Posted on 08/17/2004 6:10:07 AM PDT by crushkerry
Listen to John Kerry and the Democrats discuss the issue of prescription drugs for about 5 minutes and you see that they're trying to convince seniors that in George Bush's America, they would be forced to go scrounging in dumpsters for used dog food. The upside of course, would be the Kerry TV ad. We've got a sneak preview of the text:
"I was in Vietnam. While on 1 or 4 secret missions in Cambodia, or Boston, at either Christmas, Easter, or Chinese New Year (I can't remember which) I crawled on my belly with an M-16 hunting Charlie . We didn't eat caviar - that came after I married 2 heiresses. No, my band of brothers and I were forced to eat Army issue canned dog food. I was in Vietnam. So I can relate to seniors whose budgets are so tight they have to decide between Alpo and Ken-L-Ration. In George Bush's America never again will a senior have to make such a choice. Why? Because I have a plan. The first thing I'll do when I'm President is send Congress a bill creating a subsidy for Dog Food. And not the wet stuff that has a pop top lid. While in Nam (I was there you know) I cut my hand opening one - that was Purple Heart #2. I promise you the dry stuff that you can easily rip open. It's a disgrace that the most advanced country in the world can't provide it's seniors with quality, affordable, dog food. I blame it on the President's overwhelming support from "Big Dog Food". Well I say to them 'When John Kerry is President, the "chuck wagon" stops here'"
Seriously though, we here never liked the RX Drug Bill supported by President Bush and passed by Congress - except for Medical Savings Account, a brilliant idea. Yet despite being the only President to deliver on this issue, he is taking a beating because of it. Not only must John Kerry's demagoguery on this issue be blunted by the Bushies, he must be called to the carpet on his lies. Finally, as politically risky as it might be, someone needs to tell the senior citizens that the gravy train is over, and to put their outstretched hands back in their pocket.
Forget for a moment the fact that this monstrosity of a bill expands the welfare state (and yes, this is nothing more than welfare), puts a crushing burden on younger workers, and will likely cost much more than the $500 billion price tag. Rather, President Bush and his advisors made the mistake of thinking they could show they care more than the Democrats by spending billions. What they didn't take into account was the fact that no matter what they did, John Kerry and a large number of senior citizens will simply demand more freebies, and demonize you for "only" spending $500 billion.
For decades politicians have promised seniors prescription drug coverage under Medicare. Despite being the first President to do so, President Bush has found himself under withering attacks from the Kerry/Edwards campaign. Further, a recent poll found that seniors, by a margin of 44-18%, are more likely to vote for Kerry because of the new Medicare law. And John Kerry has been fairly skillful in using this poll tested issue to go mining for votes
Again, the big media is asleep at the switch on calling Kerry's lies on the carpet. He's lying about having voting against the RX Drug Bill. Kerry claims he "proudly" voted against the Prescription Drug Bill that passed Congress last year. The little problem with that statement is that like about 90% of the other votes this session, Kerry didn't bother to vote. We're certain he WOULD have voted against it had he bothered to show up for the vote, given that it allows him to scare seniors into thinking George Bush wants them eating dog food out of trash bins. But he should at least be honest about what he didn't do. Oh wait, Kerry be honest? Sorry.
The latest line of attack against the President is that he is not allowing people to import cheaper Canadian drugs, thereby driving up costs. Kerry recently noted that he would allow such re-importation. We would initially note that it is Congress that actually passed the law, not the President. But more importantly Kerry acts as if simply allowing reimportation would make everything right in the world and we will all live to be 100.
Sadly, like all other socialists who dream of their utopias, Kerry has no understanding of economics. He fails to realize that the drug companies reaction will not be to do stand idly by in the face of shrinking profits, but rather, simply stop selling them to the Canadian government. This would make drugs even more costly than they are now. In fact, several drug company's have already threatened to limit their drug sales to Canada as a result.
But what does that minor detail have to do with anything so long as Kerry can stand to gain from that utterly awful TV ad where the poor old man asks the government to arrest him for buying his drugs in Canada. Leave aside for a second the fact that were it not for the drug companies, the old man would be pushing up daisies right now. In fact, if he got his way many of those lifesaving drugs would no longer be available to him.
A visit to Kerry's website says the he and the Ambulance Chaser "will never put drug company profits ahead of lower drug prices." Again, he fails to realize that it were it not for the drug companies being allowed to make big profits (which benefits their workers, and any of us who have invested in the company), many new and innovative lifesaving drugs would never come to market.
We here at crushkerry.com don't work for drug companies. But anyone with half a brain knows that not every new drug is successful. For every Zocor, Lipitor, or new AIDS fighting drug, there are several others that never worked out or saw the light of day. Yet, tens of millions of dollars may have been spent trying to develop the drug, all of which are lost to the drug companies. Also, it is not as if the pharmaceutical industry is doing nothing to help those in need. The respected Chronicle of Philanthropy noted that the pharmaceutical industry topped the list of charitable corporate givers in 2004 - donating $2.75 billion, most of it in free medicines.
The simple fact is that John Kerry (like many before him) is trying to scare senior citizens into thinking without him they will either die or go broke. Yet, the practical real world effect of his plan is they will not be able to get the drugs they so need. He seems to forget that this is a capitalist society, in which profits are not bad things. And his stated desire to make "affordable health care" a "right" is pure Marxism. The problem for President Bush is that explaining the downside to Kerry's plan can't be done in a 30 second sound bite, and we'll all be dead before the media gives us something other than poor Granny breaking her pills in half.
Finally, we think that it's high time something be said to those seniors out there (note we didn't say "all") who constantly demand freebies, as we know no politician of either party dare say it - Stop biting the hands that feed you. On a human level we can sympathize with your plight. We all have relatives in that situation. We have no problem helping those with small incomes get the drugs they need via government assistance,nor helping those who face enormous drug bills for catastrophic illnesses or conditions. We also favor successful state subsidization programs, like PACE in Pennsylvania, which is funded through state lottery proceeds and has helped hundreds of thousans of PA seniors afford prescription drugs.
However, it seems to us that SOME of you out there do nothing more than hold out your hand and say "Gimme", with no thought as to where the money for your drugs is coming from. Here's a clue - your drugs do not grow on trees. It comes from us, the increasingly overtaxed worker trying to help his own family get by, and who can't save enough money for his or her own family because Congress is demanding we pay your way. We don't really resent helping you out - it's just that it's maddening to slave away longer and longer in order to pay for all the things you folks want without even a recognition of where its coming from. Rather, we hear you scream that the President isn't doing enough - as if $500 billion were the "dog food" you think you will be eating.
And one other thing. Polls are showing many of you are not taking advantage of the RX Drug Programs out there because they is confusing. Sorry, but you all need to take responsibility to do the work necessary to sign up for the card and find out all you can about the multitude of federal and state programs offering RX Drug assistance, as well as looking into the large number of private drug company giveaways. Your ignorance, or failure to investigate these programs is not an excuse to complain that you can't understand them.
Finally, stop demonizing the drug companies. Many of you would be dead without the products they provide. Don't force them scaling back their R&D through drug giveaways as many of you (and my children) will likely benefit from those new drugs coming down the pike. Remember that every action causes and equal and opposite reaction. Here the reaction is a lesser quality of life for all of us. Think about it. The life you save may be your own.
Ping
bump
They usually activate "Scaregranny" well before now and I actually had a sliver of hope that maybe they abandoned it after it went nowhere in 2002.
I'm sure over the next few weeks we are going to be treated to (completely baseless) stories how George Bush plans to cut Medicare and Social Security to fund the war in Iraq.
And if "Scaregranny" doesn't seem to get any traction, they will flip they playbook to the next chapter and accuse republicans of burning down black churches and participating in lynchings.
This is what I say to John Kerry and ALL of the politicians on the subject of Social Security.
I will gladly give up my S.S. and I know others will too, if YOU and ALL of the other politicians will give up THEIR FEDERAL TAX PAYING RETIREMENT and quit taking out S.S. from businesses and working employees. No more Medicaid, Medicare, or S.S. No more Gov. retirement benefits for any elected official. No more retirement raises to a salary of an elected official. Do NOT tax any private retirement plan of any U.S. Citizen. I will go along with CAPS on this, but that's all. UNTIL YOU and OTHERS of YOUR stripe DON'T WANT TO DO THIS, THEN I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYMORE ABOUT SOCIAL SECURITY FOR SENIORS! Either we all give it up, cut back, or what have you, until that happens, I don't think you need to bring it up again.
Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social aspects that directly effects Gen-Reagan/Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations (i.e. The Baby Boomers) are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.
Freep mail me to be added or dropped. See my home page for details and previous articles.
This granny is only scared if a Kerry-Edwards Aministration comes into power.
This granny is only scared if a Kerry-Edwards Aministration comes into power.
More proof that a Republican president adopting left-wing policies only alienates the Republican base and those in the middle that lean to the conservative side and doesn't increase a GOP President's percentage of the vote.
The moving to the left strategy for Republicans is always a miserable failure. Only Reagan apparently realized that.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.