GOP leaders think we're the idiots

Yesterday, several Republican Senators led by Richard Burr (NC), Mel Martinez (FL), Tom Coburn (OK) and Bob Corker (TN) at the behest of the GOP introduced a Health Insurance Bill. This piece of legislation basically grants refundable tax credits of up to $5,400 per family to help offset individualized health insurance costs. Sadly the bill is extremely flawed.

For years, the Democratic party has been calling for changes in the Health Insurance system to make health care more affordable to all Americans. Only now that the Republicans have lost control of the Congress and are teetering on losing the White House does the GOP show interest in the biggest domestic issue of the day. Republicans controlled both the Senate and House of Representatives during the majority of the Bush Administration and yet did very little to address this issue.

Immediately following the unveiling of the Republican plan, advocates of uninsured opposed the plan as bad for low-income families. It seems that $5,400 a year doesn't really buy much health insurance for a family even when subsidized by employers. Additionally, Senator Burr revealed that the bill would begin taxing the value of employer provided health care. By doing so, eventually less Americans will be insured by their employers. The question is, who benefits from this plan.

The answer is all too familiar when the GOP is involved...big businesses. Employers will not alter compensation plans when employees lose or opt out of their health care plans and as a result, the employer share of health insurance will become profits. This plan is a veiled attempt to put public tax dollars into the pockets of big companies and again the wealthiest among us will gain and the poorest will once again finance those gains.

This bill wasn't conceived to become law. Nearly all of the Democratic candidates for President are members of congress, including Senators Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd. Due to the flaws of this plan, all of the Senators will vote against it. The Republican Party will no doubt make note of this. Brace yourself now, because next November every interview, campaign ad and speech from each and every Republican in the country will focus on the Democratic nominee voting against a Universal Health Care bill.

This is just the first step in what is sure to be another campaign of falsehoods and misdirection engineered by the GOP - the people who think that we are all idiots.