(our very own Elizabeth the Great… – promoted by pfiore8)
Elizabeth Edwards knows who the real enemy is and what is at stake in this election. While there are differences betweeen Obama’s and Clinton’s health care plan, both are far, far better than what John McCain has in store for us.
Last weekend, Elizabeth Edwards took on McCain:
Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of former Democratic presidential contender John Edwards, said she and John McCain have one thing in common: “Neither one of us would be covered by his health policy.”
McCain’s chief advisor attacked, and today Elizabeth smacked them both down at Think Progress
More, after the fold.
(also in orange: http://www.dailykos.com/story/…
Nyceve had a great diary on this yesterday:
As the corporate owned media sleeps, and sleeps with John McBush, great and fearless Americans like Elizabeth Edwards are left to do their work.
Elizabeth Edwards lacerates cancer survivor John McHypocrite
Well worth reading if you missed it.
Elizabeth minced no words in taking on McCain’s bad plan:
Elizabeth Edwards told some 500 health journalists the other day that John McCain’s health care plan was like “painting lipstick on a pig,” an expression from her neck of the woods that in this case means lofty-sounding words that pretty up some ideas that could hurt ordinary people who don’t understand what’s going on; that is, unless journalists tell them. The language of his plan sounds good, she argued, making it “hard to understand what’s wrong with it. “Someone has to translate for the public.” Edwards challenged reporters to do just that.
Elizabeth showed that John McCain could be denied coverage under John McCain’s healthcare plan.
Under the McCain proposal, health insurers “wouldn’t have to cover pre-existing conditions like melanoma and breast cancer,” Elizabeth Edwards said at the annual meeting of the Association of Health Care Journalists in Arlington, Va. Elizabeth Edwards, who has breast cancer that has spread to her bones, said that, under the McCain proposal, health insurers could deny coverage to both her and McCain, who has received treatment for melanoma. Democratic candidates Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.) both have announced health care proposals that would require health insurers to accept all applicants, regardless of pre-existing medical conditions.
In addition, according to Elizabeth Edwards, a provision in the McCain proposal that would allow residents to purchase health insurance across state lines would allow companies to shift operations to states with weaker consumer protection laws. McCain has said that the provision would increase competition among health insurers and reduce costs. However, Elizabeth Edwards said, “Hard-fought state-by-state protections would be lost” under the provision. She added, “They mask this proposal as a cost-saving technique. This is giving insurance companies a pass.”
Stung by this criticism, McCain’s senior policy advisor suggested that Elizabeth did not understand the market driven approach of McCain’s plan:
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, senior policy advisor to McCain, said Saturday that Edwards’ comments were disappointing and that they revealed she did not understand the comprehensive nature of the senator’s proposal.
Holtz-Eakin said McCain’s policy would harness “the power of competition to produce greater coverage for Americans.” Because McCain’s plan would lower the cost of healthcare through competition, Holtz-Eakin said, it would reduce costs for consumers with or without preexisting conditions.
Well today, Elizabeth fired back on Think Progress as a guest blogger:
Our guest blogger is Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Presidential candidate John Edwards.
Apparently Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a senior policy advisor to McCain, thinks I do “not understand the comprehensive nature of the senator’s proposal.” The problem, Douglas, is that, despite fuzzy language and feel-good lines in the Senator’s proposal, I do understand exactly how devastating it will be to people who have the health conditions with which the Senator and I are confronted (melanoma for him, breast cancer for me) but do not have the financial resources we have. In very unconfusing language: they are left outside the clinic doors.
Senator McCain likes to start speeches with a litany of questions that, presumedly, less plain-spoken politicians would refuse to answer. Well, here are some questions he does not ask but, as that plain-spoken politician, he might want to answer:
Go Here to read Elizabeth Edwards Questions for McCain on Think Progress
I am not confused about your reputation: you are the straight-talker, you like to say. This is about health care, Senator McCain. Doesn’t the American voter deserve some straight answers to these questions? As one of those with a pre-existing condition, I sure would like some straight talk.
Elizabeth Edwards has her priorities right: we need universal health care.
Just maybe all the energy spent in this primary attacking either Senaor Obama or Senator Clinton would be better spent criticizing the vision of American that McCain is pushing. We don’t need 4 more years of failed Republican rule.
We need universal health care, and only a Democratic president will refrain from vetoing a real plan. Whatever the differences among Clinton and Obama, I think neither would veto a real universal health care plan.
For more on universal health care, in its single payer version, go here:
Physicians for a National Health Program
For Clinton’s plan, go here: Hillary’s American Health Choices Plan
For Obama’s plan, go here:
And for those who remember, here is The Edwards Plan , a plan very similar to Clinton’s plan.
Whatever criticisms one has about one plan or the other, it is clear that both Clinton’s and Obama’s plans are much, much better than what McCain has in store for us.
Go see Elizabeth’s questions to McCain. Think he can answer them?
4 comments
Skip to comment form
Author
Universal health care!
Author
promoting this, pfiore8.
Elizabeth the Great is right. 🙂