobbyists to get the GOP and Blue Dog Democrats to slow down healthcare reform, especially the government insurance option.

And not meeting Obama's August goal of passing healthcare reform is a big victory for the entrenched profiteering powers, who make their billions off of excessive profit and the denial of care.
Just coming off of an alleged economic collapse in which the failure of the so-called "free market" led to the federal government's welfare rescue of Wall Street, it is almost inconceivable to believe that the GOP/Blue Dog coalition could pull off the argument that the national governnment is a bumbling failure while "free enterprise" is the nation's salvation.
What is even more befuddling is that we haven't had "free enterprise" at the top in America for some time. What we have is basically fixed markets for the entrenched corporations and the extremely wealthy.

The creation of a government option for health insurance would prove that the profiteering of private health insurers -- along with their cherry picking of insured individuals and denial of care -- is making America sick and adding an unnecessary layer of cost to the healthcare system.
Such is the power of money, advertising and lobbying that we recall reading an e-mail in which a person had attended a meeting on healthcare reform with senior citizens -- and a significant number of them opposed a government option, even though they all indicated that they were very pleased with Medicare!
The GOP has so successfully created a corporate mainstream media and population myth that government can only fail while "free enterprise" always succeeds that even people who benefit from government programs buy into the great Reagan/Norquist lie.

If a government option were to be offered, it would expose as corrupt the GOP/Blue Dog big money-backed political myth of a "free market" -- and this revelation could ensure a Democratic majority for years to come, because it's the private market that will be shown to be scamming us for hundreds of billions on healthcare.

That's what is at stake: the perception of national government as a friend or foe to the health of our country.

To turn our backs on a government health insurance option -- or preferably Medicare for everyone -- is just one more step in making America sicker and an economic basket case.

Editorial Note: For a bit of satirical humor read this: Dramatic Breakthrough on Healthcare: Blue Dogs to Get Mandatory Rabies Shots. Click here