What The Other Side Offers

I don’t want to call the Republican response to President Obama’s health care speech a train wreck, but it was at least a derailment. As tradition states, the opposing party to the President gives an response, and Rep. Boustany’s attempt to rebut the President shows what the Republicans offer to this matter: nothing.

The Louisiana representative spoke about the Republican health care platform which includes eliminating pre-existing conditions, allowing individuals and business more options for health insurance (i.e. the exchange), providing assistance for people who cannot afford health care, and encouraging wellness and preventative care.

Sounds familiar right? Apparently Boustany and the GOP did not listen to a word President Obama said, because of the five solutions that Boustany presented, four of them were specifically included in Obama’s speech. But somehow there version is much better and bolder.

Does these similarities in the two platforms mean that the Republicans will work the President to get health care passed? He even said that, “Republicans have been ready for reform.” I would say hardly, especially after the actions that the GOP displayed during Obama’s speech.

For instance, many members could be seen texting during the address. Finding out what bar their colleagues were going to after the speech was more surely important than making sure insurance premiums are affordable to Americans. Some members were twittering during the address. Apparently finding out the latest news from Perez Hilton is more important than covering the uninsured. Finally, many Republicans looked like they were day dreaming. I guess pondering whether they were going to have steak or chicken when they returned home was more pressing than improving the quality of health care for Americans.

Furthermore, during the response, Rep. Boustany could not help but spread some of the lies we heard in August in his response Wednesday night. He tried to scare seniors into thinking that their Medicare benefits would be cut to pay for this plan. He said, “Replacing your family care with government care is not the answer.” Clearly not listening to the President’s speech about the public option, Boustany was attempting to, once again, put fear in the minds of the public.

Luckily, as with most responses to the President, this speech feel flat. It seemed as if Rep. Boustany did not even listen to the speech at all, and from the actions of his fellow colleagues, he probably didn’t.

Even though his speech was not a complete train wreck in itself, the performance of the Republican party was.