It's not well-written, but I agree with almost every idea posted in this article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/04/AR2009100402003.html
A solid conservative approach. It beats forced conscription that'll further bankrupt the country and make our kids life hell.
I might not agree with all of it, but it is at least attempting to address the issue instead of howling about death panels and illegal immigrants and so on. My opinion of Jindal just went up a notch or two. barfo
I've been working on my own proposal and Jindal came pretty close. There are still some difficult holes to fill, but a plan with this form of attack would end up being cheaper and more effective than a government takeover of the health care system.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/...e=2&show_comment_id=31668553#comment_31668553 Yeah, we are right in the middle of it. And the polling also shows the American people trust republicans even less than the Dems to get healthcare right. Anyway, some good ideas in there that need to be incorporated into any healthcare bill, imo. I'm all for bi-partisan, but it seems that both sides don't want it. The left says they do but don't make a big effort, and the right is far more into stopping any form of healthcare reform than working on a bi-partisan solution.
Are they more into stopping any form of healthcare reform, or are they concerned with stopping the current proposals, which they see as an incredibly expensive, and non-sustainable healthcare reform? Or are you being extremely partisan?
I don't know, the Jindal editorial is absolutely the first proposal on reforming healthcare I've seen from any republican this year. You'd think if they wanted to address the problem we would have seen more proposals like this one. Maybe I've missed the others? barfo
I don't really know how it works, but does somebody like Jindal have any influence on the Republicans in DC? I mean, he can write decent proposals, but is there any chance they go anywhere?
No, Jindal probably doesn't have much influence. This is more about his career than actually solving healthcare, practically speaking. Yeah, it would be better if actual DC Republicans stood up and made some proposals, but they don't seem interested in doing so. If they think they have ideas that are better for the country than what the Democrats are proposing, don't you think they should try to make it clear to all of us what those ideas are and why they are better? barfo
It seems reasonable that they feel doing nothing at all could be better for the country than passing extremely expensive and unsustainable reform. I actually do believe this is their main opposition. So from their perspective, doing nothing is a better proposal than what is being proposed by the Democrats. (and I agree with them). On the other hand, I think our system can be improved. I just don't think the Democrats' current proposals will improve the system. I would love to see some solid, bipartisan proposals come out.
Paul Ryan presented a plan similar to Gov. Jindal's article as a series of amendments. All were voted down in committee.
I heard it on NPR. I'll try to track down the link. However, the larger point stands. The Democrats can talk about compromise all they want, but one side giving 95% and the other side giving 5% isn't compromise, it's capitulation. While there is an obligation for both sides to negotiate in good faith, there is no obligation for one side to raise the white flag to the other. If the Democrats were interested in true compromise in the House (I believe the gang of six tried in the Senate), the bill would look very different. The Republicans have been pushed to the side, because the battleground right now is between the Left and the Far Left wings of the Democratic Party.
It's fine to say doing nothing is better than the Dems proposal. But everyone, including Republicans, say that something has to be done. Therefore, doing nothing isn't sufficient. barfo
Yes, but the "something" is what both sides are arguing about. And the Democrats' prescription many people believe makes the country and our health care system worse off.
The republicans have stepped to the side, because they haven't actually tried to make the case for their own program, if they have one. They've been given a huge amount of air time to talk about healthcare, and nearly every single bit of it is about what's wrong with the Dem. proposal, not what they think should be done instead. barfo
What speaks volumes to me isn't what Republicans do or don't say this year about health care. It's what they've been saying for the last decade. When they were in charge getting health care to the uninsured was never much of a priority. It was tepid attempts at tort reform and health savings accounts, and the lame statement that you could always just go to the emergency room. The real priority had always been war and tax cuts. The reason why it's a battle between the left and the far left is because the right never really cared much about it.
I agree with you & barfo that the right should make their case more clearly, but it's also good strategy to make the other side fight among itself- it's a common strategy and can be highly effective. The lefties have done it well in the past as well. That's not a good excuse fort he right sitting on their hands, but it's unlikley their ideals would get off the ground since this issue is being ram rodded by the left. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, politics.
That's probably true. From a tactical standpoint, the right always knew that if they could get their tax cuts in, it'd be pretty hard to revoke them no matter what happened. (Who wants to be the guy who "raises taxes"?) It's also why the left is so eager to pull health care reform off. If it can, it'll be impossible to ever get rid of. In the end, you wind up getting fairly extreme policy. The tax cuts were far more severe than what was really responsible, given our debt burden and our wars. Similarly, the new health care plan will almost certainly be more expensive than what's probably prudent given our current circumstances.
