"You lied!" (How to use illegal immigration to defeat health care reform - and vice versa).

[pampango]

At what point in President Obama's speech last night did Joe Wilson yell, "You lie!"?

Not when President Obama said that HCR would not add a dollar to the deficit (where are those RW "deficit hawks"?); not when Obama said that "death panels" were a myth (where are Sarah and her buddies when you need them?); not when Obama said that HCR would not lead to a government takeover of health care (where are the libertarians worried about "socialized medicine"?), not even when Obama said that not a dollar of federal money would be spent to pay for abortions (still can't believe some RW'er didn't think to score some points with the fundies back home with a good yell).

No, Joe Wilson yelled when Obama made clear that illegal immigrants will not be covered under health care reform. Was Wilson's reaction a spur-of-the-moment "emotional" thing or a preplanned attempt to focus attention on one of the RW's favorite wedge issues? Who knows, but it would appear that repubs will use this publicity to use the "illegal alien as demon" meme to club health care reform. Apparently the "illegal immigrants might get some help" wedge might be the "Harry and Louise" the industry uses to fight health care reform this time.

But vice versa? How about when immigration reform comes up this fall or next year, one potentially effective spin the repubs could use would be "Maybe Obama didn't lie about health care reform not covering illegal immigrants, but if immigration reform gives them a path to citizenship, guess what? These same "illegals" (RW term) will become eligible for health care after all." Voila, the RW will be able to contend that HCR plus immigration reform does give "illegal immigrants" health care coverage. I bet that Dobbs and Limbaugh are practicing their rants right now.

[era veteran]

1. Undocumented Folks

We pay for them anyway at the emergency room, like poor Americans thats your health care plan....absurd

[hlthe2b]

2. If we were injured/ill in Canada, in G. Britain, in France, we'd be

treated without question and receive no bill, or one so small that we'd want to frame it. No questions asked...

How did the US loose all compassion?

[KharmaTrain]

3. Make Those Who Benefit Pay...

The bottom line on the "illegal alien" bullshit is how blatantly racist it is...it was manufactured by the GOOP and they milk it for all its worth. You can always tie an "illegal" into any issue to mess it up or distort it. Health care is a perfect example.

The corporate media long has put the light on the wrong place in this matter. If there's such a problem with "illegals" regarding them leeching all sorts of services, then lets go to the source of their money. Those who hire undocumented workers should not just be tracked down, but charged for the benefits to their workers they're trying to skip out on. For example, charge them $3,000 per each undocumented worker and dedicate that money toward paying for emergency health care.

[pampango]

4. It's particularly racist coming from a repub like Wilson. Perhaps racism is the reason

that he couldn't contain his disdain for Obama when he clarified that illegal immigrants would not be covered by HCR, after maintaining some composure while Obama talked about abortion, the deficit and government not taking control of health care.