3 replies to this topic

[duke_Qa]

I've been observing the noise around the new Health Reform in the USA. For what it's worth, I'm glad that we finally get to see some conservatives demonstrate. It makes for much more interesting situations than with more liberal-minded demonstrations. And it also seems that they are much likely to shoot someone in the foot, their own or their opponents.

US Healthcare reforms cause outrage and fears of a `socialist state` -TimesOnline

Asked what will happen if the system is not reformed, Mr Specter says bluntly: “The alternative is absolute disaster.” Several protesters storm out in disgust, shouting insults.Mr Specter acknowledges that Mr Obama may be going too far, too fast. “Change is awesome. Change brings uncertainty. I think a lot of people are afraid,” he says.

US TV focused on Health Anger -BBC

"I was glad to see that people were there not to shout, they were there to listen and to ask questions. That reflects America a lot more than what we've seen covered on television for the last few days."
Mr Obama has said that he wants to pass a healthcare reform bill before the end of the year.
Some 47 million people in America currently do not have health insurance, and rising healthcare costs are a major contributing factor to America's spiralling budget deficit.

Obama keeps heat on insurance firms -Reuters

BIG SKY, Montana (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Saturday U.S. healthcare worked better for insurance companies than for patients, as he pressed his case for a major overhaul that critics say is too expensive.
Obama, who is in the middle of a multi-state tour to promote his healthcare policies, also accused "special interests" of misleading Americans about aspects of the reform bills making their way through Congress.

So, think that should be enough of an info-dump for now.
Personally i believe that Obama will be able to force through this, but it might get nasty before it gets better. Who knows what the healthcare-business in the US might do to keep their hard-earned money flowing in.

Edited by duke_Qa, 15 August 2009 - 11:35 AM.

[Hostile]

Funny how no one mentions the fever difference between the current protests and the Democratic National conventions with some demonstrators, and the Republican National Convention where liberals were bombing retail stores and torching and overturning cars.

OMG some conservatives protested. Pelosi referred to them as unamerican, since when is protesting unamerican? Is unamerican even a word? Spell check doesn't think so.

Seems when liberals make a protest, it's fighting for a cause. When conservatives make a protest, it's a mob. Funny how mainstream liberal media portrays their own perspectives according to their own belief.

[Puppeteer]

I suppose it's a case of minority vs. majority, where the Democrats consider themselves the majority. Therefore all Republican protesters are labelled as unamerican agitators. If it were the other way around, the Democrat protesters would be labelled anarchists. I don't think it's a case of bias permanently towards the liberals.

[duke_Qa]

I think it has more to do with the topics being demonstrated for. Your average Democrat/liberal american would probably find demonstrating against a long-needed health reform with such arguments as "death-boards", "socializing America", "pharmaceutical innovation will wither out because of lack of competition " etc etc.
Ooh, here's a nice one: 'If this proposal becomes law, we are just placing our country in the hands of foreign terrorists who could easily get hold of various prescription drug products and spread desolation and disease.' not a very serious one, but I bet someone probably has used it

Here's a more serious list of arguments. quite a good read.


anyway, democrats/liberals finds republican/conservative demonstrations laughable, because it usually in their eyes its a holy cow that needs to be turned into holy-hamburger. and vice-versa. But personally i believe that the liberals are outgrowing the conservatives in numbers, and are much more often pragmatic about their political hot-potatoes than conservatives are. and if liberals have a majority in population, then conservatives have a majority in owning political holy-cows, so there's bound to be a bit of steam coming off of them.