HomeTagged ‘health care’
Gabrielle Giffords shooting and political violence
When Jared Loughner shot and very nearly killed Arizona Democratic Representative Gabrielle Giffords, the U.S. media had an overwhelming, immediate response: fiery right-wing anti-government rhetoric has finally prompted a political murder. Paul Krugman stated it most succinctly in the New York Times, two days after the shooting:
When you heard the terrible news from Arizona, were [...]
Democrats win?
William Saleten of Slate proposes that Democrats and their leaders used their legislative power wisely during 2009-10, even if it cost them seats in the House.
Politicians have tried and failed for decades to enact universal health care. This time, they succeeded. In 2008, Democrats won the presidency and both houses of Congress, and by the [...]
Thomas Frank and David Frum agree: Tea Parties made for TV
Thomas Frank attended the Tea Party rally in Washington, D.C. last Saturday, on the eve of the House vote to approve the health care bill. Former Bush speechwriter David Frum is calling the bill a Waterloo — for the Republicans.
Frum writes:
A huge part of the blame for today’s disaster attaches to conservatives and Republicans [...]
Thomas Frank: “We are all Kansans now”
A few weeks ago, I was reading an account of the tea party movement in the NYT which pointed out that many of the movement’s recruits had suffered in some way during the recent crash and recession. A different account of the surprise Republican victory in the Massachusetts Senate race ascribed it to a huge [...]
What’s the Matter with Massachusetts?
Liberals across the country are stung by the loss of one of the most secure Democratic Senate seats to former underwear model Scott Brown.
The sudden victory by a conservative politician, backed by the Tea Partiers and conservative talk show hosts, in Massachusetts of all places, is a liberal nightmare. How could this happen?
Voters in 2008 [...]
Religious groups smack the Family Research Council over abortion
Religious groups are accusing the Family Research Council (FRC) of being “misleading” in its attacks on health care reform. That’s nice-guy speak for saying the FRC is lying through its teeth.
A TV ad that the FRC has created shows a husband and wife chatting somberly (a la the “Harry and Louise” ads of 1994) about [...]
The religious pendulum swings again
American pastors are getting back into the political game — from the left.
The American Values Network, for instance, has launched ads on Christian and country music stations advocating strong government action on climate change. One ad begins like this: “As our seas rise, crops wither and rivers run dry, God’s creation cries out for relief.” [...]
Right faith, left faith
Although faith may lead the folks profiled in What’s the Matter with Kansas? to support right-wing policies, it’s leading others to demand progressive ones.
On Wedesday, an interfaith coalition gathered at Freedom Plaza in the nation’s capital to hold what they called the Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer for Health Care for All. It’s a [...]