Friday, June 23, 2017

Former President Obama's impassioned defense of the Affordable Care Act.

I am going to post Obama's entire Facebook post just to make it easier to read.

I think it is incredibly eloquent.

Here we go:

Our politics are divided. They have been for a long time. And while I know that division makes it difficult to listen to Americans with whom we disagree, that’s what we need to do today. 

I recognize that repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act has become a core tenet of the Republican Party. Still, I hope that our Senators, many of whom I know well, step back and measure what’s really at stake, and consider that the rationale for action, on health care or any other issue, must be something more than simply undoing something that Democrats did. 

We didn’t fight for the Affordable Care Act for more than a year in the public square for any personal or political gain – we fought for it because we knew it would save lives, prevent financial misery, and ultimately set this country we love on a better, healthier course. 

Nor did we fight for it alone. Thousands upon thousands of Americans, including Republicans, threw themselves into that collective effort, not for political reasons, but for intensely personal ones – a sick child, a parent lost to cancer, the memory of medical bills that threatened to derail their dreams. 

And you made a difference. For the first time, more than ninety percent of Americans know the security of health insurance. Health care costs, while still rising, have been rising at the slowest pace in fifty years. Women can’t be charged more for their insurance, young adults can stay on their parents’ plan until they turn 26, contraceptive care and preventive care are now free. Paying more, or being denied insurance altogether due to a preexisting condition – we made that a thing of the past. 

We did these things together. So many of you made that change possible. 

At the same time, I was careful to say again and again that while the Affordable Care Act represented a significant step forward for America, it was not perfect, nor could it be the end of our efforts – and that if Republicans could put together a plan that is demonstrably better than the improvements we made to our health care system, that covers as many people at less cost, I would gladly and publicly support it. 

That remains true. So I still hope that there are enough Republicans in Congress who remember that public service is not about sport or notching a political win, that there’s a reason we all chose to serve in the first place, and that hopefully, it’s to make people’s lives better, not worse. 

But right now, after eight years, the legislation rushed through the House and the Senate without public hearings or debate would do the opposite. It would raise costs, reduce coverage, roll back protections, and ruin Medicaid as we know it. That’s not my opinion, but rather the conclusion of all objective analyses, from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which found that 23 million Americans would lose insurance, to America’s doctors, nurses, and hospitals on the front lines of our health care system. 

The Senate bill, unveiled today, is not a health care bill. It’s a massive transfer of wealth from middle-class and poor families to the richest people in America. It hands enormous tax cuts to the rich and to the drug and insurance industries, paid for by cutting health care for everybody else. Those with private insurance will experience higher premiums and higher deductibles, with lower tax credits to help working families cover the costs, even as their plans might no longer cover pregnancy, mental health care, or expensive prescriptions. Discrimination based on pre-existing conditions could become the norm again. Millions of families will lose coverage entirely. 

Simply put, if there’s a chance you might get sick, get old, or start a family – this bill will do you harm. And small tweaks over the course of the next couple weeks, under the guise of making these bills easier to stomach, cannot change the fundamental meanness at the core of this legislation. 

I hope our Senators ask themselves – what will happen to the Americans grappling with opioid addiction who suddenly lose their coverage? What will happen to pregnant mothers, children with disabilities, poor adults and seniors who need long-term care once they can no longer count on Medicaid? What will happen if you have a medical emergency when insurance companies are once again allowed to exclude the benefits you need, send you unlimited bills, or set unaffordable deductibles? What impossible choices will working parents be forced to make if their child’s cancer treatment costs them more than their life savings? 

To put the American people through that pain – while giving billionaires and corporations a massive tax cut in return – that’s tough to fathom. But it’s what’s at stake right now. So it remains my fervent hope that we step back and try to deliver on what the American people need. 

That might take some time and compromise between Democrats and Republicans. But I believe that’s what people want to see. I believe it would demonstrate the kind of leadership that appeals to Americans across party lines. And I believe that it’s possible – if you are willing to make a difference again. If you’re willing to call your members of Congress. If you are willing to visit their offices. If you are willing to speak out, let them and the country know, in very real terms, what this means for you and your family. 

After all, this debate has always been about something bigger than politics. It’s about the character of our country – who we are, and who we aspire to be. And that’s always worth fighting for.

"It's about the character of our country."

Do you remember when our President believed THAT to be important? 

The entire post is passionate, factual, and inspirational.

THIS is who our country deserves to have leading it.

And hopefully someday we will once again have somebody of his caliber leading it again.

22 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:24 AM

    Then why not push for a single payer system?
    The ACA's parentage is the Heritage Foundation.
    The ACA is beholden to the health insurance companies, which will continue to raise premiums and deductibles.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:48 AM

      He tried.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:36 AM

      Much of what is negative in the ACA was pushed into it by the GOP. Their plan was to let it go into effect and then sabotage it again and again. Now they've gone in for the kill. And they will literally "kill" people with their anti-healthcare plan.
      Beaglemom

      Delete
    3. Anonymous4:01 PM

      @7:48
      Yeah, I usually give up on something hugely important that will help millions of folks after one failed try. Especially when i was president.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous6:30 AM

    Wiretapping " Ainsley Earhardt on Friday that his tweet threatening Comey was a political masterstroke that forced the former FBI director to tell the truth under oath — and for good measure, he hinted that recordings of his conversations might exist because former President Barack Obama has been wiretapping the White House.
    "But when [Comey] found out that there may be tapes out there, whether it’s governmental tapes or anything else or who knows, I think his story may have changed, I mean, you’re going to have to take a look at that. Because then he has to tell what actually took place at the events.”
    “Well, it wasn’t very stupid, I can tell you that,” Trump replied. -->"it wasn’t very stupid" WTF?

    This could be it...
    http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/watch-kellyanne-conway-admits-to-cnn-that-comey-tapes-may-exist-but-trump-doesnt-have-them/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:09 AM

      "I mean, you’re going to have to take a look at that."
      Is dRUMPf always taking to himself in the 3rd party?

      ALL-$ELF?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous7:13 AM

      Kellyanne is spinning a wider web to cast suspicion on others and sow seeds of doubt. The Trump administration seeks to create doubt and mistrust of the government, confuse the public while Trump lies habitually. His tweet he had tapes then he does not but insinuates he is being spied on is a fabrication.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous7:52 AM

      @7:13. Trump is winning the information war by seeding seeds of doubt. He, and the Republican Party have no idea what permanent damage they are doing. They reap what they sow, and we will all pay.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous6:37 AM

    I love this man and I will forever be an Obamacrat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Karen Hernandez7:45 AM

      Me too!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:18 AM

      To see this brilliant man replaced by the bumbling idiot now sitting in the Oval Office is heartbreaking.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:34 AM

      Count me in too. I never had a moment's worry while President Obama was in office. I knew that he cared deeply about the American people.
      Beaglemom

      Delete
    4. Anonymous4:02 PM

      Good thing you aren't some Middle Eastern civilian just going about your daily life, huh, Beaglemom?

      Delete
  4. The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, which limits presidents to 2 terms, has its advantages (who would want Dolt45* to serve 1 full term, much less 2 or 3?) But with President Obama standing on the sidelines, watching as his team tries to win without him playing the star role, we can see clearly the disadvantages of the 22nd Amendment. We must work tirelessly to overcome McConnell's hatred & contempt for PoC, women, Muslims, LGBTQ, the disabled, the elderly, and children. It's on us, and failure is NOT an option.

    It was, of course, the GOP who rallied around the idea of Presidential term limits and ensured its ratification. The better choice IMHO would have been term limits for Senators and Representatives.

    None (NONE!) of the reThuglicans have an ounce of decency, a jot of compassion, or even a smidgen of patriotism. Never do I wish tragedy on anyone, but this is one time, may I be forgiven, that I hope all of these Congress Critters gain PERSONAL experience of sickness, incapacitating illness, financial insecurity, loss of resources, and other associated struggles. They are vile, despicable, heartless vultures without one redeeming trait. I was raised to love everyone, to seek the good in each person, to elevate & encourage not criticize & condemn; but these atrocious reThuglicans are just about to make me forget my home training. They are that horrible.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:25 AM

      Same here. To think that an educated, "community organizer" outshone them in every way and was overwhelmingly elected twice. Don't think for one second that they did not call him an uppity n***** behind his back.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous7:03 AM

    "Republican governors also refused to secure voting systems, with one Republican calling it an assault on "state's rights."The Post describes the White House’s reaction as “stung”, saying they then turned to Congress for help, where they were also turned down by Republicans."First they deny the Russians were behind the attack, then they ask why President Obama didn’t do more. So the attack never happened but if it did, it’s Obama’s fault is their argument. Yet this report shows that they refused to help President Obama."President Obama “approved a previously undisclosed covert measure that authorized planting cyber weapons in Russia’s infrastructure, the digital equivalent of bombs that could be detonated if the United States found itself in an escalating exchange with Moscow.”why did Congressional Republicans and Governors enable the Russian attack and why are they to this day refusing to even admit that this happened and is still happening."

    http://www.politicususa.com/2017/06/23/republican-governors-refused-president-obama-protect-u-s-election.html

    TREA$ON? $EDITION? BOTH?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:33 AM

      Isn't that outrageous? I cannot imagine what has happened in this country. The 21st century GOP is an arm of Putin's Russia, tramps all over the Constitution, and is about to con the American people with their anti-health care-cum-tax-handout-to-the-rich bill. There are no more depths of deplorable for the GOP to plumb.
      Beaglemom

      Delete
  6. Anonymous7:21 AM

    Current un-dies:
    https://twitter.com/Politics_PR/status/878067068502921216

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous8:05 AM

      BLECH! YUK!
      I'm laughing /gagging / snortling -- all at once....

      Delete
  7. Anonymous7:47 AM

    Barack Obama is such a smart humanitarian. So glad he continues to give us hope. The worst thing he did was try to give health care to us all. What a horrible thing! (Eye roll) I know history will be kind to him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous4:05 PM

      How many wars was USA involved in at the beginning of his first term?
      And then how many on his last day? And how many unofficial wars were begun/accelerated during that Nobel Peace Prize winner's 2 terms?

      Delete
  8. Anonymous7:52 AM

    "Dan had risen from a lowly caddy at one of Trump’s golf courses to an executive in Trump’s golfing empire, all before he hit 40."
    "Insurmountable medical bills cause MORE bankruptcies in the U.S. than anything else. " “What probably happened is that the president was at one of his golf clubs over the weekend and maybe his caddy complained about the health-care bill. That’s the way this thing works.”

    golfcoursesofcourse

    ReplyDelete

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