Your Daily Dose of Health Care Reform Stupidity

Sen. Max Baucus has finally released a bill. My thought upon seeing what it contains: we waited six months for this piece of shit?

No public option. Not even a public option with a "trigger," which was a ridiculous idea tacked on to a position that was already a compromise. And the central tenet of the financing: a giant new "fee" that insurers are already saying they'll simply pass on to their customers.

What it amounts to is uninsured folks ending up having to buy junk insurance. He's given the insurance companies most everything they wanted and shafted Americans. And if you think this is going to win that magical bipartisan support, think again:

This scaled-back proposal, according to reports this morning, "apparently" isn't enough to satisfy the demands of Sens. Grassley and Enzi.

So, let me get this straight. Max Baucus has worked for months on a watered-down plan intended to curry favor with conservatives. He's finally circulating his proposal, which he could have unveiled a long time ago, and which Republicans still won't like.

If the Senate minority isn't going to support Baucus' plan anyway, then maybe Baucus ought to push a better bill.

He should. He won't, but he certainly should:

In the meantime, Max, people like this are literally dying to get health insurance for their families.

But we have the greatest health care system in the world. The Cons tell us so. We still have emergency rooms and the fire department, don't we?

And news flash - the Cons still aren't ready to compromise. Why would they? After all, they believe that a cancer survivor going bankrupt in order to survive is an example of the system working very well, thank you:

At a recent town hall held by Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), an elderly gentleman named Jim Parker stood up and told the congressman that he was recently treated for colon cancer. “I did not have insurance,” he said, because “things didn’t quite work out” after he started his own business. Parker informed Kingston that “a friend of mine was in the same position, and we buried him last January.”

Kingston responded by telling the man that “you did do very well” because he was able to get treated when he arrived at the hospital. Parker responded, “I am functionally bankrupt!” Kingston cut him off and reiterated his point:

But you did get coverage. You didn’t get the insurance, but they won’t turn you down at the door.

He just doesn't quite get the point, does he? These assclowns never do, probably because they've never had to face the "your money or your life" scenario. They don't see the rationing in the system because they don't suffer it - in this country, the rich don't get rationed. The poor do. Heaven forfend the rich should have to wait a week or two so that icky poor people can get treatment, too.

Meanwhile, health care parasites keep sucking our blood. They probably consider the resulting anemia a pre-existing condition.

With a parade of jackasses like this, we may have no choice but to pass health care reform via the reconciliation process - a prospect that has Lamar Alexander quaking in his little shoes. Funny how he never saw it as "the same thing as going to war without asking Congress' permission" when it was Bush doing the ramming.

All of this unbelievable stupidity has probably left you hungry for something a little more tasty. Watch AFL-CIO's Richard Trumka wipe the floor with Chris Matthews. It'll make you feel better. Then you can take some action with Firedoglake, as long as you sign the petition by 5pm Eastern. If you miss the fun there, Cujo's got three more for ye.

The stupid has not yet won, my darlings. Keep fighting.