HYPOCRISY!!!!!! Ted Cruz Will Sign Up for ObamaCare!!!!11!!
Cruz to sign up for government health care
Ted Cruz, one of the loudest critics of Obamacare, will soon be using it for health insurance coverage.
“We will presumably go on the exchange and sign up for health care, and we’re in the process of transitioning over to do that,” Cruz, a Republican candidate for president, told The Des Moines Register on Tuesday.
Cruz’s wife, Heidi, is going on an unpaid leave of absence from her job at Goldman Sachs to join Cruz full time on the campaign trail, Cruz told the Register.
Bloomberg was first to report that Heidi Cruz has taken the leave. CNN noted that Cruz, who has boasted about not needing to receive government health care benefits, would no longer be covered under his wife’s health insurance plan.
Cruz confirmed that to the Register.
So, why is this actually happening? Well, if you keep reading the story beyond the “gotcha” headline and the misleading initial paragraphs, you find that:
- Cruz has to sign up for ObamaCare because a GOP Senator, Chuck Grassley, passed an amendment (opposed by Democrats, though the story doesn’t mention that part) requiring that members of Congress subject themselves to the same shitty insurance they are foisting on the rest of the country; and
- It doesn’t help him anyway. [Indeed, as we will see below, he is rejecting extra help that Democrats voted themselves despite the Grassley amendment.]
Here’s the next paragraph in the story:
Iowa U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley pushed through an amendment on the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, that requires members of Congress to obtain their coverage via health insurance exchanges. Congress pays most of the premium. But Cruz won’t be getting any extra benefit under the Affordable Care Act that a member of Congress wouldn’t have gotten before the ACA became law.
Nevertheless, shameless Big Media sneering entities like CNN call it a “deeply ironic development” — even as they downplay the fact that Cruz is turning down a “contribution” that softens the blow, on principle.
“I strongly oppose the exemption that President Obama illegally put in place for members of Congress because (Senate Minority Leader) Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats didn’t want to be under the same rules as the American people,” Cruz said . . . Under the Affordable Care Act, members of Congress and some designated congressional staffers are required to obtain health care coverage through the D.C. Health Link Small Business Market. The Office of Personnel Management’s guidelines state that lawmakers and their staff receive a “government contribution” if they get health care coverage through the ACA.
But some lawmakers have declined to accept the contribution, saying they do not want to get special treatment. After the interview, a Cruz spokesperson clarified that he wouldn’t take the contribution.
To me, the real story is that a man who despises ObamaCare — who hates it so much that he is basing his entire presidential run on opposing it — still has to sign up for it. That’s the nature of the tyranny of this law and this government.
P.S. While we’re on the topic of sneering media, I have been meaning to highlight this since I first saw it. Here is NPR’s story on Ted Cruz’s announcement speech, from before the speech was made:
He’s a “Republican thorn,” you see — and look at this picture of phony Ted and his phony family pretending to wave to a crowd. Never mind that he’s training his very young daughters to cope with an unusual situation. NPR and the AP (which took the picture) are soooo proud that they managed to portray him as less than genuine.
I’m rapidly getting to the point where expressing my opinion about the media without using obscenities is just too great a challenge. So I’ll end the post now.
Ding.
Patterico (9c670f) — 3/24/2015 @ 7:00 pmHe is setting the tone for this nomination. And manipulating the press is just a appetizer.
mg (31009b) — 3/24/2015 @ 7:13 pmI despise it. My wife despises it. I had to sign her up for it when her insurance got cancelled, and now that my old COBRA is done, I’m on it too. Costs double the COBRA too.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/24/2015 @ 7:13 pmAnd they photoshopped in an “artifact” that makes it look like his jeans are torn by the fly, with a flap hanging down even. Good work, “guys”.
nk (dbc370) — 3/24/2015 @ 7:19 pmNah, he’s just pointing out where TFG would usually have his Teleprompters…
Gazzer (197567) — 3/24/2015 @ 7:21 pmHe’s very far from my first choice — Walker is — but the more the lefties hate him the more I like him.
nk (dbc370) — 3/24/2015 @ 7:22 pmWhat am i missing here? This is old tactic from the 2014 campaigns and it didn’t work at all against any of the Ocare opponents who were forced by law to get Ocare.
re #3: how did Ocare double COBRA payments? Seriously, i think it would be a good idea to get thtat in front of one of those local tv ‘consumer activist’ types. heck, someone might even call in with a loophole to decrease the cost.
seeRpea (c1462d) — 3/24/2015 @ 7:26 pmIt might be some weird lighting effect.
Patterico (9c670f) — 3/24/2015 @ 7:32 pmAll the right peeps hate him.
Steve57 (b5a4f5) — 3/24/2015 @ 7:35 pmspeaking of cheap shots, the whole ‘birther’ thing for Sen Cruz is just inane. They really expect people to be that ignorant of civics. come on, not everyone is a Yahoo political reporter.
seeRpea (c1462d) — 3/24/2015 @ 7:38 pmBUT it does bring up an interesting question – can a modern PotUS have dual citizenship?
==I’m rapidly getting to the point where expressing my opinion about the media without using obscenities is just too great a challenge. So I’ll end the post now.==
Yes. You do need to calm down, Patterico. You are a smart man and good blogger. You’ll have to remain viable and stay relatively sane for 20 more months if you are going to be of service to Sen. Cruz on your blog as I know you want to be. Also, do yourself a favor and stay off twitter when you’re raging. Please.
elissa (5c8e92) — 3/24/2015 @ 7:41 pmSpecifics?
Patterico (9c670f) — 3/24/2015 @ 7:48 pmwell CNN is an ‘ironic development’ they think they have an audience,
narciso (ee1f88) — 3/24/2015 @ 7:49 pm==Specifics?==
I meant that suggestion for anytime in the future when you are hot like you are tonight.
elissa (5c8e92) — 3/24/2015 @ 7:52 pmAnd they photoshopped in an “artifact” that makes it look like his jeans are torn by the fly, with a flap hanging down even. Good work, “guys”.
nk (dbc370) — 3/24/2015 @ 7:19 pm
Nah, they had the tailor make a special enhancement to make room for his big balls.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/24/2015 @ 7:54 pmThis is a political move by Cruz.
He could have opted for COBRA coverage under Goldman’s policy.
How he uses this I dunno but this was no accident.
Rodney King's Spirit (d5efc1) — 3/24/2015 @ 7:54 pmTed TV! All Ted, all Teh time!
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/24/2015 @ 7:55 pmNot only could he have gone COBRA but it also is possible Goldman would have extended coverage during leave if their policy supports it. Which is to say kept his wife’s policy and paid it out of pocket like anything else.
Rodney King's Spirit (d5efc1) — 3/24/2015 @ 8:00 pmDid I say something you think I should be embarrassed by, elissa?
Patterico (9c670f) — 3/24/2015 @ 8:07 pmyou can get COBRA when you quit?
seeRpea (c1462d) — 3/24/2015 @ 8:14 pmNo. And it’s entirely possible that I completely misread your mood. Maybe your vessels aren’t ready to pop.
elissa (5c8e92) — 3/24/2015 @ 8:20 pmYes, you can get COBRA for 18 months if you quit (and by some strange quirk your spouse and children are eligible for three years’ coverage). That said, a family with two little girls plans ahead for longer than 18 months (or three years for that matter).
nk (dbc370) — 3/24/2015 @ 8:24 pmHemingway said, always do sober what you said you were going to do drunk. That’ll teach you.
This may apply.
Steve57 (b5a4f5) — 3/24/2015 @ 8:28 pmNot to imply anyone is drunk.
Steve57 (b5a4f5) — 3/24/2015 @ 8:30 pmYes, I’m angry at the way media is treating Cruz. I have been angry at the media most of my adult life. It’s a controlled anger. I don’t need to worry about getting on Twitter. I don’t need to worry about what I say on the blog. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.
Patterico (9c670f) — 3/24/2015 @ 8:34 pmhow did Ocare double COBRA payments? Seriously, i think it would be a good idea to get thtat in front of one of those local tv ‘consumer activist’ types. heck, someone might even call in with a loophole to decrease the cost.
COBRAs are priced at the old comapny’s costs in their giant group plan. Group policies assume that the workers are not very sick (or they wouldn’t be workers) and are not usually priced by age. Ocare policies are priced by age and the assumption by the company that everyone who signs up has some dread disease (and many do).
The main problem with Ocare costs is that it puts self-employed people (always a small pool) together with the uninsurable sick and the delayed-maintenence poor. This has jacked up costs horrendously for the self-employed.
So, not only do you go from a favorable pool to a less favorable one, but you also jam in at least as many people who are getting free insurance and are sick. As always, Mr Deep Pockets foots the bill. As if.
Note that the GOP plan — which Cruz alluded to in his speech — solves the long-term insurance problem by putting everyone into the same insurance pool, giving rates comparable to corporate plans to everyone and making them individual and portable. The Senate, from McCain to Cruz is behind a plan and it will work without these government exhanges and controls.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/24/2015 @ 8:36 pmyou can get COBRA when you quit?
Not that I’m aware of. Only in cases where you “quit” because they moved your job to North Korea or something. But when a big company decides to close your group and lays everyone off, and you hang up your shingle as a contractor, why, yes you do.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/24/2015 @ 8:39 pmAlso, in California (although this may have changed with Ocare), you get a second 18 months courtesy of state rules, but the dental and such ends.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/24/2015 @ 8:41 pm1) Mrs. Cruz is on a leave of absence, which tempers how COBRA works.
kishnevi (9c4b9c) — 3/24/2015 @ 8:59 pm2)Rates comparable to company plans still can be hefty. Going by what my W2 from last year, my employer paid almost $6000 for my health care. Add my premiums, $1500 deductible, and copays, and it comes out to about $9000 a year.
I am a high maintenance case, I should mention, because of my Crohn’s. I discovered yesterday CVS is charging $991 gor a month’s supply of my main medicine….
The proper response is for more and more Americans to no longer dare perceive the IRS — the main enforcer of Obamacare — as deserving even the tiniest of respect. IOW, any do-gooder, sappy, naive sentiments of “oh, John and Mary Q. Public, please respect your wonderful federal government’s main agency that helps keep our society properly funded! Salute and honor Uncle Sam!” should trigger the biggest jeers, sneers, snorts, guffaws and catcalls.
Since this nation is becoming corrupt in so many ways, and is far too tolerant of such corruption and dysfunction, we might as well adapt and apply the mindset behind that when it at least will be somewhat deserving and appropriate.
Mark (c160ec) — 3/24/2015 @ 9:09 pmI apologize if this is redundant but I think the point here is that Cruz doesn’t have a choice about his health insurance. A Democratic-imposed law mandates that members of Congress have to buy health insurance on an ObamaCare exchange. They also get subsidies to buy that insurance from the government, presumably whether they need the subsidy or not. This is a special law that applies only to Congress. Frankly, it’s a perk that benefits members of Congress and binds them so they have to comply.
I assume the Democrats did this because (1) they didn’t want any GOP members of Congress being able to opt out the way some red States have refused to create exchanges — it’s bad optics; and (2) they wanted to make sure Congress gets their healthcare subsidized so they can milk the taxpayers for every penny of compensation. But I’m cynical about the Democrats and ObamaCare, so I could be wrong.
DRJ (e80d46) — 3/24/2015 @ 9:30 pmre #29: CVS doesn’t have a specialty card to assist in prescription cost reduction?
Is there a Walgreens near by? For some of my stuff , I’m better off going Walgreens then regular insurance coverage.
maybe COBRA eligibility varies quite a lot from state to state.
re #30: someone mention “corruption”? http://www.wsj.com/articles/google-makes-most-of-close-ties-to-white-house-1427242076
and a request to who ever is handling slogans for Sen Cruz: please no ‘Cruz Control’ puns. leave that stupidity to the press.
seeRpea (c1462d) — 3/24/2015 @ 9:31 pmPresumably the law applies to members of Congress who don’t already have health insurance coverage, such as Cruz had through his wife’s job.
DRJ (e80d46) — 3/24/2015 @ 9:31 pmGrassley is a Republican, DRJ. It was his amendment.
elissa (5c8e92) — 3/24/2015 @ 9:32 pmThat stupid evil Ted Cruz is actually following the law? I am aghast.
Ag80 (eb6ffa) — 3/24/2015 @ 9:36 pmOh, that’s right. He did it to make them live according to their own rules, right? Good catch and I apologize for misleading folks.
DRJ (e80d46) — 3/24/2015 @ 9:36 pmThis is what the Tribune had to say.
elissa (5c8e92) — 3/24/2015 @ 9:39 pmre #31: DRJ , i think you are correct and Patterico/DesMoineRegister not so correct.
The initial Grassley amendment was more of an appendage to a committee report that was used as basis for language of part of the bill. iirc, there was no objection.
I think what Patterico has in mind was the 2nd Grassley contribution, an amendment that the PotUS and all his staff and all the Cabinet members and their staff also had to use Ocare Exchanges. That was the one that the Mormon Sen Reid would not let get to a vote right before Christmas that year.
I know there was a llloooonnnng article written up about congress getting trapped by their own language in some of this stuff. Can’t find it right now, but this should do – http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/08/congress-in-the-obamacare-trap-no-easy-escape
seeRpea (c1462d) — 3/24/2015 @ 9:47 pm“That was the one that the Mormon Sen Reid would not let get to a vote right before Christmas that year.”
Harry Reid is a Class “A” A-hole, seerpea, but what does his particular faith have to do with it?
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/24/2015 @ 9:55 pmhmm, a bit confusing. It was called an amendment but not in the usual meaning of the word in regard to Senate legislative writing. There was no vote on it as a stand-alone item, the committee just said “fine , what ever”.
seeRpea (c1462d) — 3/24/2015 @ 9:55 pmThing is , it was not really “fine , what ever”. They really didn’t realize what the heck they were voting on (reminds me of ‘patriot act’) and the consequences was not good for their staff.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/07/usa-health-congress-idUSL1N0G820F20130807
I think DRJ is saying the same thing I said in the post.
If you disagree, please be a bit more clear and specific.
Patterico (9c670f) — 3/24/2015 @ 9:59 pmTexas is federal exchange? Hmm.
nk (dbc370) — 3/24/2015 @ 10:00 pmI think the entire Cobra discussion is telling. Cruz is merely POINTING out, how effed up anything to do with GOVERNMENT laws regarding health care coverage is. We as Conservatives are always fighting the LIB meme and narative from behind. The government, the FEDERAL GOVT, has no business mandating what health care that I WANT, REQUIRE, NEED or may choose to PURCHASE.
Gus (7cc192) — 3/24/2015 @ 10:22 pmYet we debate the minutia of it.
re #43: I think it was someone on this web site who pointed out this really started with seat belt laws. Slippery slope indeed.
(we were debating COBRA? i think we all appreciate its availability. just that not all of us are sup to all its rules.)
seeRpea (c1462d) — 3/24/2015 @ 10:33 pmseeRpea. Where does COBRA fit in to a OBAMACARE world. What purpose does COBRA fulfill, when UTOPIAN……NHS type, complete control is established. And it will be, it is the purpose of the MARXIST/LIBTARDS.
Gus (7cc192) — 3/24/2015 @ 10:38 pmthinking this outloud:
Ocare is a tax for those who do not have insurance
an employer who (still) offers insurance must allow ex employees one year of reimbursed coverage.
q1: does this ex-employee count towards the numbers the employer must maintain?
if a person uses the COBRA option, they are covered and exempt from the Ocare tax.
q2: does the surcharge of COBRA count towards the insurance premium minimum coverage?
When COBRA is over and if person is not covered by other insurance – TAX TIME!
did i get it correct?
seeRpea (c1462d) — 3/24/2015 @ 11:06 pmseeRpea. We shouldn’t have to ask and calculate. This whole scam has been designed to create ALL OF US on GOVERNMENT CARE.
Gus (7cc192) — 3/24/2015 @ 11:18 pmLeaving goldman sachs! That tells you all you need to know!
truther (1e3dad) — 3/25/2015 @ 12:14 amGo back to wetback land, o truther loser.
mg (31009b) — 3/25/2015 @ 3:20 amIf they’re like Obama’s team, Hillary’s people will be net neutralizing your blog anyway. Temper held or not.
What do you think about National Geographic Channel presenting “Killing Jesus”? Incongruent?
Seems to me like the big bad wolf presenting the “The story of the Sheepdog”, or “Where Eagles fly” presented by the Wind Energy Asociation.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 3/25/2015 @ 3:42 amCruz would be the first Hispanic president
mg (31009b) — 3/25/2015 @ 3:43 amtruther will move out of the U.S.A
Problems solved.
It is not hypocrisy. He is abiding to the law. His wife us taking a leave of absence from work and will not be covered by the insurance plan that has previously covered their family. Now that her insurance does not provide coverage he must by law obtain coverage through the federal exchange.
Sean filyaw (cf83ee) — 3/25/2015 @ 3:46 amtruther
mg (31009b) — 3/25/2015 @ 3:54 amhttp://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2015/03/il-pro-amnesty-lawmaker-shouted-off-stage-by-american-patriots-at-usc/
they could enroll in one of those jesus plans instead
happyfeet (831175) — 3/25/2015 @ 3:55 amPatterico;
Using obscenities to describe the modern Press is far too weak. There are non-obscentities that are stronger and more to the point.
They are ignorant, provincial, purblind fools. Sub-literate, tin-eared catspaws to a corrupt criminal Party.
See? No obscenities. I recommend reading Mencken. He was far better than I am at pungent and dismissive descriptives.
C. S. P. Schofield (a196fd) — 3/25/2015 @ 4:48 amMy parents spend good money sending me to Catholic school so I could acquire just such a vocabulary C.S.P. Schofield speaks of.
On the other hand, when Washington was crossing the Delaware he told an overweight subordinate, “Shift your fat @$$, Henry, you’re going to sink the g0ddammed boat.”
And if it was good enough for the father of our country, it’s good enough for me.
Steve57 (4fde89) — 3/25/2015 @ 5:41 amSpent. Past tense.
Steve57 (4fde89) — 3/25/2015 @ 5:46 amWhat, Senator Cruz’s congressional health insurance doesn’t have family coverage?
The questioning Dana (f6a568) — 3/25/2015 @ 5:47 ammg, truther moved out of the USA years ago. He thinks he lives in N. Korea. You know, Dear Leader, little red book, rule by pen & phone, exceptions for friends and supporters. Once red always red. The first indication is his use of the handle “truther”. What could be more Orwellian than a person who wouldn’t recognize the truth if you smacked him in the face with it to try and portray himself as a truther?
Hoagie (58a3ec) — 3/25/2015 @ 5:57 amWhat, Senator Cruz’s congressional health insurance doesn’t have family coverage?
I know, right? You’d think that the federal government would have a group plan that covers all federal employees — from the Lincoln Memorial groundskeepers, to the CIA, to Congressmonkeys. A captive, or self-insurance trust even — it’s certainly big enough. And then the only issue would be to make it Obamacare compliant in accordance with the employer mandate. But there’s a right way to do things, a wrong way, and the government way.
nk (dbc370) — 3/25/2015 @ 6:13 amnk, I don’t take my company’s health insurance, because my wife, a registered nurse, has a better one, and I get my insurance through her plan. I used to be free on her plan, then they put a premium for my coverage, and then they added onto that for any spouse who is employed whose employer offers a plan he doesn’t take. It still works out, because my company pays me an additional $600 a quarter for not taking their insurance; it’s now pretty much a break-even proposition, but since her insurance is better, that’s what I do.
But most congresscritters have families, and those families have to be insured; many of them have wives who don’t work, and the majority have kids who have to be covered. If Senator Cruz used his wife’s insurance, rather than the congressional package, then perhaps he has to go through the Obysmalcare exchange to sign up, but he ought to still be eligible for the congressional package.
The Dana with health insurance (f6a568) — 3/25/2015 @ 6:21 amGus wrote:
As nearly as I can tell, Obaminablecare was never intended to actually work; it was only meant to pass, to pass something, anything, to establish the principle that the federal government is ultimately responsible for the individual’s health care coverage. Then, when it finally collapses, which it will, the left will throw up their hands and say, “See, we tried it the ‘conservative’ way, through the existing health insurance system, and it didn’t work, so single-payer is all that’s left.” The notion that we could go back to a system in which the government doesn’t guarantee your health care would be off the table.+
I’ve said it before: the government should not guarantee people’s health care coverage, and people who cannot afford to buy insurance should go without, even if that means they die due to lack of treatment. But if the government is going to be responsible for health care coverage, it’s being done the wrong way, the very wrong way.
The Dana proving he's more of an [insert vulgar slang for the rectum here] than Steve57 (f6a568) — 3/25/2015 @ 6:27 amDana, I’m perfectly willing to concede the point but I have a track record stretching from San Francisco to Mombasa.
I kind of want to lose the title. But that’s some heavy lifting.
Steve57 (99eaf2) — 3/25/2015 @ 6:53 amDana, that seems to be what happened. Cruz was on his wife’s policy but now he (and she) have to get on his Congressional version of Obamnable care. It is the law, after all!
But I only partly agree that Obamnable care was meant to fail so as to lead to single-payer. I think the basics of the scheme was to tie your insurance, thus the health and well-being of yourself and your family to the IRS and the tax code. That’s the very reason they make people jump through hoops to sign up and “at risk of perjury” declare their income to “qualify” for subsidies. That’s also why when they began this great all-encompassing insurance they hired 16,000 IRS agents instead of 16,000 doctors. Doctors heal, IRS agents enforce.
Hoagie (58a3ec) — 3/25/2015 @ 6:55 amIt’s not a health care law. It provides all kind of restrictions on business and employment and what not. It doesn’t provide health care.
But the genius is those 16,000 IRS agents. Those are public employee union members. No Republican is going to dare try and get rid of them. The Democrats know that. We’re going to be hearing about how noble those public servants are for the rest of our lives.
Don’t you even think about shutting down the government, Mitch! The country OWES those IRS agents a job.
Steve57 (99eaf2) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:04 amThe whole idea of having members of Congress use the system is that if it is no good, or the choices no good, they would have an incentive to reform it or get rid of it and replace it. Not that it is the best thing that members of Congress could have done for themselves.
The objection to Obamacare is not that it delivers some form of insurance, or that it has guaranteed issue (which is a separate matter) but to the kind of insurance it delivers, and the cost, and the way it is financed, and the individual mandate and how it might change medical practice maybe. And then there’s limited enrollment periods, and pushing people onto Medicaid.
And the whole idea maybe of using the insurance system to fund known costs, or calling that insurance.
Sammy Finkelman (033fec) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:06 amTed Cruz is talking about getting rid of them. We’ll see. But that’s why I like him.
Steve57 (99eaf2) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:07 am61. No the whole point is that the old system that members of Congress use has been abolished – their excluded from the system used by all other federal employees. This was a semi-poison pill, but the Democrats took the poison rather than kill the bill or pass the bill without it.
Sammy Finkelman (033fec) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:09 amThey did change it so that members of their individual staff could use the federal employee system, but not members of committee staff I think, so now members of Congress may have to carefully plan on what payroll their employees go on.
Sammy Finkelman (033fec) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:10 amTell me more about this Congressional health insurance that is not bought on an ObamaCare exchange.
Did they invalidate the Grassley amendment when I wasn’t looking?
Patterico (9c670f) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:11 amI agree with Hoagie. The doctors I’ve talked to tell me that the insurance companies and the medical industry bureaucracy that deals with them are making out like bandits under Obamacare. It’s the doctors, the patients, and the taxpayers who are getting screwed. Obamacare is a boon for the health insurance industry, not a move towards its elimination. We have discussed this on many threads on this site. The insurance companies and health care providers created a situation which threatened bankruptcy for the uninsured/self-insured should they get sick. With Obamacare, they don’t even need to wait until we’re sick to pick the public’s pockets.
nk (dbc370) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:12 amAnd therein lies the rub: there is no such thing as GOVERNMENT CARE. The government is amoral at best immoral frequently. They don’t care about anything but their own goals. When people loose their homes because they can’t pay ridiculous property taxes does the government care? When families want vouchers to send their kid to better schools does government care? I could give a hundred illustrations as to how the government definitely does not care. So why would any intelligent person give over his health and that of those he loves to an entity we all know does not care?
We’ve been sold a bill of goods, a big fat lie by Obama, and his supporters like truther. The entire Democrat party has become so radically left wing there is virtually no difference between them and the CPUSA. All you need do is read CPUSA’s website and I defy anyone to tell the difference.
Hoagie (58a3ec) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:12 amYes, I was going to vote CPUSA if it turned out to be Jeb vs. Hillary, but after reading their website I’ve changed my mind. Communists my fat Aunt Fanny. They are exactly the Western liberal socialists that Engels so justly derided.
nk (dbc370) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:19 amHoagie wrote:
A single-payer system would be funded through taxes: the simplest way to do it would be to simply expand Medicare to cover everyone, increase the Medicare tax rate to about 20%, split evenly between the individual and the employer, with the “trade-off” being that you wouldn’t have to pay your private insurance premiums anymore. That would mean tax collections directly from paychecks, and employers, and the IRS wouldn’t have that much enforcement to do, other than for the self-employed.
The government loves them some automatically-collected taxes!
The tax collector Dana (f6a568) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:21 amSay what you want about Stalinists*, they were social conservatives with a strong patriotic love and pride of home and country at least.
*I mean that, say what you want.
nk (dbc370) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:22 amThe insurance companies chose poorly. Going into business with the government is just the same as going into business with the Mafia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCpwd0ARx6Q
Steve57 (99eaf2) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:22 amOur host asked:
I s’pose for Senator Cruz, who didn’t enter Congress until after the PP&ACA was passed, would have had to have gone through the exchanges, but congressmen of longer tenure would have been able to buy it directly, just like normal employees can simply sign up for their employers’ health insurance plans without going through the exchanges.
The realistic Dana (f6a568) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:24 amHmm. Yeah, I could see a single-payer where the government sub-contracts to a half-dozen Crony Bells for the actual insurance and administration — itself just collecting the taxes and paying the “premium”.
nk (dbc370) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:25 amMr 57 wrote:
The insurance companies saw this as guaranteed sales: they figured that the total number of insurance policies sold would have to increase, and there would be less competition, since the option not to buy at all would be (mostly) eliminated. Throw in the government subsidies, and the health insurance companies saw this as a big win.
It’s reasonable to think that this was short-term thinking, but the insurance companies probably didn’t foresee that this huge government overreach would kick the Democrats out of control. With the Republicans in control, no necessary tweaks to make the ACA work better would be passed, which makes it doomed to fail more quickly.
The businessman Dana (f6a568) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:34 amWe already discussed that on your blog years ago, Dana. Why not just allow anyone to join Medicaid? That’s government run and single payer. Medicare is funded for the elderly but Medicaid could be open to anyone who wanted to have cheap, lousy, undependable government run insurance without screwing the rest of us too much. But at the time the Resident Red, Perry, was running around screaming about 30 million “uninsured”. Now we have 37 million uninsured. That’s why we never hear anybody on the left quote the numbers any more. And just wait till next year when the IRS determines that 20 million people received too high subsidies based on their estimated income compared to their actual income and demands their money back out of people’s tax returns. . Leftist progress at its best.
Hoagie (58a3ec) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:35 amNow I remember, Dana. The Resident Red, Perry, didn’t like the idea of “allowing” people to choose their coverage. They had to be “forced”. For their own good and that of the children, of course.
Hoagie (58a3ec) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:41 amnk wrote:
Why bother? The mechanism is already in place for the government to collect the taxes directly, and employers are paying for the collection mechanism.
What we’d wind up with is a system like Japan’s, where the single-payer system is crap, but does have some coverage, while people of any means would wind up buying supplemental coverage in the private market. Sachi ab Hugh wrote about her father’s experiences on Big Lizards.
Ultimately there are two questions:
If you believe that the answer to the first question is yes, then you have to have some idea how best to accomplish it; if you believe that the answer to the first question is no, then you have to be willing to say that you are willing to let people who cannot get private health insurance to suffer and die because of that. I have been willing to say that; how many other people are?
The cold-hearted Dana (f6a568) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:44 amDana @79, yes, that’s how they suck you in.
The crocodile that will eat you last makes you an offer that looks really good. You’d be stupid not to take it.
Steve57 (99eaf2) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:46 amHoagie wrote:
Why run two systems, when one would work? That’s just inefficient.
Further, Medicaid is a joint federal-state system, which is wrecking state budgets, and is funded at different levels in different states. Due to this, many doctors who currently accept Medicare patients won’t take Medicaid patients, because the payments are even lower and slower than with Medicare.
The mathematician Dana (f6a568) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:47 amOur illustrious preezy thinks he can make the same deal with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Steve57 (99eaf2) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:48 am32. Sorry to leave this hanging overnight.
kishnevi (9c4b9c) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:50 amMy insurance covers most of it after I reach the deductible amount. But that is what happens when you take a high dosage specialized medicine for which no generic is available.
I take double the usual dosage, so double the figures here.
http://www.drugs.com/price-guide/pentasa
get ready for the ‘spring surprise’
http://hotair.com/headlines/archives/2015/03/25/surprise-iran-seeking-to-avoid-specifics-in-nuclear-talks/
narciso (ee1f88) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:52 amYou’ve got a good point there, Dana. One lousy government run system is better than two. Probably cheaper too. And I have complete faith that the government would run down the payments to “lower and slower” for Medicare in no time.
Hoagie (58a3ec) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:52 amI meant for Medicade.
Hoagie (58a3ec) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:54 amWhy am I not surprised, narciso. The fatwa about nukes being haram doesn’t exist. Why should the nuclear accord.
Steve57 (99eaf2) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:55 amThe insults to my intelligence just don’t stop.
Steve57 (99eaf2) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:57 amHolly crap, kishnevi. That’s not a pill price, its a car payment. For a Cadillac!
Hoagie (58a3ec) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:58 amTo the cold hearted Dana…do you realize that your position is tantamount to saying a person’s moral worth is a function (in the mathematical sense of the word) of their financial worth?
To the mathematical Dana…which is why block grant programs should be opposed. They are nothing more than a way of making the states responsible for costs the federal government should be paying under existing law.
kishnevi (adea75) — 3/25/2015 @ 7:58 amhow do you think they are going to ‘bend the cost curve down’ the reason for the Death Panels,
narciso (ee1f88) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:00 amI mean IPAB.
I’m thinking Valerie Rasputin Jarrett wouldn’t find that position uncomfortable.
Steve57 (99eaf2) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:01 amHoagie, you see why I take an active interest in this topic.
kishnevi (adea75) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:01 amCruz admires and emulates President Reagan. Reagan was able to able to get around MSM filtering of his message using talents honed in Hollywood and elsewhere. In this regard, Cruz is in a different league. Newt, another Reagan acolyte, did a pretty good job of this, however. Let’s see if Cruz can develop strategies to work around the press. He’s a cleaver guy, so I am not without hope.
A free press has an important role to play in a democracy: keeping the powers that be on the straight and narrow. With a complicit press, our whole system of government is placed at risk. I’m the son of an old school newspaper man. To me, the problem with the press is more depressing than angering.
ThOR (a52560) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:06 amPatterico, the Congressional health plan still exists, the Grassley text did not prohibit it:
http://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/affordable-care-act/
I’m pretty sure there is a difference between requirements for getting coverage
– for Congress Critters and family members
– for staff of Congress Critters
– for the Executive Branch
and i think the Judiciary Branch (ie: Supreme Court members and its employees) has own rules.
seeRpea (c1462d) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:12 amoh, and if like Sen Cruz you are a Congress Critters who was using coverage from a non-FEHB before 2014 but now need new coverage , different rules apply to you from other Congress Critters.
seeRpea (c1462d) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:24 amRankly, seeRpea, if “the requirements” for congress critters and their families, the staff , the executive, the supreme court, unions, small business, big business the self employed and you and me are different then it would seem everyone has their own rules. So Obamacare isn’t so much a law as it is a pick and choose fest for friends, enemies and the rest of us. Friends get something good and the enemies get an IRS visit about their “health insurance”. I seeeeeee.
Hoagie (58a3ec) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:25 am“He’s a cleaver guy, so I am not without hope.”
Ward or Eldridge, Thor? It will matter.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:26 amSo it boils down to what some of us have been saying all along. It’s not about health care, it’s not about health insurance. It’s all about raw power.
Hoagie (58a3ec) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:27 amIggy!!!!!!!!
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:29 amhttp://doubtfulsounds.net/2009/10/07/sleeve-art-iggy-and-the-stooges-raw-power/
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:31 amThanks, Haiku. My first laugh of the morning.
ThOR (a52560) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:31 amso i read this to mean if he doesn’t want the subsidy is good to go anywhere he wants
happyfeet (a037ad) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:37 amHoagie, don’t forget the slush fund that Ocare is for many insurance companies.
Look , they were in a rush – they needed to finish before Sara Palin could read more of it.
Actually, much like many regulations and taxes, where you work and the size of where you work creates a different set of rules. So they are used to this sort of ‘mind think’lessness
seeRpea (c1462d) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:40 ami always finish up my pecan pie super fast when Sara Palin’s around
i got your number lady
happyfeet (a037ad) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:42 amI used incorrect wording. The FEHB is not an insurer or a plan of itself. it is more of a facilitator or middle man:
seeRpea (c1462d) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:46 amkishnevi wrote:
No, I am saying that another person’s worth to me is a function of his contribution to society.
If we are to take the decision that the federal government — meaning, in the end, the taxpayers, you and me — is going to be responsible for in some way seeing to it that everybody has health care, then we are concomitantly saying that we are willing to give up part of our hard-earned money to pay for that health care. I do not know what you are willing to have taken off your table to pay for a non-taxpayer’s health care, but, for me, I am unwilling to surrender so much as a teaspoon of salt.
At one point, I actually cared for the indigent, thinking that we needed to help the less fortunate, to give them a hand up until they could support themselves. And then I met the indigent, and saw that they were far more likely to be those who would not work rather than those who could not work. Could we come up with a plan which would help those who truly cannot help themselves and exclude those who will not help themselves, I would support it, but, right now, I am willing to let those who are truly needy go without, even if that means they suffer and die, than to support the scumbags and the malingerers.
The very cold-hearted Dana (f6a568) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:57 amkishnevi wrote:
I look at it somewhat differently: what I see is the federal government taxing so heavily that the states have little room to raise taxes themselves, to pay for programs the states should support. Worse, the feds are enabling the states, most of which operate under balanced budget requirements, to, in effect, pass their deficits onto the federal government.
The Federalist Dana (f6a568) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:59 amA person’s worth is whatever someone is willing to pay for him.
the free market advocate nk (dbc370) — 3/25/2015 @ 9:03 amI don’t think you do have her number. Pecans aren’t big in Alaska.
http://www.alaskasausage.com/Gourmet-Sausages.aspx
Reindeer, on the other hand.
Moose, maybe.
Also, Salmon.
But I think you can relax around Sarah Palin with your Pecan Pie.
Steve57 (99eaf2) — 3/25/2015 @ 9:04 am112.
kishnevi (9c4b9c) — 3/25/2015 @ 9:12 am😈
i don’t mind sharing but she’s got grabby-looking hands
happyfeet (a037ad) — 3/25/2015 @ 9:12 amGotta find our laughs somewhere, ThOR. I wake up to find I have a niece who thinks it’s cool to hang with Dennis Rodman, go out drinking with him and then she and her boyfriend take him on an early morning grocery trip to prepare to cook breakfast… and then posts pics of it all on social media.
Some more useful idiots.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/25/2015 @ 9:22 amdid someone say ‘Ding Dong’ ?
seeRpea (c1462d) — 3/25/2015 @ 9:26 amsomewhere someone finds this racist
woops, wrong subject. Sorry.
seeRpea (c1462d) — 3/25/2015 @ 9:26 amI am appalled. The racism, the sneering, the devil horns. Ted Cruz is an upstanding, intelligent man who is getting crucified in the media. I suspect that his double-Ivy and actual, amazing brainpower provides too stark a contrast with Obama and Hillary.
It’s sickening. And the racism is appalling.
bridget (9fe20c) — 3/25/2015 @ 9:42 am118. It is relevant.
After all, as we all know, the only possible reason to oppose ObamaCare is RAAACISM! So Cruz in complying with the law is revealing his essentially racist motives.
To borrow JD’s line, I denounce myself.
kishnevi (adea75) — 3/25/2015 @ 9:44 amOK. New day. Allahpundit has a good piece over at Hotair entitled “Media Freakout over Ted Cruz buying ObamaCare insurance reaches day two”. It then lays out the facts calmly about why, from a populist standpoint, this was probably the right move for candidate Cruz although he and his family certainly have other options. It is the kind of post one might link and send to better inform a friend or relative who is sorta buying into the coordinated media freakout so far. Most important, that article will go into the google and bing search archives now and into eternity anointing this kerfuffle as a media screwup whether or not people ever read the actual content, even though one hopes they will.
I compare Allah’s with this Patterico post whose headline screams “Hypocricy! Ted Cruz will sign up for ObamaCare!!!!…” So, this is the screaming headline that will pop up on search engines into eternity. It doesn’t matter so much that Pat’s article goes on to rightly ridicule those who are calling his ObamaCare sign up “hypocrisy” because not everybody will read it. What matters is that the headline from Patterico actually reinforces the bad meme–does not contradict it.
I think he was very irritated with me last night. Maybe I was out of line. It’s his blog. But headlines like this one, written in anger in the heat of the moment can have much longer lasting and unintended effects than just a blogger venting to his little community.
elissa (3a33e6) — 3/25/2015 @ 9:48 amPatterico has a tradition of satirical faux outrage headlines.
Although now he is openly supporting an active, declared candidate, I would suggest taking into account the impact of future headlines on his candidate of choice.
Now, if you will excuse me, I will return to my seat in the peanut gallery.
kishnevi (9c4b9c) — 3/25/2015 @ 10:05 amHow could she have grabby hands?
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vl82uG2c1XE/SLtjzGOaciI/AAAAAAAABMU/ILCS2VPyvMA/s400/Palin+Sarah+Trig+and+Blackberry.bmp
Unlike Hillary! who can’t be bothered she always seems to have her hands full.
Unless, maybe. She drops both her cell phones which is beyond the Smartest Woman in the World (TM) and then tosses her kid at you and yells, “Catch!”
And then naturally because you don’t want to see the kid hit it’s head you put down your pie and then Sarah says, “Sucker.”
I think you’re right. That’s something Sarah Palin would do.
Steve57 (99eaf2) — 3/25/2015 @ 10:10 amit’s curious how Gawker published the Huntress’s private emails, whereas as the Times played ‘charades’ with Hillary’s the other day,
narciso (ee1f88) — 3/25/2015 @ 10:13 amI’m curious… why do they put Braille on the drive-thru bank ATM machines?
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/25/2015 @ 10:42 amnobody at work is talking about Cruz and his obamacares
and he is no muy popular here
I’m popular though cause everyone knows i have flossers in my desk
happyfeet (a037ad) — 3/25/2015 @ 11:02 amFor blind people with chauffeurs or, more likely, in taxicabs, Haiku. Who if not already customers of a bank that is not ADA compliant will become customers so they, and their ambulance-chasing lawyer accomplice, can sue it. There’s lawyers and professional victims with disabilities who make a living from going around suing businesses under the ADA.
nk (dbc370) — 3/25/2015 @ 11:36 amThanks, nk… here’s another: If the police arrest a mute, do they need to advise he or she that he or she has the right to remain silent?
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/25/2015 @ 12:58 pmYes. Otherwise, they are denying him the full dignity granted to those who can talk.
nk (dbc370) — 3/25/2015 @ 1:19 pmThanks again, nk… got time for another? If a person with Multiple Personality Disorder threatens to kill himself, is it considered a “hostage situation”?
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/25/2015 @ 1:51 pmRates for COBRA or O’Care are likely comparable assuming the coverage is comparable.
COBRA is a good deal for Employees. Folks who call COBRA “expensive” simply don’t understand how much insurance really costs their employers.
They confuse the “Employee Deduction” from their check to the full cost of the policy and say it is more expensive. That means they fail to understand just b/c your employer takes $100 from your check does not mean “you pay for your insurance.” It means you paid $100 out of $600/700/800/whatever the Company ultimately pay.
But I am sure everyone knows that.
Rodney King's Spirit (d5efc1) — 3/25/2015 @ 2:06 pmI know lots and lots of peoples think more discussion among wholly ignorant selves will somehow lead us out of an untenable, unsustainable present to something better without serious bother and unpleasantness.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-25/america-no-longer-republic-or-democracy
Soylent Green on the hoof.
DNF (8028c5) — 3/25/2015 @ 2:30 pmre #121: don’t think he was annoyed at you. i’m guessing he is annoyed that he still has to deal with the known and convicted Bomber Terrorist Brett Kimberlin in court cases. why this BK is still allowed to have anything heard in any court is beyond me, and i think beyond Patterico at this point.
re #131: i hope everyone who reads on this forum knows that CORBA is not making former employers any money. But considering the actual coverages involved, i don’t see how a CORBA is on the lower level of an Ocare of the same cost. Probably one of those things that depend on real estate.
re: #117: it was supposed to be a follow up to https://patterico.com/2015/03/25/james-okeefe-reminds-us-that-cornell-university-supports-terrorism/#comment-1750950
seeRpea (181740) — 3/25/2015 @ 2:52 pmAs someone said, I have a tradition of faux-outrage headlines. If anything, my headline will capture the attention of people who are not just looking to reinforce pro-Cruz talking points.
Hopefully my post will serve to educate those who initially heard about Cruz’s signing up for ObamaCare and repeated questions about it as if it showed hypocrisy.
Patterico (9c670f) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:32 pmAs for irritation, I was more confused than irritated; trying to understand why you were advising me to stay off Twitter. I asked; you answered; no big deal.
Patterico (9c670f) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:34 pmIt won’t stop me from teasing you about it in the near future when I write other angry posts, as I did tonight — but it’s all in good fun from my point of view.
Patterico (9c670f) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:35 pmSo long as his plan complies with the absurd federally mandated one-size-fits-all standards. If that’s what you mean by “anywhere he wants.”
Patterico (9c670f) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:36 pmIf a person with Multiple Personality Disorder threatens to kill himself, is it considered a “hostage situation”?
There have been cases of police killing people who were threatening to kill themselves, so I think the answer is “sometimes”.
nk (dbc370) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:41 pmNope. I am going to have to do another post on this, aren’t I?
If I do, it will be based on this. You have to read it about three times, because it’s written to imply that Grassley changed the rules to help Congressmen. But if you keep at it, you’ll see that Grassley added an amendment to make Congressmen chomp down on the ObamaCare shit sandwich. Obama (my memory is at the behest of Harry Reid & Co.) passed a “rule” saying that contributions are still allowed — and Cruz has been fighting that rule.
The WaPo WonkBlog guy reluctantly concludes that Cruz is “sticking to his guns.” Quite a contrast from the cackling CNN morons in my latest post.
Patterico (9c670f) — 3/25/2015 @ 8:46 pmYou’re my go-to guy lately, nk. Have another conundrum that has been bothering me: If a parsley farmer is sued and loses, can they garnish his wages?
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/25/2015 @ 9:18 pmThe Colonel conundrumed:
They can, but it takes thyme.
The punny Dana (f6a568) — 3/26/2015 @ 3:33 amThyme is money, so I think Dana nailed it.
nk (dbc370) — 3/26/2015 @ 3:50 amnk wrote:
Very sage advice!
The very punny Dana (f6a568) — 3/26/2015 @ 4:53 amIndeed!
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/26/2015 @ 4:56 amAnother… What if there were no hypothetical questions?
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/26/2015 @ 4:59 amWow… Now they’re saying it appears the co-pilot of that Germanwings flight deliberately crashed the airliner. What was his name?
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/26/2015 @ 5:02 amGerman co-pilot “not known as a wanted terrorist”.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/26/2015 @ 5:05 amyes yes that is what i mean so i’m kinda surprised he didn’t go with one of them jesus plans
that would’ve been an awesome pander
so
+1 Ted Cruz
happyfeet (831175) — 3/26/2015 @ 5:40 am#140 – 145!
You guys are on fire! Thank you.
felipe (b5e0f4) — 3/26/2015 @ 6:34 amHaiku, 145,
George Carlin would still be alive and feeding his pair of ducks.
nk (9faaca) — 3/26/2015 @ 7:24 am