Sick Bastards (This one is personal)

[WilliamPitt]

(Image: Lance Page / t r u t h o u t; Adapted: Aaron Webb, 111 Emergency, Christopher Najewicz)

Sick Bastards
By William Rivers Pitt
t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed

Wednesday 22 September 2010

A segment of Truthout's readership has made statements to me bemoaning the harsh tenor of my writing in recent weeks. To wit: I am too insulting and belittling in my descriptions of the Republican Party in general, the Tea Party phenomenon in particular, and the hatefully deranged nature of their philosophy in its entirety. It is a turn-off, they tell me, and serves only to drive people away who might otherwise be convinced by a more moderate tone. I might have been convinced to cool it down, to approach the matter with more balance and equanimity, but that's all over now. After this past weekend, the gloves are staying off, and anyone who doesn't understand why is just going to have to simmer in their disapproval.

It's personal now.

This past weekend, an event called the Values Voters Summit was held in Washington DC. It's a kind of big-tent showcase for the fundamentalist far-right base of the Republican Party, sponsored by such leading conservative lights as the Family Research Council, the Heritage Foundation, and Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. Some of the featured speakers included Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Insane), Gary Bauer, Bill Bennett, the wildly fertile Duggar family, Newt Gingrich, Sean Hannity, anti-masturbation candidate and occasional dabbler in witchcraft Christine O'Donnell, Phyllis Schlafly, Mitt Romney, and of course, Sarah Palin.

You can imagine the sort of demented gibberish that came from the podium over the weekend, and frankly, most of it was too mind-numbing to repeat in any detail. Newt Gingrich did his little song and dance about how Islam is coming to eat your children. Christine O'Donnell reprised the nonsense about "death panels." One fellow, a senior aide to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), argued that all pornography is by nature homosexual, and therefore watching any form of pornography will make the viewer instantly gay. Gay people in general, a woman's right to choose and all things Obama took it in the chops, with plenty of birth certificate speculation to go around.

So, yeah, it was pretty standard stuff, given the roster of speakers who made the scene. But at one point during the event, new ground was broken in truly astonishing fashion. One becomes accustomed to cruel, insensitive, hate-filled rhetoric from the kind of people who dwell in this particular region of politics, but when Mike Huckabee took the stage, a whole new standard was set.

Now, I used to have a certain twisted affection for Mike Huckabee. I agree with virtually nothing he says, but I credit him for handing the 2008 GOP nomination to the very beatable John McCain during the primaries. The two most viable candidates, you will recall, were Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, both of whom were jockeying for the all-important GOP base vote. But Huckabee was the darling candidate of that base, and kept getting 50% of that vote in every primary, which served to drastically undercut the Giuliani and Romney campaigns. Huckabee stayed in the race just long enough to ruin Rudy and Mitt before dropping out himself, and McCain won the nomination pretty much by default. The rest, as they say, is history.

After this weekend, however, that lingering affection has curdled completely. Huckabee took the podium at the Values Voters Summit to attack and denounce the Obama administration's health care reform legislation, which was par for the course as far as the event went. But Huckabee was not content merely to repeat the "It's a government takeover, let's repeal it" rhetoric, choosing instead to carve a bold new path into the annals of infamy:

When Republicans attack health care reform, Democrats like to counter by accusing Republicans of wanting to repeal a law that requires insurance companies to cover people with pre-existing conditions. According to Republican Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, that's exactly right. People with pre-existing conditions, he explains, are like houses that have already burned down.

"It sounds so good, and it's such a warm message to say we're not gonna deny anyone from a preexisting condition," Huckabee explained at the Value Voters Summit today. "Look, I think that sounds terrific, but I want to ask you something from a common sense perspective. Suppose we applied that principle our property insurance. And you can call your insurance agent and say, "I'd like to buy some insurance for my house." He'd say, "Tell me about your house." "Well sir, it burned down yesterday, but I'd like to insure it today." And he'll say, "I'm sorry, but we can't insure it after it's already burned." Well, no pre-existing conditions."

(Emphasis added)

Let's look at some numbers, shall we?

According to the American Heart Association, more than 81,000,000 Americans suffer from one or more forms of cardiovascular disease. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 11,000,000 people in America currently suffer from some form of cancer. According to the American Diabetes Association, 23.6 million Americans currently suffer from diabetes, and the Center for Disease Control has estimated as many as half of all Americans will suffer from the disease by the year 2050, thanks to our deplorable dietary habits. According to the National Parkinson's Foundation, between 50,000 and 60,000 new cases of Parkinson's Disease are diagnosed in America each year. According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, some 400,000 Americans currently suffer from MS.

That's a pretty substantial portion of the population, with more being diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's and MS every day.

All of them, every single one of them, are like a house that has already burned down, according to Mike Huckabee and the sick bastards who cheered his comments. All of them, every single one of them, are not worthy of health insurance because they had the misfortune of getting sick before they got insurance. All of them, every single one of them, therefore, are not worthy of health care in any real form, unless, of course, they are wealthy and able to afford the staggering cost of ill health in America.

All of them, in short, every single one of them, can basically just go die in Mike Huckabee's world. They are not worthy of coverage, treatment or consideration. The five diseases I listed account for well over a third of the American population, and if Mike Huckabee or someone who agrees with him somehow becomes president someday, those millions of people should just dig their own graves and lie down in them.

Yeah, that's why I'm not polite to these people. My wife has multiple sclerosis, and Mr. Huckabee this weekend compared her to a burned-down house. My wife is a vibrant, active woman who deals with a terrible, terrifying disease that costs upwards of $50,000 a year to treat. Thankfully, my wife was already insured through work when she was diagnosed, but there are many thousands of people out there with MS who have no insurance, or who won't have insurance when they get diagnosed. If Huckabee has his way, people with pre-existing conditions will be treated as burned-down houses and essentially left to die.

To hear a man who gets treated like a legitimate voice in American politics basically consign my wife and millions of other Americans to suffering and death is to hear nothing more or less than flat-out hate speech from a presidential candidate. What Mike Huckabee suggested is tantamount to eugenics, to the extermination of "weaker" people simply because they are ill.

If this kind of talk isn't enough to convince Republicans that the fringe of their party is to be avoided at all costs, then nothing in the world will. There have to be at least a few unwell Republicans in the country, right? There have to be some Republicans with heart trouble, cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's or MS, right? If so, those people had better start digging that grave for themselves, especially if they are stupid enough to support Mike Huckabee or anyone else who agrees with him.

Be polite to these people if that's your nature. It is not in mine, especially after the display this past weekend. These people are the sick ones, the ones with pre-existing conditions, and they should be barred from holding public office by the voters because of it. They are all sick bastards, and I have no interest in being nice about it. Do you know anyone with heart trouble, cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's, MS, or some other illness like these? Maybe Alzheimer's? If so, you shouldn't be nice, either. Someday, it may be you on the wrong end of such a diagnosis, and if people like Huckabee and his ilk have their way, dig a grave and lie down in it. You're a burned-down house, and your country has no use for you.

http://www.truth-out.org/sick-bastards63456

[SidDithers]

1. K&R...

and, FWIW, I think your best stuff is written with a "harsh tenor".

Sid

[Ken Burch]

70. Indeed...think "Placido Domingo with an AK-47".

n/t.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

115. Placido Domingo was a harsh tenor

Will is the Wrath of God.

Bring it, Brother. Bring it.

[olegramps]

121. What can you expect from a parasite. I despise today's Republicans.

I don't have to wish him any ill. His soul is a diseased pus oozing sore that the Tea-baggers feast on to nourish their hatred. I hope he rots in hell along with the hoard of Bible Beating hypocrites who don't have any ounce of Christian compassion for the fellow human beings.

[Swamp Rat]

Just think if Huckabee became president.

"Be polite to these people if that's you're nature." (I think you mean 'your').... I agree: No more Mr. Nice Guy.

It's a fight to the death with the GOP now.

[WilliamPitt]

8. (((HUG)))

Thank you. Fixed twice.

(facepalm)

[66 dmhlt]

81. When a generic Facepalm just won't do ...

Consider trying the "Mutant Facepalm"

[WilliamPitt]

96. *snarf*

:rofl: :rofl:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

2. Dear Diary:

[WilliamPitt]

?

Yes?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

150. Seemed more self-examinatory than elucidating.

Just one Peanut Gallery opinion.

[Initech]

3. Values voters = American Taliban

[truebrit71]

25. Bingo!

...

[madmax]

92. Damn, that is so right on!

When will the stonings and burqa wearing requirements begin.

[proud patriot]

4. Excellent

[blondeatlast]

5. This "burnt-down-house" is finding it hard to type her appreciation and

approval while jumping up and down and pounding her fists and crying.

Thanks, Will, from this lifetime insulin-dependent's diabetic's diseased heart. :patriot:

[JournalistKev87]

107. 23 Year Old Type 1

If anyone tells me that this is a preexisting condition, they will get it from me.

Fuckabee is an asshole.

[nightgaunt]

143. Bad analogy-burned down means dead

So no one is talking about insuring dead people. But then to Huchabee any of us who do are dead---to him. (When we die is immaterial to him, we are the walking dead--nice guy.) Not his kind of society I like living in. No wonder so many Europeans consider the USA a nut house run by dyed-in-the-wool barbarians! (See Crusaders, Inquisition and the Nazis for examples.)

[rucognizant]

156. Yeh Prexisting condition since 1982!

Because the Drs experimented with killing tonsils with massive doses of xrays in the 40;s a lot of my peer group, were thyroid cancer prone or victims of that disease..
Mine was not malignant but threatening to turn when it was removed in 1982. I was then uninsurable...........until a client picked up my private comapny not Bl Cr Bl SHield, med insurance as a perk of the works I was doing for him, UNTIL he had to declare bankruptcy, the I WORK stopped and the other employees voted local HMO, I, forced to move out of state, by the loss of income..........I never did get insurance until I turned 65 & got Medicare.
Did my "condition" cost anything, treatment wise?? One shift of medication, requiring a Dr's visit, a TSH lab test & dose change.............TOTAL UNDER $200.! That is over a period of 16 years.......
Now, 28 years later............the ONLY PROBLEM, is NOT OF MY MAKING, again "credit" goes to the medical profession AMA, bIg Pharma whatever........
Forrest Laboratory who made Armour Thyroid ( natural dessicated pig thyroid STOPPED making it. JUST STOPPED! FOr millions whose bos dies DON"T convert the T 4 inbti T 3m and need the T 1 & T2 that are present in the NATURAL Thyroid gland, until someone messes with it...............ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE LABORATORY MANUFACTURED (OH YES OF COURSE MED PROFESSION KNOWS BETTER THAN NATURE,) SYNTHETIC PILL.
Now do you think I can get through to the dept I need to talk to to see if Mainecare will pick up the cost of my medication.......NO)

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[WilliamPitt]

10. Look up the "Quiver" movement

...and then have a stiff drink.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

29. I looked up Quiverfull. Great just what we fucking need. As if there isn't enough idiocy out there.

[WilliamPitt]

30. Told ya.

Have that drink.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

31. I'm at work. Thanks a lot

you bastard! :evilgrin:

[WilliamPitt]

32. If not now, when?

If not us, whom? - Ronald Reagan

*ducking, fleeing, giggling*

:hug:

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

33. "NHAA!" - Chris "Tweety" Matthews Laugh

:fistbump:

[LibDemAlways]

21. Interestingly Duggar #19 was born premature last December and

required many months of hospitalization. Her lungs were underdeveloped and she suffered a perforated bowel. She still requires oxygen and will undoubtedly have a myriad of health issues for years to come. Would Fuckabee have declared her damaged goods and let her die, or does his lack of concern only extend to those who can't afford insurance?

What a piece of shit.

[dotymed]

116. Only when she was a fetus

would her survival have been mandatory. After her birth, she would have been a "burned out house" that couldn't possibly have been insured. So unless her parents were wealthy and decided she was worth the co$t of saving, she would be "in GODs hands."
Of course, with so much suffering in the world, her survival would have been a "miracle" but, let's use common sense, she still would not be insurable.
Which is acceptable as long as "Obama care" did not subject her to its' death panel....
Exactly how much can they twist "logic" before it is illogical?
Profits. Profits. Profits.
No taxes. No taxes.....:wtf:

[xxqqqzme]

131. I wonder if health insurance coverage for that

clan was included in the contract for the program? The monthly insurance premium would be prohibitive otherwise.

[Name removed]

123. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[NeedleCast]

125. Misplaced Aggression says what?

[marzipanni]

130. That photo was taken when they had 14 kids

They now have 19 children (!) and their oldest son has started procreating (this photo includes him and his wife and their baby).
If the Duggar's last baby hadn't been born prematurely with health problems, they intended to go on ad infinitum...er... ad nauseam ? ;)
Hopefully the upcoming crop of grandchildren will appease their baby addiction.

[blondeatlast]

7. I'm crying, I really am. nt

[Cleita]

9. You keep it up Will.

They are ratcheting up the crazy so that it's becoming to sound normal. Anyone with any kind of pulpit to denounce this rhetoric needs to speak up loud and clear regardless of any criticism from what should be saner people.

I remember years ago when Ann Coulter came on the scene with her crazy talk. My husband, who was still alive, kept muttering that there was something wrong with her mentally. Now they are all talking so crazy that Ann Coulter seems like the saner one.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

76. Wow... your right about that Ann Coulter thing, That's a scary thought. nt

[Pathwalker]

11. And what of Spina Bifida, Cystic Fibrosis, Juvenile Diabetes,

and Cancer, all of which can strike infants, and children? I'd like to see him say that to parents whose children are fighting diseases such as these, and many others.

[blondeatlast]

13. I was diagnosed at age 7 after falling into a coma. I was not a "burnt down house" then

and am not one now and I never will be.

Bastard, sick, pus infested worm. That's Mick Huckabee.

[Pathwalker]

22. He's a huckster, with an "aw shucks, I'm so pleasant. mild-mannered"

shtick to hide his rigid nasty philosophy of hate. He's everything you say!

[woo me with science]

12. Treating healthcare as a commodity

is just evil.

[Rex]

14. I hate to tell you this Will, but Mike was always a scumbag.

He dressed it up a little better than his cohorts, but deep down was still the Repuke asshole we all knew he was. You can put a pretty pink bow on a turd, but it will still smell like shit.

[WilliamPitt]

16. Oh, I know

He has a rape-murder on his hands, for starters. But he was singularly responsible for keeping another four years of Bushian GOP White House rule from happening. That's worth a snuggle...or at least it was. ;)

[Rex]

19. You have a point there, anything that hurt the BFEE is good

rape-murder charge, forgot all about that. The GOP really creates some 'charming' monsters.

[bluethruandthru]

15. Anyone not in perfect health is worthless to him.

I wish he would get the repuke nomination so these words could be splashed on every campaign ad. How many people do you know who have never had anything wrong with them? If Ole' Huckleberry had his way...there would only be a handful of Americans who could get insurance. I'll bet he'd advocate dropping them if the developed anything. The "house" would be burnt down at that point!

[Vinca]

17. When I watched the clip of his statement, it seemed he didn't get the rousing

response he might have anticipated. Pre-existing conditions aren't confined to Democrats and self-centered Republicans are bound to think of #1 first and foremost. In any case, it was a really, really stupid and heartless analogy.

[sinkingfeeling]

18. And this is the Mike Huckabee who was diagnosed with diabetes (type II) in 2003, but of

course he had insurance courtesy of the state of Arkansas.

[Canuckistanian]

86. Oh yeah, Huckabee has diabetes, forgot about that

So of course, he'll just sacrifice himself to the illness WITHOUT burdening the system with useless treatments that would prolong his humble life.

That way, MORE insulin will be available to the poor, suffering children and billionaires that are the source of all of our jobs.

He's such a saint.

[JustAnotherGen]

20. You are correct

He's a sick insane bastard. I truly deeply believe/think these people are dangerous. Call me a kook if you want - but this is the tip of the iceberg.

Oh - btw - I was born with the HLA-B27 gene and inherited the resulting disease - Ankylosing Spondylitis from my great grandfather. So basically - the day I was born? I was worthless as a human being in Huck's eyes? Nice. Real nice.

What a good god damned Christian he is.

[sinkingfeeling]

23. Yes, but you had to be born because Mike and company are 'pro-life'.

Sorry for your inherited illness.

[JustAnotherGen]

35. You are correct!

And they are bonkers. Eugenics? Wasn't that what eh? The Nazis practiced?

[nightgaunt]

145. Not just Germans

Started in the UK, incubated in the USA then came to full fruit in a no-holds-barred society of modern barbarians. We are about at the same stage culturally that happened to Germany.

[Urban Prairie]

60. I have that condition as well....

Did not know I had AS until I was turned down for a job as a state prison correctional officer after passing the written tests. Their contracted clinic took many body x-rays, and the state rejected me because of it.

[truebrit71]

24. Abso-fucking-lutley Will...I am sick and tired of playing nicey-nice with these people...

...and I am BEYOND tired of the repeated calls for "bi-partisanship"?

Really? After the helath-care debacle, I don't fucking think so...

[superduperfarleft]

26. That was a completely asinine and uninformed thing for Huckabee to say.

(I know, what a shock.)

What he's talking about is a very basic concept of insurance, adverse selection, but that's where the mandate comes in. Not saying I necessarily agree or disagree with it, but mandating that everyone carry insurance prevents this sort of thing from happening.

[lunatica]

27. That 'lovable clown face' hides a hard coal black heart

Soulless too.

[mmonk]

28. That's Manson Family Values Summit.

[bulloney]

34. Sounds like Huckabee wants to play the role of a Death Panel, right Ms. Palin?

Where's her outrage? Why didn't the media gerbils ask for her take on Huckabee's speech?

There's your "family values" party at the "Values" Summit in a nutshell. The insurance industry's desire to financially gouge you supersedes your right to exist, according to these goobers at the summit.

It would be pretty hard to believe that EVERYONE at the Values Summit is a picture of good health. What were they thinking as they cheered Huckabee's remarks?

[theaocp]

36. I keep sayin' it

Cancer of the AIDS of the eye for the whole lot of 'em. IF there was a just omniscient being. Oh, well. May they live in interesting times, then.

[WilliamPitt]

39. "Cancer of the AIDS of the eye for the whole lot of 'em"

:rofl:

So bad. So true.

[butterfly77]

37. Kicked&Recommended!!!

:dem:

[Javaman]

38. Meh, huckabee has always been bat shit crazy to me.

this is just more of his insane bullshit to drum up support of the ultra crazy right wing vote for his next run at the WH.

All the halfwits that have WH aspirations are coming out with the "can you top this" crazy sound byte of the day.

it will get much worse than this, I can guarantee you.

This will look harmless in several months.

They are only starting up the crazy train. Wait till it gets up to full speed.

[Bluzmann57]

40. "Values voters" my achin' ass!

Ok here's the deal. I have had children out of wedlock, I likely drink too much beer while I watch sporting events, I cuss, have taken numerous drugs in my checkered past, don't attend church and so on. In short, I ain't perfect. But even a guy like me has more values in his little finger than Huckabee and co. have anywhere in their bodies, or souls.
Good luck to you and your wife with the MS. Let's hope that the "values" people can find some sort of miracle cure for her. Oh wait, they can always pray for her. Maybe that'll help. Or not.
And for what it's worth, thank god, buddha, allah, whatever for Medicare, Gov't run health care (more or less). Both of my parents are still alive after nearly dieing and if it wasn't for Medicare, aka gov't run health care, they'd likely both be dead. So fuck Huckabee and co. for not having values and not caring about anyone but themselves.

[deaniac21]

41. I like the way this thread and article go together!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8953654

http://www.truth-out.org/the-ultimate-political-no-brainer63326

[RagAss]

42. Good job, Will ! Don't let those Deranged Slapdicks get you down.

[WilliamPitt]

43. "Deranged Slapdicks"

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

*wiping tears from eyes*

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[B3Nut]

157. NICE!

LMAO!

I'm saving that. It's just perfect!

Todd in Cheesecurdistan

[LuckyLib]

44. Someone in Phuckabee's extended family has struggled with health

issues, and under such a policy, would be just out of luck. Too bad that person doesn't speak up and challenge him.

No playing nice with these people. Their values are ALL messed up.

[KamaAina]

45. We've long known that, for repukes, people are property

it's just rare to hear one state it quite as matter-of-factly as that in public. :eyes:

[KamaAina]

46. I must confess that I, too, once held a certain twisted affection for Schmuckabee.

In fact, it was because I learned something important about our health care system from his abortive Presidential campaign.

The Huckster pointed out, correctly, that our present employer-based health care system is a relic of World War II-era wage and price controls. Back then, companies weren't allowed to out bid one another for the services of top executives, so they made an end run around the regulations by offering gold-plated benefits packages.

Over time, unions (remember them?) got into the act, and so by the '70s, lots of working class people had good, employer-based insurance, too. It reached the point where employeres almost had to offer a competitive benefits package to attract a competent workforce. Then the cost of healthcare started spiraling... and we ended up with HMOs and all the other evils that best the system today.

Of course, Fuckabee wasn't advocating for replacement of the present jury-rigged system with something better-designed and more cost-effective, like single-payer; he was advocating for the desturction of what little is left of the original post-WWII system. But still, I learned something from reading his platform, which is a hell of a lot more than I can say for any of this primary opponents.

[Raven]

47. Rev Mike, I'm sure, has a few pre-existing conditions...but I'll bet

he's covered. His statements echo what I have heard from by fundamentalist christian colleagues. "It's God's will." Fine, except when it's you or your wife or kid...then these folks will demand an exception to their own rules.

[wiggs]

48. Horrific...and an unfortunate sign of the times that this kind of thing goes

without public and media outrage (OP excluded), let alone public torches and pitchforks. This is not a speech about a legitimate opposition position. It is about making sure that the real victims are demonized and those subscribing to the RW doctrine are made to feel like exploited victims.

This is going on in every policy area.

[ezdidit]

49. Huckabee is a sick, sick sociopath.

[laundry_queen]

51. Yup.

And sociopaths tend to be likeable and charming. Fits him doesn't it?

[laundry_queen]

50. K&R

He's effing disgusting. And what a stupid analogy. Not shocking from this idiot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHw0FqD3RFw

[felix_numinous]

52. When a segment of the population wants to play God

with the rest of us, they are lucky to be getting off with a 'harsh tenor'.

Being accused of harsh tenor means you must have been speaking the truth and it hit a nerve, which is just the medicine America needs now to cure ourselves of the social disease of the rabid right wing. The truth has to be told over and over, because more and more people are waking up every day. There has to be harsh language--and any other social skills we have to use.

How dare the RW propaganda turn Americans against their own? How dare them give power to religious freaks? They cannot be allowed to rewrite history, or reframe the truth by calling it too harsh. Fuck them.

[DesertFlower]

53. i despise huckabee. remember during the primary

he was asked if mitt romney was a christian. he said he didn't know. then he said about mormonism "don't they believe that jesus and the devil were cousins"?

this coming from a christian minister. WTF?

[Ghost in the Machine]

54. Hey Huckleberry.. Jesus *CURED* people who had pre-existing conditions..

Supposedly, he made the blind to see and the lame to walk... you should meet this Jesus some time...

[McCamy Taylor]

55. Alert the presses! The Huck wants "Death panels!" Why isn't this front page NYT?

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

75. Exactly... it the same thing... basically dooming people to die

His analogy just isn't right anyhow. I think that the burned down house wouldn't be like a person with a pre-existing condition... the burned down house would be more like a dead person...and yeah we don't insure dead people. In terms of houses, I think a person with a pre-exising condition would be one of those older houses with old wiring and old insulation. Insurance companies insure houses with pre-existing conditons all the time.

[SmileyRose]

56. k an r

[Bluenorthwest]

57. Huckabee has always been a bag of hate out to destroy my

family. Welcome to the club.

[mother earth]

58. What? Mr. Good Christian man is not down with saving lives?

That's the GOP Mantra, die and do it quickly, just like Grayson said awhile back. There is right and there is wrong, the GOP is the "right" and they are dead wrong, the party of $$$$$, they soak up the supposed "moral" christian right hate and are forever dangling the fear issues for votes. All zealots show themselves for what they are, extremists, and it has nothing to do with loving God, thy neighbor, or life.

How f'd up would it be for Rethugs to get back into power to finish off the devastation and chaos that Georgie left us with?

Keep telling it like it is, the truth is bitter sometimes, but it needs to be told.

[KatyaR]

59. Dear Will...

I'm with you.

I'm sick and tired of allowing these bastards to say whatever they want with no consequences whatsoever.

And you can't tell me there's not a certain percentage of those idiots who have "pre-existing conditions." After all, they're human like the rest of us--or are they, hmmmm? :crazy:

:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

Hugs to both you and your lovely bride :hug: May you have many happy years to come (no matter what the bastards believe).

[DirkGently]

61. Because, people's lives are just like buildings. Easy come ... Jesus.

[indepat]

62. Would not have been so gracious as to use the mundane label "Sick Bastards" when "Evil MFers" is

readily available, more descriptive, and so apropos. ;)

[skepticscott]

63. All fine except that

these people are not the "fringe" of the Republican party that anyone can avoid. They ARE the Republican party. It is the moderate Republicans (those who are left, anyway), who are the outcasts, the RINOs, the traitors to the cause. Please don't make the mistake the Obama administration has and assume that there is anyone who matters in the GOP that can be worked with, reached out to, or compromised with.

[malaise]

64. Super post WilliamPitt

Rec

Huckabee is a scumbag.

[supernova]

65. Was born with my preexisting condition

And I absolutely fly into a rage trying to talk to righties about healthcare reform. Found out when I was in high school that if you are less than physically perfect you are punished in the country. You are punished for being ill.

I had to walk away from the Repub booth at the artists' streetfair here in Durham this past weekend. I was going to strangle the older teabagger couple tabling.

They. do. not. get. it.

You and your wife have my total empathy.

[supernova]

66. Dupe

[Ken Burch]

67. I'm with you, Will.

And, of course, it's a PREACHER who made the comparison.

The mean streak always shows itself in the end.

[puebloknot]

68. "Sick Bastards" is a vast understatement!

The original idea behind health insurance (the first Blue Cross policies) was SHARED RISK!!!. We all pay a little so we can help the statistically few in our group who will become ill. And since *I* might eventually fall into that statistical group, I'm happy to pay!

Then came health insurance for profit, and "Why should I pay for that guy's bad health (owing, of course, to bad habits and sinful ways) since I'm perfectly healthy, and morally superior?"

Now we have "We'll insure your children (unless we can wiggle out of it) but we won't insure you. So when you're sick, the children can suck it up and take care of themselves -- and you, 'cause we're not gonna"!

Lastly, we have simply fallen into a black hole of deceit and greed and there has never been a greater need in the life of this country for the kind of *righteous* anger you put into your writing. You stop at our peril!

And I use the word "righteous" not as a religious term bereft of all compassion for others, but as an illustration of speaking out in support of what is right and intelligent and just and heartfelt with regard to the way we treat our own.

You've written a word or two on the subject of silence. Don't discard the gloves. Mr. Obama could well benefit from the gift of a pair of such, along with instructions about how to use them! The velvet glove approach he adopted from Breath One in his administration is clearly not effective. Suffering fools gladly is bringing down the country!

(I tried to post this at Truthout.com as a comment under your article. It either didn't post at all, or I posted it numerous times, not realizing the delay there, and it got zapped.)

Judy Barrett
Santa Fe, NM

[NewJeffCT]

69. Women should graciously submit to the sacrificial leadership of their husbands

Back in the late 90s, Mike Huckabee was a signatory to that statement made at the Southern Baptist Convention.

[Atticus]

71. Please continue reaming these walking pus pockets. We have your six. nt

[stevedeshazer]

72. Way to go, Will

You pissed me off big time with your act here before, but this piece of yours is redemption.

Whatever that is.

+1

[WilliamPitt]

87. Thank you, sir.

[ramapo]

73. You do not have to have an existing condition to be rejected

Nearly eight years ago my son was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Fortunately it was a "good" kind and six months later it had been removed and life was more or less back to normal. Amazingly, he only missed a week of school.

Fast forward seven years to when he graduates college and needs insurance. He applied for a standard individual policy, dutifully filling out the medical history. Aside from his surgery, is fairly unremarkable. Today he is perfectly healthy and aside from the occasional ear/sinus infection, does not go to the doctor (even though his parents would like him to go get an MRI now and then just to be sure everything is ok).

Anyway...his application was rejected within a couple of days. He does not HAVE a condition but HAD a condition. Basically anything wrong within the past 10 years is grounds for rejection.

He has had continuous coverage so Huckabee's example is just plain wrong. Luckily he obtained insurance through a state program. Not as broad coverage as a standard policy, and more expensive, but he is covered. Just an example of cherry picking and making life difficult to miserable for people who have had the nerve to be sick at some point of their life.

[mod mom]

74. People are republicans until they have to endure one of life's hard lessons.

Heartless cold blooded monsters. :mad:

[FarLeftRage]

77. A nazi reincarnated???

That's what fuckabee sounds like to me.
Perhaps someday he will get a taste of his own hate... big time!

[Autumn Colors]

78. Some in my family think I'm nuts, but ...

I've felt for a long time that the goal of the elites is to "cull the herd" with only young, able-bodied people who will work for minimal wages left standing. Those will also be the ones who have been educated in the "dumbing down of America" era, so they'll probably be less informed and don't have the long memory of us older geezers.

Like Alan Grayson said, their plan is "Don't get sick and if you do, die quickly."

The disregard for the safety of the food supply (read: frankenfood for the masses, organic for the uber wealthy) will over the long run make people get sick sooner and die younger, so they can be replaced more quickly by younger worker bees who will work for less money. Lack of access to healthcare also speeds along this process.

With technological advances and a global workforce, the "elites" need fewer bodies to keep the world running, so it's time to cull the herd.

Prove me wrong, please. I want you to prove me wrong.

:tinfoilhat:

[Mimosa]

84. Autumn Colors, you're right on the money...

as is Alan Grayson.

[Ineeda]

111. and don't forget they need cannon fodder for their wars. n/t

[PADemD]

117. +1000

The only thing you missed was cannon fodder for wars.

[nightgaunt]

146. They like overpopulation and GCC

Because it would be easier to use then discard extra humans they will continue using them to death. GCC as it gets more severe will promote the idea of fascist and theocratic dictatorships over liberal democracies which they will rule with iron hands. Because the fewer people there are the more important they will be nad the better paid they will get.

To them other humans not of their social standing, or for security, are disposable labor. Not people like themselves. Cold bastards they are.

[nadinbrzezinski]

79. Eugenics, you nailed it

and Republicans believe in it. The word ain't used in polite company, but it has a LONG history in the US... most people don't know off it, but good lord, they'd love to use it...

And not just for "pre-existing conditions," mind you. You are of the wrong faith, or an intellectual... dig that grave too.

[nightgaunt]

148. If you are the "wrong kind" of intellectual they will purge you too

They want a "pure" society. As they see fit to describe it. A twisted bloody version of Christianity along the Dominionist line of thought. What they couldn't get in 1934, they get by stealth in the 21st century. If we let them. By hook or by crook is how they operate, "by any means necessary" to get their goals they will.

[tavalon]

80. You'll get no argument from me

The teabaggers and their beloveds, such as Mike Huckabee are nucking fucks.

[David Zephyr]

82. I read every word with glee! K&R.

Don't ever "cool it down". Huckabee is a fraud.

[Mimosa]

83. K&R for a must read! n/t

[BobTheSubgenius]

85. I had an estimated $250,000 in health care this year.

That to treat the "flu" that turned out to be bacterial endocarditis - a Staph A infection in my heart. Apparently, I was 24 hours away from being too late to get to ER, but thanks to some STELLAR care including open-heart surgery to replace two valves that were turned into lattice by the bacteria, I pulled through. In fact, a near-miraculous recovery, I'm told. ZERO out of pocket cost, and the plan even pays 70% of the cost of my rather impressive array of ongoing medication.

But you know what? I'm Canadian.

I don't say this to gloat, or to be facetious or flippant. I say it to underscore how you have to FIGHT to achieve, then hang on to what I can only describe as one of the greatest blessings in life - universal health care.

I don't blame you one iota for being furious with the Huckster and his ilk. They are...hell, I can't even finish that sentence. You take it to 'em, Will.

[kentuck]

88. A bunch of low-life mf'ers..

Lower than whale shit and that's at the bottom of the ocean...

[ProudDad]

89. Come On DU, Can't you fucking tell Google to quit this shit!

They keep displaying right-wing BULLSHIT ads on THIS site???!!!

The ad in the OP this time was for that execrable "Ken Blackwell's" anti-union, anti-card check bullshit!

http://sosballot.org/about.php

Here in AZ - their weapon is the anti-union proposition 113!!!!

[grantcart]

90. continued best wishes on your wife's fight of MS, one of the most insidious diseases

to afflict humankind.

Huckabee continuew to be a usefull fool taking out Romney raising expectations among the religious right only to help destroy them later.

[evilkumquat]

91. One of these things is not like the other...

[Joe Fields]

93. Nothing new here. Will, you act so surprised.

And so indignant, as if everything that has happened to us these last ten or so years WASN'T personal to you. And your wife HAS coverage, which none of my family have.

Do you really expect these assholes to say anything different?

You say the gloves are definitely staying off, but I have a completely different take.

We, the democrats, have a guy in the White House that ran on radical change. He sounded like a populist, but I pegged him from the very beginning as a poor copy of Robert Redford's "The Candidate." We, the democrats, (and I use that term very loosely) enjoy near historic advantages in the House and Senate, yet the economy is still in the shitter, circling the bowl, the administration focused its attention on Wall St. and not the average citizen on Main St., and healthcare reform is nothing more than a giveaway to health insurance companies. We still have rendition, we still are being wiretapped...

And so I ask you, Will, and I would like an honest, non pithy answer, by what miracle do you foresee things changing for the better, when we democrats could not have asked for a more perfect scenario two years ago?

There won't be a miracle, Will. And you can fight all you want, but you are just pissing into the wind.

My answer? All democratic voters stay home in November. Let the republicans have their fucking landslide. Show the backstabbing, closet corporate tools who call themselves the dem leadership that they are NOTHING without us and that this kind of shit will continue to happen, until we are paid attention to.

Let the republicans have their way for one more administration. Let's sit back and watch the carnage. I am more than prepared to experience relative short term pain for some honest to goodness long term gain. Meaningful gain with real change we can believe in. Rooseveltian-type gain.

Nothing much is going to change until the peasants quit bending over at election time, pick up their pitchforks and march on Washington.

[slay]

104. I'll post the same pic here

that i posted in my reply to Will - and I agree with much of what you said. i'm not happy with the Democrats at all, but the Republicans.. holy shit they are evil.. and the Dems are in part their enablers by not fighting back against them and standing up for us. i don't know what to do. the repubs are evil and the dems have betrayed us. i WANT to believe in the dems, but...

anyways, here's the pic - sucks that we don't have a GREAT party to vote for.. :(

[Tsiyu]

94. ..

kicking for all the little houses like you and me


:kick:

[varelse]

95. I'm with you

[Cherchez la Femme]

97. Yes, a human life = a burned down house. Perfect analogy

And a fictitious burned down house at that!

They're all the
Hey lookit me evabody! Jaysus Saved Me! *TM
I'm the Perfect, Rapture-Ready Christian! this Trademark *Pending
*Hally-loo yah!*

and they're all
I belong to the Party of Life! Aborshun is... *Speaking in tongues* ...'an shoot them Aborshunists! (the rest tongues/illegible)


They just love life
that is, until you get born!


When that 'blessed event' occurs, all bets are off:

'Tough shit, buddy/honey (depending on your gender).

Why should I have to pay *Note: meaning pay a little extra via taxes, not foot the entire bill* to take care of my neighbor? *Praise the Lawd!*
S/he probably deserves her/his illness anyhow and it's her/his own damn fault they din't git rich like me cause s/he's plumb lazy anyways! *Don't you dare judge ME, sez the good book!*

With a blow-out finale containing as much Compassion as you're ever going to get from this type of Professional "Christian":
I'm sure glad I ain't you

...now Gawd Bless y'all!'



Edit: An attempt at clarity LOL

[WilliamPitt]

99. +1,000,000,000,000,000,000

[WilliamPitt]

100. dupe

[applegrove]

98. Powerful. And I wonder if any of Huckabee's "big" kids have diabetes.

[Eric Condon]

101. This is why we can't find "common ground" on this issue

no matter how much the president wants us to.

We cannot compromise with people who are trying to kill us.

If you oppose single-payer health care, then you support the health insurance industry's ability to drop patients at will, effectively killing them.

It's as simple as that. I can't compromise with people who support this, because they're trying to kill me and every other uninsured/underinsured American citizen. The fact that an industrialized nation treats the notion of single-payer as a "fringe left" position is sickening.

This country has turned its back on me and everyone else who isn't rich. I honestly don't think I belong here anymore. Sure, we can talk about how we need as many of us as possible to stay and fight the good fight, but it doesn't seem to have done a whole hell of a lot of good for the past 30 years, has it? We are powerless insects to be crushed by TPTB. It is NEVER going to change. I pity anyone naive enough to think that it ever will. (And lest you think I'm being sanctimonious, I myself was one of those believers as recently as a year ago.)

[Joe Fields]

102. You know I'm right, Will.

Otherwise you would engage me in some form of meaningful dialogue.

[slay]

103. I hear ya

100%. Fuck the Republicans - they are evil criminals in suits!

*on edit - i do wish the Dems would fight back harder and fight for "the people" more though

[Historic NY]

105. When Democrats hit hard they get more support, they haven't figured it out.

[lafayettelonewolf]

106. Bitter Irony

It is bitter irony when they preach *ahem* "family values" and then turn around and say that people with pre-existing conditions are like "burnt-down houses". Geez Mr. Huckabee, I guess that would include the millions that have either a physical or mental disability DOESN'T IT?! I tell you what, William. Don't bother apologizing to these pieces of crap, because they don't even deserve one. I wish I can say my true feelings about these right-wing losers, but I don't want to be banned here for saying just about every profane word in the English language. I'm stepping down from my soapbox now.

[tclambert]

108. We actually DO insure houses that have had fires. In fact, it's required.

If a house had a small fire or burned to the ground the owner MUST insure the repaired/rebuilt structure. Insurance probably paid for the major or minor house surgery. And the insurance companies will continue to cover that house, even though it had a previous brush will "poor health."

Huckabee's analogy doesn't work on even the most superficial level.

[Enthusiast]

109. I don't much care for their "values".

Huckabee is typical of these twisted fuck Republicans/teabaggers.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

110. it's actually a crueler version of eugenics!

slow and painful--bankrupt the family, withhold care, cause as much suffering for as many people as possible, for as long as possible.


Ovens and firing squads were quicker.

[valerief]

112. They are truly sick bastards, inhuman and not worthy of human courtesies. nt

[dotymed]

113. Did the "audience"

actually applaud Huckabee after he said those disgusting things? Statistically, there had to be many people there suffering from the very diseases he was referring to. These "teabaggers" do not believe they are worthy of living? That is definitely a "cult" mentality.
America is the ONLY developed country that allows for profit health care as its' primary insurance.
How can profits mean so much to any society, that they are willing to die if the wealthy are not allowed to profit from their ailments?
Honestly, in reality ( a sane reality), there can not be an individual, who is incapable of affording (for profit) health insurance, who would agree that unless they can afford to allow someone to profit from their disease, then they should die.
Using this type of "reasoning", for profit "death matches" should be allowed and even encouraged. Especially if the participants already have a pre-existing health condition that prevents them from obtaining for profit health insurance.
Perhaps the winner would win a funeral and the loser, simply kicked into a ditch.
This speaks volumes about the people who actually support and believe in these "values(?)"

[political_Dem]

114. Too harsh? Hell no. As Dems, we are not harsh enough.

Stop with the bi-partisanship and start to call out the GOP as the ignorant, heartless asses they are.

For years, the Dems ( as well as decent people everywhere) took a beating from these insensitive, nasty blowhards. It's time for us to wear the brass knuckles and not mince words about these charlatans.

[Overseas]

118. K&R! //nt

[Oceansaway]

119. K&R...n/t

[h9socialist]

120. And Huckabee is one of those Bible-toters who . . .

. . . likes to talk about the need for a moral foundation in the world. What a five alarm, hypocritcal asshole!

[Ganja Ninja]

122. I feel the same way. I hate the right so much ....

I've gotten to the point where I can't even watch Countdown or listen to liberal radio. That's how much I hate the right. I don't want to hear anymore about them, I don't want to talk anymore about them, and I certainly don't want to listen to their lies. Just get me to the polls so I can vote against them.

[Zambero]

124. So the "new" taking on Grandma (as in "Pulling the plug..")

is that poor sick Grandma has been toast all along. Now kindly disconnect the fire hydrant (aka safety net) in front of her house. No insurance and no gov't help for her if and when the fire breaks out.

[Zambero]

154. The Huckster's analogy is a bit off

A house that's burned down is destoyed. The proper analogy to a human being would be "dead" in this instance. However, a patient with a pre-existing condition is still alive. Oops, I almost forgot -- the conservative health care manifesto includes a provision that sick patients die as soon as possible. Pardon me governor, it all makes sense after all!

[Carni]

126. Bravo! I can't be polite either.

These are just horrible selfish people in general...and they have the nerve to talk about "death panels"????

[JPZenger]

127. Speaking of William Pitt the Senior

Your name reminds me of the great William Pitt the senior. If his health had not deteriorated, and he had been able to stay as Prime Minister of Britain, there might have been reasonable negotiations and compromises with the Colonies in 1775 and early 1776, and the Revolutionary War might have been avoided. As a result, the US might have become a Commonwealth Nation.

[Deadgnome]

128. I think

I need to stop reading things like this right when I wake up it makes me have my purging fantasties. But great post OP. It is absolutely disgusting the analogies these bastards make. Houses and people are nothing alike, I repeat, nothing alike. One is wood, mortar, and fiberglass, a material and tangible structure with no morality, thoughts, or ideas. The other is flesh, blood and bone, a tanglible structure with morality, thoughts, and ideas. Fucking lunatics.

[starzdust]

129. There are other illnesess out there that are under the radar

For one is mental illness, of which I have suffered from my entire life and I have peripheral neuropathy in both feet. I've gotten so sick that I can no longer work. Treatments for my mental illness has put me in a black hole of financial ruin, from which I will never recover from, AND I HAVE INSURANCE. The insurance I do have will only cover 50%. I was admitted into the hospital last fall. After 10 days I was informed that either I would have to pay out of pocket for any additional treatment or receive treatment in an out patient facility. I was no way ready to be discharged and continue to feel the effects nearly a year later.

So I guess I will need to get my grave dug and ready for occupation by the time the repug's take over congress and the White House in 2012.

[ismnotwasm]

132. So my husband with Multiple Sclerosis

Should just crawl up in a corner and die? Give up?

Huckabee is another disgusting repuke used asswipe.

Thanks to research and dedication of people in the field that has led to treatments that slow the progression, AND the lack of a pre-existing condition clause, as I've been careful through the years to choose insurance that doesn't have one, his last MRI showed no progression of the disease. He has secondary-progressive MS, and we are fighting it tooth and nail.

[felinetta]

133. I emailed Huckster 2 days ago. I called him an SOB and said if he is

taking orders from his god, then his god is an SOB, too. And I
asked him to produce this god, cos 
I have a lot of bones to pick with him. Don't stop calling out
these people in this way. There are
those of us who do appreciate you.

[WillyT]

134. HUGE K & R !!!

:mad:

:kick:

:hi:

[kestrel91316]

135. Fuck the sick bastards. I hope their children all get pre-existing conditions.

[maxpower]

136. My wife suffers from MS too

This is just disgusting. What is wrong with these people? Keep fighting the good fight Will.

Peace,
Max

[mzmolly]

137. Comparing child cancer patients to property

always tugs at my heart strings. Poor corporate America. Sniffle.

[Cheap_Trick]

138. What fucking Orwellian double speak

"Values" voters, my ass.

Is it so wrong to wish for carpet bombing of the next VV summit?

If it is, I don't want to be right.

[area51]

139. eugenics is exactly right.

I don't call republicans nazis lightly.

Each day, 273 people die due to lack of health care in the U.S.; that's 100,000 deaths per year.

We need single-payer health care, not a welfare bailout for the serial-killer insurance agencies.

We don't need the GingrichCare of mandated, unregulated, for-profit insurance that is still too expensive, only pays parts of medical bills, denies claims, bankrupts and kills people. Republinazi '93 plan:

"Subtitle F: Universal Coverage - Requires each citizen or lawful permanent resident to be covered under a qualified health plan or equivalent health care program by January 1, 2005."

"We will never have real reform until people's health stops being treated as a financial opportunity for corporations."

[spanone]

140. they are heartless, inhumane fucks. i do not have one shred of respect for the gop.

[nightgaunt]

141. They run the corporations that run our gov't

We still have some pull but not much. They need to be turned out and and their soft worm enablers in the Democratic Party which has too many of them infesting it right now. Clean house and fumigate.

Huckabee may be some kind of Christian but he agrees with Atheist Ayn Rand on things. A psychopath's view of the world and its inhabitants.

[bergie321]

142. Come on now

The insurance companies should only be forced to insure healthy people and yet still hold a monopoly on health coverage.

Why won't you consider the profits of these corporations? How will the CEO be able to receive a $50 million salary if he is forced to pay for sick people?

:sarcasm:

[glitch]

144. K & R. Good of them to highlight their evil right before an election.

Timely reminder for the apathetic...

[Uncle Joe]

147. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, WilliamPitt.:thumbsup:

[robbob]

149. Hey Will, a question

I am lucky enough to live in Canada, where we watch the wranglings over the rights of big insurance to make billions of dollars off of the American people with incredulity and disbelief.

Sorry to hear about you wife's struggles, and happy to hear she has insurance to cover it, but my question for you (and any other DU'ers with relevant experiences); is there pressure on a company with health benefits to drop an employee who develops a medical condition? Is there any protection for such an employee if their company tries to fire them based on the health insurance costs associated with employing such a person? (I am assuming health premiums rise every time a company's employees use their insurance).

It's a question some friends and I were discussing around the table the other day, and I was just wondering if discrimination based on medical conditions is common, or protected against, in the US workplace.

Thanks and keep up the good work!

[WilliamPitt]

151. My wife was diagnosed while employed

and she still has the same job. It's a big-box retail store, part of a large chain, and they have been uniformly excellent to her and to all their employees. There has never been a hint of hiking her rates or taking them away since the diagnosis. As for protections, I believe the Americans with Disabilities Act (thank you Mr. Clinton) gives her recourse if something like that were to happen.

We're very lucky she has the job she does with this company. They've taken great care of her.

Thanks back! :hug:

[flvegan]

152. Error: you can only recommend threads which were started in the past 24 hours

Bravo, Will. Bravo.

:applause:

[The Wizard]

153. Wasn't it Hucklebee's kid

who tortured and killed a defenseless animal and the Governor made everything disappear?
Hate is not a family value.

[DinahMoeHum]

155. I hope something really bad happens to Huck-A-Buck's family. . .

Flame me if you want - I don't give a fuck at this point.

Keep the gloves off, Will.

:nuke:

[WilliamPitt]

158. Thank you

to everyone who replied.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who gets crazy over these assholes.

:hug:

And, yeah, life is a pre-existing condition.