Failed Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney caused a bit of a stir this week when he told donors President Obama won re-election because he bribed women and minorities with "big gifts," such as health care and education. As Rachel noted on the show last night, even many on the right found his comments unhelpful.
As it turns out, that's not all Romney said.
For those who can't watch clips online, the Republican went on to tell supporters: "What I would do if I were a Democrat running four years from now, I'd say, 'You know what, dental care will be included in Obamacare.' ... And Republicans will say, 'No, that's going to cost a trillion dollars,' and the Democrats will say, 'That's fine, you know, we'll pay it.'"
Putting aside the fact that access to affordable dental care wouldn't cost $1 trillion, Romney's suggestions actually sounds quite reasonable. Sure, he meant it sarcastically, and this was hardly a sincere policy idea, but if we ignore motivations, what's wrong with the idea of including dental care in a national health care system in which Americans have access to medical attention they need?
Dental care need not be considered some superfluous luxury. Good teeth are important to digestion; healthy gums prevent heart disease; and poor dental health can lead to chronic pain. In extreme cases, untreated dental problems can be literally fatal. If you go to an area hosting a free clinic, and you see the thousands of struggling, uninsured people lining up before dawn in the hopes of seeing a physician, you'll find many of them are looking for dental care.
Romney presented this as a ridiculous idea, as if the notion of helping families in need see a dentist is so absurd, the very suggestion is laughable. To my ear, Romney accidentally presented one of his most sensible ideas in a long while.
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Mental health is covered.
Dental health is not.
What is wrong with this picture? And, if anyone knows the history of this exclusion from health insurance, please step forward!
Nobody wants to see crazy people with good teeth! We bite!
Yeah, geez, they even rhyme!
I'm amazed you all have proven Romney right. You're the party of "free stuff". The motto being "Gimmee!"
I don't have any problem with unusual catastrophic expenses like needing implants to replace totally failed teeth.
But the principle of insurance is for unusual rare expenses.
Is the thought here that if car insurance does not cover oil changes that people will just skip going in for regular maintenance?
Romney reduced the "Bread and Circuses" criticism of what populists do to the concept of asking not what your country can do for you. Romney perverted the idea of the country looking out for the welfare of its citizens as bribery.
But there is something valid in the idea of individual responsibility and not relying on others to do what you do not need the state for.
Yea, shooter242 didn't go away! Shooter, where does it say that we are the party of free stuff in our party platform, or the constitution? Did Hannity teach you a new talking point to parrot? I don't believe you have told us about all of the largesse that Willard and Bain capital got out of the government; you avoid convenient facts. I guess your social security and medicare is 'free stuff' that you didn't earn, and we should take it away from you.......
Well let's see we have programs for free food, free medical, housing subsidies, transportation subsidies, free phones, and of course free money. Now we're on a post extolling the benefits of free dental.
Yes, you are the party of "free stuff". Bribery is very effective in an election.
Day, it may well come to dental health being included some day. Physicians know that unhealthy mouth, infections and gum disease seems to correlate with heart disease.
This "free stuff' mantra falls flat when one thinks of private sector does not seem to be so gracious and expects either government subsidies, tax credit/deductions or just pass on their overhead to customers.
I know there are exceptions, as most small business people have been taking it on the chin to stay in business. They know people often shop by lowest bid or price.
This health care plan is going to be OK, really. There are deductions for employers and the more broad the base is, the happier everyone will be. It's just that folks have been told to hate it and oppose it. Just like they were told Romney would win in a landslide.
Covering only catastrophic care (for things like "totally failed teeth") is one of the reasons we have the highest health care costs in the world. One of the principles of good health insurance is that paying for preventive care is less expensive than paying for the consequences of not having it. That's why Obamacare requires preventive care to be covered for free. Dental care consists of preventive care and unusual rare expenses, and virtually nothing else.
And if you think that the main problem is people not taking "personal responsibility," rather than that to a large portion of our society, regular dental care is unaffordable, you need to get out more. As with the rest of health care reform, this is about requiring people to have coverage for preventive care to reduce the economic costs to all of us, and providing subsidies for the people who can't afford it.
I'm with Steve. My first thought when I heard Romney's statement was, "Why not? Makes sense to me."
Our healthcare program should add not only dental care, but also vision care. These are perfectly logical and rational medical costs incurred by many people. Our goal should be to provide equal health opportunity across the population.
And, Shooter, we're the party that provides benefits (at a cost, not for nothing) that go to everybody, not just the 1%. That's what separates Democrats from Republicans.
Why is mental care covered but not dental care? Because if the zombie apocalyspe really does happen, bad teeth may be the living's only hope for not getting chomped and eaten! On the other hand, if the teeth go bad the only victim is the owner of the teeth (unless said owner buys a gun and shoots a bunch of people, therefore moving himself into the category of mentally disturbed, not dentally motivated).
Shooter - you're doing such a wonderful job today with your demonstration of the practicality of conducting one's own colonoscopy.
Right, because being so poor you can't afford any services above subsistence is so goddamn fun. Of course, when conservatives like Shooter do need government assistance they suddenly see the light (at least while they need it). But like Shooter, they'll never cop to it. They are individualist, rugged, free market entreprenuers who never need assistance from anybody. That's why they're constantly posting on these threads.
ROFLMAO!!
@johnMesserly & @Redshift,
I agreee with both of you. The problem is not everybody is going to do take personal responsibility. And if healthcare is a basic right in our society then you need to have a healthcare system that will be able to provide the healthcare but properly pay for expenses.
Our current healthcare system is not configured to provide full health care for everybody. I think we would need to continue to reform it.
But I do not see how you can actively get people to manage their own health. Do you prohibit the size of sodas that can be sold?
Insurance run for profit is not insurance. I think insurance and banks should be not for profit because their main goal should be to assist the public. Maybe we need insurance out of the health care industry and then you would have a national healthcare system in which your health tax is used to pay for health care for everybody. I know evil socialized medicine, but that is what we are talking about if you want to cover everybody.
And in this world, how do you get people to also take care of themselves?
It wouldn't be that expensive. I have dental at work and it only costs $15 a month. I covers the basics for a small copay. $5 for cleaning and filling and extractions and reduces everything else to affordable prices. A cap is $90, a single denture $110. Root canals are about 1/3 the price they charge otherwise. Excellent idea, Mitt.
The argument of prevention is a strong one, and it by far has the greatest weight in support for contraceptives.
At some point, you feather the edges of Health Care, right? (I mean feathering as in the painting term of reducing your brush coverage at the edges of objects.) For example, how far is the state role in prevention- do you offer tax deductions for regular exercise? At some point you balance state assistance against the requirement of personal responsibility. We could quibble about where that is, but I think we ought to agree that there should be limits.
Certainly, there are cases where society should do it- besides catastrophic, there is the case of innocents... that is, children should not suffer due to parents shortchanging their health. So free dental care up to age 18 is sensible.
Note that this sort of feathering of health care is not unusual even for the extreme "socialist" countries who have these sorts of limits on dental care. Norway doesn't support any dental. Sweden and New Zealand only pay for children.
Lovely sentiment and spin. You're the party that provides free/nearly free stuff, at someone elses expense, while denying the payers the benefits. You call it means-testing. I call it theft. Greece thought it was a great idea too, and now that the money spigot is tuned off they are rioting in the streets. Why? They became dependent on free stuff and no longer know how to fend for themselves.
In short, people like you turned the Greeks into incompetents. Good job.
I would think that if the Government negotiated with the insurance companies they could get a very good price on including dental. But then since dental work is relatively cheap until things go wrong...
How about it Britain? (just nod , we would prefer not to see those jade green teeth)
Cheap for WHO? You been to a dentist lately?
No I haven't been in @ five years but it only cost 25 bucks to get a check up and about 150 to have a rotten tooth repaired. Please note I said until things go wrong. I have been lucky and I know it.
Of course dental should be included in healthcare simply because your teeth have a great deal to do with your health and the cost of going to the dentist today is very close to being only accessible by the rich. We all know that an infected tooth can cause all kinds of pain and sickness and archeological records show that many a Roman soldier actually died from an infected tooth, not getting bludgeoned by the enemy.
I know from experience how a tooth can kill. My husband went through a one in a million event when he got an abscess in his brainstem. If you remember your biology, you know that the brainstem is where all automatic function is controlled, from swallowing to breathing. The docs just said he was going to die because they couldn't touch it without killing him or turning him into a vegetable. Eventually they decided to throw a bunch of drugs at him and 60 days in the hospital and 90 days on intravenous antibiotics, he is lucky to be alive. To this day he still has residual affects down one side of his body from scar tissue in his brain.
Bottom line. He had an abscessed tooth and the poison had migrated to his brain. It turns out your teeth are part of your body (who knew?), and that's a pretty good reason to include them in health care.
Back 20 years ago, when the Writer's Guild of America had an actually-good health insurance plan, dental insurance was covered. I was able to take advantage of it and solve a couple of lifelong problems, which did more to improve my life than just about anything "medical" I have been involved in. I have always been amazed that dental insurance was not covered by usual health insurance. Having your teeth taken care of is as important as having your colon checked, and no one thinks coverage for a colonoscopy is a "privilege."
And it would help people get work too. No one hires people with obviously rotten teeth. It grosses out the customers.
So Romney thinks poor people want good teeth??
Damn that 47% for thinking they deserve such a thing!! Why they already think that they shouldn't be allowed to starve to death and they shouldn't have to go to Emergency Rooms for their medical care!! You know, the next thing they will be wanting is not to freeze to death!!
Hey I am ALL FOR including dental care in Obamacare!! And Visioncare too!!
You must look at it his way. Poor people do not need teeth to drink their porridge. Of course first we have to stop giving them food stamps and remind the do gooders that soup kitchens are supposed to serve SOUP, not meat and potatoes.
once... Why not? We can pay for it later! Heck, just added to America's invoice.
Whoa, seems somebody thinks we have a one payer system. Here's the deal-the right would not consider a public health option so in fact by we you must be refering to those who are required to carry health insurance. Again what is cheaper annual checkups or emergency visits to fix infected root canals? As I said with everyone opting in the price could be negotiated by the competitors---oh that's right insurance companies quit competing long ago and have fixed prices. They figure there are enough suckers to go around.
Miketheplumber is right (sortof). MR's suggestion wasn't that dental be added, but that Democrats pay for it. When Steve agreed that it was a good idea, I thought he was going to argue how Democrats paying for it would work. Covering dental and vision in a health care plan goes without saying. But then, so does single payer...
Porridge? Did you say porridge?? Luxury! We used to have to suck dog milk through a dirty rag!
Amen!!!! It would be wonderful to be able eat cashews, peanuts and crunchy stuff again.
My dentures cost me over $3,000 back in 2000 and I was never able to use the lower plate. I would love to be able to even see a dentist, but the examination is more than I can manage.
Glasses? Maybe after the cataracts are removed again. For now I just go with the $1 store readers.
Getting old sucks don't it? My brother paid about the same for store bought teeth he never used.
Good luck with those cataracts. I've been told I am getting them myself.Of course the world has always seemed fuzzy to me.
The question is not whether we should include dental coverage in Obamacare but rather...why isn't it covered? In fact why isn't it covered in all health care plans already?
In MO we have dentist volunteer for a day of dental treatment for the poor and hundreds to a thousand camp out the night before just to get in the line for service and still they cannot treat them all...and that is just one small town in a day. Thank Mo Dental Association and others for that but it should not be like this.
The American Dental Association has kept dental care separate from health care plans and expensive and only legislation can change this. We already have a dental epidemic in America that needs to be dealth with even if we have to start threatening dentist to provide inexpensive dental treatment.
Republicans wail about their electoral defeats yet simultaneously disparage the president and continue to fight against any reasonable deals to save our country from economic collapse. The GOP is still standing up for rich white guys and far-right radicals instead of governing like adults. The toxic ideology that huge numbers of Americans are worthless "takers" colors the entire conservative movement's view of the large segment of the population that does not think, act, live or vote like they do. In this world, Obama could not have won any other way unless he gave invisible "gifts" to his voting base. - - progressive
I noticed the same thing. Lot's of blabbbing from the likes of Jindal and the rest of the Republicans about how they need to appeal to those brown people and 47%ers. Very little talk about problem solving.
If you worked for solutions to problems instead of crafting ways to deceive people maybe you might get some votes.
Jindal is so full of s*it there's a reason his eyes are brown
Any of you ever read Dickens??? It isn't hard to pick out who Romney is in ANY of his stories!!! Somehow, I don't think he will ever have the "epiphany" that Scrooge had!
"A tale of two cities" meets "The stories of a two faced liar"
How hypocritical Rachel...You claim ANYTHING Mitt says is sarcastic. Hang out with a group of Neutrals and watch one of your shows and pay attention to their response!
Fact is he calls it like it is! When it goes against the grain of anyone that voted for the President that is dividing America and helping your interest, you and others fill the air with criticism. What part of; "free birth control", "students, pay your loans later", "illegals, your kids are now American", "let's stick it to the rich for being rich", etc., etc., etc., was not a bribe for votes?
WOW!
Dontcha just love it when they come for a visit and have not yet developed the critical thinking skills to discern a byline.
@Miketheplumber - the author of the blog post is Steve Benen, not Rachel Maddow. Secondly, the Affordable Care Act, student loan reform, the prevention of the doubling of student loan interest rates, covered reproductive health services for women, etc. benefits all Americans -- Republicans as well as Democrats. Name a single thing Romney/Ryan were offering that 1) didn't crumble up and blow away under the slightest scrutiny; 2) benefited anyone other than their rich patrons. And not for nothing, Romney even had his figures wrong with regard to the '47 percent." In 2008, Barack Obama received 53 percent of the vote to John McCain's 46 percent, but I guess you can hardly tell wealthy donors at a dinner that 53 percent of the populace will never vote for you, because then it's all over before you even get started.
You know you are arguing with a troll and that you are NEVER going to be able to talk common sense to him don't you? His mind just doesn't have the capacity to process anything that doesn't come from FOX.
Just put him on ignore.
Ladies and gentlemen it appears we have a new troll in our midst, Mike The Plumber.
I'm kind of relived because I haven't seen Shooter or Scotty the number guy lately.
Mike, welcome, I look forward to trying to educate you. Of course, you can't fix stupid, so it remains to be seen if education is even possible.
The other side of that for me, though, "oncearepublican" is that sometimes the trollery needs an answer if only so that false memes cannot take hold on decent boards.
Mike: your coded statement makes you sound like "all people on welfare are lazy;" "all women on birth contol are sluts." Now, do you see how your attitude makes you sound? don't blame this on TRMS, blame this on your poor candidates with no solutions. Your skreed would have sounded better if you would have offered solutions, instead of complain. Do you want to work for the 100 percent, or the 51 you need to win an election? Are you hoping to be a Mexican, so you would have a better chance of winning an election? if so, you are a Gabacho like Willard......
Are you related to Joe The Plumber, Mike? Sounds about right, since you're such an obvious moron.
Awwwwwwe... it's always entertaining to see how arguments and insults surfaces when reasoning upsets the peevish.
Voted for "Revenge" huh?
Something for all of you to think on.. What if tomorrow you wake up and Obama states that he cannot support gay marriage anymore," cannot allow healthcare that puts such a debt onto America to become permanent, " cannot allow illegals free stay any longer, and kills big-bird. Would you still support him?
At tcinLA...
Behave little one or Laura will give you another spankin!
When are you going to let Romney ride off into the sunset?? The guy lost, let him go!
I think this statement is more damning than ANYTHING Romney could say....
“There is no fiscal cliff, What we’re facing is an obstacle course within a manufactured crisis that was hastily thrown together in response to inflated rhetoric about our federal deficit.”
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka
When will Mitt shut up?When will "conservatives" quit crying and realize they are out of touch with America and reality?
Excellent quote by the way.
pascoguy65, you really think our government is in good shape? What world are you living in? Do you even pay attention to unemployment rates, what the deficit is and how fast it is growing etc., etc., etc.,. Pull your head out of the sand and open your eyes to reality.
Mitt: The gift that keeps on giving!
I think the Daily Show writers have him on retainer.
No I do not. But I do not think it is a "manufactured crisis". That is idiotic. There are real people out here who are not in such good shape. To tell them that their situation is "manufatured"? Really?
Pasco; the man is incapable of riding off into the sunset, gracefully. You make him sound like he is the Gipper, retiring! He has not been gracious, and the president even asked him for his input in running the country. Response from Willard: Nothing..... Could it be cause his ideas are bankrupt, or he is just all wee weed up??
That fiscal cliff was put into play by republicans hoping such a threat would win them concessions like no tax hikes and huge cuts in benefits. Yes we are-like the rest of the world-facing troubling times but then let us remember that Reagan/Bush/Bush drove the bus off the road as they kept doubling the national debt with more spending and less revenue.
Manufactured or self inflicted , you choose.
@Paul:
We SHOULD know by now that "deficits only matter" when the D's are in charge.
But, alas too many gullible folks still believe in the Free Lunch."
When are you going to trudge off into the sunset, idiot? Go pee on the fire hydrants in Wacko World. You do have fire hydrants there, don't you? Or are all you self-sufficient "patriots" taking care of your own responsibility to fight fires?
The deficit reduction "crisis" is manufactured. Dick Cheney says so.
Can any of you posters freaking out about the deficit explain how reducing the deficit NOW is going to create jobs and prosperity? Please. Anyone of you out there.
We are going to have to INVEST now to fix our broken infrastructure, resurrect our manufacturing base, retrain our workforce and create some new technologies that will generate a broad base of prosperity to the working class. When unemployment is down and growth is up, THEN we can worry about paying down the debt, because we will be able to afford it.
But please, educate me on how austerity measures will generate economic growth. You can use Europe as an example, because they're going down the path Romney would have led us.
What do the dems consider reasonable? Giving and giving and giving with money we don't have and shouldn't be giving anyway. People need to take some responsibility for themselves. And as for defunding planned parenthood, I am all for it. If you want to play you should have to pay. Women have "Choice". When they choose to engage in sexual activities, the taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for the consquences. Naturally there are extenuating circumstances that there should be funds for, but the government foots the bill for very able people. I know a couple that is engaged, and has 2 children out of wedlock. The government had to pick up the bill for both births because she is considered a single, unemployed mother. They live in a beautiful 4000 square foot house, drive a cadillac suv, and he is probably worth 3 or 4 million dollars, and they bilked the system. This is one tiny example. And we want to fund institutions like this that either have no oversight or don't care how the money is spent? Until the government gets its act together to cut the spending and cut the fraud, I personally think those agencies, any agency that works like that, needs to become extinct and should receive not one more dollar of taxpayer money. If the officials would get serious about reforming those agencies, I think people might be a little less adamant about not paying more taxes. But they all turn a blind eye, and the democrats don't even acknowledge that there is a problem. They just want to raise taxes and go about business as usual. There is enough fraud in SS and medicare to drastically reduce the deficit. But dems say that those programs are off the table. What the heck? Only concerned about votes, not the future of the programs. Until our government officials are more concerned about fixing the problems over and above getting reelected, we will never see a balanced budget. Sadly that's not how our system works. And dems are leading the charge to that so called "fiscal cliff".
Until the government gets its act together to cut the spending and cut the fraud, I personally think those agencies, any agency that works like that, needs to become extinct and should receive not one more dollar of taxpayer money.
Oh I agree lets start with farm subsidies , big oil companies ....the military.... good luck with that
Forest meet trees . Always go after the low hanging fruit that does not make campaign contributions .
You should have turned them in patriot, if you feel so strongly about it.
Jes33, I agree, people need to take responsibility for themselves.
This is why we need to end corporate tax breaks for companies that are already making millions and billions in profits. End corporate welfare. End unnecessary subsidies to agribusiness that doesn't need the help. End tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires that don't need it, that sit on their money and don't circulate it in the economy, that HAVE NOT created jobs despite the fact corporate profits are at an all time high.
Stop out of control reckless military spending on weapons that the military doesn't even want.
Break up the big banks and reign in the excess and corruption on Wall Street that has bilked honest hardworking Americans out of billions of dollars of wealth over the last 3 decades.
Remove $750 billion in medicare waste and fraud and over billing, which is what Obama has proposed.
I could go on.
But let's not forget one thing: You can take all the waste, fraud, welfare slackers, people who do leach off the government, and multiply that amount of money by 10,000, and it would still be just a drop in the bucket compared to the theft of the treasury and honest hardworking American taxpayers by the fascists in our country that run the corporations and own the republican party.
You are being fooled, and they're laughing all the way to the bank.
Hey Jes; those poor mothers getting mamograms are really stealing, aren't they? That local food bank is really wasting food, isn't it? The money we spend for veterans re-training, after two off budget wars, and an off budget tax cut, is really a waste, isn't it? Put the 'Grinch' on your dvr, make yourself a tall one, sit back, and enjoy your day.........
I just love people like you, jes33.
The story is always about some person that "they personally know" that make millions of dollars, has a mansion, 2 or 3 cars (Cadillacs and BMWs), travel to other countries for their vacations, etc., etc., etc. If you know of such a case why haven't you informed the authorities? You do understand that "knowing" these people are bilking our system and not reporting it to the authorities puts you in collusion with their fraud?
As to the lack of oversight on these people, may I point out that the emphasis from the Republicans over the last 4 years has been to fire every public employee they can think of which has left our public services so undermanned that there is no way they can ever reach out to their client load for good or bad. In order to be on top of the fraud, they desparately need people like you to report such flagrant dishonesty when you are aware of it.
If this is just "one tiny example" in your opinion, it doesn't seem so tiny to me. If, in fact the man is making 2 or 3 million dollars a year that says alot more to me about who is bilking the system. It just goes to prove that the greedy will always want more and the poor will not only get less, but will have to carry the onus of one greedy rich guy with his hand out for more.
I am so weary of people screaming about the people on welfare that are just lazy and want "free stuff". The other day S. E. Cupp was complaining to the nun about there being 6% of the citizens of this country on welfare (way up from past Presidents). I thought that was very bad news. First, because the argument that welfare has climbed since Obama took office, totally ignores the fact that since he has been in office we have been trying to get back on our feet from the Wall Street implosion. Second, since our unemployment rate is at least 7.9%, it means that 1.9% are dying of starvation, homelessness or simply suffering as best they can. What a wonderful picture of our country that is. Since when did we decide that our ethics allowed abject poverty in our country?
As to the "generosity" of welfare. For many reasons I don't care to go into now, one of my sons is on General Assistance. His stipend of $200.00 a month for housing, clothing, and personal needs (soap to keep clean, razors to shave with, toothpaste, detergent to wash his clothes, the cost of going to the laundromat to keep his clothes clean, transportation to doctor appointments, and the things you and I don't even think of needing) really doesn't leave much to put into a savings account to go towards his coming wealth. Especially when staying in a shelter costs $7.00 a night. I would truly love to see some of our lawmakers trying to live on $200.00 a month in this day.
With all due respsect, jes, before making judgements on the poor, try living their lives. If you know about blatant fraud of our welfare system, report it so it stops.
I'm just saying. . .
Jes, why don't you turn those people in for fraud, then?
You are busy here trying to convince folks we should throw ALL poor under the bus because some folks you know are cheating. How about dealing with the cheats, and stop denigrating everyone else for Planned Parnethood, which is very involved with teaching youth about decision making and consequences.
First, you imply women are immoral for having children out of wedlock. The next thing you want to defund programs that are informative about how to deal with peer pressure and how to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Also, I know a young woman that work as wait person whose mother just went through breast cancer. She gets breast exams through PP.
Your judgement needs to be put into action on cheats, not basically calling women immoral. How did it happen that single woman got pregnant by herself?
Now, it they did repeal ACA and defund Planned Parenthood, we have fewer informed youth (parents do not inform, just say don't do that). Fewer that know how to resist peer pressure and may prevent STDs or unwanted pregnancy. This would reduce the consequences of many undesirable and costly events.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/what-planned-parenthood-actually-does/2011/04/06/AFhBPa2C_blog.html
Youth want answers and many would not even think about asking parents.
http://www.plannedparenthoodchat.org
Do something besides try to make people act as you deem fit. Turn them in if you see fraud. http://www.gao.gov/fraudnet/fraudnet.htm
(wrong place)
Yeah well, I think stuff like transplants, surgery and cronic conditions should come first. Once you have universal coverage for the stuff that currently ruins people and make them lose their homes because of the unbelievable health bills, then you should think whether to add dental care to that.
A rotten tooth can kill you. And frequent check-ups keep the dentist bill low. German health care involves one free check-up every 6 months. Only your thirds come with an extra price-tag. But if you keep the dates for the check-ups for more than a couple years you get a pretty significant rebate on your thirds.
Simple math tells you that this is way cheaper for the national economics than people getting severely ill or even dying from rotten teeth.
Right now I have a big crack in my mouth. That's because one of the implants I got ten years ago broke, and insurance won't cover it because it's "cosmetic." Bull- I need to have a working set of teeth. I'm told that, come January, they'll cover half the price, but that would stll be over a thousand dollars, and I can't wait that long or my teeth will start shifting and cause long-term damage. Fortunately, my parents have enough money saved up thatthey can pay for emergencies lke this, but many people don't. Besides, at the age of 29 I should not have to rely on them for basic necessities. In short, screw you Romney. You lost, please go away.
Does the GOP have ANY policy at all? Except to promote the idea that only the elites, i.e., the rich, have the right to determine our lives?
Please, anyone tell me!
The only policy they seem to get stuck on to help people is: tax breaks for corporate jets, and oil company deductions. I don't care what the tax law is; Willard having an effective tax rate of 14 percent, with an illegal 100 million dollar IRA, is corporate welfare.....
GOP Policy is to stop wasteful spending if it involves borrowing from other countries. Balance the budget. Pay down the $17,000,000,000,000 debt. Protecting the Peoples Rights, Freedoms, and Lives AS EXPLAINED in our Constitution. That's why they are called CONSERVATIVES.
Conservatives= Save
Liberals= Spend
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW. ROFLOL!
Good one, Mike. What a sense of humor!
Is that why Conservatives wiped out the surplus they were handed by Democratic President Clinton? Is that why they hid the cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in Emergency Expenditures instead of showing them in the budget? Is that why they cut taxes on the wealthy and corporations that increased the debt exponentially? Is that how your Republicans balance the budget? So in order to save the country economically they wiped out all the regulations on the banks and Wall Street so they could crash the economy of the world?
Is their idea of preserving rights to criminalize a woman's right to decide what is best for her body and her life? Is their idea of freedom to force us to comply with their demands that we live according to their fundamentalist beliefs? Is their idea of our being able to live our lives by forcing people who have a different sexual orientation to change their being?
Actually, after being a Conservative for most of my life, I woke up to the change that was going on in the extreme right wing of the Conservative Party and decided that it was going where I didn't want to go. I suggest you stop mouthing what the Conservatives used to be and wake up to what they have become. They aren't your Pappy's old party anymore. If what you wrote up there is what you believe to be proper, I suggest you open your eyes and your mind and change parties.
Just my opinion.
Conservatives =back to the cave and club
Liberals = forward to the new moral, compassionate world
Hi "granny..."
Maybe you should go visit the graves of the last four Americans killed in Libya and tell them how Obamas "here's a hug terrorists, now please like us" policies don't work.
and... I guess in your eyes, Obamas directives towards Wall Street is working too.
and... About the "criminalization of women's rights.....", you really should step outside, open your eyes, take a breath, and go back in and change the tv channel. There's more there to learn for you!
and... If "sex" subjects are your biggest concern for this Country, I don't have an answer for you!
And that's my opinion to your opinion.
Conservatives= Save our Country, Remember how many died to keep it a Great Country, Stop this ridiculous bottomless American Express spending of our kids earnings (17,000,000,000,000) count the zeros and explain those to the children.
It's hilarious to think back about all the campaign attacks about Mitt flip-flops here, Mitt flip-flops there..., and then to hear you and others on here that can't make up your minds on a Party because you've decided to be someone to "get whatever you can" from your Government.
Liberals= A growing group that labels themselves as America supporters so they can get there free "fair" share (of what someone else earned).
There, something else to ROTFLYSAO!
For future reference, try to be more respectful if you want respectful.
I've seen exactly what you refer to:
Here in South Texas, when free clinics are held (an infrequent event here), people stand in line for hours to get dental care.
The teeth are part of the body. Dental care should be included in health care plans.
Your teeth are your body's crown jewels.
I just saw a movie in which the guy playing a dentist tells his patient, "only floss the teeth you want to keep".
I'd like to make Rmoney have to see a dentist..
Why doesn't this clown go away, do I have to wait even longer?
Mr. Romney's idea....will make us all want to smile!
So, according to Romney, the Democrats will propose including dental coverage under Obamacare and say "we'll pay for it." That's in sharp contrast to what the Republicans did under President Bush, which was to include prescription drug coverage under Medicare and not pay for it.
I'm a RN of 20 years. I was fortunate enough to qualify for a Pell Grant when I first started college in the late '80s. Because I was a married, full time student with 2 young children at home, I wasn't able to work and thus we qualified for the free lunch program at my children's school. I wasn't proud of the fact that I needed this support but we didn't have another choice at that time and I was comforted to know my children were able to get a nutritious lunch daily. Once I completed a portion of my education I was able to get a part-time job as a Nurse's Aide while I continued my studies. After I graduated with my Associate's Degree in nursing, I took a full-time night shift job at a local Hospital and continued my education towards my BSN. I no longer needed the free lunch program for my kids, but did qualify for a Stafford Loan thru the Government. Today, I am gainfully employed full time and my children are grown and on their own. If it weren't for Government support in those early years, I would still be in menial, low-paying work and likely to have children still dependent on ME because I couldn't afford to pay for THEIR education. Republicans seem to think that those on the Government doles CHOOSE to be there and WANT to remain there. While it's true there are some who do, the vast majority see Government assistance as a bridge to a better life where they can be on their own. Democrats are every bit as patriotic and hard-working (probably more so) than Republicans and value the Government's role in keeping the middle class strong by helping out when needed.
An excellent example of teaching someone to fish instead of expecting them to dumpster-dive for leftover fish scraps.
"I would still be in menial, low-paying work and likely to have children still dependent on ME because I couldn't afford to pay for THEIR education."
Sadly, this is what the plutocrats who own the GOP want. They want a dumbed down population that will happily work for a pittance.
Missy: and because you got assistance to get an education, you not only supported your family, your work as an RN has helped every patient that you've treated, a huge benefit to society. Thank you!!!
Great post. This is the reality that conservatives refuse to acknowledge. People don't want a hand-out. They just want a helping hand to help them achieve their goals. It's an INVESTMENT in our fellow citizens that make up this nation.
To conservatives, every one on government assistance is a "taker," even those victimized by the recession. Disgusting.
exactly this.
it's not lazy to receive a bit of a bump during hard times. it is lazy to classify everyone who needs help once in a while as a leech.
I enlisted, made $80 per month. Went to combat $454 a month. Used the GI Bill and worked for 36 more yrs. Lost my retirement savings under GWB. Had a back injury 18 months ago and am living on social security and use the VA for medical care until I get Medicare. I earned all the benefits I receive and resent the GOP representing these earned benefits as leeching off the rich. Try paying for a root canal on Social Security. There is no justification for tax breaks for the very wealthy. Spend it in America or pay a surcharge on hoarded wealth. The more you put into the economy the lower your surtax.
I ran into a severely disabled lady at the flea market before the election . She had taped "One of the 47%" to the back of her wheelchair . I complimented her and asked her if she got any grief. She said yes but gave it right back
You'll find you want to keep the VA for medical care once you get Medicare. It's still the best care around. I speak from experience.
What a dick.
When you say "the government foots the bill", which agencies and/or departments are talking about? State? Federal?
And you can, as a private citizen, report cases of fraud and abuse.
For Medicaid:
http://medicaid.gov/Medicaid-CHIP-Program-Information/By-Topics/Program-Integrity/How-to-Report-Fraud.html
For Medicare:
http://www.stopmedicarefraud.gov/reportfraud/index.html
For Social Security:
http://oig.ssa.gov/report-fraud-waste-or-abuse
And for welfare fraud:
http://www.ucowf.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=107&Itemid=65
I wish you good luck and Godspeed in bringing these perpetrators to justice.
With the money that is spent on these agencies, there should be many hoops to jump through and many checks and balances before handing out this money. If we are going to have the agencies, then by golly they ought to administer them at the cheapest and most efficient manner possible. The feds have not figured out how to do that. If you need more money, then just tax people more. And the fraud perpetrated by the government workers is hellacious. When the money is not yours, you sure don't mind spending it recklessly. Everyone should read some of the documents and information that Sen. Tom Coburn puts together annually on government spending. If that doesn't make a person's blood boil, I don't know what will. Senseless waste to the tunes of billions!!!! And we should give them more to waste? Come on!
In other words, you're just going to complain.
jes33 has revealed her trolling lameassery by citing Tom Coburn of all people.
Here's a little homework assignment for you jes, why don't you find out how much money farmers in the mid-west (I'm assuming your area of the country), are on the government dole in the form of federal subsidies (i.e. welfare).
Please report back when you find that figure.
And while you're at it, please research how much federal welfare the red states get as opposed to how much tax revenue they contribute.
Ever applied for any of this "free" money? There ARE about a zillion hoops to jump through. It is not actually easy to get, for example, food stamps. It takes multiple visits to an office, many hours spent waiting and then you get an amount to spend on food only (ie, no soap, no toilet paper) that rarely covers your food for a month. Even if you're a vegetarian.
About 10 years ago, as a new parent, I was laid off when the internet companies all went kerplop at once. While I hunted for my next position, my daughter and I received food assistance. It was enormously challenging to feed us on the program - and I don't use the more expensive prepared foods and we don't eat much meat at all.
Last but not least - when have you ever worked for a corporation where there wasn't enormous waste? People spending money because if they didn't spend it their budget would get cut? People who farted around all day long and nobody knew what they did? Why do you expect it to be magically different when it's a government agency?
So, Willard is essentially accusing the president of 'bribing people?' That seems to me to be exactly what he is saying. The great thing about our electoral system is that we have an orderly transition of power, without war, and that the loser is gracious in defeat. This brings the country together, and is the right thing to do. Willard is taking his ball, going home, and getting wee weed up, like life isn't fair. It is the wrong thing to do to help america, and it is very immature. This shows why Willard should not, nor never, be president. He may be king in his domain, but in that domain he is the king of pain.......
Does Romney consider Adelson's donations (and the other large donations) to be bribes? It is not clear how he is defining the term.
The so called gift, Obama offered, was just 1/100 of what you were trying to take from the American people! Romney should eather ride off in the sunset like cowboys of old, or stop trying to shoot himself in the foot, and hitting his head. But I must admit, I always thought that this, was impossible to do. UNTIL NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Democrats should hope that Romney continues with these revealing tirades. The more he tries to justify his defeat with such ridiculous statements, the deeper the hole he digs for the Republican Party to climb out of when it comes to repairing its image with a majority of the American public.
Absolutely. The best advice to give the GOP is to keep digging. ROFL.