The American Spectator

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 1.25.11 @ 6:35AM

Animalism or Obamaism. It's all the same.

mickeymat| 1.25.11 @ 6:50AM

In the interest of truth and honesty, Mr. Lord should do some research on the so called cushy health insurance plan members of Congress receive. Removing the special staff of health care givers on hand at the Capitol, Congress critters receive the same plan that federal employees receive. Before you jump on that and explain who cushy that one is, please note the following about the best Blue Cross plan available:

Yearly deductable per person-$300

Cost to employee (family or couple plan) -approx. $430 month

Dental coverage-On a $180 annual trip to dentist BCBS pays $24. Any root canal work or such pays NOTHING.

Eye/glasses coverage- Zero

Co-pay-specialist office visit $30

Hospital admission co-pay- $300 plus 15% of total

Prescription co-pay name brand drug-$60

I could go on. I am used to misrepresentation from the main stream media but when it comes from writers who I normally respect, all hope is pretty much lost.

Melvin| 1.25.11 @ 7:19AM

We're talking Congressional members here not some federal bureaucrat working is some cubical somewhere in the vast labyrinth of federal government .
If we led to believe that Congresswoman Gifford's is going to pay any of the associated co-pays and or other associated costs with her treatment, then yes it has been confirmed that the moon is made of Swiss cheese.
I very seriously doubt that Blue Cross Blue Shield would be footing Congresswoman Gifford's 5 star health care bill if she was just Mrs. Gifford's from Arizona and a random victim of a violent crime.
Mrs. Gifford's would receive adequate treatment, but nothing like Congresswoman Gifford's s now receiving.

Jason| 1.25.11 @ 7:54AM

Mickeymat! You are drinking the Koolaid. Of course that is what Congress tells you. BUt if that is the case why don't you demand a physical at themost prestigious hospital in the DC Metro are and refuse to pay a dime. Next time you're injured demand to dlown on an Air Force jet to some ritzy, eclusive spa type facility and pay not a dime? You will soon learn how much less you get for your health care dollar than congress. Or... just keep drinking the Kos kool aid and continue in delusion.

The Big E| 1.25.11 @ 8:21AM

Sir, you are utterly without a clue. If you recall, Congressional health care plans are exempt from the various mandates of Obamacare. The rules which will apply to all the rest of us simply - as a matter of law - will not apply to those who enacted the rules the rest of us have to live by. So it doesn't matter what the current Congressional health care plan is or whether it is identical to the Federal Government employee heath care plan - those questions are utterly irrelevant to Mr. Lord's point - which is that under Obamacare, whatever their plan might be, it will be better, more comprehensive, and come without the attendant cost restrictions that will accompany anything we're allowed to have.

Or to put is another way, if my wife, who is a stay at home mom approximately the same age as Congresswoman Giffords were to have suffered the same exact injury, would she be receiving the same level of care? Would she be receive the same level of care under Obamacare once it is fully in place? Clearly, the answer is no.

TexasTea| 1.25.11 @ 8:33AM

I work for the state (Texas) and I also have Blue Cross and I have a better plan than that so I would imagine the standard federal employee health plan through Blue Cross is even better than what I have and not exactly what you described.

George True| 1.25.11 @ 9:32AM

Mickey: By your own words you reveal how out of touch you are. I have been in the health insurance field for 22 years. I can tell you that most people who pay for their own health plan would just about give their right arm to have a health plan with deductibles and co-pays that low, and for only $430 a month to cover the whole family. That is a smoking deal for such a cushy plan.

Occam's Tool| 1.25.11 @ 1:21PM

Sorry, but I am sure there is an out of pocket max at somewhere between 2500-5000. I too, am a government employee.

Dustin Patrick| 1.25.11 @ 1:44PM

The gov plans aren't that much better than others. I just had my appendix out and have to come up with about $4K for my part of it, but I will, and that's why I'm not a leftie. Other things to consider: 1) Her husband is in the military, so she's primarily on DoD's dime through Tricare. She may not even have the federal employee's plan because she's covered 100% through her husband. 2) She was acting in an official capacity when that idiot shot her; therefore, what happened is technically an on-the-job injury. Her "employer" being the federal government, we're all on the hook for her treatment anyway.

All that being said, the main point of Mr. Lord's article remains. She is still receiving better treatment than anyone on a civilian insurance plan would receive. She is also receiving better treatment than any civil service employee on a FEHB plan would receive. She is receiving better treatment than any other military spouse would receive under Tricare. She's receiving better treatment than she would through any workman's comp. claim or L&I claim. She is simply getting the best of the best because she is a member of the ruling class. Period. Whatever paperwork gets shuffled behind the scenes is irrelevant to that primary point.

JimW| 1.25.11 @ 4:04PM

Mickeymat, I'm confused. Was the list of benefits you mentioned supposed to make me think the members of Congress have a BAD policy? My policy is $1076.00 per month, $3000 deductible per person, 6 doctor visits only per calendar year, $10 generic meds, non-generic; the sky is the limit. And, at the end of all that, when I meet my deduct they will pay 70%, not the normal 80%. I am self employed so that coverage you cited sounds like a gift from heaven, and while I'm helping pay for that gift, I cannot afford it for myself. I hope the government gets out of the health care business.

Ken (Old Texican)| 1.25.11 @ 7:41AM

mickeymouse
Boo, hoo, hoo! Picture my fingers forming the world's smallest violin, and playing "My heart bleeds for thee.".......twerp.

The medical plan you just described is a pretty darned good plan.
Question, did you get life-of-the -car free oil changes on the last car you bought?
Duh!
Not one doctor I know here in Texas will hesitate to set up a payment plan for the co-pay of a major procedure, but you need skin in the game. That is how insurance companies can stay in business with reasonable rates.

Just as you listed above, heh, you need to buy your own tooth-brush and dental floss.

Ken (Old Texican)| 1.25.11 @ 7:45AM

Mr. Lord
A fascinating take on the irony of Obamacare.

Let me go a little different direction if I may.
In November 2008, the majority of the American people voted for their own death sentence. Now that is irony.

Deborah D| 1.25.11 @ 8:16AM

Excellent comparison to Animal Farm. Amazing how differently the NY Times reacted to Animal Farm then as to how they react to Rush Limbaugh today. I guess that was before they were too far gone down the socialist rabbit hole.

KJW| 1.25.11 @ 8:25AM

May I add a second comparison, Mr. Lord?

I'm the polar opposite of his politics, but I always admired the director Francis Ford Coppola when he was at the top of his game for his cinematography, for his ability to make certain "shots" and scenes speak volumes while saying no words at all.

One such scene was in his film "Apocalypse now", and was within the scene where a stadium full of sex-starved American servicemen were being entertained by a faux-USO style show with scantily clad women dancing to a band singing "Suzie Q".

The scene was at night, and intercut with the show and cheering soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines were shots with a camera "trucking" (moving parallel to what it was shooting) right, showing in the foreground small asian children (one eating rice from a bowl) mesmerized by what they were seeing from behind a wire fence around the arena. In the distance behind them was a pillar of fire (remnants from the day's combat? a trash heap? a bonfire?). The unspoken messages was: "In here is your world. Out here is OURS."

With that memory, I cannot help comparing this week's health care events in that scene. Out here, in our world, we have witness non-ruling class people as you describe clinging to the fence watching the constant media coverage of Rep. Giffords (may I add "Praise The Lord that she is getting better and I hope she makes a full recovery"?) while in the background (a few thousand miles east, to be exact) we've seen an ugly fire, specifically the unfolding story of an abortion doctor who wantonly murdered babies and didn't much care about patients, essentially carrying out (in therms of live-birth abortions) principles which his own president has defended the right to and which his own state government turned a blind eye to.

We cannot pray hard enough for our nation and our countrymen to see Obamacare fully stopped, reversed and repealed.

Occam's Tool| 1.25.11 @ 1:23PM

The actress playing the playboy Playmate (she was in real life the same) in Apocalypse Now is a friend of mine. A lovely human being, inside and out.

Sean| 1.25.11 @ 8:30AM

Only the best of care for Congress. It would be interesting to see who authorized the spending on the Air Force transportation. Didn't Giffords live in Arizona? Why move her out of her home state? Isn't travel shortly after getting shot in the head not a good idea? Of course her husband is training to go on a shuttle mission that is why she was moved. Instead of taking time off and letting his back up take the mission he wants her moved to be closer to where he is working. Sorry hun you got shot in the head, but I really want to get to outer space. I don't want to have to stay by your side in Arizona where we live. don't worry the taxpayers will pick up the transportation charges.

TopHall| 1.25.11 @ 9:58AM

Actually, Sean, Gabby lives IN HOUSTON with her husband. She uses her father's address to present the facade that she is an Arizona resident. She is illegally "representing" this district. A story squashed by the media.

loulou| 1.25.11 @ 11:01AM

I had no idea. But that makes sense--why would a recently married couple live apart?

Does Rahm Emmanuel know this?

Uncle Bob| 1.25.11 @ 12:02PM

"quashed", not "squashed"

Melvin| 1.25.11 @ 12:44PM

Where did you find out that Giffords acutally lives in TX but works in AZ?

GavInTucson| 1.25.11 @ 10:25PM

Melvin, its common knowledge down here. And I'd like to correct what TopHall said. She doesn't use her father's address. The uses the address of a piece of commercial property she still owns, that used to house a tire company she previously owned/ran. The property is an empty lot now.

However, per Arizona law, owning a piece of property here is enough to have "resident" status, unlike most states that actually require you to live in your state. (Sort of like Rahm's current dilemma).

Stefanie| 1.27.11 @ 1:55PM

Well, if the law says she can do it, then how is she "illegally" representing the district. Change the stupid law.

mister Z| 1.25.11 @ 8:30AM

A brilliant article. The best solution to America's healthcare issues will be a complicated one, but Mr. Lord makes it clear that Obamacare is among the worst possible.

RAMIII| 1.25.11 @ 1:27PM

Absolutely Right!

Larry| 1.25.11 @ 8:32AM

Bravo!! Why is it that we've hardly hear a thing about the fact that our public ahem, servants have exempted themselves from this great healthcare plan that they're forcing onto the rest of us?

Someone please remind me of the part of the Constitution which states that the federal government should have anything at all to do with healthcare as well about 90% of the other things that they do?

See everyone at the vast right wing conspiracy meeting later this week. :-)

jd| 1.25.11 @ 8:51AM

This article hits the nail on the head. One of the first things I thought of when this shooting happened, was how hypocritical it was that Giffords voted for Obamacare coverage for the rest of us pions yet exempted herself, Congress, and as it turns out unions and all other favored groups of the Democrats, yet is benefitting from state of the art health care coverage. Reminds me of Teddy Kennedy benefitting from exemplary brain cancer treatment that extended his life but would be denied to us under Obamacare. The stench of hypocrisy is overwhelming.

Sea_Hunter| 1.25.11 @ 8:51AM

There is a simple solution to this problem of some more equal than others. It is a one line Constitutional amendment.

Congress shall pass no law to which its' members are exempt.

Now, if such an amendment were in place, I wonder how many in Congress would have voted for Obama Care knowing that they themselves would be bound by it. And it is not just Obama care, it is a host of other things as well. The more I think about it, the better I like the idea.

Nunya| 1.25.11 @ 6:00PM

I would add to the amendment a second part:
"and all laws passed prior to this Amendment pasing that exempt Congress from liability to the law are immediately made void." (or something to the same)

Louis Jenkins| 1.25.11 @ 9:04AM

Great article Mr. Lord.

Sean, I believe after the helicopter flight and a hospital stay of one week a gsw to the head should not be flown. Makes me wonder what are they holding out on us?

Face it people, the line between the have nots and the haves has grown into a gulf. We're footing the bill too. And its just the tip of the iceberg. Mr. Lord's comparisons speaks volumes about the death panels, rationing of health care, and death. We're just useless eaters to these people, and I almost welcome the civil distress just around the corner.

Groad | 1.25.11 @ 10:17AM

Why is it we have almost daily updates on the 'Congress-person's' progress, but no updates on the progress of any of the commoners who were injured??

Old Soldier| 1.25.11 @ 9:08AM

Senator Frank Lautenberg may have died last year if he had followed the Obamacare rules he had voted for.

http://www.associatedcontent.c.....tml?cat=75

Groad | 1.25.11 @ 9:58AM

Senator Bob (with one o) Casey voted for Obamacare that would have denied his own father the life-extending surgeries that extended his father's life (except for Casey Sr. having been a former Gov.).
If antone makes a live sighting of Casey, please call Harrisburg and let them know.

apnep| 1.25.11 @ 9:15AM

An excellent article. Let's hear it for Joe Walsh of Illinois. I wonder if anyone up there in the House would be smart enough to use these arguments in their fight against Obamacare? Wonder if Mr. Walsh will take up this issue? I agree that no member of Congress should be exempt from the laws they create.

Ken (Old Texican)| 1.25.11 @ 9:30AM

Folks, do keep in mind that the Republicans did not vote for this bill.

Ken in Tyler| 1.25.11 @ 9:39AM

So what shall we do to rectify this state of affairs?
Fact: A Constitutional amendment won't help. Congress already ignores the Constitution aided and abetted by the federal judiciary.
Fact: Refusing to pay our taxes en masse won't help. They've already demonstrated a willingness to print whatever it takes to continue. Truth be known, the only possible way the current national debt can be serviced is through continual debasement of our currency.
Fact: The electorate is so willingly ignorant of economic, political and moral reality they still support this madness to a large extent. Historical note; they reelected the Dope from Hope.
Fact: Although some changes were made in the membership of the 112th Congress, many were reelected who, if the people still loved Liberty, would not have had a snowball's chance. Dumb and Dumber aka harry and Nancy come to mind.
In short, we cannot win this fight to restore our Republic without once again acknowledging as George Washington did, "Let us therefore rely on the goodness of the Cause, and the aid of the supreme Being in whose hands victory is." Madison said it quite clearly, Our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other..."
See also, IIChronicles 7:14

Jobe| 1.25.11 @ 12:25PM

I have arrived at the same conclusion to which you have, namely, that constitutional means, legislative means, and peaceful means will not win back the nation. I and many others know what is necessary. It doesn't have to be a blood bath, just some states with enough courage to refuse the federal orders coming from the leftists, and a return to sanity.

Tim the Enchanter| 1.25.11 @ 3:26PM

Ken in Tyler: the quote you attributed to Madison was in fact made by John Adams, second President of the USA.

squalis| 1.25.11 @ 10:00AM

Don't forget Ted Kennedey's pre-mortem care.

Old Soldier| 1.25.11 @ 12:07PM

You mean his entire adult life?

Pete| 1.25.11 @ 10:14AM

Pretty simple stuff. Are they representatives or rulers? Do they serve or dictate? While we still have relatively free elections, they are supposed to be representatives who serve. The altruism implied in the word "serve" is nowhere to be found with the current ruling class, as demonstrated by Obamacare (and federal pay). This point should be raised over and over and over again.

Al Adab| 1.25.11 @ 10:31AM

And with delicious irony, Arizona is one of the now 27 states suing for the end to Obamacare. What happens when the count reaches 33, enough to force a Constitutional amendment? What will those 54 Senators do as the states they represent (17th amendment notwithstanding) want an end to this horrid scheme? About time to force the issue.

Take A Pill| 1.25.11 @ 10:31AM

Thanks, Mr. Lord, for having the guts to say what I've been thinking since the beginning of this horrible tragedy. It's not like we've been hearing "Thank Goodness for good ol' Government Health Care" through this whole thing.

Drew| 1.25.11 @ 10:44AM

Let's be very clear here: The State of Arizona cut funds for certain types of transplant procedures because it is in a Budget crisis - brought on chiefly by the fact that the Republican-led legislature there cut taxes during the last ten years. Even when times were good (and sound fiscal policy suggests Governments ought to be running Surpluses) - Arizona Republicans kept chanting their mantra of "always cut taxes." None of which, might one point out, managed to keep Arizona from becoming ground-zero for the real-estate bust that almost crippled our economy.

Yes - Rep. Giffords is receiving excellent healthcare. However I challenge the writer of this article to show how it differs substantially from the care that ANY OTHER Federal Employee, or indeed the participant in most private employer health plans, would have received. (Particpants in so-called "miniMed" plans -

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/ru.....plans.html

the sort of worthless "limited benefit" plans Obamacare seeks to eliminate - are another story entirely.)

So, congratulations to the Republicans in Arizona's legislature. Your "always the lowest taxes" pledge has not only failed to provide endless economic prosperity - your willingness to "starve the beast" has actually ended up helping kill someone.

For the author of this article to try and twist this story into an indictment of the Obama administration's healthcare reform law (which in no conceivable way would prevent anyone from getting a medically-necessary transplant) is indeed an irony that George Orwell would have found too pathetic to believe.

Pete| 1.25.11 @ 10:53AM

Key words: "medically-necessary"

Key question: As decided by whom?

Drew| 1.25.11 @ 12:42PM

Key Answer:

Governor Jan Brewer and the rest of the Arizona Republicans:

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-0.....n?_s=PM:US

He was referring to Gov. Jan Brewer and her fellow Republicans who now hold a two-thirds majority in both legislative chambers. Schapira called Brewer "a one-person death panel."

I'll note, by the by, that the healthcare that Governor Brewer, and her fellow Arizona legislators, certainly DOES cover transplants. The funding they cut was for state Medicaid patients. So - indeed - some Arizona citizens are "more equal than others."

The problem is that it is the REPUBLICANS that are acting like the pigs in Orwell's 1984.

Pete| 1.25.11 @ 1:17PM

Try answering again with the context from your own post. Let me help.

"For the author of this article to try and twist this story into an indictment of the Obama administration's healthcare reform law (which in no conceivable way would prevent anyone from getting a medically-necessary transplant) is indeed an irony that George Orwell would have found too pathetic to believe."

Drew| 1.25.11 @ 1:48PM

Lert me make this very simple for you:

The author is comparing President Obama's healthcare reform to Orwell's "1984" - suggesting that somehow this Decmocrat-sponsored piece of legislation will be responsible for people dying due to withholding treatment.

In ACTUAL FACT, the only time this seems to happen is when Tea Party Republicans refuse to face fiscal facts, and slash budgets on - wait for it - things like transplants.

Even the people who read this site surely cannot help but be struck by the absurdity.

Dustin Patrick| 1.25.11 @ 1:58PM

Why should the government be paying for anyone's transplant in the first place?

Pete| 1.25.11 @ 2:25PM

Well, "lert" me make this very simple for you.

You claim: Obama administration's healthcare reform law (will) in no conceivable way prevent anyone from getting a medically-necessary transplant.

In ACTUAL FACT, everywhere socialized medicine has been implemented, rationing has been the result.

I began by asking, "as decided by whom?"
You may trust the Mocha Messiah and his dead-eyed band of regulators and rule followers. I do not. I would prefer to make my own health choices along with my doctor.

If states would just exercise the powers granted to them in the Constitution, folks like you could cram yourselves into blue states and kill each other off. Dare to dream.

DRed| 1.25.11 @ 3:02PM

Pete, as a snarky leftist, I suggest you use '(sic)' when condescendingly highlighting the typos of others.

What happens when you and your doctor decide you need a liver transplant but some dead eyed functionary at your insurance company decides you can't get one? There's rationing in every single healthcare system-it's not like it's exclusive to socialized medicine. And of course, Obamacare doesn't prevent you from buying medical coverage, does it?

GavInTucson| 1.25.11 @ 10:41PM

DRed, the difference is that even if an insurance company decides not to pay for it, you can still get the procedure anyway. In Canada and the UK, when the bureaucrats decide not to cover something, the doctors are forbidden by law to perform the procedure.

And to your last point, no, Obamacare doesn't prevent you from buying medical coverage, it FORCES you to against your will.

The Big E| 1.25.11 @ 2:57PM

"The author is comparing President Obama's healthcare reform to Orwell's "1984""

Maybe you should try reading the article before commenting. Mr. Lord compares Obamacare to the state of affairs described in Orwell's "Animal Farm," not "1984." Completely different book. Maybe you should try reading it some time.

solidground| 1.25.11 @ 10:54AM

You must be joking. Please, tell me you are joking. Because if you truly believe that Giffords' current health care does not differ "substantially from the care that ANY OTHER Federal Employee, or indeed the participant in most private employer health plans, would have received. (Particpants in so-called "miniMed" plans," you are imbibing something very dangerous to your own health -- namely, Obama crap propaganda.

I'm covered by an employer health plan, and I can tell you that there's no snowball's chance in red hell that I'd ever receive the care Giffords is receiving should I ever experience a similar medical crisis. I read my policy very carefully.

Oh, I could get transported to Houston, to the same facility, sure. But would my coverage pay it? If you think yes, you're off the rails. I'd pay the thousands upon thousands of dollars daily out of my own pocket. No, wait. I wouldn't, because I don't have it, so I'd never get that level of care.

Wise up. You're buying Obama bunk and living in a fool's paradise.

loulou| 1.25.11 @ 11:04AM

It's obvious from Drew's post that he is a troll.
The post sounds suspiciously like something Obama's teleprompter would say.

Ned| 1.25.11 @ 12:10PM

cutting taxes does NOT create a budget crisis... continuing to SPEND creates the crisis... you can cut budgets down to nothing and there will be no budgetary problems, presuming you match outflow to income - which is not to say that there aren't some (few) worthwhile programs that do need to be continued...

George True| 1.25.11 @ 1:04PM

That's funny. I have been a resident of Arizona for 18 years now. In all that time I do not recall ANY Arizona state taxes being lowered. Could you provide some documentation? (The Republican legislature that you are excoriating voted last year to raise the state sales tax by 15%, and voted to enact a tax on groceries, which we never had before.)

To put things in perspective, the transplants that are now being denied to those on Arizona's state run Medicaid program are those with a very low success rate. In any case, what you are seeing are death panels in action, and your vaunted Obamacare will be Arizonacare writ large. What's the matter, don't you like it?

Jack London| 1.25.11 @ 5:48PM

A low success rate George? Surely any chance is worth it. That's the American way - not a Republican death panel.

Nunya| 1.25.11 @ 6:08PM

If the government is paying for it, they make the decisions--i.e., Medicaid made the decision based on the success rate of prior transplants. If a person has their own money to spend, they can get anything they want (until Obozocare steps in).

Jack London| 1.25.11 @ 6:18PM

No, with transplants you don't get to decide but I accept that the super-rich will probably find a way.

Nick| 1.26.11 @ 7:32PM

Mr. London,

You would prefer O'BamaCare's democrat death panels?

GavInTucson| 1.25.11 @ 10:47PM

George, clearly Drew doesn't live in Arizona, and has absolutely no idea what he's talking about. In my 16 years here, I've only seen my taxes go up as well.

But, we should let facts get in the way of Drew's empty talking points.

Occam's Tool| 1.25.11 @ 1:26PM

Dear Drew: I'm sorry, she was FLOWN to Hermann Hospital in another state. I'm an MD---making that type of transfer is quite hard for ordinary peons if there are ANY head trauma rehab centers in AZ available.

solidground| 1.25.11 @ 10:45AM

"If Gabrielle Giffords were not part of the governing elite -- the Ruling Class -- with this serious of a wound, a gunshot to the brain -- under ObamaCare would she be receiving this kind of A-triple plus treatment?"

To answer the rhetorical question, "No way in hell." She'd be stuffed into some IC unit until fit enough to pass on to some retrograde nursing facility, of which there are plenty here in Tucson. There, she'd spend the rest of her life a ward of the taxpayer, subjected to cut-rate medical care and little, if any, "rehabilitation." Eventually, if she didn't die first as a result of terminal vegetation, the Obamacare death panel would no doubt pull the plug. How long that would take is a matter of conjecture at this point, but I'm pretty sure she wouldn't last more than a few years before either natural or bureaucratic processes ended her mortal ordeal.

Jobe| 1.25.11 @ 11:16AM

I believe that socialists like obama have no set core of beliefs and values. Their only principle is arrogance. They are FAR better able to navigate the rocks and shoals of life than is the average American. Bill Ayres and his poisonous wife were so much better than all the rest of us that they felt it was right for them to blow up buildings and kill people to achieve their desired ends. Obama feels that he is superior to all of us, that socialism has never worked anywhere because HE was not in charge of it, and that any means to his desired end is justified. This is why he has told so many whoppers from campaign to election to the disgraceful way obamacare was put into play. He may be the most dangerous enemy of this country to ever surface. I don't know about the calls for civility, but I find I cannot be civil to someone who is actively trying to kill me.

Franco| 1.25.11 @ 12:44PM

Nyah, nyah. You're just jealous of Gifford's swanky VIP care. What, do you imagine that if the proles demanded the same level of care...why, that would bankrupt the nation. Or are you suggesting that no one ought to be able to have access to such care?

I gurantee if it were some anonymous 81 year-old poor woman from the Bronx she wouldn't have been flown anywhwre, and whatever TBI care she did get would have to go up against the limits of her insurer.

Melvin| 1.25.11 @ 12:50PM

I would like to ask Obama point blank that if some punk shot me in the head, would I receive the same 5 star health care that Congresswoman Gifford's is receiving ?
I know the answer to that already but I would just like to see the look on his face as he lies to me.
It is equally interesting that Congresswoman Gifford's home of residence, Texas or Arizona?

The Big E| 1.25.11 @ 3:01PM

Why? it would be the same look you see on his face every time he opens his mouth.

DRed| 1.25.11 @ 1:19PM

I'm thoroughly confused. This article is complaining that societal elites get better health care than the rest of us? And quoting a socialist author? Is Mr. Lord arguing for socialized medicine? Do you think societal elites wouldn't get better care than the rest of us in a system where the government has no involvement in the health care system?

RWinks| 1.25.11 @ 2:38PM

Yeah, DRed, we all know "societal elites" will always get better treatment, but without government involvement, WE wouldn't have to pay for it. And BTW, how does getting onto the government gravy train turn someone into a "societal elite"?

Jobe| 1.25.11 @ 1:49PM

How you do go on! The real estate bust that you write about was birthed by Dodd and Frank, who refused several times to revamping FannieMae and FreddyMac when told that they were a house of cards. Incidentally, it is the sums that the federal goverment forces states like Arizona to pay for the services granted to illegal aliens and other federal mandates that break states.

Dustin Patrick| 1.25.11 @ 2:09PM

Here's an interesting thought I just had...Are we all saying that Giffords should just die like the rest of us would from the same injury? The only other option is that we're just whining that we can't have the same elite care she's getting. The real problem, in my uninformed opinion, is not that she's getting the care; rather, the problem is that she's getting the care at our expense. Anyone can have the same level of care as Giffords if he/she is willing and able to pay for it. In a completely free market insurance system only those with the means to pay out of pocket for such care would get it. No insurance plan would cover such extravegant care regardless of the monthly premiums.

JR| 1.27.11 @ 10:56PM

I dont really inderstand most of the comments to be saying that she should die as you put it. But that there is a elitist double standard. She voted for Obamacare but she is being taken care of in a very unObamacare environment. The level of care people want is indeed her kind but she voted for another kind for us. I believe this is correct if I understand you correclty. If not then my comment should be read as a stand alone comment.

Al Adab| 1.25.11 @ 2:24PM

What a bunch of jealous comments. She gets something I don't so I should have it too. Whine. Whine. By what logic does any of us think that something another has, we should have at others expense? The university hospital took in everyone wounded in the attack. If Giffords insurance as a public employee covers the treatment so be it. If you chose not to cover yourself so be it.

Who decided and when that any health care treatment was a right rather than a commodity like any other? We purchase what we want and what we can afford. There is no "right" for any of us to get something else at the expense of others.

Nick| 1.26.11 @ 7:42PM

You've missed the point entirely, Al Adab.

It's not that we should get what Mrs. Giffords is receiving.

The point is that she should not be getting such lavish care on the public's dime. We, the people (who pay taxes,) pay for about 70% of the cost of a federal employees' insurance policy, whatever policy they chose.

I agree with you, though, that medical care is a service, and medicines are products. Their price should be determined by a FREE market.

Steve A| 1.25.11 @ 2:33PM

I can have a better house than you because I earned it. I can have a better car than you because I earned it. God forbid I have a better health plan that anyone else, because I earned & paid for it. This is somehow unjust.

Who Knows?| 1.25.11 @ 2:55PM

Another brilliant piece, Mr. Lord!

What do “All politics is local”, “Politics makes strange bedfellows”, and “You make your bed, you sleep in it” have in common?

The “animals” aka the socialists, are playing their form of politics, and whether we like it or not, they are sleeping in our national BED!

That’s a LOCAL fact, as well, since that debate about health care is about as personal as you can get, LOCALLY!

As the Moody Blues sang, “Isn’t life strange, a world we arrange…”

Well, we’ll soon enough find out if the bedfellow arrangement in DC can continue to keep Americans ASLEEP while it foists its deadly vision of socialism on us all!

Take care of yourself and your family!

Self reliance MUST BE the defining factor of the majority of Americans, or we are about doomed, unless enough POWER resides in the set of us who keep our heads, even though we are outnumbered by those who depend on others.

Eventually, I think, the producers will have to hunker down, and as the supply of goods and services quickly or not dwindles, the rent seekers like Obama will be exposed as the takers they are. They have to PRODUCE, that is, to grab from the real producers enough products to give to their supporters, and when they fail, well---

In the late fifties, just when rock and roll was taking off, the local AM radio station in Vancouver, Washington, which was the top one blasting into the Portland, Oregon area, KVAN, changed its name to KISN, and spent one whole day playing one song, over and over again---

“Shall we start a revolution, ya ya, ya ya,

or shall we leave things like they are, no, no, no, no---“

Well, it won’t be very long, I bet, before the REAL revolution in consciousness about the role of government takes place.

George S| 1.25.11 @ 3:16PM

Gifford's situation is not about health care. It is about privilege. You could just as easily have wrote that if there were a terrorist attack with WMD's then members of Congress would be squirreled away while the rest of the affected population remains exposed or quarantined and left for dead. And you can bet that is what would happen.

Congress has its perks and the biggest one is that representatives and their families take priority over you and me. Our ship of state does not have lifeboats for all of us. That's the way it's always been.

bobmontgomery| 1.25.11 @ 4:37PM

And on a related note, certain members of Congress think that citizens should be rendered defenseless when they come within 1,000 feet of a Congressperson, when any law-abiding person knows that it is the Congress critter that is the dangerous one. What happened to the Republican pledge that any law has to be a. constitutional and b. apply to Congress people?

DSP28| 1.25.11 @ 4:49PM

This is very well written, incisive piece. Additionally, when I was watching the coverage of the Giffords' attack immediately following the incident, something un/under-reported was said. A sheriff/police officer on the scene was asked if Giffords was given a helicopted transport to the hospital. He responded "yes." He also responded that the other injured victims were put on ambulances and, one can assume, arrived at the destination hospital after Giffords. Did this preferential treatment, if true, lead to delayed care for other victims who died in route? Christina Greene?

GavInTucson| 1.25.11 @ 10:57PM

To be truthful, only those with minor injuries arrived by ambulance. Five different helicopters were used to transport the critical cases (including Christina).

Jack London| 1.25.11 @ 5:53PM

Well, if this article does one thing it puts the lie to the Republican and right wing wacko mantra that all Americans get brilliant healthcare regardless of insurance status and there was nothing broke to fix.

Nunya| 1.25.11 @ 6:16PM

Jack, I don't know of anyone who thought that healthcare needed to be addressed. However, one doesn't take over the ENTIRE INDUSTRY to ostensibly cover the "30 million" (or so) who couldn't "get coverage". That is, unless one has a completely radical agenda that they don't want out in the open.

Truth is, it's not about healthcare. It's about control.

Nunya| 1.25.11 @ 6:17PM

Sorry, I mis-spoke-- I dont' know of anyone who DIDN'T think that healthcare needed to be addressed...

Jack London| 1.25.11 @ 6:26PM

Wasn't it Bush that said you could just go to ER so all was well? No, the truth is that we have long had terrible health inequality - just look at say mental health services for the poor. The more the facts about Obamacare are coming out now, and how it will benefit so many of us, the more the GOP is driving into a bunker.

As the NYT says today:

"Even as it denounces reform at every turn, the Republican leadership has figured out that many Americans want the many consumer protections that come with the new law. So, once reform is repealed, the leaders are vowing to reinstate such provisions as letting young people stay on their parents’ plans until age 26, preventing insurers from canceling policies after people become sick, and barring insurers from placing caps on what they will pay."

Robert Bell| 1.25.11 @ 8:41PM

Unless there is something about the insurance market that means that you can't simply deal with the 30 million separately.

Many economists believe that to be the case.

http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/.....crowd.html

Robert Bell| 1.25.11 @ 6:58PM

"while Francisco Felix and Mark Price, average Americans with no political clout -- had to die."

I get your point about the elites, but are you also arguing that the outcome would have been substantially worse for Ms Giffords or better for Messrs Felix and Price prior to or without the passage of the PPACA?

Also, as one other commenter mentioned, Orwell (Eric Blair) was a committed socialist ... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell)

Southern Belle| 1.25.11 @ 8:33PM

My husband had shoulder surgery and our insurance only paid for 20 rehab visits. Will Ms Giffords policy be similar??? I doubt it.

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Sandra Lee Smith| 1.28.11 @ 1:17AM

This is an excellent analogy; and had Ms Giffords been under Obamacare when she reached the ER in Tucson, she would simply have been pronounced dead there, instead of resuscitated; that alone being an expensive process, which would have been denied with that grave an injury to start. That's the reality of the health care aspects I've been trying to point out to people since before that monstrosity was passed. But that doesn't even include the rest of the draconian provisions of that law that are simply an egregious grab for total control over the lives of EVERY single American and legal resident alien!

Christian Louboutin| 6.23.11 @ 5:59AM

For the most unexpected of reasons, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, a supporter of Obamacare, may well become a popular symbol of the reason to repeal it.

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