The Koch Brothers New Anti-Obamacare Ad: One Blatant Lie After Another July 10, 2013 By Allen Clifton 1 Comment Share on Tumblr koch-brothers-obamacareIf someone is claiming something is extremely good or bad, they shouldn’t have to lie about it when explaining why they feel a certain way. And if they do have to lie, then obviously they have some kind of agenda. That’s a great rule to remember when going through life, and one I’ve always kept in mind myself. Now in politics, there’s always a certain level of exaggeration. Heck, there’s a lot of lying as well. But I’ve really never seen anything like I have from Republicans against the Affordable Care Act, aka “Obamacare.” And when I see Republicans lie about the bill, I always ask them, “If it’s so terrible, why is it that your side has to lie so often about it? Shouldn’t the truth be enough?” Early on it was “death panels” and then the “government takeover of health care.” You even had the outlandish claim that the government might force microchip implants in every American. And of course all of these were complete lies. To which I always repeated the question, “If the law is so bad, why does your side base their main arguments against it on ridiculously fabricated lies?” I rarely get an answer to this question. Usually just some kind of hyperbole or deflection. That or I get something like, “I’m not paying for another person’s health care!” Which I always explain to these people—that’s exactly what health insurance is. It’s people paying into a “pot” for coverage so it lessens the out of pocket burden when health services are needed. The premium you pay isn’t based just on your health, it’s inflated to adjust for those covered by their insurance company who are higher risks. This explanation rarely makes a difference. Republicans are often as dedicated to their propaganda, no matter how outlandish, as they are their faith in God. So it comes as no surprise when I read about the Koch brothers funding an anti-Obamacare ad campaign which for now is essentially a 30 second commercial that perpetuates complete fiction about the Affordable Care Act. It’s a woman talking about her son who suffers from seizures. First, I would like to congratulate this woman because if her son suffers from seizures, he can now no longer be denied care — or charged insanely high prices — because of his pre-existing condition of which “Obamacare” prevents denial of treatment. Oh, that wasn’t in the video? Of course not. But right off the bat she talks about “not being able to choose their own doctors because of Obamacare.” Why would she have this concern? Apparently she’s been informed about the bill by the Koch brothers or Fox News, because there’s no such provision in the Affordable Care Act which prevents people from being able to choose their own doctors. Well, not any more than people currently face with our existing health care system. Certain plans now restrict people from being able to choose “out of network” doctors, but this isn’t something caused by the Affordable Care Act. It’s something that has been prevalent in the health insurance business for some time now. Then she insinuates a drastic spike in her premiums by asking, “What will she get with higher premiums and a smaller paycheck?” Okay, quick question, who’s health insurance was going down before the Affordable Care Act? Opponents to the bill act as if health insurance was near rock-bottom prices and this legislation has caused some radical upward movement in what they pay. News flash: The vast majority of the bill has yet to go into effect, if your insurance company spiked your premiums 2-3 years ago, they only did so because they saw a window to create an excuse to raise premiums. That’s called greed. The very same greed your party thinks needs less regulation because they always act so ethically, right? And the last lie she pushes in this video is, “Can I trust people in Washington with my family’s health care?” Well, considering the Affordable Care Act isn’t socialized medicine, this statement is absolutely baseless. The bill requires that people purchase insurance — it doesn’t represent a government takeover of the health care system. And for the record, if socialized health care is so terrible, why do seniors give Medicare high approval numbers and fight to see any changes which might impact their benefits? If government run health care was so terrible, Medicare would have horrible reviews. Yet, it’s actually quite popular. Go figure. But anyway, the Affordable Care Act isn’t socialized health care so the “people in Washington” have nothing to do with the care you’re provided. The most ironic part of the entire video is that the women is talking about a child who seems to have been born with a pre-existing condition. Something “Obamacare” specifically protects. Before the bill, a woman with a child who has that condition might have been denied coverage, or offered premiums at such exorbitant prices they would have struggled to be able to afford them. So the whole situation the Koch brothers try and set up with this blatantly false attack against “Obamacare” showcases a mother, with a child, for which the Affordable Care Act would actually greatly benefit. You really can’t make this kind of stuff up. But it won’t matter to their supporters because facts and the truth don’t matter. They’ll eat this up because it’s made to pander to exactly what Republicans want to hear and no amount of facts or reality will change their minds. But at the end of the day, I still just have a couple of questions… If the Affordable Care Act is so terrible, why is nearly every statement Republicans use against it completely false? If it were truly that bad, surely the simple truth should be enough, right? But I don’t expect many Republicans to answer. Heck, I’m willing to bet most of them don’t even know who the Koch brothers are. If you enjoyed this, please
Posted on: Wed, 10 Jul 2013 13:16:44 +0000
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