Texan Governor brings up states rights.

[Invictus ChiKen]

LINK

Perry raises possibility of states' rights showdown with White House over healthcare
By DAVE MONTGOMERYdmontgomery@star-telegram.com

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry, raising the specter of a showdown with the Obama administration, suggested Thursday that he would consider invoking states’ rights protections under the 10th Amendment to resist the president’s healthcare plan, which he said would be "disastrous" for Texas.

Interviewed by conservative talk show host Mark Davis of Dallas’ WBAP/820 AM, Perry said his first hope is that Congress will defeat the plan, which both Perry and Davis described as "Obama Care." But should it pass, Perry predicted that Texas and a "number" of states might resist the federal health mandate.

"I think you’ll hear states and governors standing up and saying 'no’ to this type of encroachment on the states with their healthcare," Perry said. "So my hope is that we never have to have that stand-up. But I’m certainly willing and ready for the fight if this administration continues to try to force their very expansive government philosophy down our collective throats."

Perry, the state’s longest-serving governor, has made defiance of Washington a hallmark of his state administration as well as his emerging re-election campaign against U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the 2010 Republican primary. Earlier this year, Perry refused $555 million in federal unemployment stimulus money, saying it would subject Texas to long-term costs after the federal dollars ended.

Interviewed after returning from a trip to Iraq and Afghanistan, Perry spoke out against President Barack Obama’s healthcare package less than 24 hours after the president used a prime-time news conference Wednesday night to try to sell the massive legislative package to Congress and the public.

'Not the solution’

"It really is a state issue, and if there was ever an argument for the 10th Amendment and for letting the states find a solution to their problems, this may be at the top of the class," Perry said. "A government-run healthcare system is financially unstable. It’s not the solution."

Perry heartily backed an unsuccessful resolution in this year’s legislative session that would have affirmed the belief that Texas has sovereignty under the 10th Amendment over all powers not otherwise granted to the federal government.

In expressing "unwavering support" for the 10th Amendment resolution by state Rep. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, Perry said "federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens and its interference with the affairs of our state."

Returning to the "letter and spirit" of the 10th Amendment, he said in April, "will free our state from undue regulations and ultimately strengthen our union."

Perry, in his on-air interview Thursday with Davis, did not specify how he might use the 10th Amendment in opposing the Obama health plan. His spokeswoman, Allison Castle, said that the governor’s first goal is to defeat the plan in Congress and that any discussion of options beyond that would be "hypothetical."

"I don’t think it’s surprising that the governor is taking a stand against it," said Anne Dunkelberg, associate director of the Center for Public Policy Priorities, an Austin-based research organization that supports the House version of Obama’s plan. "Unfortunately, the national dialogue on health reform has been extraordinarily partisan and polarized."

The White House Media Affairs Office, asked to comment on Perry’s statements, did not have an immediate response. In his remarks to the nation Wednesday, Obama restated his midsummer deadline for passage of the bill in Congress, saying it is urgently needed to help families "that are being clobbered by healthcare costs."

High stakes in Texas

Texas has a higher percentage of uninsured people than any other state, with 1 in 4 Texans lacking health coverage. Dunkelberg, whose organization supports policies to help low- and modest-income Texans, said the House version would create a "predictable and comprehensive benefits package" for thousands of struggling middle-income Texans.

Former Rep. Arlene Wohlgemuth of Burleson, a senior fellow for healthcare at the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, echoed Perry’s assertion that the Obama plan is the wrong approach and could have disastrous financial consequences for Texas.

Under the Senate version of the bill, she said, an expansion of the joint federal-state Medicaid program for the poor could cost Texas $4 billion a year.

"There are good solutions" to the country’s healthcare problems, Wohlgemuth said. "This isn’t it."

Perry said the plan is another example of the Obama administration’s "massive takeover of the private-sector economy."

"I hope our leaders will look for solutions that don’t dig our country further into debt," he said.

Perry called on Texans in the House and Senate to oppose the plan. "I can’t imagine that anyone from Texas who cares about this state would vote for Obama Care. I don’t care whether you’re Democrat or Republican," he said.

Of those Texans who might consider supporting the plan, he said: "This may sound a little bit harsh, but they might ought to consider representing some other state because they’re sure not representing Texas."

Is it just me or is there alot more talk about States Rights lately and of course Red States seem determined to mess things up for there people.

[Pollux]

Oh god, not this bullshit again.

Wasn't the first time enough for these people?

[Darth Wong]

And the person who posted the thread has no opinion whatsoever on its content?

[Patrick Degan]

I think Obama should give Rick Perry the same answer Andrew Jackson gave to John C. Calhoun.

[Samuel]

And the person who posted the thread has no opinion whatsoever on its content?

He is holding his tongue lest he sticks his foot in his mouth.

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry, raising the specter of a showdown with the Obama administration, suggested Thursday that he would consider invoking states’ rights protections under the 10th Amendment to resist the president’s healthcare plan, which he said would be "disastrous" for Texas.

... the government giving you money is a disaster?

But I’m certainly willing and ready for the fight if this administration continues to try to force their very expansive government philosophy down our collective throats."

Too bad we nationalized the guard. What are you going to resist with?

has made defiance of Washington a hallmark of his state administration

Earlier this year, Perry refused $555 million in federal unemployment stimulus money, saying it would subject Texas to long-term costs after the federal dollars ended.

You can't strawman these people. You try and you soon realize it is their position.

"A government-run healthcare system is financially unstable. It’s not the solution."

We need an image that shows every country that has state health care. So far all the jokes I have involve national flags.

"federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens and its interference with the affairs of our state."

I mean, they banned slavery or instance! Can't you see how they keep intefering with state responsibilities? Soon enough we won't be able to discriminate against homosexuals because of Washington. And then what?

is the wrong approach and could have disastrous financial consequences for Texas.

Under the Senate version of the bill, she said, an expansion of the joint federal-state Medicaid program for the poor could cost Texas $4 billion a year.

"There are good solutions" to the country’s healthcare problems, Wohlgemuth said. "This isn’t it."

Perry said the plan is another example of the Obama administration’s "massive takeover of the private-sector economy."

"I hope our leaders will look for solutions that don’t dig our country further into debt," he said.

Finally! Somethin not completely retarded. Of course, states do have an obligation to take care of their citizens and writing them off as too expensive is just a bit callous- not to mention reusing to take care o its responsibilites that it seems to be claiming belong to it under the constitution.

[Mr Bean]

Here's an opinion as pointed out elsewhere by one Rachael Maddow. Why if it's a State's rights issue, is Governor Perry, the Governor of Texas bitching? After all, it seems he's already happy with being 50th out of fifty states in most number of un-insured people. So of course he's angry that the Federal Government is going to come in and insure those people he worked so hard to get rid of their heath care. Just like Cobra Commander is always so pissed at GI-Joe when they stop his plans to carve his head into Mount Rushmore, or steal all the oil from Saudi Arabia. It's normal Saturday morning villain behavior.

[RedImperator]

Rick Perry is and always has been a stupid asshole, but my guess is that he's been grandstanding a lot more than usual lately because he's looking down the barrel of a credible primary challenge from Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson next year. He's making a lot of racket to appeal to the knuckle-dragging fuckwit wing of the Texas GOP, but I doubt he'd actually follow through on any of it. Even in Texas, the knuckle-dragging fuckwits are outnumbered by the people who would like to have, you know, health care. I wager he's just about as full of shit as Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal, and Mark Sanford were when they promised not to take any stimulus money.

[Frank Hipper]

After all, it seems he's already happy with being 50th out of fifty states in most number of un-insured people.

What the hell's wrong with you?

That makes them NUMBER ONE in personal responsibility!

Who wouldn't want to be number one?

[Pollux]

But I’m certainly willing and ready for the fight if this administration continues to try to force their very expansive government philosophy down our collective throats."

Too bad we nationalized the guard. What are you going to resist with?

These guys, I suppose.

[CaptainChewbacca]

Too bad we nationalized the guard. What are you going to resist with?

Can the government federalize a state's national guard without the permission of that state's government?

[Samuel]

Too bad we nationalized the guard. What are you going to resist with?

Can the government federalize a state's national guard without the permission of that state's government?

Yes. We are doing it for the current war.

[Knife]

Too bad we nationalized the guard. What are you going to resist with?

Can the government federalize a state's national guard without the permission of that state's government?

Yes National Guard are designed around a US Army unit with US army gear and command structure. They are basically subsidized by the US federal government as well, with pay, logistics and other gear, along with bases and quartering. There isn't a state militia much any more, for the better, though the NG units are 'supposed' to serve primarily in their state.

[Glocksman]

Too bad we nationalized the guard. What are you going to resist with?

Can the government federalize a state's national guard without the permission of that state's government?

Yes. We are doing it for the current war.

The civil rights era isn't my specialty, but didn't Eisenhower and/or Kennedy or Johnson Federalize the NG in some of the southern states and use them to enforce the law?

[Darth Wong]

Why can't the US adopt the Canadian solution (not the one FOXNews made up, but the real Canadian solution) where a federal law is passed mandating that the provinces (or states, in your case) ensure that citizens have access to health care without undue financial penalties? The law is tied to federal funding, and each state or province is tasked with producing a solution which meets this criterion (note: they must also kick in a lot of the money; it's not 100% federally funded).

If you did this, then there would be no federal bureaucracy. Each state would be free to try its own solution. The liberal states would probably implement a public option, so you would have a Vermont Health Insurance Plan for example. The conservative states would probably refuse to do this, and instead force everyone to buy health insurance from private companies, using a mixture of federal and state funds to subsidize those health insurance plans (in effect, forcing everyone to subsidize health insurer profits). Over time, the superior design would become apparent, as states with better systems produce identifiably better results than states with inferior systems. People in conservative states who feel that the system doesn't meet the criterion would even have the option of suing the state for failing to meet the obligations laid out in the federal law.

Alternatively, any individual state could reject the requirement of the law and the federal funding associated with it (the two are a package). The result could well become "have" and "have not" states with regard to health care, which could become a major issue in terms of competition for jobs and residents.

There you go: a solution which involves both federal support and competition to produce the best performer.

[Patrick Degan]

The civil rights era isn't my specialty, but didn't Eisenhower and/or Kennedy or Johnson Federalize the NG in some of the southern states and use them to enforce the law?

Both Eisenhower and Kennedy used federalised NG units to enforce civil rights laws. Ike is famous for actually sending in elements of the 101st Airborne Division to enforce the Supreme Court's Brown decision when Orville Faubus, the governor of Arkansas, decided to ignore it. JFK crammed federal marshals and the Alabama National Guard down George Wallace's throat to get him out from in front of the doorway to the University of Alabama.

[Glocksman]

The civil rights era isn't my specialty, but didn't Eisenhower and/or Kennedy or Johnson Federalize the NG in some of the southern states and use them to enforce the law?

Both Eisenhower and Kennedy used federalised NG units to enforce civil rights laws. Ike is famous for actually sending in elements of the 101st Airborne Division to enforce the Supreme Court's Brown decision when Orville Faubus, the governor of Arkansas, decided to ignore it. JFK crammed federal marshals and the Alabama National Guard down George Wallace's throat to get him out from in front of the doorway to the University of Alabama.

Being charitable, you could say that the average Southern NG man was less racist than the political leadership.
Realistically, they probably were more scared of the prospect of spending the next 40 years in Leavenworth or Portsmouth Naval Prison making small rocks out of large ones than they were of Governor Wallace or Fabus.

[FSTargetDrone]

Why can't the US adopt the Canadian solution (not the one FOXNews made up, but the real Canadian solution)

Speaking of, I've seen a few commercials featuring supposed Canadians decrying their supposed situation (such as the one Fox "reports" as reality). I don't know if they are actual Canadians, but it would be interesting to see some commercials giving an opposite view.

[Darth Wong]

There are some Canadians who think our system is bad. The problem is, they have no idea what it's like to live under any other system and they haven't bothered to do any research, so they complain about it the same way an overpaid spoiled government unionized worker complains about his benefits. It's not hard to find one of these whiners for a FOXNews commercial; what matters is the facts on the ground, not the ability to find an occasional "testimonial" which suits your purposes.

It's especially aggravating when they find someone who says that his/her Canadian doctor said his/her surgery was non-urgent but an American doctor said "YOU HAVE TO DO IT RIGHT NOW OR YOU'LL DIE SO DON'T WAIT SIGN HERE WE ACCEPT VISA MASTERCARD OR YOUR HOUSE" and of course, everyone assumes the Canadian doctor must be wrong and the American doctor must be right. It is darkly implied that the Canadian doctor is deliberately understating the urgency because of this "socialist rationing of care" we keep hearing about (even though doctors are not given incentives to do this), while no one comments on the American doctor's obvious profit motive.

[Azazal]

Takes place in Virginia, but I'm sure the same would happen in Texas

It was a Third World scene with an American setting. Hundreds of tired and desperate people crowded around an aid worker with a bullhorn, straining to hear the instructions and worried they might be left out.

Some had arrived at the Wise County Fairgrounds in Wise, Va., two days before. They slept in cars, tents and the beds of pickup trucks, hoping to be among the first in line when the gate opened Friday before dawn. They drove in from 16 states, anxious to relieve pain, diagnose aches and see and hear better.

"I came here because of health care — being able to get things that we can't afford to have ordinarily," explained 52-year-old Otis Reece of Gate City, Va., as he waited in a wheelchair beside his red F-150 pickup. "Being on a fixed income, this is a fantastic situation to have things done we ordinarily would put off."

For the past 10 years, during late weekends in July, the fairgrounds in Wise have been transformed into a mobile and makeshift field hospital providing free care for those in need. Sanitized horse stalls become draped examination rooms. A poultry barn is fixed with optometry equipment. And a vast, open-air pavilion is crammed with dozens of portable dental chairs and lamps.

A converted 18-wheeler with a mobile X-ray room makes chest X-rays possible. Technicians grind hundreds of lenses for new eyeglasses in two massive trailers. At a concession stand, dentures are molded and sculpted.

Desperate For Health Care

The 2009 Remote Area Medical (RAM) Expedition comes to the Virginia Appalachian mountains as Congress and President Obama wrestle with a health care overhaul. The event graphically illustrates gaps in the existing health care system.

"We're willing to sleep in pickup trucks or cars and deal with the elements to at least get some kind of health care," Reece adds. He earned a six-figure income working for an international industrial supply firm until an accident five years ago left him disabled. Joining him for dental, vision and medical checks are his wife, daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to see the doctor to get my ear and my nose fixed!" grandson Jacob shouts excitedly. His nose appears battered and his ear has an oozing scab.

Before the gate opened, Loretta Miller, 41, of Honaker, Va., got four hours' sleep behind the wheel of her parked minivan. She was No. 39 in line for her eighth RAM expedition. Her visit last year saved her life.

"They done an ultrasound and told me that my gallbladder was enlarged and was ready to burst and it could kill me," Miller recalls. "They told me if I hadn't got help when I did, literally I could have died."

Medical, dental and vision help is often elusive for the 2,700 people seeking treatment during the three-day RAM event. Just over half of the people attending this year have no insurance at all, according to a survey of the patients conducted by RAM. Forty-seven percent could be considered underinsured, given unaffordable copays or gaps in coverage provided by Medicare, Medicaid and conventional insurance plans. Only 11 patients have dental insurance, and just seven have vision coverage.

"There's no doubt about it. There is a Third World right here in the United States," concludes Stan Brock, RAM's founder. Brock has organized similar medical expeditions in Asia, Africa and South America. "Here in the world's richest country, you have this vast number of people, some say 47 million, 49 million, that don't have access to the system and that's why [this] is necessary."

About 1,800 volunteers provide the medical, dental and logistical help, including hundreds of doctors, dentists, nurses, assistants and technicians.

Almost 4,000 Teeth

Miller is ecstatic when her number is called. The divorced hairdresser and mother of two is uninsured and in pain. But she had taken the time, even with little sleep, to put on makeup, braid her blond hair and dress in a white lace tunic. She walked briskly through the gate for what would turn out to be five hours in dental chairs, given the extraction of an abscessed tooth, three fillings and a root canal.

More than half of those seeking help sign up for dental exams and procedures. They fill the more than 70 dental chairs while hundreds wait their turn under tents nearby. Hundreds more out in the grassy parking lot hope they'll get their teeth cleaned and fixed before the event ends.

Dental health greatly affects general health, says Dr. Terry Dickinson, who directs the Virginia Dental Association and the RAM dental effort at the Wise fairgrounds.

"The infection in the mouth certainly has been shown to have an effect on systemic diseases," Dickinson explains. "So it's really critical that these folks be able to get infected teeth out and infection treated in the mouth because it's going to help them with their overall health."

The extent of infections is staggering. Dickinson and his team pull 3,857 teeth in 30 hours of work spread over 2 1/2 days. Some patients lose all their teeth. A 4-year-old had cavities filled in every tooth.

Who Is Responsible For Health Care?

Terrible teeth, obesity, smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes are common among the people seeking help here. That raises an important question. Are they at fault for their poor health?

"There's enough blame to go around for everybody. I think patients certainly have to have personal responsibility for what they're putting in their mouth, but we are also trying to create a better access care system. How are you going to get providers, whether it be dentists or physicians or anybody else, into these areas where economically these communities are struggling?" Dickinson asks.

That's a reference to the costs of medical and dental schools and the debts that graduates incur, which can be $100,000 and more. There's pressure to practice in more lucrative places beyond rural regions like Appalachia.

"There are areas of the country, and certainly Wise County is one of them, where there just aren't [enough] physicians," says Dr. Susan Kirk, an endocrinologist and diabetes specialist with the University of Virginia Health System, which provides specialists for the Wise RAM event. "We provide indigent care at the University of Virginia, but that's six hours away."

RAM founder Stan Brock is impatient with those who suggest the people seeking help in Wise are somehow at fault and unworthy of care given poor health habits.

"The rest of the population is not exactly in the best of shape themselves," Brock asserts. "They're eating well and, therefore, they're putting on weight and, therefore, they've got heart disease and the rate of diabetes in this country is going up. But, in the case of the well-to-do and the well-insured, they can afford to take care of it."

At the end of her long day with dentists, Loretta Miller was still numb with Novocain but grateful for the care she could not otherwise afford.

"It's well worth the drive and the wait," Miller said, close to 12 hours after her number was called. "You get tired and stuff. But you think about all the trips and the money it would have cost to have all this done. I couldn't have had it done."

She then laughs about standing in line again at 5 a.m. the next day so she can get eyeglasses to "see what they've done."

RAM organizers say they spent about $250,000 providing care worth about $1.5 million. In 10 years in southwest Virginia, they say, they've treated more than 25,000 people. They have eight more expeditions planned this year, from Virginia to California.

Bolding highlights the main points:

Even those well off can stumble and fall and need a medial safety net

The care is truly needed by the poor, it is saving lives of those that have no other means of getting the
medical care they need.

When a person with first hand experience in some of the poorest areas of the planet calls parts of the US a third world nation isn't a wake up call, I don't know what is. And a 4 year old needing cavities filled in every tooth???

And able to provide $1.5 million worth of care for 250K, can we please get these people in front of Congress and tell them how it's done.

[PainRack]

There are some Canadians who think our system is bad. The problem is, they have no idea what it's like to live under any other system and they haven't bothered to do any research, so they complain about it the same way an overpaid spoiled government unionized worker complains about his benefits. It's not hard to find one of these whiners for a FOXNews commercial; what matters is the facts on the ground, not the ability to find an occasional "testimonial" which suits your purposes.

It's especially aggravating when they find someone who says that his/her Canadian doctor said his/her surgery was non-urgent but an American doctor said "YOU HAVE TO DO IT RIGHT NOW OR YOU'LL DIE SO DON'T WAIT SIGN HERE WE ACCEPT VISA MASTERCARD OR YOUR HOUSE" and of course, everyone assumes the Canadian doctor must be wrong and the American doctor must be right. It is darkly implied that the Canadian doctor is deliberately understating the urgency because of this "socialist rationing of care" we keep hearing about (even though doctors are not given incentives to do this), while no one comments on the American doctor's obvious profit motive.

I simply cannot understand how anyone with a chronic disease, or something such as cancer or renal disease can think that the US system is "better". Sure, you might be able to squeeze in more scans, more tests and faster treatments with brand name drugs.... but when one considers the costs.!.!

To me, the best rebuttal against this nonsense is to simply post the prices a patient would expect to chalk up, put up the insurance limits that they're liable to withdraw, post the deductibles and out of pocket expenses and THEN compare how much tax money the average middle income people is expected to squeeze out yearly.

[Master of Cards]

And able to provide $1.5 million worth of care for 250K, can we please get these people in front of Congress and tell them how it's done.

Volunteer workers and a lot of the things are donated (a quick look on their site shows that their eyeglass frames are donated). Their transport is paid by donations from the workers themselves and their aviation runs are donated by an aviation company, they can provide those services by not paying for a lot of them because of their charity status. Basically you're looking at a food bank and asking how can they provide food so cheap compared to the grocery store.