RUSH: One of the things I wish I’d said on Greta that I said Friday, I want to repeat now, is one of the best points that anybody could make in describing the uniqueness and greatness of this country, do you realize that the history of the world is tyranny? The history of the world is dictatorship. The history of the world is dungeons and torture chambers. That’s why this country is so unique. It’s just part of human nature for people who desire to have power over other people. There are people in this country who are Americans who have the same view of totalitarianism that all the worst regimes of the world have had. They just are a minority, or have been a minority. They have to be stealth to get anywhere because who’s going to vote for torture, who’s going to vote for tyranny, who’s going to vote for dictatorship? But we did. We did. And you see it slowly encroaching.
If they could move faster on this they would, but it’s why this country is so special and so unique in all of human history because it was founded on the exact opposite pretense and purpose, individual liberty and freedom, a Constitution that tells the government what it cannot do to us and to the citizens. And, of course, Obama and his buds think of the Constitution as consisting of negative rights,
meaning it doesn’t say what the government can do for us or to us. Now, the second story that I was going to mention here, the first headline was funny. This is from Money magazine, CNNMoney.com. ”Five Freedoms You’d Lose in Health Care Reform’ — If you read the fine print in the Congressional plans, you’ll find that a lot of cherished aspects of the current system would disappear.’ This is by Shawn Tully, editor-at-large at a Time Warner publication, Money magazine. I’m stunned that this appears anywhere near the CNN logo, website, whatever.
‘In promoting his health-care agenda, President Obama has repeatedly reassured Americans that they can keep their existing health plans — and that the benefits and access they prize will be enhanced through reform. A close reading of the two main bills, one backed by Democrats in the House and the other issued by Sen. Edward Kennedy’s Health committee, contradict the President’s assurances. To be sure, it isn’t easy to comb through their 2,000 pages of tortured legal language. But page by page, the bills reveal a web of restrictions, fines, and mandates that would radically change your health-care coverage.’ Here’s number one, the five freedoms that you would lose, according to CNNMoney.com. Number one: ‘Freedom to choose what’s in your plan. The bills in both houses require that Americans purchase insurance through ‘qualified’ plans offered by health-care ‘exchanges’ that would be set up in each state. The rub is that the plans can’t really compete based on what they offer. The reason: The federal government will impose a minimum list of benefits that each plan is required to offer. … Connecticut, for example, requires reimbursement for hair transplants, hearing aids, and in vitro fertilization.’ Many states require these ‘standard benefits packages’ and they’re a major cause for the rise in health care costs along with tort reform.
The number two freedom you would lose, they say, ‘Freedom to be rewarded for healthy living, or pay your real costs. As with the previous example, the Obama plan enshrines into federal law one of the worst features of state legislation: community rating. Eleven states, ranging from New York to Oregon, have some form of community rating. In its purest form, community rating requires that all patients pay the same rates for their level of coverage regardless of their age or medical condition. Americans with pre-existing conditions need subsidies under any plan, but community rating is a dubious way to bring fairness to health care. The reason is twofold: First, it forces young people, who typically have lower incomes than older workers, to pay far more than their actual cost, and gives older workers, who can afford to pay more, a big discount. … Second, the bills would ban insurers from charging differing premiums based on the health of their customers.’
That’s like having a good driving record getting you no break on your auto insurance premium. So all this talk about we’re going to live healthier and we’re going to mandate this and mandate that to lower costs, which, by the way, we’ve cut smoking in half and where are the savings? They don’t exist. The third freedom: ‘Freedom to choose high-deductible coverage.’ You’re going to lose that. ‘The bills threaten to eliminate the one part of the market truly driven by consumers spending their own money. That’s what makes a market, and health care needs more of it, not less.’ So if you want a high deductible coverage, you’re not going to be able to do that. That would lower your premium, by the way. Number four: ‘Freedom to keep your existing plan. This is the freedom that the President keeps emphasizing. Yet the bills appear to say otherwise. It’s worth diving into the weeds — the territory where most pundits and politicians don’t seem to have ventured.’ You will lose your health care plan under his plan.
And five: ‘Freedom to choose your doctors. The Senate bill requires that Americans buying through the exchanges — and as we’ve seen, that will soon be most Americans — must get their care through something called ‘medical home.’ Medical home is similar to an HMO. You’re assigned a primary care doctor, and the doctor controls your access to specialists.’ And the last couple sentences of this piece: ‘For now, we suffer with a flawed health-care system, but we still have our Five Freedoms. Call them the Five Endangered Freedoms.’ There’s a lot more than just these five that we’re going to lose, and now the Democrats, this is the AP: ”Democrats Alone Can’t Deliver Obama Health Care’ — Democratic and GOP officials acknowledged Sunday that Obama’s ambitious plan would not pass without the aid of a doubtful GOP, whose members are almost united against the White House effort.’
Well, let me tell you something. If you add up the numbers, if the Democrats are unified, they can’t be stopped. They do not need Republicans. If they need Republicans, it’s because there’s a problem with the Democrats. This is such a glorious good-time political opportunity. If they had a bad July, let’s make August miserable for them. There’s no reason to do any of this, ever, not in two weeks, not in two months, not in two years. There is no reason to ever enact a health care reform bill like this into law.
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RUSH: All right, Susan in Ohio, welcome to the EIB Network. It’s great to have you here.
CALLER: (silence) Yes.
RUSH: Hi, Susan. Are you there?
CALLER: Yes, I am.
RUSH: Hi!
CALLER: Hi. You know, I was wondering. I am self-employed, and I do not have health insurance. Now, that’s at my own choosing. Now, when I want to get health insurance, or even if I don’t want it, how can Obama make me get it?
RUSH: Pass a law that says you have to have it or you get fined by the IRS.
CALLER: Okay. But say, fine, I don’t do it. Say a whole bunch of us decide we’re not going to do it. Are they going to put us all in jail or what?
RUSH: No they’ll fine you.
CALLER: Yes, and I don’t pay it.
RUSH: They’re going to get your money one way or the other, and they might put you in jail. Who knows with this bunch?
CALLER: Yeah. That’s what I meant. Who could tell with them? I totally agree.
RUSH: And they’re going to guilt you into it. They’re going to come to you and they’re going to say, ‘You’re not buying insurance. You’re the reason costs are so high. You’re going to get health coverage or you’re going to get health treatment, medical treatment, but you’re not paying for any insurance. So you’re putting the burden on a whole lot of more people that otherwise would not have that burden.’ This question was asked of Maryland Senator Ben Cardin. The guy said, ‘Look, I just dropped my health insurance. I, frankly, like having that money to spend on other things. Is it true you are going to fine me?’ and Cardin, yeah. He didn’t deny that but he starting berating the guy for being a burden on the system. Which is no different than telling somebody who does not own a car and therefore does not have auto insurance that they’re being a burden to everybody else who does have automobile insurance. These are the kind of things. People are starting to ask themselves these questions, the word’s getting out about this, and the polls indicate it is.
Ed, Camarillo, California, hi. Great to have you on the EIB Network.
CALLER: Yeah, Rush.
RUSH: Yeah.
CALLER: Hey, it’s such a pleasure in getting the shiver running up my leg.
RUSH: Well, that’s fun to envision.
CALLER: (laughing) Yeah. Basically I was thinking about health care and cap and trade, and one of the people I feel like has always been there just pecking away at this stuff is Henry Waxman from California. I don’t think enough people give him enough credit for what he’s doing with all of this. He’s probably had portions of this health care bill in his desk for years and just blew a little dust off it to put it out there. He just been there pecking away.
RUSH: You know, you have a little bit of a point here. Waxman does operate — for being as powerful and prominent as he is, he does operate — under the radar. He’s not put in the mix here as one of the people with destructive designs on the US economy. That’s a good point. I’m glad you called and made it.
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RUSH: Ernie in mid-Michigan. Ernie, welcome to the EIB Network. Great to have you here, sir.
CALLER: Yes.
RUSH: Yeah.
CALLER: Yeah, last week I noticed at the news conference that he drug it out, at the very beginning of it, I said of all the countries he named off several countries that have government sponsored insurance and he said they’re all better than ours. It’s a blatant lie. All the reporters stood there with their mouths glued shut, nobody challenged him. I cannot understand why he doesn’t get a challenge when he lies. Another quick thing is that he is so elegant, he’s not elegant. He’s not as smart. I have a high school education and nothing more. I can tell when he’s lying. You can tell when he’s lying and people have got to wake up. Why don’t they challenge him when he lies about our health insurance? We all know it’s the best in the world. Everybody comes here for the services that we can provide.
RUSH: Yes, and nobody leaves this country for health care.
CALLER: Why does he say that and get away with it?
RUSH: Well, that’s why I say he doesn’t like this country. Look, the way that this man is selling things is to try to convince everybody that this country is not all it’s cracked up to be. It’s all rotten, it’s bad, it’s gotta be changed, and the reason the press doesn’t challenge him, you know, I asked the same question, that press conference was just a joke. That’s why I say they’ve met their Waterloo. They have checked their integrity at the terror door. They have given up on professionalism. They just said to hell with it, they’ve become propagandists. The White House press corps especially, at these press conferences. That’s why they’re not challenging him, they’re there to promote him. They’re there to help him get this done. They all want the tingle up the leg that Chris Matthews gets every night. They all want to feel that. They all want to be approved, and they all want to be liked and they all want to be on the inside with this administration. I know it’s perverted, but that’s what we’re dealing with, but don’t sweat it, ’cause I’m here.