As GOP guvs nix Medicaid expansion, Zap says: "Republicans are way past the point of being shamed by any action they perform"

"You may recall that a few weeks ago President Obama came to this chamber, and he addressed the chamber on health care before a joint session of the House and the Senate. During that session I was privileged to be here, and I saw my colleagues on the far side of the aisle, the Republicans, waving pieces of paper during his speech. And I was wondering what they were. I couldn't imagine. It almost seemed like they wanted President Obama's autograph. I just didn't get it.

"I heard from one of my colleagues that this is what they called the Republican Health Care Plan. I went over after the speech was over. I picked up a copy that was lying down on the Republican side, and it turns out that the Republicans' Health Care Plan was a blank piece of paper. I inquired further, trying to find out exactly what the Republicans; health care plan is, and it's my duty and pride tonight to be able to announce exactly what the Republicans plan to do for health care in America. It's this. [Turning to easel with cards] Very simply -- it's a very simple plan -- here it is, the Republican Healh Care Plan for America: 'Don't get sick.' That's right, don't get sick! If you have insurance, don't get sick! If you don't have insurance, don't get sick! If you're sick, don't get sick! Just don't get sick! That's what the Republicans have in mind for you, America. That's the Republicans' Health Care Plan.

"But I think that the Republicans understand that that plan isn't always going to work. It's not a foolproof plan. So the Republicans have a backup plan, in case you do get sick. If you get sick in America, this is what the Republicans want you to do. [Turning over new card] If you get sick, America, the Republican Health Care Plan is this: 'DIE QUICKLY.' That's right, the Republicans want you to die quickly if you get sick."


"Trying to shame Republican Governors over their refusal of funds to improve the health of their citizens is a monumental and narcissistic waste of time."

-- Zappatero, in a SquareState post, "Death Panels come to life: Republican Governors refuse to help their own citizens"

by Ken

We've all seen this Alan Grayson clip a zillion times, I know. I still thought it was worth making it a zillion and one. Because Republican governors in the wake of the Supreme Court's upholding of much of the Affordable Care Act, with the signal exception of the federal government's ability to threaten states into participating in the expanded Medicaid program, are planning more and more cop-outs, showing us how right Alan G has been all along.

Earlier this week our Colorado colleague Zappatero, inspired by Joan McCarter's Daily Kos post "Republican governors will let people die to make political point," asked on SquareState: "What can you say about these assholes?"

He began his post, "Death Panels come to life: Republican Governors refuse to help their own citizens," by quoting from Joan McCarter's post, then continued on his own.

Proving that making a political point is more important to Republicans than anything else, including saving potentially millions of lives, an increasing number of Republican governors are announcing that they'll refuse the Medicaid expansion money from the federal government. Think Progress has been tracking the state's decisions and has found, so far, 10 Republican governors will refuse it, and another 19 are unsure.

Something Democrats have forgotten as this "argument" has progessed:

* Republicans are way past the point of being shamed by any action they perform. Trying to shame Republican Governors over their refusal of funds to improve the health of their citizens is a monumental and narcissistic waste of time.

* Any, and I mean ANY penny, dime, quarter, or dollar, obtained by ANY government, be that local, state, or federal, to be used for ANY purpose, let alone a common public good like the "general welfare" (sound familiar?) of its citizens, is stolen and should be returned to its owner immediately.

* Health Insurance, not to mention Health Care (Jesus Forbid!) is not a right, nor even an entitlement. If you can't afford it, then you are obviously not worthy and, as Alan Grayson says: if you get sick, you better die fast so as not to burden your family. Let the Free Market prevail!

* Corporations are people, the only people recognized by Republicans, and they are the people who deserve most from governments' ability to choose winners, skew policy to favor one group, or refrain another group from impinging on their inalienable right to make every last frickin' cent available from The Market.

These are the people with whom we are supposed to be bipartisan.

And all I can say to Democrats, until they realize the truth, is bring your own lubricant, because this ain't going to be pleasurable trying to improve upon the "tax" and bill that the Dread Justice Roberts just affirmed. And thank your local Physician Practitioner that we [i.e., in Colorado] have a "Democrat" Governor: John Hickenlooper can bow at the alter of Natural Gas Fracking, but he wouldn't dare decline health care money for our poorest citizens and their children, would he?

Alan Grayson took a lot of heat for that snarky but altogether accurate characterization of the GOP idea of a health care policy as encouraging people to die quickly. Recent events have only reinforced that basic accuracy.

"Republicans are way past the point of being shamed by any action they perform. Trying to shame Republican Governors over their refusal of funds to improve the health of their citizens is a monumental and narcissistic waste of time."

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