The GOHP - The Grand Old Hypocritical Party!

[Some of the GOHP in all their gory glory - Photo by Reuters]

They don't have "communism" to kick around any more, so the Repugnicans have fallen in love with the word, socialism. They love to use the word and do so every chance they get. They tell the world socialism is bad. Not that any of them could define what it means, but they think they might know it if they saw it, and it is a really nasty thing, like swine flu.

Now, out in the hinterlands, most people don't know the difference between communism, fascism, socialism or Hinduism! Thus, they are easy prey for these Congressional whores who are paid off by the insurance companies and vote, not for what is best for the country, but for what will best enhance their careers.

And Repugnican congresspeople know that the way to confuse their constituents and have them vote against their own best interests is to threaten that a bill is "socialistic."

What follows is from Jim Hightower's latest issue of The Hightower Lowdown:

"The entire bloc of 39 Republican U.S. senators locked arms just before Thanksgiving in a failed attempt to block the federal health-insurance reform bill from even being debated. 'Socialism!' they barked in unison. They declared that their principled intention in trying to prevent debate was to save the American people from the nightmare of government-run health care.

"Thank you, senators. For nothing. First the bill does not--repeat, does NOT--create any government-run health-care program. Instead, it is an insurance reform bill, dealing not with the delivery of care but with the raw gouging we consumers and tax payers routinely get from the private-insurance giants.

"Second, and more fascinating, what all 39 of the naysayers hope you don't figure out is that they actually are (shhhhh) secret socialists when it comes to health care! Their health care, I mean. Not yours.

"Have you ever heard any of these free-market purists mention that (shhhhh, again) they and their families get a Rolls Royce level of socialized-insurance coverage? Of course not. They don't want us to know that about 75% of their insurance cost is paid for by taxpayers--aka you and me--who are lucky if we can afford a Yugo-level of coverage for our families.

"But (double-shhhhh)), the thing they most want to keep secret from us commoners is a special spot of unadulterated socialism located right under the Capitol dome: the Office of the Attending Physician (OAP). This obscure nook is where these antigovernment-run health-care stalwarts go to get government-run health care delivered directly to them. When they get a little boo-boo, they can get it kissed in this tucked-away office, courtesty of us taxpayers.

"The OAP is a boutique medical practice providing full-service, state-of-the-art treatment exclusively to members of Congress. It offers full-bore, British-style, socialized medicine--the physicians, specialists, nurses, med-techs, pharmacists, and others working there are government employees.

"Their service is primo. Let's say that one of the 39 Republican grumps gets gaseous or suffers a tongue cramp while giving a Senate speech denouncing socialism. He or she can scoot just a few yards way for socialized care at the OAP--no appointment required, no bothersome insurance forms to fill out, no co-pay, no waiting. Just care.

"So, let's all ask our own Congress critters why we can't have what they're getting. Do they think they're better of more deserving than us ... "


Ah, yes, The Grand Old Hypocritical Party!

You can read much more from Mr. Hightower here.