A Short Concise History of Health Care Reform as Proposed by the Republican Party

Last week, I noted that one Democratic member of Congress came under fire from his colleagues across the aisle when he spoke about their proposals to fix health care in this country. Representative Alan Grayson summarized the Republican proposal for health care with the words, “Republicans want you to die quickly”. Naturally, the GOP freaked out and demanded an apology from Grayson and that the Democratic leaders in Congress punish him. Grayson and the Democrats have refused both demands.

Okay, everyone, let’s calm down. Let’s look at both sides of this disagreement and think this through in a rational, civilized manner.

Grayson’s remarks were certainly outrageous, but he did raise an interesting point about perceptions that the Republican Party doesn’t care about people’s health. Certainly, we shouldn’t believe this to be true. Of course, we know that Republicans are good people who are loving, caring, and productive members of society. To illustrate this argument, I will devote six inches of blog space to a short summary of health care reform ideas proposed by Republican members of Congress which will guarantee affordable health care for all Americans:

“







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Okay, I think I see what the problem is.

No, I did not neglect to write anything for this part of the blog. It’s just that I found nothing to write on the subject. Let’s briefly enumerate the number of health care reform bills proposed in Congress when it was controlled by the GOP.

In 2000, I don’t remember hearing of any health care reform bills introduced by the Republicans. In 2001, still no bills. 2002 – nothing! 2003 – nada! 2004 – nein! 2005 - zip! 2006 – void! 2007 - null set! 2008 – are you beginning to see a pattern here?

So maybe Grayson did make a valid point. Grayson may have been stressed out by the health care debate when he made these remarks, but the GOP should take it as a warning. When it comes to health care, the Republican Party is a public relations disaster.

I remember an editorial cartoon a few years back which showed the Senate majority leader decrying the administration's proposed health care idea. The first panel showed the Senator standing in front of a flow chart showing the massive government bureaucracy that would result from the proposal. In the second panel, the Senator displays the health care proposal from his party, the Republicans. The sheet of paper he stood proudly in front of was blank.

The cartoon was printed in 1993 when the Clinton Administration tried to push their health care plan through Congress. The Senator depicted in the cartoon was Bob Dole. Yes, this is how far back this conflict goes, and yes, this is how long ago the Republicans have been perceived as not caring about the health of the American people. Grayson’s remark is grounded in this perception.

Would you like a more recent example? Okay, how about Senator Jim DeMint's (R–SC) comments that if Obama can be defeated on health care reform then this will be his Waterloo. Scoring political points for the conservative base, yes. Showing care and concern for the health and general well-being of his constituents...um, no I’m not seeing that.

Perhaps I should amend my earlier statement. We all know that Republicans are good people who are loving, caring, and productive members of society...but when it comes to affordable health care, we just don’t know where their heads are.

(Thank you for reading. Please remember to pay your health care premiums on time!)