Cantor: Only Route To Bipartisan Cooperation Is If Dems Fully Embrace GOP Plan
Eric Cantor’s office responds to Obama’s announcement of a bipartisan summit on health care with the most explicit and direct assertion I’ve seen yet that the only way Dems can win bipartisan cooperation is to fully embrace the GOP health care plan and nothing more:
After going it alone on health care reform for nearly a year, President Obama has decided he wants to bring Republicans into the conversation. Here’s the problem: unless the President and Speaker Pelosi are willing to scrap their government take over and hit the reset button, there’s not much to talk about.
Republicans believe the status quo is unacceptable, but so is any health reform package that spends money we don’t have or raises taxes on small businesses and working families in a recession. To that point, House Republicans have offered the only plan , that will lower health care costs, which is what the President said was the goal at the start of this debate.
I’m not sure if it could be made any more explicit than that.
Obviously the political goal of this summit is to draw more public attention to the fact on display here: The Republican definition of compromise on health care is that Dems embrace their plan, and nothing more. But here’s the thing: The public already knows this.
Multiple polls have shown that majorities think the GOP is more interested in obstructing than in engaging constructively with the majority. And yet, paradoxically, multiple polls also show that majorities want Dems to keep trying to find common ground with Republicans rather than pass their own plan.
As I’ve noted here before, this is largely because Dems haven’t convinced the public that compromising with the GOP would have actual policy consequences that people might not like — that compromise will of necessity produce a bill that the public wants less than the one Dems would produce alone. The question is whether the summit can shift this dynamic.
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HumanityCritic,
I totally agree with, “I’m of the belief that how fast some of Obama’s supporters have said “Uncle” says more about them than the President.” I think far too many Democrats want to blame Republicans for the halt on health care reform. However, there were far too many liberals calling for starting over because the bill didn’t include everything they wanted. When fourth down is coming up, usually it is best just to take the field goal and not risk going for the touchdown. I actually wrote a blog post about this right after the Massachusetts election at http://www.leftbutright.com/2010/01/20/liberals-get-their-wish/.
Obama is setting them up..He is giving them enough rope to hang themselves because if the debates/meeting is open on CSPAN, CNN, FOX, MSNBC with democrats on ones side and republican on the other side with reputible doctors/nurses and healthcare experts going thru the bill and explain in engish what is in it and dissect that bill one by one and call out these republicans lies on a “government” takover which is BS, it will expose them. People have to remember that republicans like to do their deeds in the dark without being called out and they don’t like to have an honest debate ou where people can contrast the difference with real issues. Its just talking points to them and barack exposed them last week in baltimore. He made them look like non educated imbecils. They don’t want a repeat of that so they will try and avoid this at all cost. He is trying to shine the light on them so indepdendents can see with their own eyes who is the actual problem in washington.
This has become a complete joke. The Republicans don’t have a health care bill. Tort reform might reach 2% reduction in annual medical costs. The across state lines without federal management idea is a complete disaster. Insurance companies will simply go to the most unregulated state and begin to cherry pick people. It’s not a surprise Obama couldn’t find one health professional to support the idea.
The fact is the GOP doesn’t care about anything but money and power.They never have and never will. I know there are a few outliers who don’t fall into this categorization, but they don’t stray from the leadership, like a herd of sheep.
If health insurance companies are allowed to make money off letting people die, then the system will always be broken. Its the complete opposite of market competition. Health insurance companies make money off providing worse service.
I’m not sure this is a great idea. The GOP can participate in the televised debate and say “See, we tried to offer ‘common-sense’ alternatives, but the Dems just want to take over health care.’
We lost control of the dialogue on HCR months ago. We’ve got to learn to do better with communication.
Where in the name of heaven have the republicans been for the last eight years? They never made one single attempt to reform health care and now they have all the answers. Their concern is the funds they would loose from the insurance lobbyist. When they were in the majority they listened to no one. They started two wars, did a prescription drug bill and paid for nothing. Why do the republicans hate America and Americans? Are the rich the only ones they represent?
A recent posting on Bloomberg this AM is how Insurance, DME, Pharma, et al are rethinking their stance based on the idea that HCR (D) will fail to occur. This will give them heartburn, trying to keep up with all the Cantor play. Having read HR3400, it is not something that help many citizens and perhaps the GOP is just trying to garner some positive press until others read this bill instead of relying on spin.
Try and keep up here, someone tell me how a tax credit of $2K/adult with max of $7K (family of 4) max, is going to make Health Insurance affordable to uninsured. As usual, it fails to talk about cost sharing (out of pocket expense, etc.
And of course the LOL detail of repealing Stimulus and TARP!
Then the Ryan Plan, which has even less “credit”/subsidy for healthcare – ($5700).
Neither of these plans will have a positive impact on the uninsured, but Cantor wants to pray that none of us read these plans. Thanks, but NO THANKS!
I personally think that Obama is wanting to telvise how unwilling Repubs are to work with as well as what liars they are. I completely agree with HumanityCritic. Obama knows that if he wants to pass something, he has to literally prove the obstructionist tendencies of the right. I think it is genious personally. That very think IS the Dems growing a pair. Instead of using the “nanny nanny boo boo we have a majority” approach, the Dems are using the “we can’t wait to prove your ineptness to the world.” I love it. I will be TIVOing that discussion and be sure to get my popcorn before I snuggle in to watch the games begin.
I mean “That very thing.”
As usual, most of their ineffective solutions are unfunded, will raise premiums exhorbitantly and are uselss as cost controls….. Give me a break..HSA’s for people who don’t have the money for copays, let alone premiums and 20%+ cost shares. Covering the uninsured FULLY would be less than we pay for their emergency treatment alone now. More restrictive state plans vs. national exchange which is much more cost and administratively effective. So much for republican fiscal conservatism…..
Cantor, you are idiotic. This kind of comment only makes you look even more irresponsible and certainly not worthy of serving. You should be impeached.
Greg, please tell me you’re not this dumb.
Cantor’s statement does not say that the GOP plan is the ONLY plan that can or will lower health care costs. It’s the only plan that has been offered by either side that will do this. “House Republicans have offered the only plan that will…” This in no way implies that the Democrats can’t offer up their own plan that also reduces health care costs. Worse, you know this.
You’re only fooling your gullible sycophantic readers with this sort of sophomoric analysis.
Real leadership would require that reconsilation be used to correct the proplems in the Senate bill, and to send the Senate
bill as is to the president for signature. The solution is simple
so just do it already.
Eric Cantor is our Rep here in Richmond. He is a TWERP! a disgrace to his office. The GOP has no plan for health care reform…it’s all smoke and mirrors! Like Bullwinkle said, “nothing up my sleeve”….. CANTOR’S WIFE serves on the board of either a big corporate bank or an HMO (I forget which) Either way, he’s got big money up his wazoo!
Well of course, the Republicans have a large majority so we must rush through all their ideas and shelve ours. What are we thinking, we have the large majority? What clowns. Another thing, is it just me or does Cantor look like the devil incarnated? Why do Republicans always look so evil?
Do you guys have any idea how idiotic and delusional these posts are?
This is not even an authentic quote from Eric Cantor.
Bipartisanship is a joke. Pass your agenda then let the voters decide if they like it. Use budget reconciliation. That’s how the Reps passed their agenda without supermajorities. Dems won running on the public option and on health insurance reforms. Pass it. Then go back to the voters and tell them what you did. The Reps will be screwed when reality puts the lie to their scaremongering. Just. Do. It.
We don’t need to embrace the GOP “Health Plan”… we’ll just wait to have it shoved down our throats like all other bad policy that the American people have suffered from this party of anarchists.
Wtching the Republicans and Democrats both posture should infuriate Americans. Instead, they blindly support the proposals of their parties instead of aasking intelligent questions of their legislators and then demanding meaningful answers. Instead, we kow tow to Ruch Limboaugh or MoveOn.Org as if the American people believe in the obstructionism of the current Republican party or the impossible debts brought on by the current direction of the President’s minions on the two coasts. Wake up America and demand more than pablum.
The DEMOCRATIC BILL as written in HIDIng with unbelievable mandates that will DESTROY Medicare as we know it, is a costly (ALL TAXES SHALL RISE) bag of bills that Obama does not care whether we can pay our medical bills or not. As an RN, I am appalled by his Egotistical charades, his histrionic Personality Disorder, his overt desire to micro manage and exert his power over every aspect of our Government. He wants to CHANGE (Transform ) America into a Social Study Group where his plan is to have the nation one big Community Health Plan. Our medical records shall no longer be in the hands of competent Doctors and Nurses. Excuses for Nurses and Doctors shall be brought in from Mexico (because of the shortage here). Good luck America. We best fall on our knees and pray. The Democrats are in
a mess!!!
Cantor:
Shut up. Go home.
“Republicans believe the status quo is unacceptable, but so is
any health reform package that spends money we don’t have…”
— Eric Cantor, who sat silent for eight years while Bush
borrowed money from China to give the super-rich tax cuts
and the lies of the GOP just keep on coming. In Cantor’s response he spews two. The classic one of a “government take over” and that for a year that Obama has “going it alone on health care reform for nearly a year,”. Anyone who buys into this GOP notion that Obama and the dems have been going it alone is mind boggling ignorant. From day one of Obama’s presidency the GOP leadership has said explicitlysaid things over and over again indicating that they have made a political calculation to oppose everything Obama advocates even if its something the GOP once advocated(like the pay as you go in which Obama decided to join the GOP but the GOP decided to oppose it once Obama embraced it). Obama has been open to the GOP’s phony issue of tort reform(phony because costs savings from tort reform would be miniscule at best). Some of the bills that the GOP votes against often have amendments put in them by the GOP. Let us not forget that as the GOP voted against Democratic legislation they often go back home to these “blue ribbon” ceremonies to celebrate the same passing of these same bills they voted against. Truly hypocritical these Republicans are. They obviously think the so called “liberal” media and the American people in general aren’t paying attention. Well unfortunately to a large extent they are probably right. Ignorance is the GOP’s most important weapon.
gloriak said “The DEMOCRATIC BILL as written in HIDIng with unbelievable mandates that will DESTROY Medicare as we know it”. So your claiming that the Democratic bill will destroy medicare when the GOP plan is to privatize it and when the GOP has advocated cutting it for years?
also this is just stupid typical right-wing fear-mongering-> “his overt desire to micro manage and exert his power over every aspect of our Government. He wants to CHANGE (Transform ) America into a Social Study Group where his plan is to have the nation one big Community Health Plan.”
Thats just either pure ignorance or willfully deceit on your part. The bill is not that much different than the one in Massachusetts that was passed when Republican Mitt Romney was governor. Obama is not advocating any “government take over”. That is such a tiresome lie.Meanwhile what are the private health insurance companies doing? Did hear what blue Cross did? Raise rates by 39% Thats the system you still want? I am sick of propagandists like you.
I understand that the Republican party is having a crisis dealing with being the Minority Party. The term probably makes some of them feel less White. Now that I have gotten the loaded words out of the way, I request that someone in the media publicly take Congressman John Boehner (R-OH) and Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) to task for using the phrase “*** that Americans want”. I get physically ill when they imply that I want something that they want. It would be fine if they qualified their statements with “our constituents” or “some Americans”. They are otherwise lying. And someone needs to put the record straight. Thank you.
Eric Cantor, who sat silent for eight years while Bush
borrowed money from China to give the super-rich tax cuts,
Congress’s Feres “to harm” Ignored.
“IV. Recommendations. G. The Feres Doctrine” [1] “should not be applied for military personnel who are harmed by inappropriate human experimentation when informed consent has not been given.” U.S. Senate December 8, 1994 REPORT 103-97 “Is Military Research Hazardous to Veterans’ Health? Lessons Spanning Half a Century.”[2]
In 2010, despite the efforts of some, by their inaction the U.S. Congress has approved the Report’s: “Introduction” “During the last 50 years, hundreds of thousands of military personnel have been involved in human experimentation and other intentional exposures conducted by the Department of Defense (DOD), often without a service member’s knowledge or consent.” and “…most Americans would agree that the use of soldiers as unwitting guinea pigs in experiments that were designed to harm them, at least temporarily, is not ethical.” Thereby, to-date covered up and continuing are these Feres [1] “to harm” experiments with treatment prevented as documented by the U.S. Senate Report [2].
Please hold your members in the U.S. Congress responsible for your loved ones!
REFERENCES:
[1] U.S. Supreme Court, Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135, 146 (1950). http://supreme.justia.com/us/340/135/case.html
[2] U.S. Senate December 8, 1994 REPORT 103-97 “Is Military Research Hazardous to Veterans’ Health? Lessons Spanning Half a Century.” Hearings Before the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, 103rd Congress 2nd Session. With NOTES 1 to 170. Committee Print – S. Print. 103-97. See Gulf War Veterans website Hyperlink: http://www.gulfweb.org/bigdoc/rockrep.cfm