Facts Can Be A Tricky Thing
May 13, 2015 Obamacare
And they can, of course, be spun to mean whatever result is wanted.
In a recent piece in The Hill Marko (Kos) Moulitsas paints a picture of a wonderful world under Obamacare and how Republicans were so wrong about the outcome that it is funny. He points to a number of quotes from the past and then tells his readers that the person who made them is wrong. He does not say exactly why they are wrong so the impression is that what was claimed did not happen. He does not back his claims up, he only says the original claim is wrong.
He discusses John Boehner and Rush Limbaugh and their claim that Obamacare would destroy over 2 million jobs. Jobs numbers are difficult to pin down because the BLS uses many metrics and the government spins those in a number of different ways in order to paint the picture it wants. The population was 3 million more in March 2015 than in March 2010 (I selected March to give a 5 year timeframe from when the law was passed).
The number of jobs gained or lost is always tricky but the reality is while there are more being created now they are not offsetting the numbers lost in any meaningful way. The reports are nearly always lower than expected and in a few weeks get readjusted down.
But looking at the labor participation rate the rate in 2010 was 65% and in 2015 63%. This means there are 4.2 million fewer people participating in the labor force than there were when the law was passed. 58.06 MILLION people have stopped looking and are no longer counted. Certainly if there would be so many jobs the numbers of people participating would go up, not down. Once again though, labor numbers are tricky things.
It is also true that there are no accurate ways to measure how many people decided not to open a business or expand one because of Obamacare. There are anecdotal stories but no real data that I can find.
While there is merit to Kos’s claim that Sen. Tom Coburn was way off when he predicted there would be no insurance industry left in three years it is also true that insurance companies are taking big hits and if it were not for government taxpayer dollars being sent to cover losses the insurance industry might well be a shell of what it once was. It is pretty easy to go along when big government tells you it will cover your losses.
It is also true that many insurance companies have had to raise rates because the participation is not what was expected. The cost to consumers is going up even though Obamacare was supposed to stop that.
Kos went after Glenn Beck for his 2009 claim that this would be the end of prosperity in America and the end of America as we know it. Well the reality is the rise of Obama to power was the end of America as we knew it. That aside, Kos claims, as evidence that Beck is wrong, he (Kos) can still buy an apple pie from a cashier wearing a flag pin. This is not an accurate indication of the state of the nation. I can buy an apple pie from a guy wearing a turban who reads the Koran but that does not mean the nation is now a Muslim nation. There are many stores where Kos can no longer buy a pie because they have shut down.
And when he buys that pie it costs a lot more than it did 5 years ago.
Then Kos goes on to discuss Rand Paul’s 2013 assertion that Obamacare will lead to bankruptcy in states that fully embrace it. He made the claim in 2013 so time will tell but Kos decided that the only states in trouble are those that did not embrace Obamacare and its expansions. He cites Florida and Gov. Rick Scott. Kos claims Scott is begging DC to close his billion dollar budget hole that Kos claims was brought about by refusal to expand Medicaid.
The deficit is in place because the federal government, in an effort to coerce states (in defiance of the Supreme Court ruling) to expand Medicaid, has cut an existing program. The federal government decided to end or cut back the money spent on the Low Income Pool. This is a federal program that has been in place for some time and is different than the Medicaid program. Folks in LIP are not necessarily in Medicaid (and might not even qualify). That program was to continue but the federal government decided to end or scale it back to force states like Florida to expand Medicaid. Scott is not begging for money to close a budget gap he caused. He is asking the feds not to end the program they started and they funded. He claims, rightly so, that there has been no reduction in the taxes Florida pays to the feds but they are taking away the program those taxes paid for and they are doing it just to force compliance.
Once again, Kos misses the mark.
[note]If Kos is concerned about those who were wrong why not go after those who were wrong about keeping doctors, keeping insurance and saving $2500 a year? Maybe because those lies are OK with him so long as they support the progressive agenda.[/note]
Millions of people lost coverage because of Obamacare an then when they were forced to sign up under the law they were touted as people helped by it. They were harmed and forced to join.
As for how wonderful Obamacare is and how those states that adopted it are doing great, how about Hawaii? It is a liberal haven and it went all in on Obamacare. It had over 205 MILLION dollars in federal funding to set up the exchange but it became financially unviable and after the state refused to spend 28 MILLION to bail it out, it will close. Everything will be shifted to the federal exchange and people will likely have to sign up all over again.
The reality is Hawaii went all in and failed. There are several other states that have had problems with the exchanges and many issues deal with the fact that not enough people are signing up for insurance. The government is once again wasting billions of dollars on a failed program.
Markos Moulitsas is a far left wing hack who suckles at the teat of liberalism. His article was a puff piece to shower his liberal friends with fairy dust while he gets in his obligatory shots at Republicans with whom he disagrees.
I know Kos thinks Obamacare is great but if it is so wonderful why did they have to force people to get it? No one has to force people to buy an iPhone because it is a great product. The same would be true if Obamacare was so wonderful.
If it is so great why were there so many waivers granted?
It is not fully implemented and already it is costing a fortune. It is not covering everybody (a claim once made but backed off on) and it is stifling the economy.
It is not the only thing but it is one of them. Nearly every Obama policy stifles growth and Obamacare is no different.
Numbers on employment and particpation rates came from various parts of the BLS website.
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: distortions, kos, markos moulitsas, obamacare, the hill
Clinton Tactic, Deny, Deny, Deny
Feb 26, 2008 Political
I don’t honestly know why people ask either Clinton a question and expect to get an honest answer. They have shown time and again that they will deny everything and then attack the person making the claims. It is ingrained in their DNA and they and their mindless drones are the only ones who think they are telling the truth. Yesterday, a photo of Barack Obama in the clothing of a Somali elder was posted on Drudge and the caption stated it was being circulated around the Clinton camp. The story further states that the email contained the question; any doubt this would be on the cover of all the magazines if it were HRC (Hillary Rodham Clinton). I think this is a valid question and when asked about it the campaign could certainly have taken that approach. Indicate that even though the garb was not offensive they have no doubt if Hillary had worn it she would have gotten more attention. For their part, the Obama campaign overreacted to the photo.
Instead of saying that the photo was sent around with the question, Hillary denies knowing about it. I find it hard to believe that she does not get email from her campaign and I find it even harder to believe that she knew nothing about the controversy since it was on Drudge. If someone posts a picture of an ant getting fried under a magnifying lens to Drudge, the world knows about it in minutes. Mitt Romney indicated he checked Drudge several times a day, rush Limbaugh is on Drudge all the time and Obama’s campaign picked it up from Drudge very quickly. By denying, Hillary looks like a fool because it clearly indicates that it came from her campaign.
This kind of behavior has to remind people of her husband’s time in office. Time and again he deceived the public. He was not going to raise taxes and then no one told him how bad things were so he had to do it (he intended to all along because that is what Democrats do). He lied about “that woman” and he continued to lie about every scandal that hit his administration. The left has spent years convincing its blind followers that Bill Clinton got in trouble for having an inappropriate sexual relationship when in fact he was convicted of perjury. he did not lose his law license for sex, he lost it for lying under oath.
Obama has been pointing out politics as usual and says he is not part of the DC crowd and will do things differently. Even though his ideas and plans are all rehashes of tired and worn out Democratic platforms, he is pulling ahead because Clinton continually looks like a DC insider who plays politics as usual. She trows the mud and then tries to clean it up with lies and innuendo. She is doing the same by saying that she has worn the garb of many countries when she traveled the world and that this should be no big deal. Since the Obama camp jumped on this quickly, they played right into it and could look foolish. By defending it and calling it divisive the camp made it appear as if Obama did something wrong.
I will say this, I think that it is appropriate to print these kinds of photos. The media has printed photos of George Bush in some outlandish clothing worn in other countries (and don’t forget the dancing) and the drones at Kos have had a field day with it. John Kerry did not get good press when he wore that white spacesuit looking thing where he looked like a sperm cell moving around. In any respect, it is not a big deal. It receives attention because of Obama’s ties to Muslims and his perceived softness on national security. It makes him look like he sympathizes with the people who want to kill us. Perhaps that was the goal but by attaching the question to it the Clinton camp made a valid observation.
It is obvious that the media loves Obama and he gets much more favorable press than does Clinton. The spoof that opened Saturday Night Live pointed that out quite nicely. The Clintons and their supporters are crying and whining about this disparity.
Welcome to the world of the conservatives. Our guys get unfavorable press no matter what. The NYT endorsed McCain and then blasted him with a hit piece. They endorsed Obama and had some negative things to say about Hillary. Is there any doubt that if Hillary were to win the nomination the NYT would endorse her over McCain?
Now the Clintons and their supporters see what Bush has had to go through for the last 7 years as the media and the left bashed him for doing nothing differently than the previous occupant of the White House.
I like to see the left get upset about this and it could not have happened to a “nicer” person.
Source:
ABC
Daily Kos Kids are Wrong Again
Jan 15, 2008 Political
I wrote recently about the suggestion at the Daily Kos for voters in Michigan to vote for Romney to keep him in the race and make the republicans fight it out. I indicated at the time that Michigan had a screwed up system where they allow people to vote for whomever they want. John Bambenek filed a complaint with the Michigan Attorney General and the Kos kids are having a field day with it. I really don’t care who the people in Michigan vote for and if they need a loser like Kos to tell them how to vote then they are worse off than can be imagined. A recent post, however, has a blatant error in it. Kagro X goes on and on about Bambenek’s complaint and he writes this:
Special Note #1 for the media: This case should tell you in no uncertain terms that when wingnuts cry to you about voter fraud — and let’s be honest, they’re constantly crying about it — they have not a clue in the world what they’re talking about, and they should be given no more attention than if they’d told you they’ve got video of Elvis descending from a UFO to cast a stretchy, sequined ballot.
Do not forget this. There’s nothing the Republicans whine about more annoyingly or more frequently these days than “voter fraud.” And here they are, once again, demonstrating embarrassingly for all to see, that all they can really hope for is for the media not to ask any questions when they slap that oh-so-scary-sounding label on… well, whatever the hell they happen to have at hand.
Do not believe Republican crocodile tears about voter fraud. They don’t know what it is. Daily Kos
I think Kagro took too many hits from the ceremonial bong to write such BS. It is almost always the Democrats who cry about voter fraud. The only time the say that all went well is when they win. In Florida in 2000 it was all the Democrats who cried about purged voter rolls, intimidation and disenfranchisement (a word most of them did not know until then) and it was they, along with Michael Moore who vowed not to let the same fraud happen in 2004. Moore provided video cameras and a hot line so people could video tape incidents of fraud and telephone in their concerns. Moore did not want the republicans to engage in the perceived fraud of 2000.
It was the Democrats who committed voter fraud that allowed JFK to win in 1960, screwed Ellen Sauerbrey out of the Governor’s seat in Maryland and it was Democratic voter fraud that discovered and counted ballots in Washington state to give a Democrat the win. These are the same Democrats who cried about Diebold machines and how evil Republicans were tapping into them and making votes change. It was Democrats who stated that they voted for one guy and the screen registered for another. It was Democrats who were too stupid to use a butterfly ballot and then claimed that they had been cheated.
It is always a Democrat who cries about voter fraud unless the Democrats win. Has anyone paid attention? In 2000 we had all the so called fraud in Florida and then in 2004 there was all the so called fraud in Ohio. Fraud claims that turned out to be unsubstantiated but were filed by DEMOCRATS. In 2006 the Democrats won and regained control of both chambers of the Congress. None of them said there was any voter fraud (or complained about Diebold machines) because they got the outcome they wanted. You can bet that if they had not won they would be crying like Kos in a room full of real men that they had been the victims of fraud.
This is the problem with Democrats. They assume that if they fail to win there had to be fraud because everyone, according to them, loves their message. The only explanation they have for loss is voter fraud because to believe anything else would shoot down their perceived importance and worth. The fact is, when voters reject the Democrats fraud is not involved.
I am not saying that fraud does not exist and I am sure that it happens in both parties. What I am saying is that the idea that Republicans always cry about fraud is contrary to the facts. Democrats try to project their inadequacies on the Republican Party as if saying it enough will make it true. Kagro and Kos and all the rest can complain about Bambenek and his complaint and they can present their case but to spout off blatant lies is beyond the pale especially in the face of contrary evidence.
Leave it to moonbats to distort the truth. No wonder they love Bill Clinton.
UPDATE: If you go to Kos and read the comments you will see a number of libtards crying about stolen elections. I rest my case.
Kos Wants People to Vote Republican
Jan 11, 2008 Political
Markos Moulitsas, the Pee Wee Herman looking twit from the Daily Kos has a post up encouraging his drones to vote for Mitt Romney in the Michigan primary. It seems the idiots in the Michigan government have no conception of what a political party is so they allow anyone to vote in any primary regardless of affiliation. Kos asserts (without proof) that Republicans have voted for Democrats in the past in order to embarrass officials or cause some other kind of mischief. This is another of those tin foil hat wearing delusions about Republicans causing all the evil in the world. Democrats and Republicans alike have caused mischief but to Pee Wee only Republicans are the issue.
His directive is for people to vote for Mitt Romney because Kos believes that if Mitt does not win Michigan he is done (and that might be true). Kos wants as many Republicans in the race beating each other up so that the party will be fragmented and spend tons of money. He must be thinking that the Democratic Primary will be over soon and that the winner will be able to sit back and watch the fun. Given the Clintons racist remarks and attitude toward B. Hussein Obama, he might be right (do you suppose Clinton was talking about Kos when he used the word Fairy). Obama might get an early win and then watch the antics on the right.
To Kos, the most important thing is for the Democrats to win. I imagine he would vote for Hitler or bin Laden if they ran as Democrats just to keep Republicans out. In any event, Kos thinks this is a good strategy and that it will help the donks win. Perhaps he is right but I think it would be funny if they all voted for Mitt and that kept him in the race and then he won the primary and general election beating whomever the Democrats run.
I imagine that Kos would commit suicide knowing that he helped Mitt Romney win the Presidency. Now that would be fun to watch on You Tube…
Remember now Kos-asses, vote Republican….
Justin has an interesting take
John Bambenek has gone one further
Tags: kos, mischief, pee wee herman, screw them
John Murtha Tortures Troops, Call McCain
Nov 29, 2007 Political
Blow hard Congressman John Murtha went to Iraq to visit the troops and see how things are going. I don’t know why he thinks they would want him there and only the professionalism he denies they possess kept the word fratricide from being in the paper. He stated that the surge appears to be working (well duh) but (always the but) the Iraqi government needs to step it up and start doing things. He said they were dysfunctional. We are teaching them government and they learned the dysfunction from the idiots like Murtha in Congress.
The big event was Murtha torturing our troops. He ate his holiday meal with them. I cannot imagine that anyone would eat with him of their own free will so more than likely some poor bastards were forced to eat with the guy. Having to eat with this jackass is torture so they need to call John McCain and tell him to do something about this. McCain, who opposes torture but votes every year to authorize it against our own troops, needs to intervene on behalf of these soldiers.
I am sure Murtha went there so he could give credibility to the new Democratic approach in Iraq. The surge is working so they can no longer deny this and they cannot say we lost (though Harry Reid will) so they are changing tactics and saying the Iraqis are not moving quickly enough or that they are dysfunctional. Murtha is the mouthpiece for the Dems with regard to military affairs so he needed to go there and come back to make a pronouncement so the Kos kids and other idiots can pick up the new talking points and run with them.
Murtha is an ass and they should have landed the helicopter in the middle of the desert and let him out there and then lifted off without him.
Source: Post Gazette
Tags: blow hard, congressman john murtha, dysfunctional, fratricide, Harry Reid, holiday meal, iraqi government, jackass, john mccain, kos, military affairs