Minced Words: Not On Today's Menu!

Okay, I’ve had it.  Again.  Someone was quoted about the ACA rollout on a cable news crawl earlier, but I missed the attribution—a Republican, I imagine:  “It  [the web site] should have been Obama’s top priority.”
 

Yeah.  He should have been micro-managing the rollout and web site construction instead of dealing with Syria, Iran, and other foreign hot-button situations; instead of canceling his trip to Asia to deal with radical Congressional Republicans as he worked to avoid a government shutdown; of course we know how that turned out.   He should have been looking over the contracted techies’ shoulders instead of making sure Congress didn’t cause us to default on the debt (run up by Republicans) and cause financial catastrophe here and around the world.  The Tea Party Republicans brought us close enough to nearly lose our AAA credit rating, and their actions slowed down economic recovery just as it was beginning to gain a little momentum.

 

During the Republican hissy fit that caused the shutdown and nearly a default, they nearly wore out this talking point: “All we want is for the President to sit down with us.”  The President did sit down with them more than once. Before they even began repeating that at every microphone they could find.  It’s being reported today that, during one of the meetings at the White House, a House leader said to the President of the United States, “I cannot stand to even look at you.”  How’s that for a groin kick to one’s host?  There have been times (plural) when Republicans, including the Speaker, have refused invitations to go to the White House and boasted about it.  Refusing an invitation from the President is something one just doesn’t do.  Not even if you hate him; you show respect for the office.  To the best of my knowledge, gloating about refusing a Presidential invitation is something that hasn’t been done in our nation’s history.  Then again, President Barack Obama is a first.  And he is also first class—to take the endless, unprecedented insults and disrespect he has taken.  He has endured it all with tremendous grace and dignity. Republican treatment of our President is bullying at it’s worst. Five years of it.  I can’t think of another President who would have tolerated most of it for a minute.   Of course he is the first African American President (as someone said, “guilty of governing while black.”)   He is simply a better man than those who continue to give so much energy to seeing him fail.   Only the highest caliber individual could handle such abuse.  But it can’t be easy.  So much right-wing effort has gone into blocking any program he proposes, even those the Republicans proposed in the first place!  It’s been blatant.


 

I’ve been thinking about hearings House Republicans scheduled to “investigate” the ACA web site problems, yet another witch hunt to be certain blame is placed squarely on the President and his Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebilius.  God knows they’ve tried everything they could to “get” the President.    A friend had two words for why she thinks the ACA site wasn’t up and working efficiently on Day 1: “Low bid.” That well could be the case or at least part of it.
 

A conspiracy theorist is something I've never been.  Just don’t think that way.  Nevertheless, I believe an investigation by Senate Democrats or the FBI might be in order.  If what I keep hearing is accurate, there were numerous serious mistakes made in setting up the site—maybe too many to be “mistakes.”  Without an investigation, who knows? Nevertheless, I can’t help thinking how much big rightwing money (more than $50 million) has been spent, is still being spent, to keep Americans without insurance from enrolling.  The plan is to be certain "Obamacare" doesn't work.  Remember the weird Uncle Sam figure in the examining room with the woman? That ad campaign, that money.  Just a day or two ago I heard that obstructionist cash is currently funding pizza parties on college campuses; students will be strongly discouraged from signing up for coverage.  I can’t imagine that many young people could be bought for a pizza.  Geeeez.  Maybe some of them are on board with the Tea Party.  If so, most of them would be embracing policies and future plans not in their best interests—the Republican stand on social issues and their votes on college loans, their cutting Pell grants etc.  Nope, Republicans have not been kind to college students.

 

With the mega millions being spent, someone(s) surely are determined to derail this law they keep referring to as a “train wreck.”  I think this may go even deeper than Obama-hating.  If they’re willing to spend that money, maybe they got to some of the private sector people contracted to build the web site to be certain the train did wreck.  Contrary to former Sen. Blanche Lincoln saying a teenager can build a web site, these contractors must certainly have represented themselves as capable of designing a sophisticated, functioning site—one that interfaces with other agencies like the IRS, HHS, etc.  Surely they knew what their task was at the outset.   That’s what seems strange to me.  If there were only a couple of problems, it would be understandable—instead, it sounds like a full range of “glitches” that include writing the code.  How does that much stuff get screwed up?  It’s as if someone might have said, Let’s be damn sure this site is so compromised that it will finally defeat "Obamacare."  I don’t think that’s too far-fetched to consider.  Think about it.

 

I’m pretty sick of the right wingers and their rotten behavior, their lack of gray matter and manners. Not feeling sympathy for the GOP’s record-breaking low polls either.  They’ve brought it on themselves.  Today I heard that former Republican Florida governor Charlie Crist’s new book has been released.  The title?  The Party’s Over.  Good title and a good bet.