Evil Advertising

Last night I was enjoying an old episode of "South Park" with my husband when a commercial came on attacking Rick Nolan, our Democratic candidate for Congress.  The ad said that Nolan is "extreme" and that he wants to get rid of Medicare.

Now I've met Rick Nolan several times.  In fact, I once sat next to him at an awards dinner and had a lovely conversation with him.  He's anything but extreme.  He's actually a genuinely nice guy who wants to make a real difference.

And I know for a fact that he doesn't want to get rid of Medicare.  In fact, it's the Republican party, and their candidate Chip Cravaack, who would like to dismantle social programs like Medicare, because they don't really think it's the government's job to help people. 

So I was more than a little perplexed by this commercial.  I finally figured it out when they got to the part about Nolan wanting a "European-style health program."  As we all know, anything European is bad, so this sinister guy is trying to get rid of your Medicare and replace it with something European?!  What a jerk!

Well, actually, that "European-style health program" is really called "single-payer healthcare" and it's something that many people, like myself, have been advocating for for a long time.  It's essentially Medicare, but for everyone, not just seniors.  Because seniors, in my opinion, are not the only people deserving of healthcare, and a single-payer healthcare system is really the only humane way to tackle our healthcare problems, as most of the rest of the civilized world has already figured out.

So this ad, put out by the "American Action Network" is deliberately lying about Nolan's stance.  Does he want to get rid of Medicare? No. If you take a quick trip to his website, http://nolanforcongress.org/, you'll find this quote, "Don’t turn Medicare into a voucher system for insurance companies, which will mean higher costs and less treatment." Does that sound like someone who wants to end Medicare?  He may have backed off on singe-payer, which upsets me, but he's definitely not about to get rid of Medicare.

Is this ad not only lying about Nolan's stance, but also essentially taking Chip Cravaack's desire to end Medicare and pinning it on Nolan?  Well, if you take a trip to Cravaack's website, you'll find. . . well . . . . nothing.  No info on his stance on any issue.  So I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and just assume that he falls into line with the Republican party and wants to end Medicare as we know it.

I know that all political ads tend to be a little misleading, so this whole thing doesn't really shock me, but the egregious LYING going on in this ad is really off the charts.  The American Action Network should be extremely ashamed of themselves.  Although sadly, I know that they aren't.

Education vs. Healthcare

As I was listening to news about the Chicago teachers' strike today, a seemingly obvious thought occurred to me.  Why do we accept, as a society, the idea that all people deserve at least a basic education, and support that idea with our tax dollars, but we refuse to accept the idea that all people deserve at least basic healthcare, and then support that with our tax dollars?

It's a no-brainer that public education in itself is a good idea, no matter how you feel about the current state of our schools.  At least we agree that we should have schools that are available to everyone at no cost, because we recognize that education is a right in America.  So why not make the leap to healthcare?

I would argue, fairly easily, that healthcare is more important than education.  I mean, you can't go to school when you're sick, right?

And we already extend this idea to the elderly.  We provide them with Medicare because we believe they have a right to have their health tended to.  So why not the rest of us?  Why are the elderly more important as human beings than everyone else?

It justs boggles my mind that we can appreciate how important education is, but not how important going to the doctor when you're sick is.  What is wrong with us?

Entitlements

Can we please, for the love of god, STOP calling them "entitlements" and use some proper terminology here?  They are "safety nets" not "entitlement programs."

I understand why the Republican'ts use the term.  It makes Medicare and Social Security sound like luxury programs that Americans feel "entitled" to and therefore don't really need or deserve.

What I can't understand is why the Democrats have wholeheartedly jumped on board with this Frank Luntzian language.  It's like we always dive head first into the conservative traps without thinking at all.

I have a job where I have to deal with Medicare billing quite frequently, and believe me, it's not some sort of free for all giveaway for old people.  Anyone who deals with Medicare knows that their standards and anti-fraud measures are very stringent, and it's actually pretty hard to make sure something gets covered under Medicare.  You really have to have all of your i's dotted and t's crossed. 

The idea that we're just throwing money at these programs for no reason is laughable.  People need a safety net, especially elderly people whose savings have been plundered by Wall Street.

What kind of country are we when we view taking care of our most vulnerable citizens through the same lens as spoiled rich kids receiving an inheritance?  Not a very Christian one I would say.