Understanding John Boehner’s Lack of Understanding

[marmar]

Posted by stevebenen at 7:24 am
February 26, 2010

Understanding John Boehner’s Lack of Understanding


House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) didn’t have a whole lot to say at the health care summit yesterday, but when the topic at hand was mandates in the system, the GOP leader took his turn at the mic. Boehner brushed past the subject, and instead asked a few rhetorical questions.

“Mr. President, I told you the day after — maybe it was the day you were sworn in as president — I would never say anything outside of the room that I wouldn’t say inside the room. I’ve been patient. I’ve listened to the debate that’s gone on here.

“But why can’t we agree on those insurance reforms that we’ve talked about? Why can’t we come to an agreement on purchasing across state lines? And why can’t we do something about the biggest cost driver, which is medical malpractice and the defensive medicine that doctors practice?”

It’s important to keep the larger context in mind. Boehner’s comments came fairly late in the day, which means policymakers had already discussed, in considerable detail, exactly why Democrats and Republicans disagree on insurance reform, across state lines, and medical malpractice. In other words, Boehner wasn’t posing these questions in an opening statement, hoping to lay the groundwork for additional discussion; he was posing questions that everyone in the room already knew the answers to. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/02/26/understanding-john-boehners-lack-of-understanding/

[SpiralHawk]

1. Answer: He's a republicon. Therefore, it pays him to not 'understand'

That what republicon crony insurance and 'health care' profit-making corporations want: no comprendo.

Besides, it's tough to get any reality through a thick layer of ManTan.

[Tikki]

2. The Red Dye's #'s 3~5 from his...

self-tanning product have invaded his brain and have left him dumb...




Tikki

[Atman]

3. Boner embarrased himself.

The man is nothing but an obstructionist whore. The irony is that he apparently is not even comfortable with the color of his own skin let alone President Obama's.

[gratuitous]

4. The biggest cost driver is malpractice?

Maybe we should ask the medical profession to police itself a little better. Wouldn't that be a nice free market solution? Wouldn't cost taxpayers a dime for doctors to weed out the impaired and the incompetent by themselves? I wonder why Boehner doesn't bring that up to his good friend and colleague Dr. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma?

[madamesilverspurs]

10. He should also ask Boustany,

who has been sued for malpractice more than once.

--

[onethatcares]

5. amazingly enough, you can find out more about your carpenter

than you can about your doctors.

[theoldman]

6. There is not much the federal government can do about malpractice.

Malpractice is prevalent all over the medical profession and it is not limited to Medicare or Medicaid. The problem lies with the doctors who will not police themselves. They cover each other's ass. The insurance companies will not do anything because they can just raise the rates to cover loses. I have reported several doctors to insurance companies and they refuse to investigate.

[cutlassmama]

7. It's only 1% of the costs. They are using that talking point to take away

from the real problem...greed from the insurance companies.

[DailyGrind51]

8. "There are none so blind as those who will not see."

[ThomWV]

9. He had writ that speech and he was gonna give that speech, at an appropriate time - or not.

It was all he had to say. If he got to speak first it would have sounded in context and although anyone with half a brain would have seen it as blather from an idiot at that time, later it was just way more than an embarrassment. It simply showed that the man had sat there basically unconscious all day long.

[JHB]

11. No confusion at all: He was addressing his audience...

...his REAL audience, the people on his fundraising mailing list.

His fundraising pitches will prominently uote his big address to the big healthcare summit, and the people reading it will see him saying the sort of things they expect him to say. The fact that it was bizzarly out of context for the summit will be erased entirely.

[upi402]

12. Start with no heart, then delete brain and replace with cash

The guy is a huckster and a whore who's just catapulting corporatist propaganda.