U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-WI, 1st District, had a front-row seat at today's health care summit, and garnered face time with President Obama. Here's how his part of the seven-hour discourse was covered.
First, a short report, with some video of Ryan, from FOX-6, WITI-TV in Milwaukee. "A bill that is full of gimmicks and smoke and mirrors," he said.
Second, a story focusing on Ryan from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. We have "a difference in philosophy," Ryan said. Obama replied, "This is a legitimate debate."
And finally, a transcript of Ryan's full exchange with the President from Congressional Quarterly, provided by the Washington Post. "The difference is this. We don't think all the answers lie in Washington regulating all of this," said Ryan.
And if those reports from mainstream media aren't enough, here's a rightwing blog -- well it's called RightPundits.com -- that says Ryan was the "superstar" of the event, "taking Obama and Biden to task."
Ryan throws out numbers and numbers of money because quite frankly, like all republicans and conservatives in congress, Ryan believes concern over deficits and the ability to turn a profit are more important than the health and welfare of the people and the individual. That is a fact, it's all about numbers and not the mechanics and global aspect of health care. His rambling narrative proves that point. This is what the Tea Party's platform and most the health care reform opposition is built on.
ReplyDeleteSimple fundamentals. Health care cost inflation is a private sector status quo cause to effectively grow profits. The private health care industry accumulates huge profits while simultaneously bankrupting Medicare, small businesses, the government and our country. That is my philosophical difference with Ryan.
Dear Lou, Many, many thanks for your honest appraisal of Lyin' Ryan and his marketeer-cum-money-master mentality!
ReplyDeleteUntil the legislators debating and voting on this have to have the SAME health care "plan" as us, this will remain a thinly-disguised scam.
ReplyDeleteLou - you're an idiot. Ryan "throws out numbers" because numbers, not your rambling idiocy (WTF is the "mechanics and global aspect of health care") will determine whether we can afford to PAY for it.
ReplyDeleteHealth care costs face inflation because more people are living longer as a result of better drugs and treatments. Those things cost money. How do you propose to pay for them?
Obama's approach is to tax my health care and tax the income of those of us with good health care to pay for health care for others, while at the same time limiting the health care that I have access to.
Lou,
ReplyDeleteIt is obvious you have no idea of what your talking about. I would be willing to give you my time to educate you. It would be my honor to do so and help prevent the spread of ignorance.
As an american I listened intently to our public servants at this summit because I know many who are without health insurance. One of the statements that shocked me is how all the growth in who has coverage is coming from the public sector. Why is it that our members of congress, our local city hall employees, our teachers, police, firefighters (who are human beings with healthcare needs like those of us with lower incomes) are the only regular wage earners who join the ranks of the corporate elites who can afford this out-of-control monopolized industry which is apparently too big to reform. I have a friend, a doctor who says that until more Americans are jobless, it will be impossible to break through the greed. Meanwhile many of us pay taxes so that others have health insurance.
ReplyDeleteAnd by the way, where was Obama's teleprompter hidden? Or was that a new animatronic Obama, run from behind the scenes by a team with computers?
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing the stupidity that runs rampant in government. Do the politicians take into account, or even mention during their summit, that the insurance companies reported billions of dollars in profit for last year yet want to raise premiums as much as 39% in some areas? Do they mention that the real underlying costs of health care are the unfathomable prices hospitals charge for simple services (i.e. $900 for a simple saline solution IV, $50 for an aspirin, etc.), the cost of lawyers and awards in malpractice suits (many of which are frivolous)? No, they constantly lay the blame on taxpayers and expect them to pay more for people who refuse to work and be responsible for themselves and who drain the resources away from the truly needy (the legitimate physically and mentally challenged), and on top of that they expect us to cover ILLEGAL aliens.
ReplyDeleteIt's time to get the COST of medical care under control, initiate tort reform, limit the profit ceiling of the insurance companies and send the illegals packing.
There is no stupidity - this is part of an agenda. Once you give a subset of voters "free stuff" they will never vote for those who question the giving of free stuff. The illegals who vote are good for this agenda - can you say salutary neglect?
ReplyDeleteIt's truly amazing to see that while all the aginners here complain about the health insurance reform bill for different reasons, virtually all of those supposed objections are actually solved by the health care bill. So good has the Republican propaganda been on this that many people apparently have lost their ability to reason.
ReplyDeleteAre you trying to tell me you know exactly what Ryan is talking about - but you have no clue to what the overall global view and composition of private health care for profits does to national inflation? Oh ye swami HunterJohn, it's obvious you do know what you're talking about...clue us dumb, dumb, dumbies in. Pretty please.
ReplyDeleteLou,
ReplyDeleteOne lesson at a time. First a reading lesson because I never commented on "the overall global view and composition of private health care for profits does to national inflation'. Now go back and read over the text. There will be a quiz.
One lesson at a time HunterJohn. Reference to you in my comment was as follows, "Oh ye swami HunterJohn, it's obvious you do know what you're talking about...clue us dumb, dumb, dumbies in. Pretty please."
ReplyDeleteAre we the only free country in the world to not provide health care to its citizens? Is health care a privilege or a right? Do we turn the sick away from our emergency rooms because they cannot afford to pay? Do we allow families to go bankrupt to pay their medical bills? How many people will die each year because they cannot afford the care they need. These are not rhetorical questions, just questions I have that will help be understand those so opposed to providing a basic human need.
ReplyDeleteThe reality is that the US can not afford the healthcare reforms coming from the dems. The numbers used by Paul Ryan yesterday are consistent with other economists and even the CBO. If you look at the funding games being used in the senate plan and out right theft from Medicare as OK then you are throwing the elderly under the bus for politics.
ReplyDeleteBoth sides have some good ideas but neither side on their own have something we can live with as a country. The president could repeat the GOP ideas but not accept them. He isn't listening any better than anyone else in Washington.
No legit poll shows the US population supporting any plan currently passed in congress. The president basically repackaged the senate bill.
Starting over with everyone having a say is the only way to do the right thing for the US and get more popular support for a good plan. A bad plan passed is worse than no plan, especially when everyone says the current plan will so deeply steal from the elderly.
Start over and do it right or else the next few years will likely see many new faces in Washington.
The really insulting part about Ryan's proposal is that it IGNORES the long-term deficit problem in order to score cheap points on short-term gimmicks. At least the Democrats are making an effort to control costs and solve the long term problems of Medicare and Medicaid.
ReplyDeleteMake no mistake. We're in a horrible deficit situation. But the only bill that has a chance of improving that situation is the one the President proposed. You CANNOT solve the deficit problem without solving the Medicare problem. And you CANNOT solve the Medicare problem by simply "eliminating fraud and waste." (Anyone who suggests otherwise is an ideologue and a fool)
Thank God the adults are in charge, no matter how briefly it might be. America may not always have great leaders in charge, but every now and then we have the right people at the right time to solve major problems.
By the way, don't expect Republicans to repeal this plan if they regain control in 2011. The GOP knows as well as the Democrats do that this is necessary to protect the budget from health cost inflation. They'll be content to play politics with it and say "The socialist takeover of medicine" and they won't help it pass at all. But they'll never overturn it. Just like they'll never repeal Social Security or Medicare.
Rage on, conservative denizens. Your representatives will use your rage on this issue, just as they used the religous right (with no benefit to that movement or their policy goals [Doubt me? How's that Roe-v-Wade repeal coming? How's that prayer-in-school issue coming? How's that marriage amendment coming? All the religious right issues that the conservatives ran on in 2002 and 2004 never came to fruition.])
Oh 6:10, how sad.
ReplyDeleteThe DEMOCRATS are throwing the elderly under the bus? Paul Ryan's plan gives the government two choices -- endlessly rising deficits (no different than the current situation), or cutting off Medicare and leaving seniors to fend for themselves on health cost inflation.
6:23 addendum.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't control the health cost inflation, then you're wasting time. And Paul Ryan is wasting everyone's time with his bullcrap.
Ryan wants to save Medicare by destroying it. Obama wants to cut the wasteful Medicare Advantage program that costs between 15 percent and 20 percent more than traditional Medicare, whose recipients outnumber "advantage" recipients 4-1. Yet, those of us on Medicare must pay an additional $90 to subsidize those on the more expensive, but less effective Advantage plan. Let's get real. Eliminate this wasteful Medicare abuse that merely takes more money our of seniors' pockets to put it into the pockets of the insurance companies.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't anybody read about this stuff, or do they just accept Republican jargon?
Native Americans learned the white man is far too interested in money to be democratic.
ReplyDeleteA-plus, Katie! As early as the eighteenth century, the leaders of the Iroquois League of Six Nations denounced money as "the snake" and correctly castigated the French as well as the British for releasing that serpent in their land.
ReplyDeleteNeeded: Serpent-Slayers Galore!
ReplyDeleteAnon 6:20, the reason we have Roe-v-Wade (abortion), prayer removed from schools (and God from about every other public place), same-sex marriage (a perverse disgusting idea, at best), and all the other immoral, disgusting and perverse things that are tearing the fabric of this nation apart is because of liberal idiots like you that keep shoving them down our throats, telling us to be open-minded, forgiving, understanding and tolerant. I'm counting the days to the revolution when we can finally put fools like you in their place, or eradicate them completely.
ReplyDeleteAnon 6:24, name one politician that isn't wasting everyone's time, and tax dollars, on this bullcrap. They keep pointing fingers at the insurance companies instead of attacking the real issue of health care COST. Lower the cost of health care, initiate tort reform and put a cap on judicial awards and watch the cost of insurance premiums drop significantly. If they don't, then go after the insurance companies.
Graham, your reaction is typical and predictable. Thanks for proving my point.
ReplyDeleteThe GOP just has to demagogue a high-emotion issue and their idiot base will show up at the polls. But they're NEVER going to fix the problem, just like they've never come CLOSE to fixing these problems during the era of their greatest power over the past 20 years. It's not in their interest to fix it. If they fix it, it loses it's emotional impact and it won't be effective at getting you idiots to vote anymore.
Conservatives are like children. It's all just desires and tantrums. We'd be so much better off if they could just grow up.
Grow up, Graham.
And Graham:
ReplyDeleteThe only people looking at any serious cost reduction are the Democrats. Ryan's plan does nothing to control costs. Tort reform is a joke. It's been tried at the state-level and it failed miserably. CBO also says it would only reduce the k of health costs, with no effect on the curve. I can draw you a graph if that helps.
Listening to Ryan proves that when a politician speaks its nothing but, lies come out of their mouths. He will meet with the seniors at a town hall meeting and tell them how much he cares for them, and then goes back to Washington an Co-sponsors a bill to eliminate Social Security by doing what Bush wanted when he was President. That was taking our money and put it into the Market. Thank God that didn't work before as we all know the Market Tanked.So all of us on social security would have lost every thing and we all be in the shitter.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we need to get focused on finding a replacement for him in Washington. If you take the time and look up his voting record in Congress you will see he very seldom if ever goes against his Party. So much for thinking for your self Mr Congressman.