Ron Paul

[Luna]

Y'all have heard about this one, yes?  At the Teabagger debate, Ron Paul was asked about a hypothetical young man who decided not to buy health insurance, wound up in a coma, and needed medical attention.  He was asked if he should just be allowed to die, or be treated and, if treated who should pay.  The crowd yelled out that he should be allowed to die, and not a single politician said shit.  Ron Paul waffled, but, essentially said that individuals should pay for their own health care, or that churches should take up the slack.

http://blog.chron.com/rickperry/2011/09/tea-partiers-cheer-to-let-uninsured-die-ron-paul-says-let-churches-help/

Here's an interesting bit of trivia.  Ron Paul's campaign manager for his 2008 presidential campaign, Kent Snyder, apparently could not obtain medical insurance from his employer (Ron Paul), and, as a result, died owing $400,000 in medical bills...

http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/13007

[sotesla4]

Crowds cheering for the deaths of convicts and now crowds cheering for the deaths of the sick... 

[Phox]

WOO! RON PAUL 2012!

In all seriousness, this is both fascinating and repulsive, though completely unsurprising.

[Lenin McCarthy]

Ron Paul strikes me as genuine, but still repulsive.
Kind of like the sad gits who run the tiny libertarian/objectivist party in Norway that gets a hundred something votes in elections. I can imagine him being one of those if he lived here.

That genuineness is a quality (?) that the other Republican candidates lack. I'm not sure what terrifies me most, though: someone who genuinely cheers the deaths of the sick, or someone who cheers the deaths of the sick to gain votes. 

[Kai]

Y'all have heard about this one, yes?  At the Teabagger debate, Ron Paul was asked about a hypothetical young man who decided not to buy health insurance, wound up in a coma, and needed medical attention.  He was asked if he should just be allowed to die, or be treated and, if treated who should pay.  The crowd yelled out that he should be allowed to die, and not a single politician said shit.  Ron Paul waffled, but, essentially said that individuals should pay for their own health care, or that churches should take up the slack.

http://blog.chron.com/rickperry/2011/09/tea-partiers-cheer-to-let-uninsured-die-ron-paul-says-let-churches-help/

Here's an interesting bit of trivia.  Ron Paul's campaign manager for his 2008 presidential campaign, Kent Snyder, apparently could not obtain medical insurance from his employer (Ron Paul), and, as a result, died owing $400,000 in medical bills...

http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/13007

You could have switched "She's a witch." and "Burn her!" with the above Q&A and the mentality would have been no different.

[Kai]

Also, the audience at that thing sounded like DEATH PANELS to me. 

[Phox]

Also, the audience at that thing sounded like DEATH PANELS to me. 

No, no, no. I am STILL demanding that Obama begin the screenings for Death Panels immediately. I, for one, would gladly do my civic duty and be a member of one such panel. Freelance, of course, as is the American^TM way.

[Cain]

On the one hand, it is hard to feel sorry for someone who had the financial means to pay for health insurance and did not.  That is a little different than someone not being able to afford it, or being denied it due to "pre-existing conditions".

On the other hand, my exact reaction to such a person dying would be closer to "needless and easily prevented tragedy" than "fuck yeah, someone's gonna DIE!"

[Luna]

Ron Paul kicked Rick Perry's ass in the California GoP straw poll...

http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/09/ron-paul-wins-california-gop-straw.html

Congressman Ron Paul (374, 44.9%)

Governor Rick Perry (244, 29.3%)

Mitt Romney (74, 8.8%)

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (64, 7.7%)

Jon Huntsman (17, 2.0%)

Herman Cain (15, 1.8%)

Newt Gingrich (14, 1.7%)

Thad McCotter (7, 0.8%)

Rick Santorum (7, 0.8%)

[East Coast Hustle]

Who the fuck is Thad McCotter?

[Luna]

Who the fuck is Thad McCotter?

Michigan Congressman.  I had to look him up.

http://politisite.com/2011/06/30/thad-mccotter-2012-presidential-profile-on-the-issues/

The fact that somebody I'd never heard of whupped Santorum amuses the fuck out of me.

Thad McCotter is pro-life.

He has a 100% rating by the Christian Coalition, indicating he is strong on family issues.

He is a strong supporter of the Iraq War initiative.

His votes are strong in favor of government reform.

The NRA gives him an "A", indicating he supports gun rights.

He has a strong military voting record.

He voted in favor of a border fence.

He was the first Republican in the House of Representatives to vote against the Paulson bailout, calling it "American socialism".

He voted against ObamaCare.

Voted NO on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Jan 2007)
Voted NO on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005)
Voted YES on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions. (Apr 2005)
Voted YES on making it a crime to harm a fetus during another crime. (Feb 2004)
Voted YES on banning partial-birth abortion except to save mother's life. (Oct 2003)
Voted YES on forbidding human cloning for reproduction & medical research. (Feb 2003)
Rated 0% by NARAL, indicating a pro-life voting record. (Dec 2003)
Rated 100% by the NRLC, indicating a pro-life stance. (Dec 2006)
Prohibit transporting minors across state lines for abortion. (Jan 2008)
Bar funding for abortion under federal Obamacare plans. (Jul 2010)
Grant the pre-born equal protection under 14th Amendment. (Jan 2007)
Declare preborn as persons under 14th amendment. (Feb 2009)

Fairly standard GoP platform.

[Luna]

Newt is chiming in...  He agrees with Ron Paul that people should pay for the medical care of others, but only if they WANT to contribute.

GINGRICH: Historically, we had charity. We had places that say, if you are down on your luck, if you failed to be responsible, we will take care of you, but that doesn't mean that you're necessarily going to get a private room, that you're necessarily going to get everything somebody would get who's been prudent and who has taken care of themselves. [...] Yes, we're going to make sure they're taken care of, but they ought to understand that's charity.

BLITZER: But that money should come from charitable organizations, not from taxpayers? Is that what you're saying? [...]

GINGRICH: I would prefer to see it come from charitable organizations.

[Cain]

You know, for a history professor, Gingrinch is amazingly unaware of history.  Almost ironically so.

(Hipster GOP?)

[Luna]

You know, for a history professor, Gingrinch is amazingly unaware of history.  Almost ironically so.

(Hipster GOP?)

History being rewritten before our eyes.  It would be fascinating if it wasn't so fucked up.

[Cain]

Also, time for some basic poli sci:

Most people who donate to charities are the bottom 10-25% of the population, in terms of earners (citations, too numerous to bother with).

Most people in the USA in that demographic are poor savers, as necessitity forces them to survive from paycheck to paycheck.

Most people in that demographic in the USA are facing increased fuel, food and other cost rises, on top of stagnant wages and a deteriorating economic situation (for them).

Basic logic suggests charities would not be able to handle even 1% of the cases the government, through taxation, can.