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Boehner Says Senate Health Care Bill More 'Greedy And Cruel' Than Ebenezer Scrooge

December 24, 2009, 8:01AM

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House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH)

Health care, John Boehner

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House Minority Leader John Boehner issued the following statement after Democrats in the Senate passed health care reform this morning:

"Not even Ebenezer Scrooge himself could devise a scheme as cruel and greedy as Democrats' government takeover of health care.

"Senator Reid's health care bill increases premiums for families and small businesses, raises taxes during a recession, cuts seniors' Medicare benefits, adds to our skyrocketing debt, and puts bureaucrats in charge of decisions that should be made by patients and doctors. The bill also authorizes taxpayer-funded abortions, violating long-standing federal policy. It's no coincidence that the more the American people learn about this monstrosity, the more they oppose it.

"This legislation is so toxic that Senator Reid needed to pull off a series of outrageous payoffs, kickbacks and sweetheart deals just to get the votes of members of his own party. The way in which Senate Democrats turned their backs on American families and put their votes on the auction block is a disgrace to our country.

"President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Senator Reid will now hammer out a final bill in secret, despite campaign promises and pledges of the most 'open and honest' Congress in history. The American people don't want the future of their health care being decided behind closed doors by three liberal Washington Democrats. That's why they need to fight harder than ever, speaking loudly and with one voice, saying 'stop.'

"While struggling families have been asking 'where are the jobs?' Democrats have spent the better part of the past seven months focused on this government takeover of health care. In that time, unemployment has risen to double-digits and the national debt has topped $12 trillion for the first time in U.S. history. Republicans are focused on offering better solutions to help put people back to work, reduce the deficit, and get government out of the bailout business once and for all. We have also proposed the only health care bill that would reduce premiums by up to 10 percent and consistently reduce federal spending on health care over the next two decades."

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bill57

December 24, 2009 9:14 AM

So when will the automatic response to Republican statements be "LIAR". At what point does the press finally say,” The Republican response to this issue is once again filled with misconception and lies"
Well since the MSM is corp. profit driven, they will always at least try to carry water for the corrupt corporate republican party.

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lurkerfan

December 24, 2009 11:05 AM

Stripping corporations of the lie that they deserve the civil rights of "personhood" would be a good place to start. The imbalance in power between the individual citizen and the enormous corporation is what enables corporations to override the will of the majority of citizens, as they just did in regard to the public option.

Suburban Guerrilla and Firedoglake have both approached this topic. It needs to become the top priority of the progressive movement -- a true populist cause that might even appeal to the rank and file of clueless Tea Partiers duped by Dick Armey and other astroturfers. I live among a great many "Patriots," and can attest that their anger and their pain is real, although misdirected.

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lurkerfan

December 24, 2009 11:06 AM

And a merry Christmas to TPM staff and all your readers.

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ericf

December 24, 2009 12:36 PM

Other than arguably "raises taxes during a recession" (the recession appears to be technically over, though obviously the economy still stinks), everything Boehner claimed the bill does is patently false, and he has to know it. After the controversy over the abortion language and the CBO scores, he knows damn well his statements about abortion and debt increases are false.

Maybe even the Republican leader is just too irrelevant to be debunked anymore.

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Icon

December 25, 2009 9:29 AM

Fact Check:

"Senator Reid's health care bill increases premiums for families and small businesses,"

The CBO says otherwise. Oh, I forgot, the GOP doesn't trust the economists. That thinking-you-know-better got the economy into the mess it's in; when will you start listening to your advisors, oh Republicans?

"raises taxes during a recession,"

The improving GDP and other variables indicate we're not in recession anymore. You get a few penance points for the statement that it 'raises taxes', though, which is true.

"cuts seniors' Medicare benefits,"

Not according to CBO or AARP.

"adds to our skyrocketing debt,"

If by "add" you mean "add a negative number", I guess this one is true. Ceteris paribus, the bill decreases the deficit, but the debt overall will still rise because it doesn't decrease the deficit to zero or below.

"and puts bureaucrats in charge of decisions that should be made by patients and doctors."

What bureaucrats are those? Have you even read the bill?

"The bill also authorizes taxpayer-funded abortions, violating long-standing federal policy."

Where? The bill actually has pretty strong anti-abortion language.

"It's no coincidence that the more the American people learn about this monstrosity, the more they oppose it."

Polling indicates most Americans are ignorant of the bill's contents. The same polling also indicates that the ones who are more informed of what's actually in it are more supportive. Polling also says that people generally support its individual provisions.

So, the correct statement would be that "It's a coincidence that the more the American people learn about this [insert nonsensical right-wing euphemism here], the more they support it."

So, I couunt only one genuinely 'true' statement in the entire diatribe and one that may be true if you assume a non-conventional reading. The rest can be filed under "pants on fire". But, of course, facts don't really matter when the truth is inconvenient to your political aspirations. They certainly didn't matter with the Bush tax cuts.

When you think you can seriously retake the House, I suppose if the other side has the truth on their side, your side has to be lies. It's a precarious position to be in, because you have nothing to refute your opponents with when they confront you with facts.

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