Upon seeing self-described liberal Andy Ostroy's recent article, entitled, "Are Liberals Just as Bad as Republicans When it Comes to Rhetoric and Spin on the Affordable Care Act?," I admit it caught my attention enough to give it a gander. However, I had a gut feeling the article would leave me shaking my head, and as usual, my gut was right.
Ostroy started his article by saying this:
"No one's ever accused me of being a patsy for the Republican Party. To the contrary, I've been a staunch supporter of President Obama, Democrats and the liberal agenda. I've also loudly, vociferously and consistently criticized the GOP for driving a wedge into our political system with its self-serving, obstructionist tactics..."
As I've learned through the years, whenever a person - particularly a writer, begins an article or a speech by saying, "As you all know, I've been an ardent supporter of X, Y, and Z through the years," expect a "but" to follow. That's exactly what occurred this time as well.
Ostroy finished his opening paragraph with this: "But what I've been witnessing and personally experiencing this week regarding the Affordable Care Act controversy has me wondering if, in the end, liberals are no better than their conservative counterparts."
He continued with the following:
"Talk to a passionate Democrat and they'll more than likely offer you this lofty opinion of themselves: 'We're the smart ones. The rational and logical ones. The ones who care about others. We're better than they are.' But are they? Perhaps Washington is broken not just because of Republicans, but because of Democrats as well. As the saying goes, it takes two to tango... and liberals have been dancin' up a storm this week.
The liberal spin on the ACA mess is astounding, and mirrors the typical partisan tactics of the GOP. Let's start with how Democrats are giving Obama an inexplicable total pass on the bold, unequivocal promises he's made repeatedly about ACA:
'If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health-care plan, you'll be able to keep your health-care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what.'
'And if you like your insurance plan, you will keep it. No one will be able to take that away from you. It hasn't happened yet. It won't happen in the future.'
Pretty clear, right? 'Period...period...no matter what.' Yet the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that 10-million Americans will be forced into policy cancellations by their current providers (because their current coverage doesn't meet the new ACA standards) and have to buy new, possibly more expensive policies from these same insurers or from the ACA exchanges. So are liberals--who'd typically be outraged by this kind of blatant lie, misrepresentation or incompetence from a Republican--demonstrating outrage and demanding accountability? No. Instead, they're spinning like mad. Like Republicans. They claim that the new insurance will be better. Maybe so. But that still doesn't mitigate or excuse 'Period...period...no matter what.'
Then there's the condescending spin that these existing policies are nothing more than 'substandard, worthless plans.' Again, maybe so. But Obama never said 'If you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your health care plan -- if we deem it to be adequate.'
Perhaps the most egregious spin of all is this one: 'Obama said if you like the plan you have you can keep it. He did not say if you like the plan you have they will keep you!' Really? This is the most fascinating parsing of words since the Bill Clinton days of 'depends on what the definition of 'is' is.'
Self-righteous liberals now find themselves condescendingly lecturing people that they're too stupid to know that their current policies are dreadful and worthy of termination, and that they should in effect be thankful that these smarter liberals are forcing new, more expensive policies on them. To see liberals stoop to the same shameful, disingenuous spin levels of Republicans is quite disheartening."
He added:
"...Yet so many liberals are holding firm in their belief that the ACA is perfect and wildly beneficial while summarily dismissing the opinions and experiences of others who may be negatively impacted by it. That makes them no better than the myopic, fanatical Tea Party 'patriots' whom they loathe."
He closed with this:
"These Republibs, as I call them, will practically call you a traitor if you don't toe the party line 100%. I had one old friend tell me yesterday that I 'should vote Republican then' simply because I acknowledged ACA's flaws (despite being an ardent supporter of it) and suggested that Obama re-attempt a bi-partisan dialogue for the fix. Sadly, we live in a culture now where 'compromise' and 'objectivity' have become bad words."
While I whole-heartedly agree with the writer's final line of the piece ("Sadly, we live in a culture now where 'compromise' and 'objectivity' have become bad words."), I think he misses the mark with the rest of it.
It's true that it "takes two to tango" and is also true that both parties have been attempting to spin the Affordable Care Act, but as another saying goes, we're comparing apples to oranges here.
Obamacare, as it's been called by many, is a rather conservative healthcare plan. It's just the plan Republicans countered then First Lady Hillary Clinton's healthcare reform idea when her husband was president. Then Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney - a Republican - signed into law what came to be known as Romneycare, which basically set the blueprint for Obamacare. Trust me, most liberals and Obama supporters don't think the Affordable Care Act is perfect, as Mr. Ostroy contends. Most liberals and Obama supporters want a more liberal healthcare reform law passed - a single-payer system. However, passing such a law, even when Democrats narrowly controlled both the House and the Senate, was less likely than a dead man winning the lottery. So compromises had to be made in order to reach an agreement on a healthcare overhaul, and what we got was the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare).
It's true that President Obama and his Democratic colleagues shouldn't have spoken in absolutes when trying to win the public's approval of the healthcare law since they were obviously less than certain about such statements. This is why I likely could never make it into politics, because rarely do I make absolute statements unless I'm 100% certain of them (there's typically only a 0.2% chance of that). In any case, that was a definite mistake on their parts. However, as I've said previously, the Obama administration and Democrats in general, for the most part, failed throughout the past 3+ years in communicating with the American people about the healthcare plan. There's a reason why more people have typically disapproved of the law than approved of it - Republicans tended to dominate the topic with town hall meetings, ads, and a seemingly constant barrage of hyperbolic rhetoric and tall-tales. That's where the apples and oranges comparison comes into play with regard to spinning the Affordable Care Act. Does Mr. Ostroy not remember what Republicans have been saying about this bill since it was signed (even before it was signed)? About death panels? Socialism? Communism? Hitler and Stalin comparisons? That it's a government takeover? It rations care? Muslims and Congresspersons are exempt from the law? The IRS will be in charge of it? That non-US citizens will be provided with free healthcare services? It's the largest tax increase in history? Three-quarters of small businesses have either fired or cut workers' hours? That people aged 76 or higher are ineligible for cancer treatment? Comparing myths of this healthcare plan basically killing people to myths which may result in people attaining better quality health insurance isn't even like comparing apples and oranges. It's like comparing limousines to pine trees.
Speaking of comparisons, did Mr. Ostroy really just compare liberals to the Tea Party? Did he really compare a group of people who want to improve our healthcare system to a group which shut down the government, cost this nation $24 billion, and brought us to the brink of a cataclysmic default? As I mentioned earlier, most liberals would have preferred to see a different healthcare plan than the ACA (Affordable Care Act). Most liberals see it as a bill which is far from perfect, but most such individuals also see it as a baby-step in the right direction. So, once again, Mr. Ostroy's comparison is like comparing pretzels to a cell phone.
Again, practically the only part of Mr. Ostroy's article which I firmly agreed with is where, at the very end, he wrote this: "Sadly, we live in a culture now where 'compromise' and 'objectivity' have become bad words."
While this is very true, he's quite inaccurate with his claim that it's just as much the Democrats' fault as it is the Republicans for a broken government. Republicans once supported a healthcare reform plan very similar to Obamacare, but that was going on 20 years ago. Democrats tried working amongst themselves to make all the compromises needed to pass a healthcare reform bill, because Republicans wanted no part of it. President Obama consistently said if Republicans had any suggestions or ideas on how to improve the healthcare bill, to come forward, yet all they seemed to do was lambast the bill and frighten people of it even before its implementation. I think Mr. Ostroy is living in la-la land if he truly believes President Obama and Democrats in Congress can have a reasonable discussion with Republicans in Congress about how to fix the healthcare bill. House Republicans have attempted to repeal the bill how many times? Over 40? Even with a Democrat-controlled Senate and White House? For House Republicans, it seems there are only two options for compromise - repeal or defund (or delay in hopes of winning more seats and attempting to repeal or defund it again). I'm sorry, but that's not compromise. It may take two to tango, but while Democrats have been on the dance floor for over 3 years now since talks of the ACA first started, Republicans have been sitting in chairs with their arms folded, and it's impossible to tango without a dance partner.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-ostroy/are-liberals-just-as-bad-_b_4181554.html
Ostroy started his article by saying this:
"No one's ever accused me of being a patsy for the Republican Party. To the contrary, I've been a staunch supporter of President Obama, Democrats and the liberal agenda. I've also loudly, vociferously and consistently criticized the GOP for driving a wedge into our political system with its self-serving, obstructionist tactics..."
As I've learned through the years, whenever a person - particularly a writer, begins an article or a speech by saying, "As you all know, I've been an ardent supporter of X, Y, and Z through the years," expect a "but" to follow. That's exactly what occurred this time as well.
Ostroy finished his opening paragraph with this: "But what I've been witnessing and personally experiencing this week regarding the Affordable Care Act controversy has me wondering if, in the end, liberals are no better than their conservative counterparts."
He continued with the following:
"Talk to a passionate Democrat and they'll more than likely offer you this lofty opinion of themselves: 'We're the smart ones. The rational and logical ones. The ones who care about others. We're better than they are.' But are they? Perhaps Washington is broken not just because of Republicans, but because of Democrats as well. As the saying goes, it takes two to tango... and liberals have been dancin' up a storm this week.
The liberal spin on the ACA mess is astounding, and mirrors the typical partisan tactics of the GOP. Let's start with how Democrats are giving Obama an inexplicable total pass on the bold, unequivocal promises he's made repeatedly about ACA:
'If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health-care plan, you'll be able to keep your health-care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what.'
'And if you like your insurance plan, you will keep it. No one will be able to take that away from you. It hasn't happened yet. It won't happen in the future.'
Pretty clear, right? 'Period...period...no matter what.' Yet the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that 10-million Americans will be forced into policy cancellations by their current providers (because their current coverage doesn't meet the new ACA standards) and have to buy new, possibly more expensive policies from these same insurers or from the ACA exchanges. So are liberals--who'd typically be outraged by this kind of blatant lie, misrepresentation or incompetence from a Republican--demonstrating outrage and demanding accountability? No. Instead, they're spinning like mad. Like Republicans. They claim that the new insurance will be better. Maybe so. But that still doesn't mitigate or excuse 'Period...period...no matter what.'
Then there's the condescending spin that these existing policies are nothing more than 'substandard, worthless plans.' Again, maybe so. But Obama never said 'If you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your health care plan -- if we deem it to be adequate.'
Perhaps the most egregious spin of all is this one: 'Obama said if you like the plan you have you can keep it. He did not say if you like the plan you have they will keep you!' Really? This is the most fascinating parsing of words since the Bill Clinton days of 'depends on what the definition of 'is' is.'
Self-righteous liberals now find themselves condescendingly lecturing people that they're too stupid to know that their current policies are dreadful and worthy of termination, and that they should in effect be thankful that these smarter liberals are forcing new, more expensive policies on them. To see liberals stoop to the same shameful, disingenuous spin levels of Republicans is quite disheartening."
He added:
"...Yet so many liberals are holding firm in their belief that the ACA is perfect and wildly beneficial while summarily dismissing the opinions and experiences of others who may be negatively impacted by it. That makes them no better than the myopic, fanatical Tea Party 'patriots' whom they loathe."
He closed with this:
"These Republibs, as I call them, will practically call you a traitor if you don't toe the party line 100%. I had one old friend tell me yesterday that I 'should vote Republican then' simply because I acknowledged ACA's flaws (despite being an ardent supporter of it) and suggested that Obama re-attempt a bi-partisan dialogue for the fix. Sadly, we live in a culture now where 'compromise' and 'objectivity' have become bad words."
While I whole-heartedly agree with the writer's final line of the piece ("Sadly, we live in a culture now where 'compromise' and 'objectivity' have become bad words."), I think he misses the mark with the rest of it.
It's true that it "takes two to tango" and is also true that both parties have been attempting to spin the Affordable Care Act, but as another saying goes, we're comparing apples to oranges here.
Obamacare, as it's been called by many, is a rather conservative healthcare plan. It's just the plan Republicans countered then First Lady Hillary Clinton's healthcare reform idea when her husband was president. Then Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney - a Republican - signed into law what came to be known as Romneycare, which basically set the blueprint for Obamacare. Trust me, most liberals and Obama supporters don't think the Affordable Care Act is perfect, as Mr. Ostroy contends. Most liberals and Obama supporters want a more liberal healthcare reform law passed - a single-payer system. However, passing such a law, even when Democrats narrowly controlled both the House and the Senate, was less likely than a dead man winning the lottery. So compromises had to be made in order to reach an agreement on a healthcare overhaul, and what we got was the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare).
It's true that President Obama and his Democratic colleagues shouldn't have spoken in absolutes when trying to win the public's approval of the healthcare law since they were obviously less than certain about such statements. This is why I likely could never make it into politics, because rarely do I make absolute statements unless I'm 100% certain of them (there's typically only a 0.2% chance of that). In any case, that was a definite mistake on their parts. However, as I've said previously, the Obama administration and Democrats in general, for the most part, failed throughout the past 3+ years in communicating with the American people about the healthcare plan. There's a reason why more people have typically disapproved of the law than approved of it - Republicans tended to dominate the topic with town hall meetings, ads, and a seemingly constant barrage of hyperbolic rhetoric and tall-tales. That's where the apples and oranges comparison comes into play with regard to spinning the Affordable Care Act. Does Mr. Ostroy not remember what Republicans have been saying about this bill since it was signed (even before it was signed)? About death panels? Socialism? Communism? Hitler and Stalin comparisons? That it's a government takeover? It rations care? Muslims and Congresspersons are exempt from the law? The IRS will be in charge of it? That non-US citizens will be provided with free healthcare services? It's the largest tax increase in history? Three-quarters of small businesses have either fired or cut workers' hours? That people aged 76 or higher are ineligible for cancer treatment? Comparing myths of this healthcare plan basically killing people to myths which may result in people attaining better quality health insurance isn't even like comparing apples and oranges. It's like comparing limousines to pine trees.
Speaking of comparisons, did Mr. Ostroy really just compare liberals to the Tea Party? Did he really compare a group of people who want to improve our healthcare system to a group which shut down the government, cost this nation $24 billion, and brought us to the brink of a cataclysmic default? As I mentioned earlier, most liberals would have preferred to see a different healthcare plan than the ACA (Affordable Care Act). Most liberals see it as a bill which is far from perfect, but most such individuals also see it as a baby-step in the right direction. So, once again, Mr. Ostroy's comparison is like comparing pretzels to a cell phone.
Again, practically the only part of Mr. Ostroy's article which I firmly agreed with is where, at the very end, he wrote this: "Sadly, we live in a culture now where 'compromise' and 'objectivity' have become bad words."
While this is very true, he's quite inaccurate with his claim that it's just as much the Democrats' fault as it is the Republicans for a broken government. Republicans once supported a healthcare reform plan very similar to Obamacare, but that was going on 20 years ago. Democrats tried working amongst themselves to make all the compromises needed to pass a healthcare reform bill, because Republicans wanted no part of it. President Obama consistently said if Republicans had any suggestions or ideas on how to improve the healthcare bill, to come forward, yet all they seemed to do was lambast the bill and frighten people of it even before its implementation. I think Mr. Ostroy is living in la-la land if he truly believes President Obama and Democrats in Congress can have a reasonable discussion with Republicans in Congress about how to fix the healthcare bill. House Republicans have attempted to repeal the bill how many times? Over 40? Even with a Democrat-controlled Senate and White House? For House Republicans, it seems there are only two options for compromise - repeal or defund (or delay in hopes of winning more seats and attempting to repeal or defund it again). I'm sorry, but that's not compromise. It may take two to tango, but while Democrats have been on the dance floor for over 3 years now since talks of the ACA first started, Republicans have been sitting in chairs with their arms folded, and it's impossible to tango without a dance partner.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-ostroy/are-liberals-just-as-bad-_b_4181554.html
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