The Mandate Flip Flop

[joeycola]

A big flip flip at that!!

http://www.rollingstone.com/nationalaffairs/index.php/2009/09/10/the-mandate-flip-flop/?utm_source=daily-newsletter&utm_medium=email

The Mandate Flip Flop

9/10/09, 2:53 am EST

Obama was at his oratorical best tonight. Just off the charts.

But seriously? A health care mandate?

This is a flip flop of Romneyan proportions. Was the whole fucking umpteen month primary campaign in which Obama argued passionately — and I daresay persuasively — against a mandate to purchase health care all just posturing?

Here’s what Obama once had to say about Hillary Clinton’s plan in a health care mailer:

“Hillary’s health care plan forces everyone to buy insurance even if you can’t afford it… and you pay a penalty if you don’t”

“Punishing families who can’t afford health care to begin with just doesn’t make sense”

“Barack Obama believes it’s not that people don’t want health care it’s that they can’t afford it.”

This, the mailer said, was the essence of Change We Can Believe In. :(

[DrToast]

1. To paraphrase Barney Frank: In what year do you spend most of your time?

Obama has been for mandates a long time now. I'm surprised that so many people just got the word.

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

2. They didn't. They will use anything they can get their paws on to slam Obama.

[JuniperLea]

4. They are sure out in force today!

Man alive! I'm about through with DU for the day. Cheesus!

[kenny blankenship]

7. Yep. Obama is looking forward. Obama is SO not looking back..

Obama spends most of his time in the year 2009, where he is President and FOR mandates -- not in 2008 when he was a candidate, and AGAINST mandates.

Why, it must be 8 or 9 months now that he's been for mandates. My God how can people live in the past this way?

Fired up! Moving on!

[branders seine]

14. he's now living in the future

the future in which we are ruled by medical insurance corporations and banks

[joeycola]

9. Oh, I got it a while ago.

[brentspeak]

12. "A long time now" -- meaning, AFTER he got elected

[JuniperLea]

3. You can't cherry pick and expect to get it...

This place is making me sick today. Jeez.

[grantcart]

5. if you simply don't read posts submitted by posters whose name start with the

letter "B" you will a huge drop off in volume of threads that contribute to your nausea. Just a health tip.

[JuniperLea]

6. LOL!

Ban the B's!

:rofl:

Thanks for the tip!

[JTFrog]

10. +1

:rofl:

[DevonRex]

13. Better believe that it'll make your day much nicer. Thank goodness

mine starts with a D. :hi:

[jeanpalmer]

8. Yep.

He's not really a flip flopper because he didn't believe it when he said it. It was just campaign rhetoric designed to obtain an advantage.

This part of his speech was particularly outrageous. "Now, even if we provide these affordable options, there may be those – particularly the young and healthy – who still want to take the risk and go without coverage. There may still be companies that refuse to do right by their workers. The problem is, such irresponsible behavior costs all the rest of us money.... But we cannot have large businesses and individuals who can afford coverage game the system by avoiding responsibility to themselves or their employees."

Really, young people who who won't fork over outrageous sums to insurance companies, probably because they can't afford it, are "irresponsible" and are "gaming the system." This guy is totally detached from reality. He's living some kind of DLC existence.

[ipaint]

11. As premiums rise over the next decade that category of

publicly ostracized insurance deadbeats, think the lie that is "welfare queens", will include most of the working class.

Sure gives the middle and the right wing nuts a handy scapegoat to blame the massive failure that is neoliberal insurance buyers reform.