Commentary by Roland Hansen of Toledo, Ohio (Lucas County) on: politics; current events; community involvement; citizen participation; consumer advocacy; and governmental responsibility, responsiveness, and accountability.
President Obama is absolutely right. Too many mainstream Republicans are unwilling to stand up to a cabal of extremists from safe Republican districts, because the mainstream Republicans fear primary challenges from extremists next year. They are putting their tenure in Congress ahead of the best interests of the vast majority of their fellow Americans. To paraphrase a former president, these gutless, self-absorbed politicians are profiles in cowardice!
It's not about the extremists, Dale. Too many of us moderates as well are tired of Obama's high handed executive orders and Harry Reid's turning the Senate into his personal "I am right room". We are not gutless, we are tired of being bullied, especially by Reid. Harry Reid would rather let people suffer than budge one inch on getting EVERYTHING he wants. Republicans have been left with two choices- wage this fight or roll over. Just because YOU like the policy does not make it right or wrong, and I am sick to death of being accused of being "intimidated by the Tea Party" when Harry Reid's intransigence is driving ALL republicans there!
Congress and the President are supposed to govern all the people. You think that's just fine when you are defending Abortion clinics, gay marriage, and those who are afraid they'll burst into flames at the sight of a Cross, but for those who can't afford the premiums the Obamacare mandates will force on them, for those who believe that EVERY district should be heard from, it's "to hell with you!" How many people are losing their jobs or their hours because of Obamacare, how many going into the "collective " are finding that $14000 deductables make their government sponsored insurance virtually worthless? This isn't scare tactics, it is happening, Dale. We could be working together to find where these things are happening and fix them. But Harry Reid doesn't want to talk. In my mind, He's the only coward in this story. But as long as he gets his exemption, and those for his Union paymasters, he's fine with it.
I hope the shutdown lasts the rest of the admistration. Or until Harry drops dead, whichever comes first. He is a poison that is destroying this country, NOT the Tea Party, and NOT John Boehner.
Mr. Martin, Your partisanship is only exceeded by the inaccuracy of your statistics. Ben Stein is a traditional, conservative Republican. Ben Stein worked for Republican presidents. Ben Stein is not an elected official, so he is free to speak his mind. A few days ago, Ben Stein called the actions of the Republican-dominated U.S. House of Representatives wasteful. Ben Stein stated that Obamacare is the law of the land, and that Republicans should pass a clean budget bill and move on. According to Ben Stein, if Obamacare is a disaster, Congress can fix it or replace it. If Obamacare works well, Republicans can truly move on to other issues. I agree with Ben Stein! Your last statement speaks volumes. You and your fellow-travelers are comfortable forcing America and Americans to suffer in order to make an ideological statement over a moot issue. How patriotic of all of you!
It's not a moot issue, it's a bad law. You have a lot of nerve , ideological statements my butt. Why keep a law YOU KNOW will hurt people? Your "it's the law of the land" argument is ridiculous, because a) laws are no longer written in stone and (if you haven't noticed) have been repealed for decades, and B) the propensity of Obama to overrule DULY PASSED laws with executive orders and by failing to enforce rules he doesn't like.
My last statement was made in frustration over a man who'd rather let kids with cancer go without treatment than bend and pass "piecemeal bills" that he agrees with just to get his way? It's NEVER a moot issue to get rid of a bad law that's going to hurt SO MANY people!
Whoopie, you and Ben Stein and Barbra Streisand are in agreement! What would the republic do without you?
You want the shutdown over, tell Reid to negotiate! Why should those of us who disagree roll over to please you?
Mr. Martin, Interesting...You now link one of America's conservative icons, Ben Stein, with one of America's most notable liberal entertainers, because he disagrees with you. FYI -- Ben Stein's undergraduate degree is in economics from Columbia University. He then went on to Yale Law, where he was valedictorian of his graduating class. He worked in both the Nixon and Ford Administrations, primarily as a speechwriter and political advisor. Concurrent with this, his father, Herb Stein was Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors for Presidents Nixon and Ford. I'll take Ben's analysis ahead of yours any day of the week! Here's another quote from a source most consider quite conservative, Forbes Magazine, in a current article: "For investors, ObamaCare provides opportunities especially if they can avoid getting emotional over the politics and their personal opinions of the law." I suggest you control your passions, read this article in its entirety, and make some money the old-fashioned American way by making some sage investments!
I have a friend who tried to get on the exchange. With Type I Diabetes as a pre-existing condition, he opted for the silver plan and found he was to have a monthly premium of nearly $600 and a deductible of $14k. He told them he'd opt out, and was told he'd be subject to a fine of $4300+ and that they could suspend his Drivers licence and attach his house. This is affordable? This is fair? Kiss my ass.
Yeah, if I wanted to deny what's really happening, that's what I'd do too. As Captain America once said, "You have your definition of a hero, and I have mine. Mine includes being a little more aware."
Oh, and BTW, as you quoted him, Ben was just talking about the consequences of the shutdown, NOT the harm that Obamacare is doing. Do you ever stick to a point? Oh, just when it's yours. Much like Harry Reid, it's more important to you that investment opportunities for yourself are protected than the little people being brought to ruin by "affordable care" that isn't really affordable and doesn't really care. In the end, you really only care about your fellow travelers (remember when you used that one on me?)and if someone has to lose a job or a house to make your point, that's the breaks. What does Ben Stein have to say about that?
“I think it’s going to have a negative effect in the short run because it will harm employers, it will put a new burden on employers and it will make them even more reluctant to hire,” Stein told Fox News’ Jenna Lee.
Stein said he was unsure how the Affordable Care Act could impact the economy long term, and said the way President Obama got the bill passed was like “breaking all the eggs and trying to get the egg yolks back into the eggs.”
“It is a moral imperative that people in this country have health care even if they’re not well to do,” he said. “The way they did it was an extremely cumbersome way and puts a big burden on small business.”
Mr. Martin, I do not agree with everything Ben Stein advocates, I cannot disagree with anything Ben Stein stated about the Affordable Care Act. The law is too complex. The Clintons tried the simple approach in the 1990s and the health care insurers destroyed that simple approach. THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT IS A COMPROMISE! But the health insurers are happy. They get more clients!
"Mr. Martin, I do not agree with everything Ben Stein advocates, I cannot disagree with anything Ben Stein stated about the Affordable Care Act. The law is too complex."
Then see, we do have some common ground. We disagree, though, on the means by which this ground is closed. We also disagree, I'd wager, on how this is represented in the media. There are people that the law might help, and there are people who the law might hurt. Frankly, most republicans would have put up this much of a fight had it not been for the heavy handed way it was passed and the heavy handed way Reid keeps it off the table.
I am sure that you and I could project the pros and cons to the public far better than those in power are. Obama lies through his teeth with every press conference on it; on the other side, I had to wade through half a dozen pages of false Ben Stein quotes to find the one I could verify and post to you.
Way back in the start of this, you mentioned something about Stein being unelected and "free to speak his mind". I just wish that didn't translate to "feels comfortable defending his position without telling lies."
13 comments:
President Obama is absolutely right.
Too many mainstream Republicans are unwilling to stand up to a cabal of extremists from safe Republican districts, because the mainstream Republicans fear primary challenges from extremists next year. They are putting their tenure in Congress ahead of the best interests of the vast majority of their fellow Americans. To paraphrase a former president, these gutless, self-absorbed politicians are profiles in cowardice!
It's not about the extremists, Dale. Too many of us moderates as well are tired of Obama's high handed executive orders and Harry Reid's turning the Senate into his personal "I am right room". We are not gutless, we are tired of being bullied, especially by Reid. Harry Reid would rather let people suffer than budge one inch on getting EVERYTHING he wants. Republicans have been left with two choices- wage this fight or roll over. Just because YOU like the policy does not make it right or wrong, and I am sick to death of being accused of being "intimidated by the Tea Party" when Harry Reid's intransigence is driving ALL republicans there!
Congress and the President are supposed to govern all the people. You think that's just fine when you are defending Abortion clinics, gay marriage, and those who are afraid they'll burst into flames at the sight of a Cross, but for those who can't afford the premiums the Obamacare mandates will force on them, for those who believe that EVERY district should be heard from, it's "to hell with you!" How many people are losing their jobs or their hours because of Obamacare, how many going into the "collective " are finding that $14000 deductables make their government sponsored insurance virtually worthless? This isn't scare tactics, it is happening, Dale. We could be working together to find where these things are happening and fix them. But Harry Reid doesn't want to talk. In my mind, He's the only coward in this story. But as long as he gets his exemption, and those for his Union paymasters, he's fine with it.
I hope the shutdown lasts the rest of the admistration. Or until Harry drops dead, whichever comes first. He is a poison that is destroying this country, NOT the Tea Party, and NOT John Boehner.
Mr. Martin,
Your partisanship is only exceeded by the inaccuracy of your statistics.
Ben Stein is a traditional, conservative Republican. Ben Stein worked for Republican presidents. Ben Stein is not an elected official, so he is free to speak his mind. A few days ago, Ben Stein called the actions of the Republican-dominated U.S. House of Representatives wasteful. Ben Stein stated that Obamacare is the law of the land, and that Republicans should pass a clean budget bill and move on. According to Ben Stein, if Obamacare is a disaster, Congress can fix it or replace it. If Obamacare works well, Republicans can truly move on to other issues.
I agree with Ben Stein!
Your last statement speaks volumes. You and your fellow-travelers are comfortable forcing America and Americans to suffer in order to make an ideological statement over a moot issue. How patriotic of all of you!
It's not a moot issue, it's a bad law. You have a lot of nerve , ideological statements my butt. Why keep a law YOU KNOW will hurt people? Your "it's the law of the land" argument is ridiculous, because a) laws are no longer written in stone and (if you haven't noticed) have been repealed for decades, and B) the propensity of Obama to overrule DULY PASSED laws with executive orders and by failing to enforce rules he doesn't like.
My last statement was made in frustration over a man who'd rather let kids with cancer go without treatment than bend and pass "piecemeal bills" that he agrees with just to get his way? It's NEVER a moot issue to get rid of a bad law that's going to hurt SO MANY people!
Whoopie, you and Ben Stein and Barbra Streisand are in agreement! What would the republic do without you?
You want the shutdown over, tell Reid to negotiate! Why should those of us who disagree roll over to please you?
Mr. Martin,
Interesting...You now link one of America's conservative icons, Ben Stein, with one of America's most notable liberal entertainers, because he disagrees with you.
FYI -- Ben Stein's undergraduate degree is in economics from Columbia University. He then went on to Yale Law, where he was valedictorian of his graduating class. He worked in both the Nixon and Ford Administrations, primarily as a speechwriter and political advisor. Concurrent with this, his father, Herb Stein was Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors for Presidents Nixon and Ford. I'll take Ben's analysis ahead of yours any day of the week!
Here's another quote from a source most consider quite conservative, Forbes Magazine, in a current article: "For investors, ObamaCare provides opportunities especially if they can avoid getting emotional over the politics and their personal opinions of the law." I suggest you control your passions, read this article in its entirety, and make some money the old-fashioned American way by making some sage investments!
I have a friend who tried to get on the exchange. With Type I Diabetes as a pre-existing condition, he opted for the silver plan and found he was to have a monthly premium of nearly $600 and a deductible of $14k. He told them he'd opt out, and was told he'd be subject to a fine of $4300+ and that they could suspend his Drivers licence and attach his house. This is affordable? This is fair? Kiss my ass.
http://humbleauthorbsp.blogspot.com/2013/10/one-last-on-shutdown.html
Mr. Martin,
I'll stick with Ben Stein and Forbes as my sources for accurate information. You may stick with your "friend."
Yeah, if I wanted to deny what's really happening, that's what I'd do too. As Captain America once said, "You have your definition of a hero, and I have mine. Mine includes being a little more aware."
Oh, and BTW, as you quoted him, Ben was just talking about the consequences of the shutdown, NOT the harm that Obamacare is doing. Do you ever stick to a point? Oh, just when it's yours. Much like Harry Reid, it's more important to you that investment opportunities for yourself are protected than the little people being brought to ruin by "affordable care" that isn't really affordable and doesn't really care. In the end, you really only care about your fellow travelers (remember when you used that one on me?)and if someone has to lose a job or a house to make your point, that's the breaks. What does Ben Stein have to say about that?
Oh, here we go:
“I think it’s going to have a negative effect in the short run because it will harm employers, it will put a new burden on employers and it will make them even more reluctant to hire,” Stein told Fox News’ Jenna Lee.
Stein said he was unsure how the Affordable Care Act could impact the economy long term, and said the way President Obama got the bill passed was like “breaking all the eggs and trying to get the egg yolks back into the eggs.”
“It is a moral imperative that people in this country have health care even if they’re not well to do,” he said. “The way they did it was an extremely cumbersome way and puts a big burden on small business.”
Yeah, I'd quote Stein to support Obamacare, too.
Mr. Martin,
I do not agree with everything Ben Stein advocates, I cannot disagree with anything Ben Stein stated about the Affordable Care Act.
The law is too complex. The Clintons tried the simple approach in the 1990s and the health care insurers destroyed that simple approach. THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT IS A COMPROMISE! But the health insurers are happy. They get more clients!
"Mr. Martin,
I do not agree with everything Ben Stein advocates, I cannot disagree with anything Ben Stein stated about the Affordable Care Act.
The law is too complex."
Then see, we do have some common ground. We disagree, though, on the means by which this ground is closed. We also disagree, I'd wager, on how this is represented in the media. There are people that the law might help, and there are people who the law might hurt. Frankly, most republicans would have put up this much of a fight had it not been for the heavy handed way it was passed and the heavy handed way Reid keeps it off the table.
I am sure that you and I could project the pros and cons to the public far better than those in power are. Obama lies through his teeth with every press conference on it; on the other side, I had to wade through half a dozen pages of false Ben Stein quotes to find the one I could verify and post to you.
Way back in the start of this, you mentioned something about Stein being unelected and "free to speak his mind". I just wish that didn't translate to "feels comfortable defending his position without telling lies."
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