Gov. Pawlentry gets nat'l attention for his "Welfare Healthcare" meme

[katinmn]

http://markschmitt.typepad.com/decembrist/2005/01/welfare_health_.html"Welfare Health Care"
The game of how-to-do-things-with-words continues: Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has apparently started referring to the state's health care program, MinnesotaCare, as "welfare health care." With this ugly tag, he hopes to win support for cutting the program. Less than 1% of the program's participants are actually welfare recipients, however. This is a program for working people.

A former legislator who designed the program put it well: "To the extent that there is welfare at play, it is the government bailing out employers who fail to provide this essential health insurance benefit to their employees."

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2005_01/005541.pTHE LATEST FROM THE GOP....Mark Schmitt has the latest in Orwellian language control from Republicans, this one courtesy of Minnesota's governor. You really have to wonder about these guys sometimes. It's almost like they're required to do something outrageous just to prove their Republican bona fides these days, sort of the way aspiring mafia thugs are required to kill someone to become made guys or something. Or maybe it's a competition of some kind.

Or maybe they've just lost their humanity entirely. Hard to say.

[KitchenWitch]

1. I had Minnesota Care for a stretch in the mid-1990s

and I can tell anyone, it was NOT welfare, granted the premiums and co-pays were manageable, but I did INDEED pay premiums and co-pays, versus people in the Medicaid program, who do NOT pay premiums/co-pays.

[katinmn]

2. I looked into it once myself when I was unemployed

couldn't afford it.

[KitchenWitch]

3. Yeah

it seems like they always seem to cut the programs that help the working poor...they claim to not want anyone on welfare, but their actions (as in funding social programs) goes contrary to that, they would rather fund welfare than programs that help keep people productive and working.

[katinmn]

4. elderly poor would also take hits under Pawlenty's proposed budget

But we're not going to let him do that, are we? :)

I am going up to the Capitol for every rally I hear about, and will make phone calls whenever needed. We have to back up our senators like Berglin and Pogemiller who have been there a while and aren't prepared to accept his plan to take from the poor and give tax breaks to the rich.

Berglin boxed Pawlenty's ears hard over the "Welfare Healthcare" remarks. She said every time he speaks at a fancy luncheon there are people in the kitchen fixing the meals and their jobs are just as important as his is -- and they deserve healthcare!

I also want to make sure K-12 gets more funding than the paltry amount he is proposing. Minnesota has for the first time fallen below the U.S. average in education spending. We used to be number 1. I can't believe we let that happen!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. I heard this morning that the mayor of Minneapolis is

asking people to lobby the state legislature not to cut funding for health care and elderly services.

[katinmn]

6. Excellent. I ike Rybeck. I know he's running to keep his

seat as mayor but I hope he runs for governor sometime.

[bvar22]

7. Scrooge Pawlenty....

...HATES Widows and Orphans.
He wants to kick them into the gutter to die so he can count his money in peace!!

Tat for your Tit, Timmie.

[dflprincess]

8. I can't remember if I read or heard this

but some clever soul decided if we're going to hear about "welfare health care" then we should start talking about welfare stadiums.

[trotsky]

9. It was in a LTTE in the Strib last week.

Great letter - welfare stadiums, welfare ethanol subsidies, etc.