Tuesday, January 03, 2017

The Triumphant Return of Rand Paul Running Away from Things


Over the past 73 74 years, we here at the driftglass blog have had a lot of fun watching the Junior Senator from Kentucky run away from many things including Ayn Rand, history, civil rights, voting rights, science and his own father.  

And back in the halcyon days of our youth in 2016, we thought we might have heard the last of the Junior Senator from Kentucky.

But happily we were wrong.  The Running Man of Bowling Green is back!  And this time he is running away from...math.

Paul's diagnosis of the problems inherent in trying to blow up Obamacare are roughly correct (from CNN):
Writing for the website Rare, Paul explained that Republicans needed to vote for a complete repeal of Obamacare, while simultaneously voting on an adequate replacement. "As we repeal Obamacare, we would be wise to vote on its replacement at the same time," Paul wrote.

He added: "If Congress fails to vote on a replacement at the same time as repeal, the repealers risk assuming the blame for the continued unraveling of Obamacare."

The popular parts of the law -- such as one that allows individuals with pre-existing conditions to buy insurance after their diagnosis -- only work when the other parts like the individual mandate are maintained, Paul argued.

"If you repeal this mandate, but leave in place dictates as to whom may purchase insurance, you create a business model doomed to fail," he wrote.
But the course of treatment for these problems as prescribed by Senator Self-Licensed quack Doctor of Eyes-'N-Stuff is so hilariously doltish -- so clearly the produce of an adolescence mind frozen forever at the moment he was triumphantly jacking to John Galt's speech from Atlas Shrugged for the 100th time -- that I cannot adequately parody it:
Still, Paul avoided providing much in the way of specifics about a potential replacement system.

Instead, he suggested that "perhaps we should try freedom," and sketched out four principles that should guide the formation of a potential replacement -- maintaining freedom of choice, offering health savings accounts, removing state-by-state barriers, and providing "the freedom for all individuals to join together in voluntary associations to gain the leverage of being part of a large insurance pool."
So the next time you belly up to the billing desk at your doctor's office, tell 'em you're paying with Freedom!

Either that or with the proceeds from your Free Market Libertarian Meth Lab.


11 comments:

Jimbo said...

Voluntary Associations, huh? How about the National Association of Cancer Patients? they should have no probs with getting a great price for health insurance. I feel bad for the few remaining KY Democrats who are so abominably served by their Senatorial delegation.

trgahan said...

Wonder if Paul's national aspirations have finally crashed and burned now that racist, resentment-filled, white males who gobble government largess like popcorn can drop the "Don't call me a Republican! I'm Libertarian!" act?

Still will probably be a Senator for life, but many of my college educated conservative acquaintances don't need Paul or his "Audit the Fed!"/Gold Standard/etc. bullshit anymore to cover their fascist wet dreams.

Robt said...

A few preliminary questions from the consumer gallery.
* Before GOP free market mandate removing Medicare from "negotiating a free market price". GOP had to pass un intrusive law to deny all Americans from the freedom to purchase Pharma from Canadian pharmacists.
GOP House bill, Captive consumers"..

* Repeal and replace in the free market? This is why there is "repeal" with no "replace". Playing the short term memory game. They will forget.

* Replacing requires GOP to disregard their primary objective of, "Gov't cannot do anything and needs to get out of the way of wealthy greedy powers that want their way with the masses". The Free Somalia market place of ideas.

* Ripping ObamaCare out from the roots has its differences with some of the "popular and effective" parts of ObamaCare. Tear up by roots because it is all bad. Only to keep certain elements of ObamaCare is like pulling weeds in your garden while someone is seeding that garden with weed seed.

* If they took a free market approach, they wouldn't have taken any money from lobbyists.

* Do subsidies, tax credits and tax cuts for health industry from Government display free market principles?

* Can consideration to those that cannot afford their own health care be forced to pay for the congressional hogs at the trough's health care?


After all these years of bellowing mouth farting on "Replace". We find out they weren't really concerned or working on a replacement. They were TOO busy doing nothing to do nothing.
But seriously, has anyone asked KellyGirl Conway or Newt or even Sarah patriot Palin about this? If not shouldn't we?

Unknown said...

I think even the casual observer knows that the ACA is a bit of a Goldbergian device. That is, pull any one part out (by repeal) and nothing works anymore. The trick for goopers is how do we destroy this without taking the blame? F'ck the constituents, this is about ideology!

Robt said...

"F'ck the constituents, this is about ideology!"

sURE IS.

aLSO ABOUT REPAYING HEFTY CAMPAIGN DONORS AND tRUMP-SERVATIVES AUDITIONING FOR EXECUTIVE JOBS IN cONGRESS. bUT THEN AGAIN, THAT IS THEIR IDEOLOGY. Oh, their kids and family members need jobs too. Their staffers who actually do the work are included.

See how nepotism naturally exists in a free market......

Cinesias said...

Sue Lowden (R) did recommend bartering chickens for healthcare, so there's that.

She was apparently ahead of the curve on the Replacing™ of Obamacare.

dinthebeast said...

They keep omitting the fact that the ACA IS the replacement: thought up by Heritage, instituted by Romney, the hail Mary pass of all hail Mary passes to avoid single-payer "socialized medicine" a-la Medicare for all, and still do something about the awful mess our healthcare system was in.
Which is, of course, the difference: Back in the '90s when they thought it up, some of them really did want to fix what was wrong with healthcare in the US, if only halfheartedly and using only "market based" right wing approaches to the problems. Now, they just don't give a fuck, unless they have to. But Trump won, so now the dog has caught the car, and isn't bright enough to back off for its own safety.
They may try to dismantle the ACA and let it tear itself apart so they can say "see, we were right, it didn't work", or they may just repeal the whole thing by passing the Ryan budget, but either way it's gonna get ugly for a lot of people, myself included.
Perhaps if they choose the first approach, the insurance industry will crash hard enough to necessitate a Medicare-for-all solution, but probably not, and even so the in between time is gonna suck donkey balls.
So Rand? Would you mind going somewhere and fucking yourself for, say, a few years?

-Doug in Oakland

Unknown said...

This is never gonna happen, but how about repealing Obamacare and replacing it with the ACA. Naturally there would have to be a law allowing for the public execution of any journalist who points this out.

ervin said...

These people don't care for anyone but them and their's all other's are surplus labour'

Robt said...

n1ck said...
Sue Lowden (R) did recommend bartering chickens for healthcare, so there's that.
*******************************

How is it free market principles to dictate what you barter for your life with?

" spent 10 years depositing the chickens I raised into HSA. Only to find out the doctor is a vegetarian. But being the decent God life loving doctor he is. He was willing to accept my 14 year old daughter as a sex slave in exchange for removing my terminal appendix appendectomy.
The doctor wanted a boy which I did not have. Thank his conservative heart for accepting my underage daughter.

Now, when it comes to Pharma having to raise life sustaining drug prices that only billionaire can afford. Is there another commodity choice of the realm for Medical barter town.

I got it!
Trading extra body parts.

One of Trump's kids needs a lung and you require a pacemaker.
A deal made in Ayn Paul Rand Ryan heaven.........

Lowden Care everyone. We found the replacement for ObamaCare and it won't cost you a nickel. A body part or two perhaps. But if this concerned you, you should have made a fortune to prvide for yourself.

Marc McKenzie said...

The return of one of the best features ever. Thanks for this, Driftglass--it brought a much-needed smile and laugh.