VOX reporter Jeff Stein asked 9 Republican senators some easy questions. For instance what problems would the Graham-Cassidy proposal solve in the health care system? And also, what's the policy explanation for the Graham-Cassidy bill?
The nine senators questioned were Pat Roberts, Jim Inhofe, Ted Cruz, John Kennedy, Richard Shelby, Johnny Isakson, John Barrasso, Luther Strange, and Chuck Grassley.
Stein pushed them just to get the answer to the most simple question, what problems does the Graham-Cassidy proposal solve, I mean really solve? And what came out is that the senators have really no freaking clue whatsoever, besides the fact that it's not Obamacare and they want to get rid of Obamacare. Another main point they all had was that...erm, we need to give the money, and the decision-making bits back to the states. And that's it, that's all they pretty much could say. They have no idea how it would be an improvement compared to the situation right now. And when talking about the fact that federal funding to states would be cut by 34 percent over the next year under Graham-Cassidy proposal, the best answer came from Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), who said that "But it wouldn't cut Alabama, though."
Here are just a few sample answers to Stein's questions:
"If we do nothing, I think it has a tremendous impact on the 2018 elections. And whether or not Republicans still maintain control and we have the gavel." -- Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS)
"Well, first of all, as a general rule the states do things better than the federal government does [things]. And that is essentially what the bill is." -- Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK)
"It lets states innovate and adopt creative solutions to local problems, which vary state by state./.../What I think is critical for Obamacare repeal is that we expand consumer freedom so that you, the consumer, can be in charge of what health insurance you want to buy, and we lower premiums so that health insurance is more affordable..." -- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)
"My position has always been that, number one, I think Obamacare has been a failure. First chance I get to vote for repeal it, I'll do it." -- Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA)
"It gets the money out of Washington, lets people at home make the decision, and gets state legislatures involved, and governors involved. It moves money out of Washington. It's away from socialism." -- Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY)
"The political answer is that Republicans have promised for seven years that we were going to correct all the things that were wrong with Obamacare, and we failed the first eight months. This is the last attempt to do what we promised in the election." -- Sen. Chuck Grassley
"I like the idea of sending money back to the states and letting each state experiment." -- Sen. Luther Strange (R-AL)
Luther Strange said it all, give the money to the states, let them experiment. It's only health care. What have we got to lose?
So what is the Graham-Cassidy proposal exactly, well, besides not being Obamacare?
Well, as you read from the answers the senators gave, nobody really knows. Except for two things. Power to the States! And it's not Obamacare!
Well, there you have it. I'm kind of happy I'm not living in the States and I'm even happier I have socialist health care.
The nine senators questioned were Pat Roberts, Jim Inhofe, Ted Cruz, John Kennedy, Richard Shelby, Johnny Isakson, John Barrasso, Luther Strange, and Chuck Grassley.
Stein pushed them just to get the answer to the most simple question, what problems does the Graham-Cassidy proposal solve, I mean really solve? And what came out is that the senators have really no freaking clue whatsoever, besides the fact that it's not Obamacare and they want to get rid of Obamacare. Another main point they all had was that...erm, we need to give the money, and the decision-making bits back to the states. And that's it, that's all they pretty much could say. They have no idea how it would be an improvement compared to the situation right now. And when talking about the fact that federal funding to states would be cut by 34 percent over the next year under Graham-Cassidy proposal, the best answer came from Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), who said that "But it wouldn't cut Alabama, though."
Here are just a few sample answers to Stein's questions:
"If we do nothing, I think it has a tremendous impact on the 2018 elections. And whether or not Republicans still maintain control and we have the gavel." -- Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS)
"Well, first of all, as a general rule the states do things better than the federal government does [things]. And that is essentially what the bill is." -- Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK)
"It lets states innovate and adopt creative solutions to local problems, which vary state by state./.../What I think is critical for Obamacare repeal is that we expand consumer freedom so that you, the consumer, can be in charge of what health insurance you want to buy, and we lower premiums so that health insurance is more affordable..." -- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)
"My position has always been that, number one, I think Obamacare has been a failure. First chance I get to vote for repeal it, I'll do it." -- Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA)
"It gets the money out of Washington, lets people at home make the decision, and gets state legislatures involved, and governors involved. It moves money out of Washington. It's away from socialism." -- Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY)
"The political answer is that Republicans have promised for seven years that we were going to correct all the things that were wrong with Obamacare, and we failed the first eight months. This is the last attempt to do what we promised in the election." -- Sen. Chuck Grassley
"I like the idea of sending money back to the states and letting each state experiment." -- Sen. Luther Strange (R-AL)
Luther Strange said it all, give the money to the states, let them experiment. It's only health care. What have we got to lose?
So what is the Graham-Cassidy proposal exactly, well, besides not being Obamacare?
Well, as you read from the answers the senators gave, nobody really knows. Except for two things. Power to the States! And it's not Obamacare!
Well, there you have it. I'm kind of happy I'm not living in the States and I'm even happier I have socialist health care.
|
Some of our content may be related to gambling.    |