As you can see they worked overtime trying to minimize the impact of the shutdown, and even went to so far as to use ridiculous language such as "slimdown" in its place to make it seem more desirable and less egregious.
"Hey ladies, want to knock a few pounds off of government before the holidays? Well now you can with our newest product 'Lie your ass off' energy drinks. Now comes in two flavors "John Boehner Orange" and "Congressional double vanilla."
Yeah I know a little fat I would like to trim off of the government as well, and it looks suspiciously like a number of greasy artery blockers currently working in Congress.
I would simply laugh this off except I remember when the Pro-Life movement was known as the Anti-Abortion movement, when Illegal Aliens were simply known as Undocumented Workers, when the Death Tax was known as the Inheritance Tax, and when Intelligent Design was known as Creationism.
Words matter, especially if you are dealing with a population who are simply not paying close attention.
(Source)
They are calling it a slimdown to appeal to their base who simply screech for "smaller government" without understanding what that means. The truth is that there are thousands and thousands of government workers who are home today and thousands and thousands more who will be home in a couple days or weeks when their reserve funding runs out (my husband is one of them and we're worried this might be an excuse to "slimdown" the workforce at his place of employment).
ReplyDeleteGood thing for Affordable Care, since we could need affordable insurance soon and my young daughter has an existing condition that requires expensive medication (as do I).
Ahem. I rest YOUR case.
ReplyDelete>>Words matter, especially if you are dealing with a population who are simply not paying close attention.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx2scvIFGjE#t=104
Especially when proof was shown on TV yesterday of the continual dumbing down of our society!
DeleteWhite Americans (on the streets) were asked what they preferred - Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act and they all answered the latter! When asked why they didn't like Obamacare, they were clueless!!! Obviously were watchers of FOX!
People are going to like being able to secure medical insurance via this new method...it is just going to take time. The new policies will not go into effect until 1/1/14, so there are a number of months available for people to apply.
Vote the Republicans out of office every chance you get folks - across the nation - Congress, state and local governments! They are nothing but obstructionists and liars!
Thank god people w/pre existing condtions (I'm one!) are going to have the insurance available to them now. These assholes trying to put the law down are total jerks and anti the Americans they are serving!
I love those "man in the street" segments. This one's a winner! Assclowns on parade.
DeleteRepublicans Hate Obamacare Because They're Afraid People Will Like It
ReplyDeletehttp://www.businessinsider.com/why-republicans-hate-obamacare-2013-10
And this MADE MY MORNING!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnQVDLujTA8
How GOP's Desperate Anti-Obamacare Push Backfired and Helped Spread the Word
ReplyDelete...As Americans rush to check out their options and sign up for their piece of Obamacare, right wingers are desperate to find any straw to grasp. To that end, they have all been hilariously complaining that Obamacare is "not ready for prime time" because - get this - Healthcare.gov and state exchanges have had glitches due to overwhelming traffic. To follow their logic, the Affordable Care Act is a failure because people overwhelmingly want it. The GOP's main TV propaganda outlet, Fox News, is helping out with a running tally of these glitches, although as far as I can tell, they have no interest in actually getting people signed up.
But the Republicans may have helped the rush of people going to the exchanges, looking up their options, and signing up. For 3.5 years constantly since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, Republicans have consistently and continuously bashed the law, tried to repeal it some 45 times, and blamed it for everything but your kid's bad grades in school.
At some point, if you raise enough stink, people get curious. They want to know what all the freakout and the hoopla is about. When they are constantly being told that the sky is going to fall, you can't blame them for peaking outside to see if the heavens are actually collapsing. The Republicans may have generated bad buzz about Obamacare, but they still generated buzz. And this buzz isn't the kind that can be covered up with the propaganda forever. This is actually about real things happening to real people, and these real people have an actual way to find out what is going to happen to them. There's this thing called the Internet, and there's this central site called Healthcare.gov that allows people to actually see what they're going to get.
That's where the bullshit begins to fall apart, and the facts start taking hold. That's what is going on today. The Republicans made a big stink about it, and it got people curious to see what all the fuss was about. So they flocked to Healthcare.gov and their state exchange sites,
http://www.thepeoplesview.net/2013/10/how-gops-desperate-anti-obamacare-push.html
Headlines Capture Huge Demand For Obamacare Across The Country: ‘A First-Day Rush,’ ‘Busy Start,’ ‘Strong Early Interest’
ReplyDelete...More than 2.8 million people visited HealthCare.gov and some state-run exchanges also reported millions of logins. New York saw 10 million attempts to reach the site, California reported 5 million visits, 65,000 people visited the Illinois exchange — and submitted 1,100 applications– 78,000 Kentuckians logged on and completed more than 2,900 applications, and 55,000 “went to Colorado’s exchange site.”
Below is a sample of the headlines from across the country:
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/10/02/2715481/obamacare-headlines-from-across-the-country-exchanges-swamped-overwhelmed-with-interest/
It's not just FOX news. I've noticed in both my local newspapers and even on NPR they are calling it a "partial shutdown". I pointed it out to my husband this morning. I guess because some essential workers, the post office, and air traffic are still on the job, technically I suppose it's true that it is only partial. Tell that to all the people who were shut out of their jobs, not getting paid (even if they are required to still work). Words do matter.
ReplyDeleteTripleMoon
OBAMACARE DAY ONE: My hideous experience
ReplyDeletehttp://www.eclectablog.com/2013/10/obamacare-day-one-my-hideous-experience.html
Also, if you find yourself needing to talk to someone to get help with signing up, be nice to them. They are getting slammed right now and taking a lot of grief even though they are there to help. It’s not their fault that the website was literally getting a million hits an hour today.
...when Human Resources used to be Personnel.
ReplyDelete...when Right-Sizing was known as DOWNsizing.
...when Venture Capitalists were called Corporate Raiders.
...when an Equity Acquisition was called a Hostile Takeover.
...when Job Creators were more correctly known as Fat Cats or Plantation Owners.
...when exceptional people were called retards.
DeleteI see the House of Boehner is trying to pass piecemeal budget legislation - trying to fund some parts of government.
ReplyDeleteThat's like shutting down your automobile factory -- and then deciding to go ahead and keep making the headlights and maybe the seats. Maybe next week we'll get around to making the dashboard and wheel covers...
Good analogy. I am so tired of the false equivalencies used as GOP talking points these day. They simply don’t get it.
DeleteI did a double-take on "...when the Pro-Choice movement was known as the Anti-Abortion movement..."
ReplyDeleteI'm remembering when the "Pro-Life" movement was called the "anti-abortionists", and the "Pro-Choice" movement was known simply as "pro-abortionists".
Today, I tend to think anyone who is against choice is against women, in general. "Pro-Choice" is FOR women, to give them the right to choose what they need to do in their own circumstances.
"Pro-Life" is AGAINST women when it's against choice, which it obviously is.
Wasn't it funny last weekend when the First Lady of Texas said she supports a woman's right to choose, although she herself wouldn't be pro-choice, and was immediately corrected by her husband, "The Dick" Perry, who said she had "misspoke"?
Yeah, right.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/10/01/rick_perry_says_his_wife_misspoke_on_abortion_barely_covers_tracks.html
Elsie
Sorry that was a typo on my part.
DeleteThank you for pointing this out. This is truly Orwellian, remember "benign neglect”? Pretty soon the half term quitter governor will be using these talking points and in her twisted way not recognizing how poorly she misunderstood Orwell. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteHELL on Earth for Conservatives and anti-Obama cretins:
ReplyDeleteThe juxtaposition of Tuesday's two top stories was extraordinary.
The top story all day was that Republicans had shut down the federal government because President Obama wouldn't defund or delay the Affordable Care Act. The other major story was that the government's servers were crashing because so many people were trying to see if they could get insurance through Obamacare.
So on the one hand, Washington was shut down because Republicans don't want Obamacare. On the other hand, Obamacare was nearly shut down because so many Americans wanted Obamacare.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/10/02/wonkbook-this-is-what-the-republicans-were-afraid-of/
Americans Want Their ObamaCare So Badly That They Flooded the Servers
ReplyDelete...The CBO anticipated 7 million people signing up for exchanges this year, but on the first day, more than 2 million hits came in on just the federal site. New York and California brought in another 15 million alone on the first day. Another 9 million are expected to enroll in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
This morning on MSNBC, White House Deputy Senior Advisor for Communications & Strategy David Simas reported millions of hits. On Tuesday, USA Today reported that about 2.8 million people visited the federal website HealthCare.gov since midnight. The federal site is handling the exchanges for 34 states.
Think Progress broke down the numbers for some state-run exchanges:
New York saw 10 million attempts to reach the site, California reported 5 million visits, 65,000 people visited the Illinois exchange — and submitted 1,100 applications- 78,000 Kentuckians logged on and completed more than 2,900 applications, and 55,000 “went to Colorado’s exchange site.”
California had 16,000 hits a second at times, according to Bloomberg. The weight of heavy traffic forces weaknesses to the surface. Do all of these people flooding the servers for information on ObamaCare really make Republicans feel secure in shutting down the government to take that insurance away from those Americans who just signed up for it?
But the most obvious point is, if there were glitches (and there will continue to be glitches) and many people were upset by them, that means that a lot of people wanted their ObamaCare. Pundits likened the rollout to shopping online on Cyber Monday.
While the government isn’t releasing the numbers of people who signed up for exchanges, it’s clear that Americans were eager to get information on the exchanges — far more than anticipated.
The most ironic thing about Republicans complaining about government servers not working perfectly is the idea that the people who just shut down the government have the gall to whine that a government run system wasn’t perfect.
http://www.politicususa.com/2013/10/02/americans-obamacare-badly-flooded-servers.html
These Republican states that have tried to indicate they are blocking "Obamacare" are absolutely full of shit.
DeleteThis process is going to work and there is not a damned thing they can do about it!
Vote them out of office - wherever - whenever the chance arises. They do NOT give a shit about the Americans they serve! Time to get an entire new slate in office across the nation!
A slim down indeed is misleading that some excess was eliminated.
ReplyDeleteI heard a republican last night slam the president for not allowing school children to visit the whitehouse conveniently not mentioning the sequester cuts.
On CNN people on the street were interviewed. Most were in favor of the ACA but vehemently against Obamacare!
Perhaps today people who believe Palin are hiding their elderly and infants who have a genetic defect or disease in an attic. When they die from treatable illnesses and diseases conned of death panels Palin will feel victorious.
CNN is just as bad as FOX - all they did yesterday was talk about the computer system crashing for Obamacare - as though President Obama's people were not ready or prepared!
DeleteThank you, Congress Republicans (and Republican governors) for increasing the interest in the Affordable Care Act. Having medical insurance is going to be wonderful for so many Americans!!!
And, President Obama will be in American history for having initiated medical health insurance for Americans. So many will avoid bankruptcy due to their preexisting issues - and, I'm one of them!
The Republicans fought Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security and look how much Americans enjoy having them! The same will hold true for the Affordable Care Act.
Just watch - history will be very good to President Obama! He will rank as one of the best presidents the USA has ever had...in spite of the hate and obstruction put in his way by Republicans!
I agree 9:84
DeleteCNN is becoming a tentacle of Fox News.
My husband called me into the family room saying "You GOTTA see this!" last night. On Anderson Cooper, he had Dana Bash interviewing Cantor, she'd ask a question, he'd dodge with a talking point about the dems not wanting to negotiate... she'd ask another, same thing.... after about four minutes, Cantor cut it off and walked away.
Anderson, trying to remain "neutral" says "Why is it, and I'm talking about both sides of the aisle, when they're asked a question, they can't come up with an answer?"..... Back from commercial, Anderson's having a fifteen minute factual conversation, complete with relevant answers and examples with dates and times.... with a Democrat.
"Keeping them honest" was one show I used to watch, not so much anymore. More like "Let the republicans lie, get the truth from the Democrats".
8:34
ReplyDeleteAnd, most of the folks interviewed as to their choice had no clue what they were talking about. Those watching FOX have just heard about Obamacare and NOT the name of the actual law - Affordable Care Act.
The dumbing down of our society is rampant and horrible to watch!
The Republicans and FOX are absolutely going to shit green nickels once the Americans securing their medical health insurance obtain it and like it!!! Don't forget that their policies will actually go into effect on 1/1/14. Applying will slow down and be more of a steady process and the system will no longer crash from the overload of applicants and those interested in checking it out.
What else do you expect from Fox News? They are no more than the propaganda arm of the GOP.
ReplyDeleteHere is a --- Fox News opinion piece - that is Positive.
ReplyDelete"Americans of all political stripes like choice and competition, which is precisely what the ObamaCare health insurance exchanges will create."
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/09/30/five-reasons-americans-already-love-obamacare-plus-one-reason-why-theyre-gonna/
Next move will be to alter the national motto, "In God We Trust" with:
ReplyDelete"I got mine...screw you and everyone else!"
My stupid local fox affiliate keeps trying to play it as a "partial" shutdown of government.
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone is buying it.
Republican shutdown is not playing well in Peoria. Or Kansas City. Or Sacramento. Or ...
ReplyDelete"Will it play in Peoria" is a time-honored way to ask how something will be seen by the middlest of Middle America. And by that measure, House Republicans are not doing well right now. According to an editorial in the Peoria Journal Star:
-We believe that a clean continuing spending resolution - to fund the national parks so that veterans on an Honor Flight can see the World War II memorial before they die, to ensure people who need food stamps get them, etc. - would pass the House, as it has the Senate, if Speaker Boehner would just call that vote. Until that happens, he, his chamber and his Republicans own this shutdown, no matter what talking points they've adopted to try to deflect the blame for triggering yet another unnecessary crisis.
Ouch. There's no salvation for Republicans in Hampton Roads, where the Virginian-Pilot editorializes that the shutdown is:
-Because a small group of tea party-led House Republicans so abhor the federal health care law that they will do anything - including embarrassing the nation and jeopardizing the livelihoods of millions of people - to stop it.
The headline at the Buffalo News pretty much says it all:
-Republicans, in thrall to the tea party, are ignoring their duty to the nation.
In fact, in a round-up of editorials, the Washington Post's Reid Wilson summarizes:
-The overwhelming number of editorial boards came to the same conclusion: That Republicans — specifically the tea party caucus — are to blame. Even those editorial boards that don’t like the Affordable Care Act think shutting down the government is a bridge too far.
The Des Moines Register:
- It is time for Congress to change its ways. It begins this week with Democrats in the Senate refusing to buckle to a threat to shut down the government unless the House Republicans get their way.
The Kansas City Star:
-Shame on Republicans for creating this mess. That includes every GOP House member from the Kansas City area, who have all voted to make routine government spending subject to inflicting fatal wounds to the Affordable Care Act.
We’re talking about Kevin Yoder and Lynn Jenkins from Kansas and Sam Graves and Vicky Hartzler from Missouri. Not one of them had the foresight or fortitude to stand up and say: “This will hurt the nation. I will not participate.” Unfortunately, House Speaker John Boehner refused to call for the up-or-down vote that would have separated the pragmatists in his party from the ideologues.
The Sacramento Bee:
-They can spin it all they want, but House Republicans manufactured the crisis that now threatens to shut down the federal government and wreak havoc on world finances. Unless they budge, they will go down in history as hostage takers willing to tank the economy if their demands are not met.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/02/1243330/-Republican-shutdown-is-not-playing-well-in-Peoria-Or-Kansas-City-Or-Sacramento-Or
They are getting HAMMERED! As well they should:
ReplyDeleteThe view from the op-ed pages from around the country: GOP takes a beating
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2013/10/02/the-view-from-the-op-ed-pages-gop-takes-a-beating/
Can Idiocracy be very far away.....?
ReplyDeleteThis will NOT bode well for term in 2014. If they're counting on a forgiving poulace, they'd better think again.
ReplyDeletei say lots of prayers for the success of "obamacare" to help so many of us who need health care help. i love american but you can never tell which way the wind will blow we are so unpredictable. looks pretty darn good so far!!
ReplyDeleteIf this shutdown is a "slimdown" then the Tea Partyers have bulimia !
ReplyDeleteI know! There's a limit to how many times you can cut a tic tac.
Deleteyeah, our local news had a clip about how much the "slimdown" is hurting the tourism industry, but to their credit, they Did call it "GOP caused". They showed a family that came all the way from Hong Kong to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, etc. She was smiling and very polite, the reporter said something to the effect of "Well, maybe next time you'll get to take a tour and see the sites" She looked at him, the smile disappeared from her face and she said "Next Time? You come to Hong Kong, 24 hour flight plus hotel, everything's open there, I show YOUR Family around". He quickly punted to the anchor and changed subjects. All the tourist area businesses are seriously hurting.
ReplyDeleteThe GOP is supposed to be pro small business, and they're making our country a laughing stock and killing business.
We're on pins and needles, we sold a house and now we don't know if they'll get their mortgage approved.