All three branches of government have given their stamp of approval... have given their "a-okay" to the Affordable Care Act. And as I wrote in my column last Sunday..."Obamacare" is the law of the land. The President used the same words on Thursday...and added, "It's here to stay." There is no reason for President Obama to negotiate with Republicans if it means the destruction of the Affordable Care Act. And to shut down the federal government - which is the fault of the Republicans - was reckless and irresponsible.
In last week's column...I verbally blasted Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas for his fake filibuster...and for his childish attempt at destroying the Affordable Care Act. But it is mind-boggling to comprehend...how a freshman senator...with less than a year in office...was able to craft a government shutdown...and make such a mess of our country. It's quite frankly sinful...that Republicans will not re-open the government until the President agrees to tell one-fifth of the American population...20 percent of your friends, neighbors and relatives...that they can't have health insurance. Such an idea is totally insane.
As President Obama stated on Wednesday, October 2nd in an interview with CNBC Chief Washington Correspondent John Harwood, "We've got a group of folks who think that they can hold Americans hostage for ransom that they can't win through an election." As the President stated on Thursday...the government shutdown is not about spending or fiscal responsibility. "This whole thing is about one thing...the Republican obsession with dismantling the Affordable Care Act...and denying affordable health insurance to millions of Americans."Republicans have no idea...no clue...as to the desires of the American people. It's apparent...that Republicans are deaf and blind...as to what Americans want. And as President Obama told the group in Rockville, Maryland on Thursday..."Through this whole fight...they've said...the American people don't want 'Obamacare'...so we should shut down the government...to repeal it...or delay it. But here's the problem. The government's now shut down...but the Affordable Care Act is still open for business. So they're not even accomplishing...what they say they want to accomplish."
As the old saying goes, "the proof is in the pudding." On October 1st, 2013...the very first day that "Obamacare" became available through the exchanges and marketplaces...more than 6 million Americans visited healthcare.gov to learn how to improve on their health insurance or obtain insurance that they have never been able to get before. Yes, there were glitches with the Website. So what. But still...6 million people went traveling through cyberspace...to discover how they can get health insurance. Hundreds of thousands of people telephoned the call center on the very first day. How can any Republican with an ounce of brains think that Americans don't want "Obamacare?"
It's truly shameful - as we approach year two of President Obama's second term - that House Republicans are likely to reject every bill that the President attempts to pass through Congress. Thankfully...the Democrats hold the majority in the Senate...and the mid-term elections are coming up in November 2014...with the hope that Democrats can regain majority in the House...and of course...keep the Senate. But until then...if Congress would let President Obama perform the duties...for which he has already demonstrated...quintessential and praiseworthy abilities...I am confident...I am certain..that most - if not all - Americans will realize progress in our country...and that the President will reach every goal he has planned. If Republicans would open their minds...and open their hearts...the super rich... the very rich...and the moderately wealthy...will still have plenty of money. And the comfortable, but struggling...the middle-class who are just barely getting by...those who are borderline poverty-stricken...and those who are altogether poor...will find that their lives will improve to a higher quality... that is deserving of ALL Americans.
We must unite our politicians...and unite our nation as a whole. There is no question that President Obama has - to use his words - "bent over backwards" to work with the Republican Party. Unfortunately, because of Congressional Republicans...who are acting like "spoiled children" - according to a new CNN/ORC International poll - I don't see America's national politicians agreeing on whether the sky is blue...let alone coming to terms on a spending plan...and therefore...the government remains closed.
The trouble is...we have a House of Haters...who refuse to give Barack Obama an inch...in order to be successful with his Presidency. Despite that...President Obama is already a success since moving in to The White House. Now I'm not going to spell out every one of his numerous achievements...including, but not limited to - "General Motors is alive...and Osama bin Laden is dead"...the end of the war in Iraq - (a war that never should have been started by the previous administration)...and a nation that was going belly-up (because of his predecessor) to an improving economy that has grown the Dow Jones Industrial Average from 8,000 to 15,000. But those are just a few facts that prove that President Obama has moved our country in a positive direction. However...in case you have any doubts about any of the President's other political masterpieces - which I know many of you do - research for yourself. Oh he has a lot more to do...but the fact is...President Obama has had many accomplishments beyond the Affordable Care Act...and he has the knowledge...the skill...the keen analytical mind...and the talents as a communicator...to triumph throughout his second term as our Commander-in-Chief. But to do so...temper tantrums by Tea Partying Republicans - not to mention certain other members of the GOP - need to stop. The United States cannot continue to suffer because of the animosity that most - note I said "most"...not all - Republicans have for this President. It is so obvious that they would rather see President Obama fail...then to make America flourish. What kind of an American acts that way? Is it because...President Obama is a Democrat? Is it because...he's a liberal? Is it because...he is black? Yes, you read right. I have broached the sensitive subject of racism.
Do Members of the House of Representatives - some, not all - want President Obama to fall flat on his back...so that America hits rock bottom... simply because they don't want an African-American President...a Negro President...a black President...to be victorious? The conservative right wants to obstruct and block everything Mr. Obama wants to do...to make our country better. Why do they have such a distasteful grudge against a President who has a burning desire to help the middle class and the poor...to make life easier for people who are trying to stay afloat...to make a buck...and to live happy and healthy lives? Why must there be a fury of detestation and abhorrence towards President Obama? Is racism driving that hatred?
How can a polarized nation become united again? If we have to wait until 2017...until a new President takes occupancy at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue... be him...or her...a Democrat...or a Republican...the United States of America may become so wounded...that no political doctor will be be able to save our nation's life. We, as Americans, cannot allow our country...our home...to deteriorate beyond repair.
A cooperative Congress is crucial. But in a week when Uncle Sam has closed his doors...a new CBS News poll reveals that 72 percent of Americans disapprove of shutting down the federal government over differences on the Affordable Care Act...and Republicans in Congress are receiving more of the blame for the shutdown. Forty-four percent of Americans are accusing the GOP for putting out the "Gone Fishing" sign throughout the nation's capital... while only 35 percent are pointing the finger at President Obama and Congressional Democrats.
On October 17th, 2013 - a mere 11 days from now - the United States of America reaches the debt ceiling...which is 16.7 trillion dollars. Suppose...just suppose...the U.S. can make it through the rest of the month. On November 1st...the Treasury Department is scheduled to ink out a check to Social Security for 25 billion dollars. And on November 15th...30 billion dollars in interest is to be paid on Treasury securities. Without an increase in the debt ceiling...those payments cannot be made. Think about the senior citizens - and others - who won't be getting their Social Security checks. That can be catastrophic for the moms and dads...the grandparents...and others... who depend on their Social Security money...in order to live.
Congress has got to act...and act now. A government shutdown is bad enough...but if the U.S. fails to pay its bills on time...no American wants to know what that will be like. We don't want to explore those waters.
Speaking to the crowd in Rockville, Maryland...President Obama warned the entire nation...that if Congress does not raise America's borrowing limit by the middle of this month..."an economic shutdown that results from default... would be dramatically worse." And the fact of the matter is...if we do not raise the debt ceiling...the federal government...WILL default. For the first time in this country's history...the United States of America...would default on our obligations as a government. The thought alone...sickens me.
I - as are millions of other Americans - am thoroughly disgusted with the Republicans in Congress. How does this all come to an end? Will the United States default? Is that what has to happen in order for Democrats and Republicans to FINALLY come together? For the GOP to say that the government won't get funded...and Washington will remain closed...unless Republicans get their way...is a disgrace. The "crybabies" of the GOP can stomp their feet all day long...but it's not going to work. They need to stop threatening President Obama and other Democrats with mindless demands. Congress has got to do its job. In the end...Republicans are going to be forced to raise the debt limit anyway - and more than likely - a clean debt limit increase...with nothing tied to it. Speaker Boehner...and the rest of the House leadership...need to schedule a vote to open up the government. As the President said Thursday... "Take a vote. Stop this farce. And end this shutdown right now." That sort of says it all, Mr. Speaker. It's a no-brainer...so do it already. OPEN UP THE DAMN DOORS!
And that's The Controversy for today.
I'm Gary B. Duglin.
"We'll talk again."
The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions. Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.
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You start off name calling, is that a way to get people to work together? I don’t think so! Then you move to lies and half-truths. President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid did not negotiate with the Republicans over ACA! They cut the backroom deals, Nebraska, Florida, Connecticut and who knows how many more to get this passed without any Republican votes. Remember the then Speaker saying we have to pass it before you can know what’s in it. They literally locked the Republicans out of the room.
ReplyDeleteEveryone including you use lines like we won the election get over it, please don’t forget that the 435 members to the house also won their elections and most of the Republicans ran on repeal and replace Obama Care. So I guess you’re saying that Republican House, the majority should tell the people who elected them to do something to get rid of this bad law, should just tell them sorry we are here just to bend over and say yes to what the new King wants. That’s not the American way.
I don’t deny that the ACA has some good points and the Republican all have said they are willing to keep many of these points. This is a bad law that is already hurting more people than it helps. What happened to the statement from President Obama, if you like your plan you can keep it or if you like your doctor he/she will still be there for and the big lie your rate will go down, on average $2,500 per family. All lies ask the people at Walgreens, Home Depot, Sears, Boeing and the list goes on and on they did not get to keep their plan. It’s been reported that thousands it not tens of thousands of doctors are not joining the new exchange plans and are dropping out of Medicare and Medicaid, so there goes the doctor you liked. As for the cost going down, what a lie they are going up and up 10-15% this year with less coverage and for those going into the exchanges to find some close to what they had, some people will pay as much as a 300% increase. Deductibles of $2,500 to $5,000 plans that before Obama Care paid 100% in network now paying 90% 80% and to some as little as 70% with co-pays of $20 to as high as $100 for a specialist. Tell all the people that have had their hours reduced to under 30 hours and now have no insurance, tell them how great Obama Care is! They now make less and they have to buy insurance on an overpriced exchange. I know you’ll say they get government hand out to cover the increase and it will for some people, what about the hourly accounting person I know that makes about $40 per hour and has been working 40-45 hours a week for years and received insurance as part of his employment package being full time. He has been told he cannot work more than 29 hours a week and now being part time will no longer receive company health insurance. Earning as a single person over $60K a year he will not get a penny of subsidy, and has been told that private insurance equal to what he had will cost him over $500 a month. So he lost over $20k a year in income and now has to pay $6,000 in insurance, all because of Obama Care. This is happening to hundreds of thousands of people if not millions of people all over the country
This will continue on the next post.
Simply put, sir or madame...and with all due respect...you have no idea what you are talking about. "Obamacare" is going to improve health insurance packages that companies provide. When all is said and done, "Obamacare" is not only going to give health insurance to those who could never afford it or who were never able to get it because of pre-existing conditions, but it will enhance policies for others. Therefore The Affordable Care Act will benefit perhaps 50 million Americans and ultimately ALL Americans who take advantage of it in the way it is intended. In any event..."Obamacare" is here to stay, so understand it...and accept it. Who knows? You just may realize...that it could help you too. GBD
DeleteDo I agree with the shutdown, no, is all the Republicans fault, no, they have now asked for the President to agree to do what he already did for big companies, delay the mandate for individuals for one year and get rid out the exclusion for government workers, congress and the white house. And then sit down at the table and work things out. How dare anyone question his law instead he shut down the government. As easy as it would be for the house to reopen the government by passing what the democrats want, the Democrats could open up the government by passing any one of many of the bills the House passed and going to the table and talking.
ReplyDeleteYou make the statement “There is no question that President Obama has - to use his words - "bent over backwards" to work with the Republican Party” . I don’t know how anyone could say that with a straight face. The thing the President has wanted was the Republicans to bend over so he could kick them in the butt. He and his administration has never taken responsibility for any that has gone wrong, from fast and furious to Benghazi to the NSA and the IRS it’s never anyone’s fault or it’s a fake scandal or the all-encompassing it George Bush’s fault!
Why do you have to lower your column with names calling, these are men and women trying to do what they feel is best for our nation and that they have been elected to do.You put the race card in play, why can’t you accept that it’s not the color of his skin but the content of his policies that the Republican are against. The only one that has played the race card has been the administration, but the Dems have been very good at lying and name calling whenever the fact don’t back them up, then most of the media repeats the lies as facts to help back the Democrats .
You state “Congress has got to do its job” , Congress has done its job it has passed at last count 3 or 4 CR’s it’s the Democrats in the Senate and the President that aren’t doing their jobs and signing it. You can look at both ways, but they may both be wrong. May be its time for both sides to sit down and compromise, something President Obama has never wanted to do.
Compromise on the shutdown, compromise on the debt and move on, that’s all the Republicans want.
Republicans wanted to compromise by changing, delaying or repealing "Obamacare." When are people who are against The Affordable Care Act going to finally accept that it is the law of the land and will NEVER be repealed? It would take a Republican President, a Republican majority Senate and a Republican majority House of Representatives to even attempt such action. And I don't believe that will happen anytime soon. Besides...even if it did...a law that is on the books for 3, 4, 5, 6 years or more...will never be done away with. By that time 30, 40, 50 million Americans would have health insurance as a result of "Obamacare." Try taking it away from everybody at that point. Do you really want that kind of fight in this country? It'll never happen. As I stated in my commentary..."All three branches of government have given their stamp of approval... have given their "a-okay" to the Affordable Care Act." It's not going away. As for your other remarks...my column speaks for itself. President Obama has indeed "bent over backwards to work with the Republican Party." And I do say that with a "straight face." As for what you say is "name calling" - I don't believe I did any such thing. A "House of Haters"..."A Chamber of Crybabies." Can you honestly state that Republicans have not acted in such a fashion? Therefore...if the shoe fits...well...you know the rest. GBD
ReplyDeleteHow can you claim not to like name calling when you name call. Calling people who were ELECTED to do what the the people who ELECTED them wanted them to do is not being a "hater" or "crybabies". They are representing their constituents. As for you statement on Obama Care and millions of people, the only reason millions may sign up is because our President lied when he told the American people if you like your plan you can keep it, as I said he lied!. Millions of people have had their plans dropped because it didn't conform to Obama care, hundreds of thousands if not many millions once all is said and done will have their companies drop their coverage and put people into the exchanges and many many more are having their hours cut to under 30 so the company does not have to continue coverage. This is the great Obama Care, it is a bad law with a few good items such as per-exsiting, and preventative care. All of those items could have been done without hundreds of billions of new taxes and with taking away the health care people wanted to keep. Almost 150,000 doctors have said they will not participate in the new exchanges so 20% of Americans will not be able to keep their doctor, another lie by the President. A resent study says if you are forced into an exchange and you are not eligible for a government hand out your rate will go up on average of 35% depending on you location and plan type as much as 150%. You may be right that it may never get repealed get government handouts it is hard to get them to give them up. Yes I am saying it is a handout, it is welfare it is socialism.
ReplyDeleteYou may think the Republicans who were responsible for the government shutdown are doing what they think is best for the people who elected them, but sadly, some of them are simply out to destroy the Democratic Party and to crush President Obama's Presidency. As for your thoughts on the Affordable Care Act, you are so off base and so very wrong with your figures. I won't say "facts and figures" because they are in no way facts. You are mistaken with your numbers - and in the not too distant future - you will be proved wrong by 30, 40, 50 million Americans who will benefit from "Obamacare." And when all is said and done...and you discover how beneficial the Affordable Care Act is to so many millions of people throughout the United States...maybe even YOU will find that "Obamacare" is exactly what our country needs. You may even learn to not only love "Obamacare"...but who knows...you may end up loving President Obama too. Open up your mind...and watch what happens. GBD
DeleteYou have the right to your opinion. But so do I. The fact of the matter is - based on all of the polls and surveys regarding the government shutdown - most Americans...agree with me. GBD
ReplyDelete