by Prima Donna
Member since:
March 13, 2008

55 Republicans who oppose public option are recipients of Medicare right now

October 23, 2009 04:21 PM EDT (Updated: October 27, 2009 11:28 AM EDT)
views: 283 | comments: 64

 

WASHINGTON, DC—A new study by Representative Anthony Weiner (D – Queens & Brooklyn), member of the Health Subcommittee and Co-Chair of the Caucus on the Middle Class, revealed that 151 members of the House and Senate currently receive government-funded; government-administered single-payer health care - Medicare.

 

On the list of recipients are 55 Republicans who have steadfastly opposed other Americans getting the public option, like the one they have chosen.

 

Weiner said, “Even in a town known for hypocrisy, this list of 55 Members of Congress deserve some sort of prize. They apparently think the public option is ok for them, but not anyone else.”

 

The list of congressional recipients of Medicare who also oppose the public option is below:

 

Rep. Ralph M. Hall

Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett

Rep. Sam Johnson

Rep. C.W. Bill Young

Rep. Howard Coble

Sen. Jim Bunning

Sen. Richard G. Lugar

Rep. Don Young

Sen. Charles E. Grassley

Sen. Robert F. Bennett

Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch

Sen. Richard C. Shelby

Rep. Jerry Lewis

Sen. James M. Inhofe

Rep. Ron Paul

Rep. Henry E. Brown

Sen. Pat Roberts

Sen. George V. Voinovich

Sen. John McCain

Rep. Judy Biggert

Sen. Thad Cochran

Rep. Harold Rogers

Rep. Dan Burton

Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon

Rep. Frank R. Wolf

Sen. Christopher S. Bond

Rep. Michael N. Castle

Rep. Joe Pitts

Rep. Tom Petri

Sen. Lamar Alexander

Rep. Doc Hastings

Rep. Cliff Stearns

Rep. Sue Myrick

Rep. John Carter

Sen. Mitch McConnell

Sen. Jon Kyl

Rep. Phil Gingrey

Rep. Nathan Deal

Rep. John Linder

Rep. Kay Granger

Rep. John L. Mica

Rep. Walter B. Jones

Sen. Jim Risch

Rep. Ed Whitfield

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner

Rep. Virginia Foxx

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison

Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite

Sen. Saxby Chambliss

Sen. Michael B. Enzi

Rep. Elton Gallegly

Rep. Donald Manzullo

Rep. Peter T. King

Rep. Ander Crenshaw

 



Source: PRESS RELEASE, Representative Anthony Weiner

Weiner Calls on GOP Opponents of the Public Option to Give Up Their Medicare

 

See your representative on the list? Call and ask why it's okay for them to receive government-funded, single payer health care, when it's not available for ALL Americans.

 

 

link to this page
Bookmark this post:
Facebook
Twitter
Delicious
Buzz
More

Comments: 64

Debra C. Oct 23, 2009, 4:36pm EDT
This won't change the mind of the committed, but it should give them pause.
Prima Donna Oct 23, 2009, 4:37pm EDT
Maybe if they hear from enough constituents, it will make a difference. I have been following this issue fairly closely, and I had no idea there were so many. Guess we have an aging congress!
Connie C. Oct 23, 2009, 4:43pm EDT
I always write and call my elected officials when I feel strongly about an issue. I feel it is one of the few rights we still have left.
Leo Lemmer Oct 23, 2009, 4:45pm EDT
Contacting our representatives is the only way we have a true voice.
John Doyle Oct 23, 2009, 4:49pm EDT
Gee what a surprise
Ken S. Oct 23, 2009, 4:50pm EDT
This is like saying only blacks can vote for (or against) affirmative action measures or that only military personnel can have an opinion on whether reinstating the draft is a valid action or not or that Congress can decide an issue only if it affects them personally.

More liberal gum flapping devoid of logic and reason. hmmmm hmmmm hmmmm!!
Tim Nelson Oct 23, 2009, 5:34pm EDT
I'm sure they also have private health insurance, in addition to Medicare, many people do. I think it's 15% in the UK that have private insurance, in addition to tax funded care.
Well then, what is the REASON that these wealthy people with oodles of health insurance coverage think it's okay to deny millions of people even the most basic coverage?

They may have a bunch of money, but it is obvious they are morally bankrupt.
Ken S. Oct 24, 2009, 8:45am EDT
Because it is a bad idea for the republic and not an effective way to solve the problem. It is a completely partisan takeover of 1/7 of the US economy by the government. If we're gonna do that, don't you think we could find a way to AT LEAST make some of it bipartisan? NO, NO - The Statists go marching along (and alone and without reason, without justification, without any respect for an open legislative process, without failing as their primary tool the incessant repeating of the problem over and over, and without addressing any opposing views or strategies). Other than that it's a great plan.
Tim Nelson Oct 24, 2009, 10:36am EDT
Ken is right. Competition doesn't solve the problem, any more than tax cuts make the economy run without hiccups.

Regulation will be the bipartisan policy. I've never seen partisan legislation that had a lick of sense, ever.
Kathy D. Oct 23, 2009, 4:51pm EDT
Doesn't surprise me at all
"This is like saying only blacks can vote for (or against) affirmative action..."

No, it's more like saying that people who are swilling from the public trough shouldn't be able (pardon the mixed metaphor) be able to exclude others from the table.

A while back I posted a song from the 1920s that summarizes their attitude nicely
Prima Donna Oct 23, 2009, 5:32pm EDT
It is total hypocrisy.
Rude D. Oct 24, 2009, 2:46pm EDT
Amen!!

Then there was Supreme court Justice Clarence Thomas who was against afirmitive action AFTER he used it.

And Ken making up weird apologies and rants to excuse their hypocrisy.

Really pathetic!!!
Kat W. Oct 23, 2009, 5:10pm EDT
Doesn't suprise me either.
Tim Nelson Oct 23, 2009, 5:28pm EDT
Some countries have no public option at all, and still have low cost health care. They do it all with regulation.

Sadly, something else this group would not go for.
Lee C. Oct 23, 2009, 5:38pm EDT
Let's see here. The government takes money to spend on a progam that I consider questionable. I can get some of my tax money back if I am a reciepient of the questionable program. What should I do? Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

Then I am accused of hypocrisy for using the program that is almost bankrupt because I am against a proposed plan that has yet to be written that in all likely hood will cost multiple times more than the projectd costs like all other government entitlement plans do.

Thank God for "hypocrits".
Tim Nelson Oct 23, 2009, 6:20pm EDT
Well, it is borrow and spend, and it is quite a lot of money, so you don't know for sure they won't vote for it out of reflex.
Brian T. Oct 23, 2009, 7:58pm EDT
They're against government run health care but get government run health care. LOL, if they're against government ran health care shouldn't they at least be getting health care in the private sector?
Lee C. Oct 23, 2009, 8:18pm EDT
And those who are for govenment run health care want to exempt themselves from it. If it's good enough for us why should it not be good enough for them?
Prima Donna Oct 24, 2009, 9:46am EDT
Lee, you would do yourself, and your readers, a favor by reading the facts about the various forms of public options that are being proposed. I myself don't think they go far enough, but the proposals are for an optional government-administered health insurance plan that would compete with the private insurers, which right now have a monopoly in many states like mine. These insurers dictate cost, ration care, limit the doctors you can see, what meds are covered, and all at costs that are far greater than what is available in other countries.
Prima Donna Oct 24, 2009, 9:48am EDT
What exactly do you mean by those who are for govt-run health care want to exempt themselves from it?
Lee C. Oct 24, 2009, 1:33pm EDT
"If government-run health care is such a great idea, why won't members of Congress enroll their own families?

The question has been on the minds of many Americans, but Democrats aren't giving answers. Instead, they are exempting themselves from their own health care "reform."

The Affordable Health Choices Act drafted by Sen. Edward Kennedy's staff and the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee pushes "Americans into stingy insurance plans with tight, HMO-style controls," the Wall Street Journal reports.

At the same time, Page 114 of the act specifically exempts members of Congress from the public plan. "
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=104716#

http://www.patientpowernow.org/2009/06/22/congress-federal-employees-exempt-insurance-mandates/
Prima Donna Oct 24, 2009, 7:20pm EDT
Sorry- can't read your cut-and-pasted comment. It is cut off at the margins.
Dorothy H. Oct 23, 2009, 10:03pm EDT
Ron Paul! I'd like his explaination for that one.
Col. George W. Oct 24, 2009, 12:32pm EDT
That's easy, check his web site. Or my statement below.
Dorothy H. Oct 23, 2009, 10:06pm EDT
And Mega Bucks McCain! Why is something that was intended to be a safety net, being tapped into by the Mega-Rich?

Yes, perhaps he paid into it, but a safety net means it's there if one PERHAPS may find themselves lacking in some way, to be able afford these basic neccesities. Like being poor.
Spartan * Oct 24, 2009, 1:18am EDT
Don't forget that McCain is also 100% Disabled through the VA giving him around $3200 bucks a month, TAX FREE...and it "ain't" for physical problems!
Behold! The leaders of the American Domestic Terrorist movement, wishing pain, suffering, and death to millions of Americans.
Sen. George V. Voinovich - this ass is against it even though it would benefit his daughter, her husband and his grandchildren. How's that for being a good parent?
Kathleen ♥ L. Oct 24, 2009, 1:46am EDT
I am only surprised that Sen John Cornyn isn't on this list too!

Hypocrites all!
Prima Donna Oct 24, 2009, 9:55am EDT
Cornyn was born in '52 -- too young to qualify just yet.
MrsRoad Runner Oct 24, 2009, 10:50am EDT
All politicians, Democrat, republican all of them get welfare.
Welfare is living off the goodness of the public, they, nor most of us see it that way....
Prima Donna Oct 24, 2009, 12:29pm EDT
Please do contact your elected representatives and congress people, especially the ones on this list, and tell them how important access to quality, affordable health care is to you and your family. This upcoming week will be very important to our future.
Col. George W. Oct 24, 2009, 12:36pm EDT
I don't know about the others but Ron Paul does not participate in the government health insurance plan (s). Why would they not participate in Medicare, they paid for it just the same as the rest of us?

Just to clarify, Public Option is NOT the same as single payer. Public Option gives the insured the Option to take the govrnment plan or a private plan, our choice.
Prima Donna Oct 24, 2009, 12:47pm EDT
There is a big misconception about programs such as Medicare and Social Security. "We paid into it" does not mean that you are paying for what you get in return on an equal basis. These are government-funded and administered programs.
Charles Temm JR Oct 24, 2009, 1:31pm EDT
As you note Prima Donna, you don't get only what you pay for. The misconception is that these programs actually pay for themselves. Even Medicare which supports only a minority of the nation is draining the Treasury, further expansion is only going to make the deficit balloon faster
Dorothy H. Oct 24, 2009, 4:50pm EDT
Yes, perhaps it is paid into it,even involuntarily so, but a(safety net) it's there if one PERHAPS may find themselves lacking in some way, to be able to afford these basic neccesities. Like being poor at an older age when at one time, you were not, but situations came about that now have you living poor, and since the safety net is in place for just such unforseen things.

If I were rich, and of retirement age, I would not tap into that resource/safety net. My mom was not rich, but she lived off my Dads retirment, plus she had a home with no mortgage. Sure she paid into the social safety net, but she didn't need it.
Lee C. Oct 24, 2009, 8:39pm EDT
"We paid into it" does not mean that you are paying for what you get in return on an equal basis. These are government-funded and administered programs.

Good point. This is another reason why government programs like medicare and Social Security don't make economic sense. They are not sustainable.

I would opt out of SS if I could even if it meant losing all that I put in so far. There is not much chance I going to see much of it by the time I retire.
Col. George W. Oct 24, 2009, 10:47pm EDT
Prima, The Fact of the matter is that Medicare contributions and SS contributions have been subsidising the government for years. That stuff about a drain on the treasury is pure bull. They just don't like paying back what they "borrowed" all this time.
Col. George W. Oct 25, 2009, 12:25am EDT
Medicare and Social Security are not only self sustainable they would now own most of the money in the United States if they had been left alone. I read years ago that the government was going to raid SS just because of that.
Richard Frisbie Oct 24, 2009, 12:45pm EDT
Well Done! Although I don't think any of them would be embarrassed by their hypocrisy. Thanks for the list!
Charles Temm JR Oct 24, 2009, 1:28pm EDT
Let's see how this is hypocritical. Medicare is involuntarily funded by one's taxes now. It often becomes one's insurance upon age 65 involuntarily (for instance TriCare, the armed forces health insurance plan, drops its military retirees at that age) though you are allowed to purchase supplementary private insurance. Thus this "public option" is not an option as currently mandated so having it is less a sign of hypocrisy then simply one of the government's own design.

Make it voluntary and allow us to opt out and see how many stay with it. If you are being taxed for a program, it's not hypocritical to use it.
Rude D. Oct 24, 2009, 2:57pm EDT
If you use it but oppose it, that is HYPOCRISY in any freaking Language!!

Narco cops smoking hash-hypocrisy
Mark Foley sponsors bill against pedophiles-Hypocrisy!!!
Dick Cheney and countless other chicken hawks, pro-war as long as someone's else's kids fight-Hypocrisy!!!
Right wing loons, believed W when he LIED about WMD's, yet don't believe Obama is US citizen. Hypocrisy or just aholes???
Rude D. Oct 24, 2009, 2:59pm EDT
I forgot gay republicans for defense of marriage act.
Charles Temm JR Oct 24, 2009, 3:18pm EDT
If you are forced to pay for something, as we all are in the case of Medicare you think that is hypocrisy to use it? How so? You have no choice about payment as it's the law.

Foley I agree flat out on. Dope smoking cops too.

The WMD argument worked for Clinton and the most vocal post war doubters when it was just talk. Bush said the same thing with virtually the same intel and after the war starts taking too long, the same Clinton era supporters backed out. That of course wasn't hypocrisy. Chicken hawks? Yeah if you stop your kid from serving or were against a war when younger but once its not a threat to you to support it, that's hypocrisy.

If someone is against something regardless of their background, so what? That's like saying your color, age, gender, sexual preference should be a predictor of one's stance on a subject. Calling it hypocrisy is easy but it is an attempt to define people's stances based on their being, not their minds.
Elizabeth R. Oct 25, 2009, 4:57am EDT
Good grief! It figures that they already have the best coverage and even have an in house physician! Selfish, aren't they?
Rude D. Oct 25, 2009, 5:21am EDT
Yep and hypocrites too but you wouldn't know it from their apologists.
It's kinda like defending Charles Manson, his Family are about the only ones who understand what a sweet guy he really is.
Winston Smith Oct 25, 2009, 7:00pm EDT
Insurance company profits
libramoon C. Oct 25, 2009, 8:41pm EDT
"55 Republicans who have steadfastly opposed other Americans getting the public option, like the one they have chosen."

Elitists!
Jennifer R. Oct 26, 2009, 9:23am EDT
It is the prevailing attitude of Americans as a whole. I have what I need and want and the heck to everyone else. You aren't going to take mine away from me. I watched footage of one of those town hall meetings they were trying to use as a forum to get the correct information out, and here was this woman in her sixties or seventies up there indignant and self righteous in her belief that not only were they trying to take away her coverage but they were just going to go off and give it to some teenager. Okay have you ever heard the expression the children are the future? And furthermore no one ever said yours would be taken away. What is with these people? They are like toddlers in the sand box unwilling to share their buckets and shovels. No it's mine you can't have it! Then the other part that dumbfounds me is these same people will turn right around and tell you they are good Christians! What? Are you kidding me?
Prima Donna Oct 27, 2009, 2:03pm EDT
These are the key moderate democrats who some are saying will influence the passage of health care reform. If you live in Arkansas, Louisiana, or Nebraska, please try to talk some sense into your elected official:

Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas
Mary Landrieu of Louisiana
Ben Nelson of Nebraska
Prima Donna Oct 27, 2009, 2:20pm EDT
I am being of generous spirit ;-)

Join the Conversation
Chime in! Become a Gather member to comment.
Already a member? Sign in
top
 
Gather | Friends | Groups | Share
About Gather | Engagement Marketing | Make New Friends | Gather Points | Advertise on Gather | Gather Press | Privacy | Terms of Service | Community Guidelines
Books | Celebs | Entertainment | Family | Food | Health | Moms | Money | News | Politics | Spirituality | Sports | Travel | Writing
Version 16961, "Pacino"; Copyright © 2009 Gather Inc. All rights reserved.