The Medicare-for-All Hoax

photo credit: magnoliabox.com

Cleveland Tea Party was one of many liberty groups and organizations that fought hard to prevent Obamacare from becoming law. We prepared and participated in delegations that visited offices of our representatives, made phone calls, organized rallies, etc. The GOP members of Congress have still not made good on their campaign promises (years of promises) to repeal Obamacare -- and now we are looking at yet another destructive proposal from the Democrat Party to take another wrecking ball to Americans’ access to their healthcare plan of choice.

Two days ago, President Trump published his op-ed and call-to-arms to stop the “Medicare For All” madness in USA Today. The mainstream media pounced on it, reproducing big chunks of it on their websites, so I decided to paste Trump's entire columns below (skip to the end if you’ve already read it to see links to the counter-counter arguments):

The Democrats want to outlaw private health care plans, taking away freedom to choose plans while letting anyone cross our border. We must win this.

Throughout the year, we have seen Democrats across the country uniting around a new legislative proposal that would end Medicare as we know it and take away benefits that seniors have paid for their entire lives.

Dishonestly called “Medicare for All,” the Democratic proposal would establish a government-run, single-payer health care system that eliminates all private and employer-based health care plans and would cost an astonishing

$32.6 trillion during its first 10 years. 

As a candidate, I promised that we would protect coverage for patients with pre-existing conditions and create new health care insurance options that would lower premiums. I have kept that promise, and we are now seeing health insurance premiums coming down.

I also made a solemn promise to our great seniors to protect Medicare. That is why I am fighting so hard against the Democrats' plan that would eviscerate Medicare. Democrats have already harmed seniors by slashing Medicare by more than $800 billion over 10 years to pay for Obamacare. Likewise, Democrats would gut Medicare with their planned government takeover of American health care.

The Democrats' plan threatens America's seniors

The Democrats' plan means that after a life of hard work and sacrifice, seniors would no longer be able to depend on the benefits they were promised. By eliminating Medicare as a program for seniors, and outlawing the ability of Americans to enroll in private and employer-based plans, the Democratic plan would inevitably lead to the massive rationing of health care. Doctors and hospitals would be put out of business. Seniors would lose access to their favorite doctors. There would be long wait lines for appointments and procedures. Previously covered care would effectively be denied.

In practice, the Democratic Party’s so-called Medicare for All would really be Medicare for None. Under the Democrats' plan, today’s Medicare would be forced to die.

The Democrats' plan also would mean the end of choice for seniors over their own health care decisions. Instead, Democrats would give total power and control over seniors’ health care decisions to the bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.

The first thing the Democratic plan will do to end choice for seniors is eliminate Medicare Advantage plans for about 20 million seniors as well as eliminate other private health plans that seniors currently use to supplement their Medicare coverage.

Next, the Democrats would eliminate every American’s private and employer-based health plan. It is right there in their proposed legislation: Democrats outlaw private health plans that offer the same benefits as the government plan. 

Americans might think that such an extreme, anti-senior, anti-choice and anti-consumer proposal for government-run health care would find little support among Democrats in Congress.

Unfortunately, they would be wrong: 123 Democrats in the House of Representatives — 64 percent of House Democrats — as well as 15 Democrats in the Senate have already formally co-sponsored this legislation. Democratic nominees for governor in Florida, California and Maryland are all campaigning in support of it, as are many Democratic congressional candidates.

Democrats want open-borders socialism

The truth is that the centrist Democratic Party is dead. The new Democrats are radical socialists who want to model America’s economy after Venezuela.

If Democrats win control of Congress this November, we will come dangerously closer to socialism in America. Government-run health care is just the beginning. 

Democrats are also pushing massive government control of education, private-sector businesses and other major sectors of the U.S. economy. 

Every single citizen will be harmed by such a radical shift in American culture and life. Virtually everywhere it has been tried, socialism has brought suffering, misery and decay.

Indeed, the Democrats' commitment to government-run health care is all the more menacing to our seniors and our economy when paired with some Democrats' absolute commitment to end enforcement of our immigration laws by abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That means millions more would cross our borders illegally and take advantage of health care paid for by American taxpayers.

Today’s Democratic Party is for open-borders socialism. This radical agenda would destroy American prosperity. Under its vision, costs will spiral out of control. Taxes will skyrocket. And Democrats will seek to slash budgets for seniors’ Medicare, Social Security and defense.

Republicans believe that a Medicare program that was created for seniors and paid for by seniors their entire lives should always be protected and preserved. I am committed to resolutely defending Medicare and Social Security from the radical socialist plans of the Democrats. For the sake of our country, our prosperity, our seniors and all Americans — this is a fight we must win.

Donald J. Trump is the president of the United States. Follow him on Twitter: @realDonaldTrump

The “fight we must win” means winning votes on November 6 for candidates opposed to “Medicare For All.” (The bill and related sites are here).

As soon as our President’s op-ed was published, the mainstream media leaped into action to point out all the inaccuracies and false information in his op-ed. Among them were NPR, LA Times, and Chicago Tribune. For example, the LA Times slammed the piece with “Trump's USA Today op-ed on Medicare is full of lies — and USA Today should not have published it.” Hmm. It was apparent just scrolling through the search results that these articles were in the same echo chamber in their mission to discredit Trump’s op-ed.

So I searched for Betsy McCaughey, who was my go-to resource when attempting to decipher the Obamacare legislation. Sure enough, she was on the job at Townhall last month. Here’s her take titled “The Medicare-for-All Hoax.” I’ll go with her and President Trump’s analysis over NPR's and the LA Times' any day of the week.

# # #

Trump endorses Renee Ellmers?

 Trump endorses Renee Ellmers

Not a good development. From Conservative Review:

[Ellmers is] a fighter alright – a fighter for the Boehner K Street political elites.  There is perhaps no sitting member who embodies the source of anger among Republican voters – the anger that has engendered the rise of Trump in the first place – more than Renee Ellmers.  After she was elected as a “Tea Party conservative” in 2010, she immediately became one of the most loyal foots soldiers for Boehner, Cantor and McCarthy and has done more to fight the conservative grassroots on immigration that any sitting House member.

. . .

Check out her CR profile here, and you will discover a more extensive liberal rap sheet than almost any sitting Republican congressman. 

Ellmers (R-NC) was endorsed by Sarah Palin, and upon election in 2010-11, promptly turned to the left. On immigration issues, NumbersUSA gives her a better report card rating than Conservative Review, but Mr. Trump could have sought out any number of congress critters with better track records. 

Ellmers faces a tough primary tomorrow; here's the report from NPR.

# # #

A Match Made in Liberal Heaven: OWS & NPR (National Propaganda Radio)

In a video that surfaced earlier this year, NPR Foundation President Ron Schiller called Tea Party supporters, "Islamaphobic, xenophobic, uneducated, radical, racist, gun-toting whites of middle America." Schiller also candidly admits in the video that NPR doesn't need federal funding, and welcomes the opportunity to slant their reporting without the oversight of the taxpayer,"

In response, scores of Tea Party, 9/12 and other liberty-minded groups from across America, contacted members of Congress and demanded that NPR be defunded.  Under the leadership of Speaker John Boehner, the GOP controlled U.S. House dismissed and ignored these requests.  As you will see below, some members of Congress even defended the continued funding for these purveyors of presidential propaganda.

 And once again, never missing a chance to push their progressive views over the airwaves, the taxpayer-funded propagandists at NPR are allowing one of their hosts to serve as a spokesperson for the Occupy Wall Street movement....

From the Media Research Center --

The Media Research Center’s President Brent Bozell sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner today calling on him to jumpstart Congress into stripping the government-subsidized corporation of taxpayer dollars, following the latest outrageous violation of ethics by NPR.

The laundry list of offenses by NPR is long and robust, but the most recent revelation that NPR host Lisa Simeone is serving as a spokesperson for Occupy DC, the Washington-based effort of the radical Occupy Wall Street movement, has gone much too far. More...

Earlier this year, Tom Zawistowski of the Portage County Tea Party and I hand delivered a letter to Congressman LaTourette's office as part of the Tea Party Patriots "Deal in the District" initiative. (Deal in the District Letter)

In response to the "Deal in the District" letter and commenting on an earlier conversation I had with him, Congressman LaTourette defined defunding NPR as a social issue...

"On the NPR and EPA votes, I have explained to Ralph, but am happy to repeat, that this fight over spending can either focus on social issues or money."

It appears the woefully misguided and establishment-elite infected Congressman LaTourette feels it is OK for the "left" to use tax-payer money to promote their social issues on and through NPR, as the Occupy Wall Street movement is all about leftist "share the wealth" social issues and is a direct attack on personal property and liberty.

We need to support Media Research Center and continue with our previous calls for the defunding of NPR, a State-Run Media outlet for the progressive and now OWS movement.

Contact Speaker John Boehner and your member of Congress and demand the funding of NPR cease immediately. And of course don't forget to contact Congressman LaTourette and inquire if he supports the use of the left pushing social issues with taxpayer money.

Speaker John Boehner
D.C. Office Phone: (202)225-0600
D.C. Office Fax: (202)225-5117

Rep. Steven LaTourette, OH-14D.C. Office Phone: (202) 225-5731
D.C. Office Fax: (202) 225-3307

Rep. Steve Chabot, OH-1
D.C. Office Phone: (202) 225-2216
D.C. Office Fax: (202) 225-3012

Rep. Jean Schmidt, OH-2
D.C. Office Phone: (202) 225-3164
D.C. Office Fax: (202) 225-1992

Rep. Mike Turner, OH-3
D.C. Office Phone: (202) 225-6465
D.C. Office Fax: (202) 225-6754

Rep. Jim Jordan, OH-4
D.C. Office Phone: (202)225-2676
D.C. Office Fax: (202)226-0577

Rep. Bob Latta, OH-5
D.C. Office Phone: 1-800-541-6446 (OHIO)
D.C. Office Fax: 1-800-278-8203

Rep. Bill Johnson, OH-6
D.C. Office Phone: (202) 225-5705
D.C. Office Fax: (202) 225-5907

Rep. Steve Austria, OH-7
D.C. Office Phone: (202) 225-4324
D.C. Office Fax: (202) 225-1984

Rep. Patrick Tiberi, OH-12
D.C. Office Phone: (202)225-5355
D.C. Office Fax: (202)226-4523

Rep. Steve Stivers, OH-15
D.C. Office Phone: (202)225-2015
D.C. Office Fax: (202)225-3529

Rep. Jim Renacci, OH-16
D.C. Office Phone: (202)225-3876
D.C. Office Fax: (202)225-3059

Rep. Bob Gibbs, (OH-18)
D.C. Office Phone: (202)225-6265
D.C. Office Fax: (202)225-3394