Joe Pitts And Grover... Sittin' In A Tree

We'll be learning a lot more about how Joe Pitts males America a worse place this year

In our post from Tuesday discussing the benefits that some congressional candidates reap for staying committed to changing Washington through running for office a second time, we also mentioned another type of commitment... like the one to Grover Norquist that so many Republican House members just can’t seem to shake.

One of those members in particular has been caught red-handed in trying to kiss up to Grover and he did it while in the well of Congress just so he made sure it was on the record.

Anti-Choice zealot Joe Pitts (R-PA) decided to give remarks on the floor regarding his opposition to a provision of the Affordable Care Act called the Medical Loss Ratio. The basics of the MLR are that it requires insurance companies to use a minimum of 80% of the premiums you pay toward actual direct care for patients when they need it. And if they are caught not meeting those minimum standards, they are penalized, or as Grover kowtowers would term it, they are taxed.

This takes us back to a debate during the recent election in which Democrat and endorsed Blue America PAC candidate, Aryanna Strader was allowed to ask Mr. Pitts any question she wanted within the topic of health care. The event was sponsored by the local Rotary Club chapter and was held on October 23. The entire debate, question-by-question on the Lancaster Online website, is embedded in such a way that they don’t provide us an embed code to post here, but if you click on “Question #2: Health Care” at the link you will be able to hear the full exchange between Strader and Pitts.

But pay attention to the 3:30 mark. This is where Aryanna poses her question to Pitts, asking him whether or not he supported Medical Loss Ratio. Of course, in front of a room full of local voters who would love nothing more than to make sure insurance companies are forced to pay for services if they are sick or need an operation, Pitts tells them he is supportive of the MLR.

Then, post-election and 37 days removed from the Rotary Club debate, Pitts must have gotten a call from Grover who called him out. And without resistance, Pitts marched his way down on the floor to give remarks now denouncing the MLR. And to make is point, Pitts posted his remarks straight to his congressional YouTube channel:



There is certainly something to be said for members of Congress who bend over so far to save their personal best interest that they can actually see it.