So, let me get this straight, the Republican plan is to take money from the blue states that bought into the Affordable Care Act and give it to the red states who refused and…Holy Joe the Plumber!
Remember, Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, who euphemistically became known as“Joe the Plumber.” The then, aspiring plumber, stood in his Ohio front yard with candidate Barack Obama, in the runup to the 2008 Presidential election, and accused him of a socialistic plot to redistribute wealth. The Republicans made him a conservative hero a few days later. He even traveled with the McCain/Palin campaign with his false narrative of how Obama’s policies would derail his dream of owning a plumbing business. Oh yeah, there was that pesky little matter of not being licensed.
Well after a failed run for the House, representing Ohio in 2012, Sam, or Joe if you prefer, settled down and parlayed his bombast into a website site, hawking tchotchkes and anger. If Joe was sincerely against the redistribution of wealth; where is he now?
This really has nothing to do with the health of the nation’s most vulnerable it is about two things, first, it is the funding source for a, conservatively estimated 765 Billion dollar tax cut Republicans want to give the top ten percent, secondly, dismantling Medicaid by 2026. Crudely put, Paul Ryan would be changing his dream moistened sheets, after the realization of his lifelong ambition, becoming the next Ayn Rand. Ryan currently and publicly denounces Rand, but as far back as 2003 and as recently as 2005 he was bragging about giving her book, Atlas Shrugged as Christmas presents. In a Think Progress piece (Scott Keyes, 2012) Rand’s philosophy was outlined, selfishness is a virtue and altruism is evil.
Republican pundits, legislators, and conservative sympathizers recoil with indignation at any suggestion of an uncaring cruelty toward the poor or innocent, but that is precisely what they are proposing. One of the party leaders confessed, he could tell you why it is bad but it is expedient for our purposes. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said, “You know, I could maybe give you 10 reasons why this bill shouldn’t be considered,”“But Republicans campaigned on this so often that you have a responsibility to carry out what you said in the campaign. That’s pretty much as much of a reason as the substance of the bill.” Along with this candid political confession and every reputable medical professional organization, including a unanimous condemnation by the 50 state directors of the Medicaid program, Republicans are forging ahead.
Republicans must either acknowledge the cruelty of potentially taking away healthcare for 32 million people or admit avarice. Ironically part of their political calculation is to offer Senator Lisa Murkowski ( R-AK), the continuation of Obamacare, in her state, as a carrot for her affirmative vote. Holy, Joe the Plumber! If Obamacare is so destructive, are Republicans admitting that winning is so important that the citizens of Alaska are worth the sacrifice? I am not sure if hypocritical is the word on the tip of my tongue, or is it just plain moral turpitude? Let me ask, Joe the Plumber, he would know…
Call your Senator, Today!