Americans Back Bush's Position on SCHIP
As Democrats continue to play political games
By Bluey Posted in Congress — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Democrats will trot out singer Paul Simon and representatives from Easter Seals and Families USA today for a Capitol Hill news conference in yet another attempt to play politics with children's health care. But while they stage this latest stunt in the debate over the State Children's Health Insurance Program, President Bush appears to have Americans on his side when it comes to the policy goals of SCHIP.
Richard Wolf of USA Today writes about a new Gallup Poll revealing "that while Bush may be losing the political battle with Democrats, he may be doing better on policy." Here are the numbers:
• 52% agree with Bush that most benefits should go to children in families earning less than 200% of the federal poverty level — about $41,000 for a family of four. Only 40% say benefits should go to such families earning up to $62,000, as the bill written by Democrats and some Republicans would allow.
• 55% are very or somewhat concerned that the program would create an incentive for families to drop private insurance. Bush and Republican opponents have called that a step toward government-run health care.
For an administration that is standing up to Democrats to prevent the slippery slope to socialized medicine, it's welcome news, even if the political battle is one of the toughest Bush has had to face on the domestic front. The numbers should also serve as encouragement for Republicans on Capitol Hill who have come under misleading and deceptive attacks from Big Labor and liberal-interest groups such as American United for Change and Catholics United.
With a vote to override Bush's veto just two days away, Democrats have failed over the past two weeks to peel off 15 House Republicans they need to vote for their $35-billion expansion of SCHIP, which could cover families earning up to $83,000 per year. There's a good reason. David Espo of the Associated Press reports that the chances of those Republicans facing a revolt at the ballot box next year would probably be slim.
The 151 Republicans who voted against the bill last month averaged nearly 64 percent of the vote in their most recent election. Many had vote totals in the 70 percent range, making them all but invulnerable from attack.
One of the Republicans under attack, Rep. Ric Keller of Florida, said despite the onslaught of ads and pressure from Democrats, he's not switching his vote. It's refreshing to see politicians like Keller stand on principle rather than cave to political pressure.
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Americans Back Bush's Position on SCHIP 3 Comments (0 topical, 3 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Perhaps part of the help is common sense reporting on Canadians coming south for high risk pregnancy care because the government system doesn't have the resources to take care of them. And the Brits who have to pull their own teeth because of the shortage of NHS dentists. I think the article reported something like 1 in 5 Brits self-treated their dental problem. SELF-TREATED?!?! I've never heard of that ever discussed in the healthcare narrative. If we go socialized, that's a stat you'll be hearing a lot more about.
Ann Coulter is like pushing an elevator call button more than once, or kicking a coke machine. Sure it makes you feel good but in the end it does no good in advancing your cause.
with all due respect to everyone here, it really matters not whether the people agree with the President on policy or not. Unlike political junkies like us, most people don't know the minute details of the bill, and while we all snicker everytime the Dems trot out another poor child, guess what it works, because political this is bruising the Republicans, and it is because they aren't fighting back as hard as we are.
The Frost family, the one the Dems trotted out as a symbol of SCHIP, owns a home, a business, three cars, and sends four kids to private school, and yet they have their health insurance paid for by the government. Guess what that is corruption. Do you think most Americans know this fact. No, because we bloggers are screaming it when the Republican leadership needs to scream it. Of course, we are right on policy. Socialism long ago was proven in effective, however guess what socialist policies tug at people's hearts and they hit all the right emotional buttons compassion, sympathy, little kids work as props and we all need to wake up to this fact and tell our leaders on Congress that if they are going to win they need to fight fire with fire.
Expose the Dems for the propagandists that they are. Show that they used a little kid, whose family corrupted the system, to tug at people's heart strings so that they would accept yet another increase in the size of government on our way to fully socialized medicine and they did it by playing the "it's for the children card.
here is how I saw it
Mr. Potato Head, Mr. Potato Head, back doors are not secrets
Of course, if the people agree with the policy but don't understand that it's what Bush is supporting, what we have is a serious communications problem.
What else is new?
"No compromise with the main purpose, no peace till victory, no pact with unrepentant wrong." - Winston Churchill