I usually stay out of the political arena on this blog, but goddess bless her, Elizabeth Warren is one of the straightest talkers in the Senate I have seen in my adult life. If she would just introduce the budgetary considerations Warren Buffet has raised, I would again have faith in my country.
Here’s what Elizabeth Warren had to say:
“Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to solve a real, honest-to-God problem.
Our health care system was broken. 48 million people in this country had no health insurance. Women couldn’t get access to cancer screenings. People with diabetes were denied health insurance because of pre-existing conditions. People with cancer hit the caps on their health insurance spending. And health spending in this country was growing far too fast.
So we worked hard, we compromised, and we came up with a solution. A solution that will substantially improve the lives of millions of Americans – because that’s the way a democracy works.
It’s time to end the debate about whether the Affordable Care Act should exist and whether it should be funded.
Congress voted for this law. President Obama signed this law. The Supreme Court upheld this law. The President ran for reelection on this law. His opponent said he would repeal it – and his opponent lost by five million votes.
Right now, Republicans are taking the government and the economy hostage, threatening serious damage to both unless the President agrees to gut the Affordable Care Act. For days, they even tried to change the law so that employers can deny women access to birth control coverage.
I am the mother of a daughter and the grandmother of granddaughters. I will never vote to let a group of backward-looking ideologues cut women’s access to birth control. We have lived in that world, and we are not going back. Not ever.
I see things like this and I wonder what alternate reality some of my colleagues are living in.
So let me be very clear about what is happening in the real world: The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land. Millions of people are counting on it – people who need health care coverage, people who need insurance policies that don’t disappear just when they are sickest.
The law is here to stay, and it will stay.
Now the government is shut down. We haven’t fixed the sequester because of all the obstruction. We haven’t finished a budget because of all the obstruction. We haven’t even passed a single appropriations bill because of all the obstruction.
The least we can do – the bare minimum we can do – would be to pass a “continuing resolution” to open the doors back up and turn the lights back on. We could ensure that over a million federal workers aren’t staying home for no reason. We could end the government shutdown.
But the Republicans have refused to do even that. They have shuttered the government unless the President agreed to de-fund the Affordable Care Act.
The threats may continue, but they are not working and they never will. In a democracy, hostage tactics are the last resort for those who can’t win their fights through elections, can’t win their fights in Congress, can’t win their fights for the Presidency, and can’t win their fights in Courts.
For this right-wing minority, hostage-taking is all they have left – a last gasp of those who cannot cope with the realities of our democracy.
The time has come for those legislators who cannot cope with the reality of our democracy to get out of the way – so that those of us in BOTH parties can get back to working on solving the real problems faced by the American people.
We have real work to do.”
Elizabeth
Amen (Awomen?)!!!!
I don’t usually get into the political fray either but thanks for sharing this. And two words for this from Senator Warren: right on, go girl. Ok, I lied, 4 words!
I also don’t care who is Republican or Democrat anymore, for me, they are voted members of our peers who should put only one thing ahead of everything else which I know is hard to do: the country. The country comes first, not their political careers. I’ve heard some great speeches by people who want our country to go first and to turn the lights on again. I will remember those people in the voting booth next time!
You really should just stick to blogging about Big Sur because your way off on this. Stay off the kool-aid.
Thanks for posting this, Kate.
Thanks for posting!
This is the first article I’ve read that is representing the people. What is with congress??? Thanx Kate for printing.
Personally, I get into politics all the time. I was Geraldine Ferraro’s Press Secretary in her first run 40 years ago, covered the ’80 Convention for CBS at Madison Square Garden, and the political desk for WCBS-TV in NY. I think Elizabeth Warren’s lying. I hope people read the real-time reactions to doubled and tripled costs on health care under the manical Obama plan. That the budget for pre-existing conditions is already shot for one thing. It’s destructive. It’s crippling to businesses. It’s unaffordable. And is going to grow into a nightmare beyond imagining and we’re being FORCED to participate. According to one Obamacare Navigator the fines for not joining will be removed directly from your bank account. We’ve got a very spiteful, indulgent bunch in Washington on both sides of the aisle. Shutting down the government is just fine with me. In a 2 party system, something both parties forgot we have, leverage is demanded. Obama’s gone five years without a budget. Wish I could pull that off at home.
Wow – that last rant was a bit much. I moved here from Massachusetts. I lived there under their insurance law. It wasn’t easy – the State almost went broke, but they are woring it out. The important thing was people had insurance & could seek help. It does make a difference to people living on minimum wage and just surviving.
The Obama plan will probably need tweaking, we can do that if everyone would work together.
I knew this would be controversial. Tree doc – what kool-aid would that be?
I’m almost speechless! And confused: manical? manacle? maniacal? Someone is going to remove fines directly from my bank account? Where is this information coming from? I’m with you, Kate. Elizabeth appears to be a breath of fresh air.
Elizabeth Warren is an ideologue who admits now lied about being part Cherokee Indian to get onto the Harvard faculty She said the same thing to U Penn.. The case she makes for the socialized medicine law is flawed. Yes, Congress passed the bill but the House and Senate were under control of the left at that time. Speaker Pelosi did not even read the bill and advised us that we have to pass the bill to see what’s in it.
The American people told Congress in 2010 what they thought about this as the Republicans retook the House. This president called that election a ‘shellacking’.
Ms. Warren repeats the chant that now American women are NOW guaranteed contraceptives, huh? Find one woman that can’t get contraceptives or reproductive health care on demand anywhere in America. This is not an issue and has not been for 40 years in the USA. Somehow the dems, with help from the mainstream press turned this into a plank during the last election cycle. Who knew so many could be so easily fooled?
She says 48 million persons are without health insurance? This is a canard. Many don’t have insurance because they don’t want to pay for it. Everyone, including illegal immigrants can see a doctor any time they want just by walking into a hospital, any hospital.
Medicaid serves(d) the poor well.
So now everyone in the U.S. is compelled to purchase healthcare insurance. Doctors across the nation are protesting because reimbursement rates will be less than what it costs to stay in business.
We are all headed for reduced care from fewer doctors. Ms. Warren will not have to wait 6 hours to be seen by a physicians assistant. She won’t be told the prescriptions she really needs are not in the formulary. We will.
Massachusetts is another canard. It’s a more productive state with a fairly dynamic populace and the subsidies are more easily met by the state than it will be for the nation. You will find an equal percentage of person in MA that hate the system that like it. Those that like it are the ones getting free care!
HolyCowGirl, you make the case better than anyone I have read. It means more coming from you because your eyes are wide open considering your experience.
Interesting subject line Kate.
I am not the least bit afraid of a National Health Plan.
But, you folks with such vehement anger and hatrid are kinda scary.
Calm down, please, we’ll work out the problems. Okay?
There are already many needy people being helped by “O’bamaCare”.
Get off your high horse.