The Griffis Gazette: August 2009

With all of the rhetoric out there on the health care issue, I'm a bit dizzy. Its as if I am watching a tennis match from hell that I can't seem to keep up with. In fairness to me, I've been on back to back trips in the last couple weeks, and Its much harder to stay fully informed in the minutia of a debate that seems to change daily when you are not in front of a computer most of the day. It has not slipped my notice that honest critique of the President's Platform on healthcare has digressed from debate to a what some perceive as paranoid hysteria verses name calling. I think there is blame enough to go around for this. I think what is going on here is being widely misinterpreted as a (1.) A racist/mean spirited revolt against all things Obama or (2.) an angry marginalized minority fringe group who does not represent the mainstream and should be mocked. In watching/reading the liberals I most respect, I keep expecting to see an acknowledgement that something bigger is going on..but it seems as though none of these highly critical thinkers have the radar for sensing the root cause of this outrage/fear. I would like to spend some time to debunk the myths, explain the movement, and then talk rationally about the issue at hand: healthcare.

myth #1: The protestors are all right wingers.....WRONG..some of the very fringe leftists groups are in great part, responsible for the nazi/hitler signs that are being shown on TV. There are some left wing malcontents who are also infiltrating these town halls with their Obama=Hitler signs also, such as followers of Lyndon Larouge. (click here to see more about him)

myth#2: Only right wingers are angry or act this way when they are out of power...WRONG. My theory is that your senses are heightened or dulled depending on your political persuasions..you simply are more aware of the hateful rhetoric when your guy/party is power. Because let me tell you something, if anyone thinks that the last 8 years, the people who protested Bush were not angry, they did not propagate visceral rhetoric, they didn't disrupt meetings, speeches, town halls with their angry chants, they didn't spread misinformation, they didn't compare Bush to Hitler AND Osama, etc, they are either ill-informed or lying to themselves. I went to Crawford during the whole Cindy Sheehan camp Casey protests, I was in London in 2003 and saw an Anti-Bush Protest there... on both occasions, I saw first hand the signs and slogans, the misinformation, and the seething hatred, not just for Bush but for anyone or anything capitalist/conservative/traditionalist/etc. There is hate, real seething hate, on the left..and what you see in the Media is a completely inconsistent reaction to protesters on the right vs protestors on the left. Check out this analysis. I think the reason people are so fixated on this, is because for the first time, conservatives are showing up and agitating, and people are not use to seeing this..where as, we are all use to seeing liberal protests because they have done so for decades. Until now, conservatives only did this sort of thing outside of Abortion Clinics. I assure you, they are not inventing anything here...this kind of thing happens on the left when the Right is in power. Maybe in smaller numbers b/c there are fewer leftists..but it does happen.

Myth #3: People are using this as excuse to finally release their pent up racial frustration.WRONG. This is I think the most offensive accusation I have heard, and it keeps getting repeated and believed. People fear Obama's polices because he is very liberal. We tend to dislike, distrust, or fear people who we perceive are 'extreme' in their liberal or conservative views, depending on what side we fall on. The reason people were so against Sarah Palin is because they thought she was far far to the right...the same is true of why people fear/distrust Obama. Unfortunately we tend to dislike people and attack them personally when we disagree with them politically, but that is nothing new. People on the right have read Obama's own words in his books, they've seen videos of him talking about his more liberal views and they fear that he really means those things and wants to change the country to his ideology. If he were white, with the exact same perceptions of marxist sympathies, etc..they would be just as wary of him/her. Look, I can't speak for every conservative anymore than Obama can speak for every member of the church that Reverend Wright preached at and he attended....but I know alot of people who are unhappy with this and alot of Obama's Plans and the only racial consensus I ever hear is "I wish the first black President would have been a republican". This racist charge is a lazy argument that serves to deflect from real debate or render people too unreasonable to debate in the first place. If the next 3.5 years are going to have Conservatives being called racists for opposing this President's liberal policies.. then the one really great hope his victory gave me (that of a chance to begin a healing process and move forward in this issue), is going to prove to be a false hope, and leave us even more 'sick' as a country with regards to this racial tension and division. Just like Republicans were admonished that its not "un-American" to disagree with the Iraq War, Democrats need to also be so admonished that its not "racist" to disagree w/ the President's Policies. which brings me to myth #4.

Myth #4: The angry people who are making alot of noise were perfectly content for the last 8 years when Bush grew government, spend recklessly and reduced civil liberties, and now that that Obama's in office, they suddenly feel they are loosing their country. WRONG...The anger that is manifesting in town halls and protests now has been brewing since I would say the 60s or 70s. I've seen Bill Maher refer to people saying "I want my country back" with this perplexed look and allude to their reluctance at a Black President, and I just wish for that moment, I could inhabit the body of one of the people on his panel so that I could explain to him that this disenfranchisement sentiment has built up and snowballed to a monstrous size because of decades of liberal push. I've been contemplating this and what I think is that because liberals have long understood that America as a whole is much more conservative than they are, so they adapted from conventional political warfare long before Republicans did, to advance their agendas. They have been playing this sort of chess game, and until now, I would say they have been winning because Republicans/conservatives have been playing the conventional way for all these years since they have held strong majorities in the populous. Liberals have often lost the elections that are most visible such as presidency..but they have more often than Republicans, controlled the congress....because they realize the difficulty of changing society from the White House, they have seized every opportunity for Judicial influence at the state level or when they do have the white house. Subsequently, Americans have had many of their laws changed by unelected appointed judges who do not have the constitutional authority to legislate. For example...if Roe v Wade had not happened, it is very possible that federalized abortion legislation may have been delayed decades, if ever even passed at all, because there was not a pro-choice majority in the 70s. In fact, even right now, the most recent poll show that a majority of people are pro-life. I've heard some liberals say that sometimes you have to "yank" people into the future against their will, well its this kind of perpetual pushing of agenda that has festered this discontent through the years until what you have now are lots and lots of ordinarily quiet but discontent people who feel that their silence has allowed other people's agendas to change their country. What kind of people? Well, people like my mom for who have voted republicans their whole life, and done little else politically, but they look around and dont understand why when more than 90% of American's celebrate Christmas, its somehow offense to say "merry christmas" or have christmas decorations in schools. Or maybe people who have voted democrat their whole live because they thought the Democrats were for the poor yet they look around and wonder why the their town that has been run by Democrats for decades is no better off, but seems to grow more corrupt and inept year by year. Maybe they are Moderates who are sick of being called hateful names because they hold traditionalist views on social issues. Or maybe they are Independents who wonder why no one seems to want to protect our southern border and no matter who we elect in office, everyone seems to be a sell out, corrupt, liar. These traditionalists who are democrats, repubublicans and independents all fall to the center right, where the majority of Americans have been my whole life. They wanted change from the Bush years because they were hard years, but they didn't want a fundamental change in the free market, capitalist, individualistic country they love. They don't see what is so bad with our way of life, and don't understand how a very vocal minority have progressed agendas forward so successfully when all data shows that the majority of Americans are center right traditionalists like them, who want limited government. After the almost fatally polorizing 2000 election, republicans were glad to get another republican President, and a few years later, a republican congress..."ok", they thought.."we can relax...things will get better right?" What does he/they do? spend more money than anyone and destroy, squander the post 9/11 bipartisan good will, start 2 wars, and destroy the conservative brand. It was at this point, towards the end of the Bush years, most liberals, the media, etc fail to see that conservatives started to wake up and realize that the two parties do not serve our best interests. I would say in about 2006, when Bush's numbers went into the 30s, many conservatives gave up on the party politics and began to read up on the founding fathers, look to people like Ron Paul, and mobilize. They start to realize that they have been busy doing life for 40 years, not paying attention, letting their rights, freedoms and traditions be chiseled away by faceless judges, corrupt manchurian elected officials, and unaccountable bureaucrats..all the while, the progressive agenda is being cheered on by liberal activist celebrities and liberal media. Fastforward to the 2008 election, the incarnate definition of a RHINO, who no conservative wanted... becomes the republican Nominee for President. Disenchanted purists who have been hoping for a real conservative (a new Reagan if u will) start to loose hope and/or zeal for even voting in 08...until that is, the Palin phenom came on the scene and gave a demoralized majority the vague and distant reminder of what they have been wanting in a leader. That honeymoon lasted 2 weeks and we all know the rest of that story. Amidst all off of this turmoil, our 2 wars continue to wage on, there's a financial meltdown that serves to concentrate more power to the federal government and fund unprecidented bailouts..(which was funded by borrowing from foreign countries and in doing so we increased our debt to the highest levels in history.) Since then there has been even more spending on bailouts, nationalizations of industry, and a healthcare proposal that will likely be the most progressive power grab in our history from a liberal government that has unchecked power to pass through anything they want. It is against that backdrop people are saying "i want my country back!" I know this is true because i have seen it coming for years. I have heard people say these things my whole life, and I've seen the frustration they have because they do not feel there is anything they can do about it. I have known and been one of the disenfranchised people who are sick of the games our government plays, the sides the media takes, and want to exercise the powers they have while they have them. That is why the media is dying..that is why republicans are loosing members while the numbers who call themselves "conservatives" grow, that is why libertarians are growing..that is why when republicans congressmen showed up at 'tea parties' they were often times booed off stage..that is why congress has its lowest approval ratings in history and THAT is why these people are showing up at town halls pissed off. they want to stop this before it is thrust upon them.

myth #5: if you dont support this bill, you dont care about the plight of those who dont have coverage, and you dont want to improve our system. WRONG. one of the great tricks that politicians play is to pit groups against one another...it keeps us from uniting against them. There can be common ground found on real healthcare reform. the problem is, this bill is 1000 pages long, no one is reading it, let alone understanding the enormous changes that would need 1000 pages to explain. Instead of trying to push through this huge bill that was designed to be too big to analyze...why not work w/ republicans to pass real reforms that there can be common ground on first? I'll tell you why: because our ridiculous congress cant pass anything without all kinds of sweetheart deals, earmarks, & added b.s. that has little to do with the bill. Everyone... liberal, conservative, moderate, EVERYONE wants the poor, the elderly, the defenseless to have access to quality, affordable health care. Painting concerned dissenters as as evil, uncaring "blood sucking vampires" as I heard one person say, is dishonest and counterproductive.

myth #6: this opposition as well as the tea party movement is a well funded astroturf, special interest backed fake mockery of people who are not representative of the country as a whole. WRONG. recent polls shows the majority are against this healthcare plan now, so its safe to say its not a fringe element who are against it. I never heard anyone in any mainstream format call out War Protestors in 2002 for being "astroturf" funded by the american communist parties. the President himself said at the time they were "exercising democracy." Please let me just address this ridiculous notion that the Tea Parties are funded by special interests. Having been on the finance committee of the largest 4th of july tea party in the U.S....I can personally testify that there was no backing of any kind from the health care industry, corporation, or any special interest group. We met in a knights of columbus building where we passed around a money jar to pay for even using that room to plan the event. Fundraisers were planed, a budget was made. A few weeks before the event happened, an email went out asking people to donate money because we were short, and people did. and that is how it was funded. The organizers of the Dallas Tea Party have full time jobs and are spending time away from their family and their hobbies in order to stand up for what they believe in. The movement is not backed by or funded by the GOP (or fox news). In Fact, GOPers who want to maintain their seats are now trying to modify their platforms to align with the tea parties...not the other way around. an AMAZING 500,000 people in dozens of cities took to american streets back in April..What makes it more impressive is how rare and difficult it is to get conservatives to mobilize and protest anything. Its just something conservatives dont normally do. So what does all this activism, this newly found desire to espouse founding principles... to stand up and be counted, to finally "do something" instead of merely complaining about things get people? Well, since you asked...it gets them ridiculed, mocked, insulted, labeled crazy, wing nuts, unpatriotic, un-American, my personal favorite because of the lack of maturity and decency it showed "tea-baggers". this is how the mainstream media and pop culture played these first protests, IF they acknowledged them at all. Is it any wonder that there is now escalation because people who were frustrated are now angry that they are being mocked and lied about...you can label it 'astroturf' if it makes you feel better..but rest assured...this is as real as it gets in political action. the "big interests" like "big Pharma" and "big insurance" are on board with Obama due to his back door dealings, and are even going to Pay for advertising to sell this program to us...so stop with the the accusations that this is "well funded astroturf" because it is, i believe, deliberately not true.

Talking points, personal attacks, and emotion aside..the truth is, the healthcare system we have does need change. Full disclosure: I'm not on any insurance company's payroll...I am not a mouth piece for anyone, and I am currently one of the 50 million uninsured Americans who cant afford private insurance. I've had great insurance my entire life until now, so i speak from that perspective. Our system does need some changes. This is not my area of expertise but here are my observations:

cons of our system as I see it

1. Its way too expensive, and growing more so by the day

2. When people don't have insurance, they get medical treatment when they need it, but their unpaid bills are one of the things that drives the costs up for everyone else

3. having an insurance based system has removed the average person from having direct commerce with their medical providers which also tends to cause inflation (much like college tuition inflates b/c it is often paid with by 3rd party funding)

4. Medical Malpractice has become a sort of great american lottery. It is true that we do need litigation to minimize negligence and incompetence, but surely we can agree that there can be limitations set...and if lawyers didn't ambulance chase and take half of everything that is won, I'm quite sure many of the lawsuits could be resolved for much less and often times setteled out of court.

5. may people are uninsured or under insured and do not have the means to get healthcare coverage.

6. The current government run medicare/medicaid drives up costs as well because the gov can force doctors/hospitals to accept less money for a procedures than they cost, so those losses get shifted to everyone else

7. Insurance companies can deny coverage, deny claims, retroactively cancel polices, and leave people without coverage in some cases.

8. We are overmedicated, and live unhealthy lifestyles.

Now with all of that, there are some great things about our system. I think the single greatest thing about our healthcare system is how readily available medical care is, and how diverse your options are. The choice is all yours (if u can afford it). American's do not want to give up the parts of their healthcare they like.

I think there can be a way to deal with these above mentioned issues with our current system, that does not have this "checkmate" type of endgame of getting everyone on a gov run system. Yes, I'm well aware that the White House is pushing back very hard on this fear people have by calling it lies....but if you are an intellectually honest person, it really is undeniable that Obama has been on record, hell ON VIDEO, through the years, and even in his campaign, as wanting universal single payer health care for everyone..He laments that it wouldn't be an immediate trasfer off of employer based health care...there would be a transition. People fear that this is the 'transition' he was speaking about. You can watch these him in his own words on Youtube saying these things..its not hype. He said it and people are worried he meant it and this public option and 'reform' is the first step towards it. Its a legitimate concern based in reality. People want to help the uninsured, and they want things to change, but they dont want to give up the quality of care they now get.

Many of us, myself included, feel the President is knowingly misleading people about his intentions. For instance, He says that if you like your private insurance, you can keep it, and anyone who says differently is lying. And it is true that he wont force you to change to a public plan.. But what he fails to address is that many many companies may choose to stop offering that insurance as a benefit, because the "penalty" for moving people to the public plan is much cheaper than paying for their group insurance premiums. Obama knows this, i think he's hoping for it..but He can say that we wont be forced to take the public option because he will say its not a government mandate. People can see through this kind of double talk, and it only serves to erode trust in him even more.

I would like to see less shouting, less rhetoric, and more mutual respect at these town halls, and in the American public as a whole. But more than that, I would like to see conservatives show up at these town halls armed with facts, with numbers, with the real inconstancies, and blow them out of the water with their grasp of this issue and their composure.....lets have real debate and stop lodging spit wads at one another.

wow, that was a very long post that I'm sure few people will read, but there you have it!