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Hypocrisy – A Republican Medical Practice…
Let me take you back to last January in Congress. Kaiser Health News ran a story on Republican doctors who were elected to the House during the teabag push who were all pledging the destruction of the Affordable Care act:
Dr. Scott DesJarlais
When Scott DesJarlais heard the American Medical Association was backing the Democratic health care overhaul, he cut up his membership card. Now the Tennessee doctor, who was elected to the House last fall, can express his disdain for the law more directly by voting this week to repeal it.
Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn.
“People didn’t want this bill,” said DesJarlais, 46, who is a Republican.
He added a blunt warning to those who think the House repeal effort is an empty gesture: “I think the Senate needs to take it seriously and the White House needs to take it seriously or they’ll have to answer to the voters in two years.”
During a hard-fought campaign against four-term Democrat Lincoln Davis, DesJarlais denounced the law as a “smoke-and-mirrors ploy to implement socialized medicine.”
Socialized Medicine is a common complaint among Republicans… although few know what the phrase actually means. And this becomes clear with a news piece that came out yesterday:
DesJarlais’ office appears to be touting a successful health reform program. According to the Crossvile Chronicle, a representative from DesJarlais’ district office was on hand last week for a groundbreaking ceremony to hand over nearly $4.5 million in grant money — entirely funded by the Affordable Care Act — for the construction of a community health clinic in Cumberland County, Tennessee. (from Think Progress)
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In addition to ending insurance company abuses, expanding coverage to 30 million people, and reining in individual health insurance market, the Affordable Care Act provides grants for community health clinics across the country. The $4,495,730 grant touted by DesJarlais’ staff is part of round of health reform funding that was announced last year.
And it’s not like this is the only case of Republicans taking advantage of the Affordable Care act which they swore up and down to repeal. Think Progress points out:
Sen. John Ensign (R-NV… as you know, now resigning to avoid being questioned on a sex scandal) asked for nearly $1 million in doctor training grants from the law. Meanwhile, House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) sent a letter to the Obama administration asking for health reform money he called “critical” for his rural constituents.
So the dreaded Obamacare is actually something they are taking extreme financial advantage of for their state programs. Some see this as hypocritical – the disease of Republican hypocrisy over the Affordable Care act needs to be cured by their doctor/members. Oh wait… as DesJarlais proves, they are the ones who are most hypocritical.
Under The LobsterScope 