The NHS & the United States of America

[Loyal Rogue]

I've answered many of your questions. Here's my challenge.

This, I believe, is a very good article on this subject. So good that I will post most of it. Without attacking the messenger, what is your counter-argument?

I can see why you would like that article.
On the surface it sounds reasonable and intelligent in a way that almost makes it seem like the points he makes are so obvious they must be right, much like your own writing.
However, once you dig beyond the compellingly simplistic language and start looking for facts it becomes apparent that it's devoid of any real substance other than... well, I think his own words say it best, "He implies, he misdirects, he misleads -- so fluidly and incessantly that he risks transmuting eloquence into mere slickness."... much like your own writing.

Let's look at his 3 points.

1) His first argument against the bill is that Obama can't make any promise about it because anything he promises can be undone by future congresses or Presidents.
On the surface that seems so obvious that it must be a great reason to oppose the bill.

However, ANY bill, law, legislation, executive order, whatever that the government passes including amendments to the Constitution can also be undone by any future congress, President, vote, election, etc.
It is an empty and foolish argument.
To use that as a basis to not pass a bill would mean that no bills would ever get passed now or in the future.

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2) His second argument is that illegal immigrants will somehow benefit from Obama's plan because there is no provision to prevent them from participating in the insurance exchange.
Aha! He's right! There is no provision that specifically states that illegal immigrants are forbidden to buy insurance therefor his implications that they will benefit must be true, right?

Wrong.
There is no specific provision that prevents illegal immigrants from currently buying auto insurance, dental insurance, or health insurance now.
They pay full price for those policies without any subsidies, credits, or tax dollars from our government just the same as they would under any of the current bills before congress. Nothing changes for them.
Another completely empty and foolish argument bordering on outright deception.

His argument is the same as arguing against foodstamps because even though illegal immigrants are not eligible to receive or benefit from them, there is no specific provision in the foodstamp program that prevents illegals from purchasing groceries in general without foodstamps.

I just think that it's dishonest to try and claim that illegal immigrants wouldn't benefit from this plan.

Ha. In light of the facts, to try and claim that illegals WILL benefit from this plan is not only dishonest but dispicable on so many levels.

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3) His third point is a little muddled in direction, but it just sounds darn good and righteous that it makes you feel that it must be right in some way because of how it plays on your emotions and biases.

Again however, once you get past the emotionally charged words and pitch for collective indignation of "insulting our intelligence" you really can't find any real meat in the argument... it just sort of goes wandering off like a confused old man with alzheimers who's upset about something but just can't figure out what it is.

Is he trying to say that there is not any amount of waste, fraud or abuse in the medicare system that can be fixed or eliminated?
Do you feel the same?
Do you think that medicare is so perfect now that there is no room for improvement?

Then he turns around and says if medicare has problems that needs to be fixed, then Obama shouldn't be wasting time starting to do something about it... No, instead he should be starting to do something about it! WTF?
I don't know what drugs Krauthammer is taking, but maybe if he shared with the rest of us his arguments might start to make sense.

At then end he makes some finally stab at "Obamacare" by, in his own words, gliding "from one dubious assertion to another" within 2 sentences mentioning that Obama once attributed troubles with energy, education, and healthcare (as well as many others which he glosses over) as contributing to America's debt and financial trouble, and then glides seemlessly into making the dubious assertion that Obama claims that the 2008 financial crisis was due to lack of universal healthcare and we're not stupid enough to believe him?!?

I'm sorry CK, but the truth is that most of us are not stupid enough to believe your delusions because... as you said it best, Charles Krauthammer "implies, he misdirects, he misleads -- so fluidly and incessantly that he risks transmuting eloquence into mere slickness."... and his followers, much like Limbaugh's, just love to eat it up.