The Ink, The Bill and the Hate

The ink of the presidents pen has not been placed to paper but the rabid anger over the new health care bill is already out there where ever one looks. Take a look at this bit of anger titled “Waterloo” writen on March 21st, 2010 at 4:59 pm by David Frum. David Frum concluded by saying “….So today’s defeat for free-market economics and Republican values is a huge win for the conservative entertainment industry. Their listeners and viewers will now be even more enraged, even more frustrated, even more disappointed in everybody except the responsibility-free talkers on television and radio. For them, it’s mission accomplished. For the cause they purport to represent, it’s Waterloo all right: ours.” With some luck, like many political and legal strategist have predicted, this health care reform will withstand any repeal attempt and just become part of the political background and fade into history as a political, social and economic positive step forward that the United States decided to take.


In the past bills like Medicare were divisive but were signed into law and later adjusted to better serve both patients and health care providers. The anger that has been fueled by this new health care reform bill has to subside for the sake of the nation because what did not happen during the creation of Medicare was that states were not lining up to mount legal oppositions. Mr. Frum describes the kind of none cooperation between parties that stops progress on important issues of the day from being made. Mr. Frum is also pointing out a disappointment associated with what’s is better phrased as “we lost and they won.” There are not many people (GOP, Tea Party) who were against this bill throwing up their arms and saying “we lost, now lets all work together and move on.” The President is going to give a victory speech to a nation that is more divided politically now than ever before and also more polarized economically. No matter how much reconciliatory President Obama paints into his victory speech on health care reform, Washington viciousness, hate, and anger has officially been cranked up several degrees.

Obama will declare such talk about “increased anger,” a “divided country like never before” as the non sense of “sour losers.” The Problem is that calling anyone that suggests this chaos is waiting for us down the road, names, does not make it untrue. It is hardly untrue that this issue was hotly debated in kitchen tables, bars, garages and laboratories all over the country and divided both parties in half. Medicare was passed by both parties but it was a democratic bill and helped citizens regardless of party affiliation yet republican victories occurred in the years that followed. Republicans will have a hard time repealing this bill because it has too many republican elements, ideas, proposals attached to it and people have a problem giving back what has been give to them. The democrats have tied the hand of progressives because it will be an up hill fight to convince the middle class to increase their tax payments again in the near future to include the millions this new bill leaves behind.

Yes -- this bill has many great aspects to it --- now students can be on their parents health care plan until they are 26, no denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions is a violation of the law, and families making under eighty thousand dollars (80K) per year or less will be given money to help pay for their expensive premiums. Families making eighty thousand dollars or more will not get assistance and actually pay higher premiums. Time goes by and pressure mounts on the middle class and they’ll get tired of paying high monthly health care bills. Eighty thousand per year for a family of four can mean two parents working hard and yet not getting ahead. Aside from the fifteen million people this health care plan is leaving behind today or will not help each year millions more will be uninsured and their pleads for help might be ignored. Those citizens that make eighty thousand dollars annually just might stop donating to the Democrats each time they want to add more people to the new health care system This cycle is why failing to include everyone in today’s new health care reform bill was failure.



Rafael Buelna