Eric Cantor speaks! In today's Commentary section of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Cantor tries his best to explain his outrageous vote against reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, and he goes on to urge Bush to veto the bill, which is wildly popular both in Congress and in "the real America" which Cantor constantly claims he wants to represent. He couldn't be any more off on this issue.
Let's start by taking a look at the actual bill. (Eric, you might want to pay attention to this part.) The reauthorization adds $35 billion spread over 5 years, bringing the total to $60 billion, or $12 billion a year (by the way we've spend $455 billion so far in Iraq with no end in sight). It raises the maximum for entry into the program to allow families to enroll in the program if they make 300% of the criminally low base "poverty level" which is set at around $20,000 a year FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR. 1.2 million children between 200 and 300% of the poverty level both currently don't have insurance and will stand to benefit by an expansion.
So how is it funded? By a 61 cent per pack increase to the federal cigarette tax. The goal here is both to fund health insurance for more children who wouldn't otherwise have it, and help increase public health by taxing a product that the vast majority of Americans want taxed more heavily (only 28% disapprove of a 75 cent tax increase). But this is a problem for Cantor, and for the tobacco companies, who fund Cantor to the tune of $44,000 a year, including $17,000 from Altria, nee Phillip Morris.
Republicans like Cantor and Bush want to add only $5 billion which will not serve to fix anything if the real goal of the Republicans is to cover more uninsured children. Almost half, 4 million out of 9 million, will remain uninsured if Cantor has his way.
And it gets worse. Remember Bush's asinine assertion that the poor already have health care: the emergency room, where you ostensibly can't be turned away? It's common sense here, but researchers from Brigham Young and Arizona State Universities found that relying on emergency health care rather than the far cheaper routine and preventive care costs a lot more. A hell of a lot more, and it is a much bigger burden on our tax money.
Cantor goes on to discuss, in great detail and at great length, a complete myth: that families earning four times the federal poverty level for a family of four, approximately $80,000, would suddenly get free health care. States are allowed to set their own minimum and two states have set theirs at 400%. TWO states. But Cantor spends three full paragraphs harping on this issue, and harping completely dishonestly, even displaying a fundamental misunderstanding of that right-wing bugaboo, the alternative minimum tax, what he and no one else calls the "millionaire's tax."
Cantor cites "the efficiency gains and lower prices that competition among private insurers has provided" as some sort of positive for continuing the status quo, which, as has been pointed out so frequently and so pervasively, is simply not sustainable. We pay the most and get the least care for our spending than any other developed nation, and Republicans point to this as a good thing.
For them it surely is a good thing. With his fat checks from industries like health insurers and tobacco companies, any "socialization" of health care is certainly bad medicine for his bottom line and the bottom lines of his Republican colleagues. For the rest of America, it's a different story. Polls consistently show the American people to be in favor of national health insurance programs at a rate of 65% and 73% for covering all children under 18. They understand how badly we're being raked over the coals truly atrocious levels of "care," despite the constant propagandizing by the Republicans and their noise machine about the dangers of "socialized" medicine.
Cantor, Bush, and the rest of the corporatist Republicans are willing to disregard the will of the people and let the children suffer to further their failed ideological cause and to help pad their already fat wallets. Nothing new there. So let's get rid of the lost of 'em, shall we?
But good try, though.
Hopefully, after he is run out of congress, he'll move to DC full time.
Does he really believe that the people of Central Virginia still buy this BullS**t?
In the original house bill it would have been true, but when the senate passed their bill the bills went into committee and the bill which went to the president does not have the issues Cantor and others are using. It is the same old Republican spin. Use the old truths to distort the present truth.
I lisened to Sen. Grassley on the senate floor explaining what was taken out of the bill and then Sen.Reid's appearance praising Grassley for all the fine work he did on the bill, which got the senate a majority against a veto. And if the Corporate Clown in the white house veto's it, it is almost certain the house can muster the votes to over ride. Met Cantor enough to know he is another Goode jerk.
Also, bye bye Cantor. If not this election, he'll certainly be gone after the next one. Even my neighbors in Western Henrico are starting to get embarrassed by the blatant corruption of Mr. Cantor and his party.
By the way:
SOCIAL SECURITY IS A GOOD THING!!!!
We can only hope to whatever deity we believe in (FSM?) that it DOES become like Social Security. It's easy to tell what works and what helps the majority - just look at what Republican'ts are attacking.