Sen. Grassley - Liar Or Idiot ?

It seems like every week, the Republican lies get worse and more ridiculous in the health care debate. A few days ago, Sen. Chuck Grassley went on an Iowa City radio station to pass along the latest Republican fear tactic -- that the Democratic health care plan would ration health care according to age, resulting in the unnecessary deaths of older people.

Grassley even had the absolute gall to use fellow senator Ted Kennedy as an example. He said, " In countries that have government-run health care, just to give you an example, I’ve been told that the brain tumor that Sen. Kennedy has — because he’s 77 years old — would not be treated the way it’s treated in the United States. In other words, he would not get the care he gets here because of his age. In other words, they’d say ‘well he doesn’t have long to live even if he lived another four to five years.’ They’d say ‘well, we gotta spend money on people who can contribute more to economy.’ It’s a little like people saying when somebody gets to be 85 their life is worth less than when they were 35 and you pull the tubes on them."

If someone really told him that, then he's a fool for believing it. If not, then he's just a liar. There are so many things wrong with this argument that it's hard to know where to start.

First, the countries with single-payer government health insurance do not ration according to age. If an elderly person did not get treatment, it would be because he/she is not strong enough to survive the treatment, or because the said treatment would not provide a cure or extend their life.

Second, the United States health care system involves the most unfair rationing of health care of any system in the industrialized world. In the United States, the more money you have, the more (and better) health care you get. It's easy to see why the Republicans support the status quo, because their corporate masters and rich colleagues get the best care available (and don't have to share that access with less affluent citizens).

Third, none of the Democratic plans offered so far would change Medicare significantly. That means the elderly would basically receive the same care they receive right now. The debate is on whether younger and poorer people will receive insurance and adequate health care, which they are denied under the current system.

Fourth, Sen. Kennedy did not receive first-rate treatment because our current system is so great. He got it because he's famous and rich. No private company is going to deny paying for a senator's health care, and if they did, he has enough money to pay for it himself. If Kennedy was not rich and famous, he would already be dead under our current system (and he'd be the first to tell us that).

Grassley, like the other Republicans, doesn't want to fix our health care system. That's why they have no solution except to funnel more money into the private insurance companies (which even they know is not a real solution). So the only option they have is lying and fearmongering. Don't believe them!