Republican Purity Test

Do people truly not remember anything?

Are we going to collectively go to the polls in 2010 and vote based on what the Democrats have not been able to do? Or are we going to vote based on what the Republicans have stood in the way of? Will we remember the 1994 "Contract for America" (also known as the "Contract on America").

Will we, as a people, remember that from 1994 to 2006 the Republicans had control of the legislative and judicial branches of the government? And that from 2000 to 2006 they had control of the entire government? Will we remember what they did and did not do while they had control?

We got a couple of wars we had no business being in, we got decreasing regulation on the financial sector; we got really good legislation for the credit card industry; and a whole lot more that was good if you were a corporation or wealthy American, bad if you were a tax paying middle class citizen.
　
Oh good Lord, I certainly hope this happens.
　
Apparently the GOP has come up with a set of guidelines they are thinking of requiring any candidate to swear to uphold before they will allow him/her to call him/herself a Republican.
Red text is the "test", black text is my comments. There is a link to the news story at the end.


REPUBLICAN PURITY TEST

(1) We support smaller government, smaller national debt, lower deficits and lower taxes by opposing bills like Obama's "stimulus" bill.

Because anything from Obama is bad? So far the Republicans have been pretty consistent about opposing anything put forth by the current administration or the Democratic Party. Smaller government like President Bush 43 made? Smaller national debt like the same guy gave us? Lower deficits? Let me get this straight. Lower deficits like Clinton gave us? Or "lower" deficits like the totally Republican run government gave us from 2000 to 2006, largely accomplished by hiding war costs? Lower taxes for the rich and higher taxes for the middle class like Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 gave us?

(2) We support market-based health care reform and oppose Obama-style government run healthcare.

Because market-based worked so well for the banksters. Just kinda sucked for the rest of us. And again with the anti-Obama thing.

(3) We support market-based energy reforms by opposing cap and trade legislation.

See my comments on #2. At least they left our President out of this one.

(4) We support workers' right to secret ballot by opposing card check.

I am not real sure what is up with this one, but anytime I see Republican response to anything union, I have to assume that it is going to be horrible for unions and non-union workers alike.

(5) We support legal immigration and assimilation into American society by opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants.

I got nothing for this one. One of those things that I happen to be in almost total agreement with the GOP.

(6) We support victory in Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting military-recommended troop surges.

What? Victory? Someone please define what that means. All terrorists dead? How do you quantify that?

(7) We support containment of Iran and North Korea, particularly effective action to eliminate their nuclear weapons threat.

Because we have not yet managed to start World War III, and sticking our noses there might just do it.

(8) We support retention of the Defense of Marriage Act.

Keep the government out of our business, but it’s OK for them to be in our personal lives? If you truly want to maintain the "sanctity of marriage", make it harder to get a divorce. Otherwise, just admit that you hate gays and move on.

(9) We support protecting the lives of vulnerable persons by opposing health care rationing and denial of health care and government funding of abortion.

What? I thought the Republicans were FOR private, for-profit insurance companies? Aside from the government funding of abortion, these are all things that private insurance companies do now.

(10) We support the right to keep and bear arms by opposing government restrictions on gun ownership.

Because anyone, no matter how psycho he/she may be, should be allowed to own a Howitzer or an M1 Abrams.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_pl996

Health Care: Fixed!

How many people who have Medicare are willing to give it up? I don’t know the answer for sure, but my bet is not many, if any.

People on the "Right" like to argue that Medicare is going broke. It will be defunct in just a few years.

So here is my health care plan.

Reduce the age of eligibility for Medicare to 0. Or minus 9 months, if we are too stupid to figure that one out without it being in writing. The only requirement would now be that you are an American citizen.

Instead of paying thousands of dollars a year to private, for-profit insurance companies, everyone will now pay 1500 dollars a year into Medicare. This works out to about 35 dollars a week, less than half what I pay to my insurance company.

Sadly, insurance company executives will no longer be able to rake in multimillion-dollar salaries. Life sucks, find another way to make money. If the business I work for all of a sudden becomes unnecessary to society, no one is going to cry for me, I don't see any reason to cry for them.

My insurance company can cover me, pay their CEO 18 million dollars a year, pay several lower level executives multimillion-dollar salaries, and pay enough dividends to keep shareholders interested, based on the premiums of the people they "cover".

I have to assume that Medicare should be able to cover me on $1.5k a year, without having to pay out all those wasteful salaries and dividends. Once this is done, we can concentrate on weeding out the waste and fraud in the Medicare system.

My $1500 dollar per person price tag is just off the top of my head, and probably way high. I am sure there are folks that can figure out what the exact number needs to be. I would be happy with the 1.5k.

Bam, health care fixed and paid for.