You have to wonder if the North Carolina Republican Party knows what it’s doing. I’m talking about the party’s Web site, which now features a 49-year-old commercial by Ronald Reagan that, we assume, is supposed to be a call to oppose health care reform. The ad, in which the GOP conservatives’ saint rails against the evils of socialism and says that a government-run health care plan would take away Americans’ freedoms, was made in 1961. Trouble is, it was made as part of the American Medical Association’s campaign against JFK’s plans to provide health care for senior citizens, known today as Medicare.
During last summer’s health care reform debates and screaming matches, you may remember, N.C. Republicans kept saying they wanted to protect Medicare, and that the Democrats’ plans to cut out fraud and abuse in Medicare would “endanger seniors.” So which is it? Are they against Medicare, as St. Ronnie declares in his message from heaven, er, the past? Or are they for protecting Medicare?
More importantly, did no one at N.C. GOP headquarters realize that arguing against health care reform by running an old ad against Medicare – a program so popular that no sane politician would dare propose to abolish it — might create a problem? If the arguments Reagan used to oppose Medicare were so obviously wrong, then why would the same arguments be any more convincing today? Hey, I’m just asking.
This article appears in Feb 2-8, 2010.
Grooms is once again correct. These republicans are just plain sick. By the way, I thought this Frank Griffin man-child was supposed to be in bed or monitored closely by the cops!
To hell with Ronald Reagan, the most overrated dimwit to ever disgrace the White House. Except maybe for George W., but he wasn’t overrated, apart from lunkheads like Frank Griffin.
Franky, my mother is 77 and depends on Medicare. She never worked. She was a homemaker who raised kids. She never had the chance to learn any career skills because she was a homemaker. She and my father divorced. She got screwed in the divorce settlement.
Based on your proposal, she’d be pretty much shit out of luck right now, because she never worked professionally and therefore had no money to “earn” for herself and put in the bank.
The good thing is, all of her medical bills are covered by Medicare and Medicaid. Know why? Because dolts like you aren’t in charge of anything except your own cynical wet dreams.
It warms my heart, Frank, that your hard-earned tax dollars are helping my poor old mother maintain a decent lifestyle. Thanks for the help!
Paul, you are exactly right. People like Griffin don’t seem able to conceive of the idea of a society’s members having any sort of communal responsibilities. It’s a miracle that they believe they should pay taxes for fire departments (Oh, they should have saved up all their water in a big tank just in case their house caught fire – I’m not responsible, blah blah blah). They call it libertarianism, or Randism, or just all-American independence, while most of us see their attitudes as a red flag, warning you that they’re emotionally crippled. You kind of feel bad for them, but you sure as hell don’t want them running the place.
Why sure I help my mother out directly with my own money and personal services, Frank.
I’m sure I also help out many members of your family indirectly with my taxes. I help give you fire protection, police protection, clean water, etc. That’s how things work in the U.S. And you’re welcome for the help!
What I don’t do, Franky, is whine about it the way you do. I pay my taxes and go on with my life, like a good citizen.
You, on the other hand, just whine and piss and moan like a little boy. But you can whine and piss and moan all you like, Franky, you’re still going to pay those taxes and contribute to the welfare of others.
Thanks again for the help! 🙂
Good points, Paul.
Frank Griffin sounds like a typical welfare king who acts like he’s entitled to drive on publicly funded roads to get where he wants to go.
He feels he’s entitled to dial up publicly funded police or fire departments should an emergency befall his government-addicted family.
I bet he wakes up in the morning and uses publicly funded utilities to take a shower or brush his teeth, as if he’s entitled to these services.
It’s just a cycle of dependency for people like Frank and his family. I just wish he’d get up off his lazy ass and build his own roads or put out his own fires or pump his own water or dispose of his own trash in his backyard instead of having a publicly financed trash hauler take it to a publicly financed landfill.
Frank, you are a prime example of why we should never start these entitlement programs in the first place. It handicaps Frank and people like him.
Frank, it’s true. You sure do like to complain about every little thing under the sun.
Be a man, not a pantywaist. You sound like a nagging wife.
Reagan was typical of 99.99999% the GOP. They project libertarian rhetoric when trying to reach office, then once they get in, the promote fascism & socialism while still giving lip service to libertarian ideals.
One of Reagan’s first acts as president was a billion dollar bailout to Chrysler.
Reagan was against medicare before he was president. Then, as president he more than doubled medicare spending.
He was for a gold standard, then scrapped the “gold commission” when president.
He was against gun restrictions before holding office, then passed a very restrictive gun law as CA governor AND supported and signed off on the Brady Bill as president.
I can go on and on.
Of course he expressed regret for all of these terrible decisions when he was OUT of office.
So Reagan’s rhetoric sounds nice to libertarians. The liberty message is very attractive but you really have to keep a close on these Republicans, most times they’re socialists in capitalist’s clothing.
Everyone runs on an anti-Washington message….very few actually carry out that message once they get in power.
One wonders what did people do all those years without medicare or social security? Did people save their money? Did private charities help them? Did churches help the people? Were they able to keep more of their money because the tax rate was so so low? Did their money buy them more things because there wasnt a central bank diluting their currency?
Yes to all of the above….
Yes compared to Obama Reagan did not kill as many foreigners as Obama did, so yes that is a good thing.
Franky, in your little Wonderland you might be able to conveniently pick and choose which programs you deem worthy and efficient and which ones you don’t, based on your own personal ideology.
But here in the real world, you can’t do that. Someone else decides where your tax dollars go. In for a penny, in for a pound.
That’s the beauty of it. You can whine and whine and whine all you want, but there’s not a thing you can do to change it, because nobody in any position of real power will listen to you. You don’t have any constructive ideas. You just want to complain.
As you said, our country provides the best life for the greatest number of people in the world. That’s the case even after many decades of these social programs you so desperately hate. Most Americans are happy enough with the way things are. They don’t really care what you think.
And you are welcome for the many services my tax dollars provide you and yours.
I’ve noticed something in looking at these various posts on CL.
Luke appears to be a true Libertarian who understands that Republicans and Democrats both waste money in different ways, on different programs.
Frank Griffin appears to be a faux-Libertarian who spends most of his time berating the left and defending the GOP.
I’m guessing that’s the reason Luke is never the subject of vicious insults on these threads. Because he is intellectually honest and true to his beliefs.
I’m also guessing that’s why Frank is always the butt of jokes and insults. Because he’s intellectually dishonest and comes off sounding like a GOP apologist who, in true modern Republican fashion, shifts his anti-government views to fit his own personal agenda.
Nick:
That, plus the fact that Frank is an all-around douchebag.
Frank Griffin is a man child who sits in front of his computer all day talking republican gibberish. He actually thinks if he goes to every posts and slams President Obama, that everyone will believe what he says! Everyone is laughing at him because of his sickness.
What I’ve noticed, Frank, is that even Luke doesn’t agree with you. He keeps telling you how screwed up the Republicans are and you keep coming back with your bogus, half-baked “well the Dems are worse” argument, and he just keeps telling you how screwed up the Republicans are. I think you’re not getting that just because you hate the Dems doesn’t mean Luke has to agree with you or cast his lot with your GOP heroes.
Intellectual dishonesty is exactly what you practice on a regular basis. You’re a typical Republican. You talk about the wasteful “entitlement” programs without talking about the waste in GOP pet projects like defense, law enforcement, immigration enforcement, et. al. Many billions and billions and billions of bucks are wasted on inefficiencies in these programs, but you never rant about them. The GOP is every bit as guilty as the Dems in wasting taxpayer money or begging for earmarks, but you never bring that up.
That’s why you’re intellectually dishonest, you imbecile.
P.S., I pay a lot more into the system than I take out, too, Frank.
But I don’t piss and moan and cry like a little brat about it.
No ideas, Frank? I have an idea: leave Medicare alone. That’s what most Americans want. That’s why it will remain in place, while clueless dorks like you cry on the sidelines.
But tell us, Frank, what is your idea, Frank? Please tell exactly will you do to ensure that the millions of elderly folks who depend on Medicare receive medical care?
My idea is leave Medicare in place and figure out ways to accomodate it.
What is your idea?
This is typical behavior for Frank.
He starts off the thread with his own silly half-idea — “stop almost every silly nanny state idea” — without offering a single example of what he would do to replace it, or how he would ensure that people who depend on Medicare would still get needed medical services if they were all of a sudden cut off. He just says pull the plug and let them fend for themselves. That will never happen, of course, but he keeps hoping it does.
Then people take Frank to task for his hare-brained ideas.
Then he gets defensive about it and starts pretending that he’s being attacked personally because the opposition is bereft of ideas.
He, of course, conveniently forgets that he started off the post complaining about “nanny states” without offering ONE SINGLE IDEA about how he would change things (the all caps are for Frank, because this point so often flies over his head).
It’s the same childish script, every time. Luckily, as has been pointed out, Frank is a non-entity. He will never influence policy or craft a single law. He could never build a consensus in a country (or state, or town) with so many differing political views and agendas. I doubt Frank even makes the rules in his own household.
Frank is just one more marginalized nobody ranting on the Internet.
The Republicans aren’t the only ones flip flopping on healthcare reform, particularly Medicare reform. First President Obama said he would not cut Medicare, but then changed his tune and admitted there would be cuts. See what I mean here: http://reason.com/blog/2009/11/16/obama-says-nobodys-talking-abo
Frank’s a moron, a brat and a nutjob. Why do you guys even pay attention to him?
HA HA HA HA, HIGH-larious! Crazy Frank’s getting his ass kicked again! Dude is running on fumes like an MMA dude on the ropes and about to go down! LMFAO!
Whoa. Looks like Frank is on another manic. Must’ve forgotten his meds again.
Well you always know they really do not understand socialism and often get it confused with fascism http://www.politicalinjustice.us/editorials/america-is-great-socialism-sucks-1102.php