Cold, Jive Turkeys
July 30th, 2007From the Washington Post, Hot Topics: Republicans V. Health Insurance.
The NYT criticizes Republican congressional leaders who have attacked the proposed expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (Schip), a bipartisan initiative that would increase the number of insured children from low-income families. Republican “leaders may be on message at the White House, where President Bush is foolishly threatening a veto,” but they they “seem way off message for the American public and even their own party caucuses,” the editors write … the WaPo also criticizes Republicans for blocking efforts to boost the number of low-income children who receive health insurance. The editors note that while Republicans say they “want to concentrate on enrolling poor children” in health insurance programs, they “fail to provide enough money to do so effectively.” Do “House Republicans really want to be arguing for taking away health insurance from children who now have it?” the editors ask … NYT columnist Paul Krugman, noting that President Bush said he would veto the Schip expansion bill on “philosophical” grounds, wonders “what kind of philosophy says that it’s O.K. to subsidize insurance companies, but not to provide health care to children?”
Things like health insurance and school lunches are always the first thing that Republicans go after when they make budget cuts. That’s why I could never be a Republican. A national Republican.