Health care

I was bellowing at the radio this morning (never a good start to any day), in reaction to a story about how Democrats and Republicans are each struggling to frame the story about health care. The Democrats are choosing to use the term "public option," whereas the Republicans prefer to talk about "Washington takeover":

Republicans, however, refuse to use the word "public" when they talk about what Democrats are proposing. Senator John Cornyn of Texas says jokingly that Republicans who slip up face consequences: "You get a fine that you have to put in a jar on the table if you say 'public plan' instead of 'government plan.'" But for many Republicans, its more than just a government plan, it's a Washington takeover for Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker: "A Washington takeover of healthcare would result in a stifling of innovation." The same goes for Tennessee's Lamar Alexander, who's in charge of crafting the Senate GOP's message: "I think the one thing we don't want most is a Washington takeover." And neither do most Americans, according to Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell: "What they don't want is a Washington takeover of health care along the line of what we've already seen with banks, insurance companies, and the auto industry."

Two months ago, GOP lawmakers got a 28-page memo from pollster and political strategist Frank Luntz titled "The Language of Health Care 2009." It lays out ten rules for what Luntz calls "Stopping the Washington takeover of health care." Dick Durbin, the Senate's number two Democrat says it's clear where Republicans got their talking points: "And as we listen to the speeches of Senator McConnell, day in and day out, they're right out of the play book."

Hear the three minute story in its entirety here.

At the point that Senators McConnell and Alexander were smugly explaining that Americans don't want a "Washington takeover," I just lost it and started screaming at the radio like a fishwife. Oh, please, I feel so much better knowing that you can tell me what I don't want. Don't give me a health plan that I get as a right of citizenship, rather than one I fear I'll lose if I lose my job. Please don't give me a plan that I know will cover my children, even if they get a job without benefits. Please don't give us a health plan that will allow all Americans to be covered. Of course we don't want that.

My god, what alternate reality do these people live in???

( What I did today to make the world a better place )