The Republican party has been getting away with a Big Lie for a long time, but especially in this past year of the healthcare fight.
As we saw this summer, ignorant rightwingers ranted in town halls meetings against "government-run healthcare" while at the same time demanded that government keep its hands off Medicare -- which is, needless to say for anyone operating with more than a brain stem, a government-run healthcare program.
We can write off the fringe dopes for not knowing which way is up. But elected Republicans around the country -- as well as their media mouthpieces -- know better. And yet most of them continue to spread the lie that they support Medicare, and always have... and that somehow, Medicare isn't a government-run healthcare program.
We can and should use their shamelessness against them in this home stretch of the healthcare battle. Actually, we should use it forever and ever -- anytime a Republican (or sadly, a rightwing Democrat) starts spreading lies about healthcare reform.
[more]
Here's the truth: Medicare is a very popular program. It's not 100% perfect, but it has been a rousing success across the board for nearly 45 years:
Forty-four years ago today, LBJ signed Medicare into law. At the time, 40% of the elderly did not have health insurance. A third of them also lived in poverty. Today, everyone in the country over 65 has a basic level of health security that those of us under 65 still do not enjoy. How to evaluate Medicare on its birthday? Let’s start with this – it’s worked.
The Commonwealth Fund published a study in Health Affairs which can be summed up in a single sentence, “Compared with the employer-coverage group, people in the Medicare group report fewer problems obtaining medical care, less financial hardship due to medical bills, and higher overall satisfaction with their coverage.” Make no mistake, Medicare doesn’t score perfectly. I'm positive you can find bad stories (although a colorful anecdote is never as relevant as years of hard data). In fact, 8% of beneficiaries rated their coverage “fair or poor,” but that’s a pretty good number – way better than the 18% private insurance got. The same study showed that reported problems of access to care increased from 12% in 2001 to 18% in 2007 – but private insurance in 2007 was at a shocking 45%. And, in keeping with the moral reasons for which Medicare was first founded, only 14% reported a problem paying bills – better than the 35% for private insurance, and the presumably 80-100% of the uninsured. Note that this holds true even though the Medicare patient base is, by definition, older, sicker and usually poorer than those in private insurance.
Medicare has been a tremendous success in every way: it has improved people's lives greatly, and it has saved money.
People KNOW that. And overall, people LOVE Medicare. They are far more satisfied with it than private insurance.
Everyone in the Beltway knows that it's political suicide to seriously propose killing Medicare. It's very popular, especially among the people who tend to vote the most -- the elderly (some of whom remember the brutality of life BEFORE Medicare).
So this year the shameless, shameless liars of the Republican party have tried to act like they're defenders of Medicare. It's amazing, really, since their hero, their God, their symbol of Republicanism --Ronald Reagan -- said this about the dire need to oppose Medicare:
What can we do about this? . . . We can write to our congressmen and to our senators. . . . And at the moment the key issue is: We do not want socialized medicine. . . . In Washington today 40,000 letters, less than 100 per congressman, are evi dence of a trend in public thinking. . . . Representative Halleck of Indiana has said, “When the American people want something from Congress . . . if they make their wants known, Congress does what the people want.” So write. . . . that you demand the continuation of our traditional free enterprise system.
You and I can do this. The only way we can do it is by writing to our congressman even if we believe he’s on our side to begin with. Write to strengthen his hand. Give him the ability to stand before his colleagues in Congress and say, I heard from my constituents and this is what they want.
Republican hero Reagan painted Medicare as an apocalypse that would destroy America. Instead, it has made life immeasurably better for millions of citizens, especially our elderly. Reagan would have rather seen them suffer and die.
And most Republicans, past and present, have also tried to kill Medicare. Read HERE for a list of facts and quotes regarding Medicare by Republicans. It's a thoroughly damning list, and makes crystal clear that Republicans have always been the enemies of Medicare. Among the many, many items:
Republicans opposed the creation of Medicare. When the Medicare legislation passed in July 1965, the majority of Republican Senators voted against both Senate passage of Medicare and the final conference report. [Congressional Record, 7/9/1965; Social Security Administration, accessed 9/16/2009]
**********
Reagan Administration focused on cutting Medicare benefits. In his book The Politics of Medicare, Thomas Marmor outlines the pillars of President Reagan’s health policies, including “…cutting benefits, in particular through increased cost-sharing for Medicare and Medicaid recipients…” [Marmor, 2000, p. 108]
**********
GOP argued Medicare cuts would not hurt elderly. Republican Senator Gramm argued that significant cuts to Medicare would not affect beneficiaries, saying, “People are confused because when you say ‘Medicare’ you think of mama… Don’t think of mama, think of doctors and hospitals.” [United Press International, 11/5/85]
**********
Republican Presidential candidate Dole bragged about his vote against Medicare. In 1995, after Medicare had successfully lifted millions of seniors out of poverty and assured them access to affordable health care, then-Senate Majority Leader Dole continued his party’s opposition to Medicare. In a 1995 speech to the American Conservative Union while campaigning for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, Dole boasted, “I was there, fighting the fight, voting against Medicare…because we knew it wouldn't work in 1965.” [Washington Post, 10/26/1995]
**********
Newt Gingrich wanted Medicare to “wither on the vine.” Then-Speaker of the House Gingrich, in remarks to a Blue Cross Blue Shield conference on October 24, 1995, said of Medicare, “Now, we don't get rid of it in round one because we don't think that that's politically smart, and we don't think that's the right way to go through a transition. But we believe it's going to wither on the vine because we think people are voluntarily going to leave it -- voluntarily.” [New York Times, 7/20/1996]
**********
Dick Armey wanted to “wean” seniors from Medicare. In a 1995 meeting with reporters, then-House Majority Leader Dick Armey said, “We need to wean our old people away from Medicare.” [Newsday, 12/09/2006]
**********
Only Republican Senators voted against strengthening Social Security and Medicare. During debate on the 2001 Consolidated Appropriations Act, only Republicans voted against an amendment offered by Senator Conrad to establish a Social Security and Medicare lock box to protect both Social Security and Medicare surpluses from being raided to pay for other programs or tax breaks. [S.V. 162, 6/29/2000; Senate Budget Committee, accessed 9/25/2009]
**********
In July, Representative Roy Blunt (R-MO) said in a radio interview, “You could certainly argue that government should have never gotten into the health care business.” [Radio interview with The Eagle 93.9, accessed 9/20/2009]
The following month, RNC Chairman Steele said, “The reality of it is that, you know, this single payer program known as Medicare is a very good example of what we should not have happen with all of our health care.” [Newsweek, 8/25/2009]
Republicans have ONLY backed off rhetorically in recent years now that the popularity of Medicare is beyond doubt. From the same link as above:
Seniors like their Medicare coverage. Medicare beneficiaries are highly satisfied with their health coverage. In a recent survey, 91 percent of elderly Medicare beneficiaries rated their health insurance as “excellent,” “very good,” or “good,” compared with just 58 percent of those who purchase health insurance in the individual market. [Health Affairs, 2009] Just 8 percent of Medicare beneficiaries rated their insurance as “fair” or “poor,” compared with 35 percent of those who purchased insurance in the individual market, and 18 percent of those with employer-sponsored insurance.
So republicans have learned not to be too overt in their anti-Medicare agenda, most of the time. But recently they've gone much further in their shamelessness, casting themselves as defenders of the program that they have always tried to kill, cut, and weaken -- the program they have denounced as a murderous socialist plot.
ALL Democrats need to make this shameless lying part of the debate. ( In my opinion, it should have been front and center from the very start, and healthcare reform should simply have been "expanding Medicare," and framed as such... but that's a discussion for another time.)
As we argue healthcare with Republicans and (again, sadly) rightwing Democrats over the next days / weeks / months / years, we have to make them ANSWER these questions:
- Why do you want to kill Medicare?
- If they say they don't, be skeptical: "Really? Your party has always opposed Medicare, and keeps trying to kill it. Do you disagree with Reagan, Gingrich (etc.) and the rest of your party, and think Medicare is a good program?
- If they say some version of "yes, I think we should keep Medicare." sink your teeth in: "BUT!...but it's a government-run healthcare program, isn't it?"
- If they say NO to the above, denounce them as liars. If they say YES, demand to know how they could support a government-run healthcare program! ...they must be lying, since they have told us that any government-run healthcare is all about death panels and the anti-freedom Nazi socialist Muslim agenda!
- ...Etc. You get the idea. There is absolutely no getting out of this lie, for a Republican trying to make political hay by opposing "government-run healthcare." What it takes are enough Democrats with the courage and tenacity to keep calling them on their lies, over and over, never backing down.
Now...
How does this relate to the next few days and weeks? Well, I absolutely agree with the action diaries here advocating that we flood the Beltway with calls. Take our stand, fight the good fight. And part of fighting the good fight is to have the right weaponry.
Do NOT let the enemies of healthcare reform get away with painting themselves as defenders of Medicare. Do NOT them get away with this shamless lie. Calling out their lies on Medicare helps to destroy their credibility, and frames the debate in the sanest way possible:
Is it appropriate, or not, for a government to help its citizens get healthcare?
Republicans and other rightwingers say NO, and always have.
The rest of the country experienced Medicare and decided a long, long time ago that the answer was: hell YES.
Keep up the fight!