Bob Cesca: The Republican Swindle About 'Obamacare and Stimulus'

Bob Cesca: The Republican Swindle About 'Obamacare and Stimulus'

This is a spot-on analysis. The Plutocratic machine, the power behind the scenes is running this election cycle. The Republican Party is bankrupt. They have no money. The local organizations have been swept by the (I'm a Little)Tea(pot) Party and the Plutocrats have co-opted their energy, but have kept the power to themselves.

Swindle number one, the Health Care Reform.

CMS said in November 2009 that because of the extension of Medicare and Medicaid for five years, the Health Care Program would end up COSTING $289 billion over the next 10 years. It should be noted that this is not what the Congress uses from the CBO and the same source says that it's not an "apples to apples" comparison. It does give the GOP rhetorical fodder though. In the end, Congress must use the non-partisan CBO scores.

Nobody ever said Health Care Reform would be free. The point was that Health Care for all should be a right, not a privilege. An entitlement? Republicans go all wiggly at just the mention of entitlements. They very honestly and forthrightly assert that rights ARE privileges for those who work hard, inherit a fortune, win the lottery, have enough money to make money, or just plain have money, money, money... moh-ny....

Swindle number two, the Stimulus.

Mr. Cesca says it the best,

...why are they against the stimulus? They really won't say other than to screech about how expensive it was. But, before we go further, read the paragraph about the deficit again. The Democrats cut the deficit. And then factor into the mix that $288 billion out of the $800 billion cost of the recovery act was composed entirely of tax cuts. Tax cuts! As a matter of history and taken as a lump sum, this was the largest American middle class tax cut ever. So it's not a stretch to suggest that the Republicans are suddenly against the largest middle-class tax cut in American history.

Despite the attempt to turn a derivation of the positive word "stimulate" into a negative, there's very little about the stimulus that actually sucked, other than the fact that it wasn't big enough. Beyond that, Republican voters need to ask themselves if the tax cuts were bad -- or maybe was it the new roads and infrastructure that helped to create jobs, or was it the money that was spent to keep the states out of bankruptcy and police, teachers and firemen from losing their jobs? What's awful about any of that?

'nuff said, but I like how Bob ends his piece. These are only the two biggest swindles perpetrated on the American people by the "conservatives."

It's worth noting here that this same Republican deception runs across other issues as well. Republicans are suggesting they'll protect individual liberty, while shrinking government small enough to fit into your bedroom or your uterus. Or they're running on the Constitution, while also having their hired thugs handcuff and detain a reporter in a flagrant violation of the First Amendment. Hell, some Republicans are running for U.S. Senate while opposing the 17th Amendment that established popular elections of senators. Wrap your head around that one.

Amen, Mr. Cesca, Amen.