Secretary Sebelius and the House GOP.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius went to House and got grilled by the GOP. But I wish she had gone after Marsha Blackburn with both guns, and I know how she could have done it.

Marsha Blackburn, the GOP representative form Tennessee, said that several of her constituents complained that their policies had been cancelled. She said, "Some people like a Ford and some like a Ferrari, and some like red Solo cups, not crystal stem. You're taking away their choice." I really wish Secretary Sebelius would have said, " Would you advice those constituents to buy a Ford with no lights, or a red Solo cup with a crack halfway down it? You could use both of those, but they aren't completely useful. Well, if not, then why would you advice a person to buy a basically useless policy? The ACA set standards, just like cars and even cups have. And there are 4 levels of coverage everyone can buy, so they have choices. So Representative, are you saying there shouldn't be any standards for anything to buy, or that insurance companies should be different from other products and they should be able to continue to fleece some of their customers?" She could have sat back and she'd still probably be waiting for an answer. And Democrats would flock behind her, and the GOP would still be trying to answer her.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius went to the House and spoke about the ACA. She did well, but I wish I had sent this to her before she went to the hill.    

Think insurance companies like the ACA? Think again.

It was thought by some that the insurance companies, since they worked on the legislation and got to keep their companies under the ACA, would be okay with the act. But they're showing exactly what they think of the ACA in these cancellation policies.

Many people, maybe a couple of millions, are getting notices that starts by saying that the company, due to the ACA, is cancelling their health insurance policy. Now, that is technically true, but in fact, those getting this letter, which it later says, is eligible to get another policy under the ACA. But wouldn't it have been better, and in my mind, much better company customer relations, if that letter said at the beginning that under the ACA, the policy they have no longer meets minimum standards, and then said they could come in or call to get more information and the new rates. In other words, in stating the truth in the worst possible light and only then telling them of new policies and the rates, which may be subsidized but they're never told that. Which company would you rather work with, one that stated the case and tried to help you get subsidies, or one that tries to scare you and puts fear into you? But just like their policies that really did nothing for people that bought them, the company is trying to scare people into bad decisions. Have you noticed that this is only happening with individuals and not companies? That's because companies were never offered these shoddy policies, because the insurance companies knew that to keep these companies as customers, they needed to offer them health policies that worked. Insurance companies never worried about that with individuals.

It was thought having another 30 million customers would help the insurance companies accept the ACA. Obviously, insurance companies don't like the ACA. That's the only way a person can look at the letters they're sending to individual policy holders.      

GOP: Think we've given up? Ha!!!!!

For anyone who thought that the GOP had learned a lesson from the debacle that was the government shutdown, the GOP wants you to know that they still have no plans to have a federal government. First they'll continue with getting this one not working, and then they'll shut down the whole thing for good. Don't believe me? First it was Senator Ted Cruz that said that he'd shut down the government again in January if he thought it would get rid of the Affordable Care Act. Then, Senator Lindsey Graham said that he planned on blocking every appointment in the Senate until another hearing on Benghazi called be called and every survivor speaks. This while several federal judges and the lead lawyer for the National Labor Relations Board is scheduled for a vote soon. Now, Senator Marco Rubio has told the rest of the GOP that they need to vote against the Immigration Act bill that has passed the Senate. The fact that the bill is actually HIS bill means he now is begging the GOP to vote against himself. If that's not the picture next to the definition of dysfunction, it needs to be.

For some, it was thought that the GOP learned something for the government shutdown they caused. Well, if they did learn anything, they learned that they really want the federal government shutdown for good, and they'll do anything to make it happen.            

Don't get too happy, Democrats.

It seems to most that the GOP is basically becoming a very regional, right-wing political party. But Democrats, I wouldn't get too happy quite yet. And for both the GOP and Democrats, you have Harry Reid to thank for that.

Senator Olympia Snowe today said that she's worried that if the Democrats win the House in 2014, they would be "psychotic". Now, I'm not sure how in the world the Democrats could be anywhere close to how psychotic and dumb the GOP has become, but this is one area Senator Snowe shouldn't worry, and she should thank Senate Leader harry Reid for that. Why? Simply, even if the Democrats get control of the House, after the House passed a bill, all one GOP Senator would have to do is filibuster any non-budget bill or any appointment that came up. The Democrats can't win so many seats that the Senate would be filibuster-proof, which the Senate basically was in 2010. Think Cruz, Lee, or Paul wouldn't filibuster every bill that the Senate tried to pass if they know there's no GOP-controlled House to stop the bill from passing? Heck, Cruz right now has a hold on the head of the FCC because he wants to make sure that political ads won't tell who's behind them any more than they do now.

How strange would it be if Democrats took the House and due to a minority of Senators, the government is just as dysfunctional as it is right now. And who would the country have to thank for that? Harry Reid, who for 2 years has refused to back filibuster reform. Don't get too happy, Democrats. Winning the election in 2014 may not solve all your or the country's ills.      

Is politicizing heart surgery really a good idea?

Senator Imhofe of Oklahoma last week went to a doctor and, after a few tests, it was revealed that he needed heart surgery quickly. He got it done, and I hope he is in good health. But Senator, did you really have to politicize your surgery? And, if you needed to, can you explain why you lied and missed the point, almost at the same time?

Senator Imhofe, after his surgery, said that if he fell under the ACA, he'd probably be dead before he could've had the surgery. Now, I can't state if that's true or not, although I really completely doubt it, but Senator, you missed the point of the ACA completely. The point is that every American should be able to go see a doctor and get checked out, just like you did. Before the ACA was enacted, insurance companies could decide to exclude anyone they felt might present a foreseeable problem, excluding those with pre-insurance signings conditions. They also had the right to cap how much they would spend on each patient they insured. That is now gone, too. Then the Senator said that we shouldn't mess up the best health care in the world. If we had the best health care in the world, I'd agree. But considering that Senator Imhofe knows full well that America ranks last in NATO when health care is ranked, and 37th over-all in the world, I can only surmise that, Senator, you knowingly lied. I know where I got my rankings Senator, where did you get yours?

Senator Imhofe needed heart surgery recently, and I really do hope he's doing much better now. But Senator, was it really a good idea to politicize your surgery?        

Would you make up your mind, GOP.

For the life of me, I have no idea what the GOP is trying to say most of the time. But when it come to the ACA, they really are bending over backwards to take every side they can.

To start with, the GOP wants the ACA to go away, and as quickly as possible. Then, they complain that the system to sign in isn't running well enough. Okay GOP, which one is it? You can'r complain that you want a system gone but complain it isn't running well enough. But then, to top it off, they want Secretary of HHS, the department that is running the ACA, to be fired for not having the site running well. But, wasn't the HHS one of the Cabinet departments that you wanted to eliminate? Again GOP, what do you want?

Secondly, Former Vice-President Dick Cheney this weekend railed against the deficit. But wait, weren't you part of the Reagan administration that said deficits weren't bad? Then, as Vice-President, didn't you and Bush #43 cut taxes and run 2 wars, which was mostly kept of the books so the American people wouldn't see the deficits the administration was accumulating? You surely can't argue one way, run the government the same way, but then change sides and complain when other administrations do the same thing, can you? Actually, after meeting you back in the 80s, maybe you could.

Then, there's Steve Lonegan, who lost the New Jersey Senate election, had the nerve to say after the election last Wednesday that he thought so little of the Senate that he doesn't understand why anyone would run for a seat and was glad he lost. Huh? You just spent several months running, and now you're glad you lost? But wait! Today, you said the only reason you lost was due to the government shutdown. Want to try that again, Steve? Which way do you it, that it you wanted to win, that it doesn't matter if you that you lost, or you could have won if things had worked out different?

I normally don't understand why the GOP takes the view they take on many issues. But it really makes it tough when you take all sides of an argument and complain about all of the sides the next day. Really GOP, would you make up your mind? At least then, you'll only be wrong about 1 side of an argument.  

Why would America want a third party when we already have 3?

Tow things that America learned Wednesday night as we waited to see if the government would reopen is, one, that we don't need to a third party. In fact, we already have 3 political parties, but most people can only vote for one of two of them. And the second thing is, the GOP is still lying to America about the Tea Party. But what's really sad is that after Wednesday night, most people will only vote for one of the parties, no matter who's on the ballot.

Don't think there's 3 parties already? Well, both the Democratic party and the establishment GOP party never wanted a default, and tried to get their members to vote for a clean CR. So who were the 18 people in the Senate and the 144 people in the House who voted against the CR and to have America default on the debt? That's the Tea Party, the third political party in America. It's true that except in rare circumstances no Americans will see all 3 parties on a ballot, all 3 showed themselves Wednesday night.

So after Wednesday night, why is the establishment arm of the GOP saying that there are just 20 to 30 members of the Tea Party that tried to keep the government closed. Now, the Democrats are mimicking this number, but it makes no sense for them to tamp down the numbers, but it does for the establishment GOP. They don't want America to know that the Tea Party has taken over the GOP, although it's obvious to anyone who has paid attention, or add. In the Senate, 18 of the 45 GOP Senators, or 40%, are actually Tea Party members. In the House, 144 out of 234 GOP Representatives voted for default, meaning 60% are Tea Party members. The Tea Party may not be the majority party, but the vote Wednesday showed they are a powerful political minority party. They're so powerful, in fact, that in most places, they're pushing out the establishment GOP.  

Now, the saddest thing is that, after Wednesday night, in a large part of America, people won't vote for either the Democrat or the Tea Party. In the deep south, and in most rural mid-west and western areas in America, they either see no need for the government or truly hate it, and they'll never vote for Democrat. And since in those areas the Tea Party is ousting the establishment GOP, that means they'll vote for the Tea Party. But after Wednesday night, and the 16 day government shutdown, in almost all other areas in America, after what the Tea Party/GOP did, they won't vote for anyone but the Democratic Party. So while there may be 3 political parties, most only trust 1 to do what they think America needs. And that's really sad.