Obamacare is a Republican concept - who knew?

[amberdreams]

I've been having the usual debates with my predominantly (and in some cases it has to be said, rabidly) Republican friends on Facebook as a result of them posting various rants about the current situation with the Government Shutdown.  Why won't Obama negotiate, they cry.  Why won't the President back down and talk about a solution, because the republicans are offering solutions left right and centre, aren't they?  Or should that be right, right and even farther right?

Anyway, after one of them posted an quite frankly incredible rant about Obama prohibiting Catholisism!!!!!! I discovered this article which shows that the concept underpinning Obamacare is in fact a Republican idea. I don't think I will show this to my FB friends as I fear they are a lost cause.

But here's a summary for the record.

A brief timeline of Republicans and the individual mandate:

1960s: President Kennedy subtly hints at universal healthcare for America. Republicans don’t know how to react.
1970s: Republican President Nixon offers market based solution and employer mandate.
1980s: Republican think tank comes up with individual mandate.
1990s: Democrats offer ‘HillaryCare’ a step on the path to universal healthcare.
1990s: Republicans respond by sponsoring market-based Acts with individual mandate attached.
1990s: Republicans propose individual mandate, to prevent government-run healthcare.
2000s: Republicans create individual mandate system in Massachusetts.
2010s: Democrats throw out universal healthcare goal, adopt Republican individual mandate idea.
2010s: Republicans forget that it was their idea for decades, and decide it’s actually Marxist.

And in conclusion, all I can say is - what a damn shame the Democrats backed down from trying to get you Yanks universal health care.  Surely you, the richest nation in the world, could have come up with a scheme that could have taken the best aspects of the various public health care systems around the world and made something wonderful for your nation.

Comments

[amber1960.livejournal.com]

These guys do - I honestly don't understand why they hate him so much. It's bizarre.

[jennytork.livejournal.com]

I denied it for years -- but I really am starting to believe those who are saying it's because he's not white.

[amber1960.livejournal.com]

Well that would have been my first thought but one of my friends is not white either, she's Chinese. But then again, I used to have a friend who was Indian, who had a black boyfriend and her family were horrified. I just don't understand people.

[cassiopeia7.livejournal.com]

Gotta agree with jennytork. I didn't WANT to believe it, and stayed in denial for years, because I didn't want to believe that people could be so ignorant. But all the blatant disrespect that's shown to the President of the United States? Clinton and other Dem presidents received Republican hate, sure, but they never received the level of disrespect that Obama gets.

And hey, guess the big difference between Clinton and Obama?

*sometimes despises my fellow Americans*

[amber1960.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's just Americans, to be honest. Prejudice (sadly) crosses all boundaries - here I think it would be less accepted and probably more openly challenged everywhere, but it would no doubt still be festering in many people's hearts. I'd like to think it would only be the older generations who still embarrassingly talk about wogs and darkies but I think it would be wider than that.