IS TELLING "UNTRUTHS" A GOP JOB REQUIREMENT?

C-SPAN showed exactly why the Republican party just continues to shrink.

…Minority Leader, John Boehner. There´s a reason he is referred to as "John Boner".

Once again, a loyal reader has commented on how I must just "despise" all Republicans. And when I look back at all the articles that I have written about the actions and comments of the Republicans, I can see where others might get that idea.

Actually though, it´s not the concept of someone being a conservative or a member of the GOP that I dislike. Everyone has the right to their opinions. If someone thinks, as do the Republicans, that the there should not be an American middle class, but just two classes for the wealthy and the poor, I absolutely disagree with that idea. But if that´s their choice, so be it.

Where I go off the rail about the Republicans and the conservatives are the streams of lies and half-truths that they continue to spout as they expect us all to just accept what they say as gospel. I don´t do that for anyone, especially a politician.

Let´s take as an example, all of the false statements that the Republicans were making from the floor of the House of Representatives on Saturday evening just before they made their final votes on the House´s health care bill. Here´s a sampling of what was said as I sat watching on C-SPAN:

>>> The falsehood-peddling began right at the top, with Minority Leader John Boehner:

"If you're a Medicare Advantage enrollee . . . the Congressional Budget Office [CBO] says that 80 percent of them are going to lose their Medicare Advantage."

This is absolutely not true. The CBO hasn't said anything close to that. Boehner's office later acknowledged that he misspoke. He meant to cite a study from the Medicare actuary estimating that projected enrollment would be "down by 64%" if the cuts took effect. Choosing not to enroll in the private Medicare Advantage programs is very different from "losing" them.

>>> How about the claims of the alleged Democratic excesses. Such as when the Georgia Republican Jack Kingston said: "Let's remember the Pelosi plan for jobs: an $800 billion stimulus plan that caused unemployment to go from 8.5% to over 10%."

So, Speaker Pelosi personally caused the unemployment to go to 10%? Even though the best evidence suggests that the stimulus prevented things from being even worse, no rational person believes the stimulus or the House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi "caused" unemployment to rise.

>>> Then Georgia Republican Tom Price stated: "This bill, on Page 733, empowers the Washington bureaucracy to deny lifesaving patient care if it costs too much." (This is a flat-out lie!)

Also not true. The bill sets up a Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research. This center will identify the manner in which diseases, disorders, and other health conditions can most effectively and appropriately be prevented, diagnosed, treated, and managed clinically. There is nothing about denying anyone patient care.

>>> Representative Price, then also said: "This bill, on Page 94, will make it illegal for any American to obtain health care not approved by Washington."

Not true again. The vast majority of Americans get their insurance through their employers. The bill envisions setting minimum federal standards for such insurance within the insurance exchanges. This is hardly making it "illegal" to obtain "health care" without Washington's approval.

>>> Then there was Michigan Republican Dave Camp: "Americans could face five years in jail if they don't comply with the bill's demands to buy approved health insurance."

Not even close. The bill only requires people to obtain insurance or, with some hardship exceptions, pay a small fine. As 80% of Americans already have insurance, this will only apply to a very small minority. No one is being jailed for being uninsured. People who intentionally evade paying the fine could, in theory, be prosecuted, but it´s not very likely. The government has better things to do.

>>> And let´s not forget Kentucky Republican Brett Guthrie: "The bill raises taxes for just about everyone."

Absolutely not true. The bill imposes a surtax on only the top 0.3% of households. The surtax is only for those individuals making more than $500,000 a year and couples making more than $1 million (both situations are also income after taxes & expenses).

>>> And there´s California Republican Buck McKeon: "I offered two amendments to try to improve this bill, one to require members of Congress to enroll in the public option like we're going to require all of you to do."

No way. No one is required to enroll in the public option. In fact initially, most people won't even be eligible to enroll in the public option.

>>> Florida Republican Ginny Brown-Waite: "The president's own economic advisers have said that this bill will kill 5.5 million jobs."

Can´t these people even read? Christina Romer, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, has estimated that the bill would increase economic growth and add jobs. Republicans have misused Romer's previous economic research on the impact of tax increases to produce the "phony 5.5 million number".

This is just a one-evening´s C-SPAN example of why I have continually been vilifying the GOP and the Republican politicians.

I have come to believe that it is impossible to be a full-fledged Republican if you are an honest broker. Telling lies is apparently a GOP prerequisite.

That´s a hell of a job requirement for joining a political party, but there you have it.

Copyright G.Ater 2009

Follow me on Twitter: gater01