Editor, Manteca Bulletin,

While many TV viewers were preparing to watch the second episode of “Pacific” on HBO, or some other prime time favorite, some of us were watching the drama unfolding on CNN, more precisely, the historic vote on Health Care Reform in the House of Representatives. Earlier we were treated to the ignorance of some of the Tea Party types camped out in front of the Capitol, who put their disgusting behavior on full display by hurling racial and homophobic insults at Democratic representatives entering the House Chambers in an apparent desperate attempt to threaten House members into voting their way.

During the session, one Texas Republican representative, Randy Neugebauer, even called out “Baby Killer!”, apparently aimed at Democrat Mark Stupak, who had earlier said he would vote against the bill because the abortion language didn’t go far enough to suit him but decided to cast a ‘yes’ vote instead when President Obama issued an executive order banning the use of federal funds for abortions. Not that it was needed, the bill never did earmark funds for abortion in the first place. That was just another of many grossly false fear tactics injected by the Republican Right.

Over the last year or so, since the debate on this issue started, we have seen many of these tactics surface from the deepest reaches of the dung heap. They were easy to identify for most logical free thinkers who did not glue themselves to the likes of FOX News or talking head shows like Rush Limbaugh or Glen Beck. (Limbaugh promised he would move out of the country if this bill passed, do you think?). On today’s show, an angry Limbaugh said “We need to defeat these bastards, we need to wipe them out.” How ugly is that? Most of those scare tactic attempts were repeated right here in this very forum. Remember the “Death Panels” of Sara Palin fame? Or the killing of Grandma, pregnant women and unborn babies, or the rush of illegal immigrants from Mexico to receive free health care from U.S. taxpayers, or the demise of Medicare? There were, and still are, many more, some more ludicrous than others.

There was even a local claim that the whole thing was just a way to make the U.S. into a Third World country, that the addition of 30 million more to the insured was just a way to get 30 million more votes of course, every one of those 30 million were illegal immigrants. Forty-six percent of doctors were threatening to retire, Medicare would be reduced by $500 billion, Medicaid and Walgreen’s would part ways, (never mind that Medicaid is a state program). The government would dictate if you should receive Cancer treatments, or if you are too old to receive any kind of treatment (Kill Grandma), or to tell doctors what treatment to use and how much to charge. Really, how out of touch is that?

Well, the reality is much different, we all woke up today and the sky hadn’t fallen, the Mexicans weren’t breaking down the border fences to get to Kaiser and the Health Gestapo weren’t kicking in our doors to get at Grandma. What we do know is that soon some of us can add our children who are still under 27 to our existing health insurance, that we won’t lose our health insurance if we are laid off, that our children with pre-existing conditions can’t be banned from coverage.

As President Obama said just after the vote: “Another stone has been laid in the foundation of the American Dream”. Granted, it’s not a big stone but it is a start and a place to build upon. I for one, will be happy to do my part to contribute to this process.

Larry Baca
Manteca
March 22, 2010