John Edwards issues empty threat to take away politicians’ health coverage
Oooooh, watch out. John Edwards has a new ad and he’s threatening to take away health insurance from members of Congress unless they pass his Hillary-style universal health care plan:
SCRIPT: John Edwards: “When I’m president I’m going to say to members of Congress and members of my administration, including my Cabinet: I’m glad that you have health care coverage and your family has health care coverage. But if you don’t pass universal health care by July of 2009 — in six months — I’m going to use my power as president to take your health care away from you. There’s no excuse for politicians in Washington having health care when you don’t have health care. I’m John Edwards and I approve this message.”
Except there’s a little catch. According to ad watchers, Edwards wouldn’t have any power to make good on his threat. The superpowers are all in his head:
Edwards would require employers to cover their workers or help pay for their insurance; he would expand Medicaid and a federal health insurance program for children and would create regional insurance markets to broaden purchasing power. But in stating that he would use his power as president to do away with the health coverage enjoyed by members of Congress, Edwards leaves out one major step. “Offhand, I don’t have a clue as to where he would get the power to do that,” said Christopher Schroeder, a law professor and expert on constitutional separation of powers at the Duke University School of Law. “Perhaps it would be his bully pulpit power.” Indeed, a president has no power to unilaterally cut off congressional benefits.
Neeeever mind.
***
John Edwards refuses to commit to supporting Hillary if she’s the nominee. Another empty threat, I’d say.
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Trackbacks
- Edwards: I’d Cut off Congress’ Health Care If They Don’t Pass My Plan : The American Pundit
- InsureBlog
- November, 2007 Archive « Right Minded Online
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..Yeah, I’m sure your local congressman couldn’t afford health insurance if the government didn’t pay for it.
Ted Kennedy and Jay Rockefeller aren’t going to be going on Medicaid any time soon.
I don’t think Pink Sapphire’s all down with that Constitution=rules stuff. To him, it’s more of a guideline.
Does anyone have a boombox?
Anything, and I do mean anything is needed in order to distract from his uncanny ability to insert his foot into his mouth everytime he opens it.
I totally don’t understand the obsession w/ universal health care. My husband’s in medical school, and it’s frightening to see how many of his colleagues are for it. If anyone should understand the mess that would create, shouldn’t it be those in the medical profession???
Ans as for Mr. Edwards, he’s done enough damage to our health care system as it is!
Somebody’s been watching a lot of SNL reruns lately. Did you finish all of your 24 DVD’s?
Maybe he plans on suing Congresses doctors.
Ouch. Take away health care from people with bazillions of dollars.
Better yet, let the current President take some things away NOW.
Can you say “line item veto”? Can you say goodbye PORK?
Oops. Maybe he plans on suing
Congresses Congress’ doctors.I need to learn to use the preview button.
More blah, blah blah blah blah…
Blah blah. We need to press these crapweasels more on immigration and GWOT. All the say is the same O same O.
Rhetoric. I’m gunna do this I’m gunna do that….yawnnnnnnnnnnnn
TB x 10 all of them. barf.
Eclectic, their love affair with universal healthcare is seen as the next “welfare” entitlement program. By that I mean - it locked in the black vote for the democratic party. And we all know how much it has “helped”.
They are thinking outside of the box, it’s high time they get them some middle class’ers to…
Funny you should mention John Edwards. My latest column is called, John Edwards — Empty Promises. Enjoy!
/shamelessplug
As originally written…
I thought he knew about the warnings not to use that blow dryer on high for too long. Guess not.
Will any member of the MSM ask Edwards the following question: “Senator Edwards: You are a lawyer who served on the Senate Judiciary Committee and you have been very critical of President Bush’s “expansive view of presidential power”. Therefore, please tell us how the president of the United States has the power and authority to unilaterally take away medical benefits from members of Congress?”
Somehow, I doubt Wolf Blitzer will ask that question to Senator Edwards on Thursday night.
Here is a more likely question from Wolf Blitzer to Senator Edwards: “Senator Edwards, you grew up dirt poor in a house with no heat or electricity. Does your incredible love and devotion for the poor and downtrodden come from the extraordinary hardships and deprivations that you suffered as a child?”
Our thespian player Edwards (aka Sarah Barnhart of Politics) has decided to muse us once again by engaging in a self promotional cult of personality tactic. One can only assume in a vein effort to receive a sensitivity status with the “little folks” out there(after all, there was that Katrina exploitation nightmare).
I think it would behoove Johnny-Come-Lately to start out by pointing that hypocritical finger of his in his own direction.
He might want to consider acknowledging that some of the responsibility for the current lack of affordable healthcare we are seeing out there (not to mention the significant increase in costs and medical malpractice insurance premiums forced upon our medical professionals) may just befall on his own doorstep. “Don’t trip over it John, you are not going to find too many doctors willing to treat you these days”.
I have two words for Mr. Edwards and his empty veiled threats:
“JUNK SCIENCE.”
Followed closely thereafter with;
“YEAH RIGHT”.
As the british would say, “What a nutter…”
OooOOooooh. Big threat from the silky pony! What’s next? Is he going to spray hair spray in everybody’s eyes?
Another Edwards whopper. Remember, during the Kerry-Edwards campaign, when Christopher Reed passed on? He used the event to assure us that when they won the Pres / VP, that “…People like Christopher Reed would rise up and walk again…”
The good Dr. Krauthammer (himself paralyzed) wrote an editorial at the time about it.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CharlesKrauthammer/2004/10/15/anything_to_get_elected
Rhetorical question: How much more of this self-aggrandizing, meaningless, arrogant posturing will we have to endure from this guy? I’d bet 80% of the people who see the ad - especially the “have-nots” - will not know that he couldn’t do it, and they’ll be impressed by his unfulfillable promise. There ought to be some “truth-in-advertising” requirements for political campaigns…
Wouldn’t it be fun to quiz the candidates on which powers are and which are not part of the authority* of the various branches of government?
*As granted by the U.S. Constitution and not their active imaginations.
In my opinion, Dr. Charles Krauthammer is the voice of reason!
John Edwards and his ilk caused malpractice insurance to skyrocket and caused a round of higher medical fees. A vicious cirle. He is an empty suit, NC did not support him in the last presidential election and is so embarrassing, we wish he lived somewhere else.
Exactly, my thoughts as well. Silky banks on the fact that the majority of people listening have been educated in public schools, therefore, they do not KNOW the constitution well enough. This is the arrogance of the democrap party, keep them ignorant so they can’t figure out that you are a lying sniveling crapweasel.
There is no excuse in Congress having the retirment plan they have, either. When you had a chance, wise masterful silky pony, to fix Social Security where did your vote side?
I am uhangtight_right is right; and I approve this message!!
Someone needs to familiarize Tinker Bell Edwards with the phrase:
It’s better to remain silent, and be thought of as a fool; than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.
Edwards goal:
Universal health care = more people seeing doctors = more potential plaintiffs in lawsuits against doctors = more money for ambulance chasers.
Universal health care - endorsed by plaintiff’s lawyers across the US.
I would like to see the Congress-critters lose all the perks that separate them from understanding the challenges that the citizenry faces day to day.
SHHHHHH!!! I’m trying to take a nap here people. Keep the noise down.
And yes Feeebs, that means you. What’s with all this hollerin about “JUNK SCIENCE” and “YEAH RIGHT”. You woke me up clear across the county.
Well, since Feebs woke me up and speaking of health care, I just received notification that my monthly health insurance premiums are going up by $50+ on January 1st and my cardiologist told me that my heart is still beating and it only cost me $265 to learn that.
Thank you Mr. Edwards and the rest of the lawyers who won millions for themselves by suing every one that graduated from medical school and built 30,000 square foot mansions.
What’s that joke about 500 lawyers sailing onboard the Titanic? A good what? Finish–No. Someone help me out.
Jim M.
IMHO if they get the Universal Health Care (read Socialized Medicine) the Drs will no longer have to buy expensive malpractice insurance because they will all be employees of the government and therefore the government will shoulder all responsibility for whatever happens. Drs suddenly would become salaried employees of the government. Just my opinion, and no one has said this that I am aware of, but as I see it this would be a natural thing to evolve under the socialized medicine structure.
Eclectic:
I am a physician, and very, very few people in my profession are for universal health care. Those that are tend to be younger, less experienced physicians who want the government to pay off their student loans and not for providing optimal care for all. That is the nasty little secret about physicians for socialized medicine: most of them have zero idea of the extremely high price tag that comes with this kind of assistance. Never expect a medical student to have a perspective beyond the next week, not because they are not interested but because their focus is on getting through the program!
uhangtight said:
“There is no excuse in Congress having the retirment plan they have, either.”
I would just like to point out here that Congress has the same retirement plan as every other Federal employee. Its called FERS.
http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30631.pdf
I hope that helps clear up things.
DanGrantTx
Since you are in the medical profession do you have any info that would add to my opinion in post #28 either pro or con?
Tim,
Titanic wasn’t Finnish; it was English. So get A GOOD START on your history.
/wink-nod
As for Empty-Promise Edwards, the man is useless. We need to stop wasting electrons on him. When all he is doing is stirring the puddin’ for Hillary, we need to focus on Hillary.
I would much rather see tort reform before we even think about universal health care. After all Mr. Edwards made all his millions going after physicians and insurance companies only to pass on the cost to the consumer and don’t get me started on how the illegal invasion has also contributed to crippling the medical industry.
Now if he threatened to take away their pension package (and it could actually happen)we would be getting somewhere. But don’t think for a minute that they wouldn’t be very upset if their health benefits were cut off. That would mean they would actually have to pay for something instead of the taxpayers. That wouldn’t sit well in Washington. If the premise for the threat wasn’t total garbage it would be nice even though it wouldn’t fly.
Remember Newt forced them, kicking and screaming, into voting for a bill that made members of Congress accountable to the same laws as the general public.
1)New Socialist programs
2)More government employees
3)More union employees
4)More costs for truly middle class citizens in the form of higher taxes
5)Less disposable discretionary income
6)Economy weakens
7)Government fixes problem with more socialist programs
8)Rinse and repeat!
Dissidents errrrr I mean democrats will then be able to praise the socialist utopia they have created as they are the first ones put up against the walls!
The Democrats will not stop until they kill our democracy forever. Universal healthcare will break the financial back of our country once and for all.
ACHefty. Good answer. Great column BTW. Wink
DL.. Are Doctors in the UK or Canada government employees? My guess is since the democraps are not smart enough to come up with an original idea, they will copy the failed systems in the UK or Canada so that should tell us what our system will look like.
trinitytim
I honestly don’t know and was hoping to get further perspective on that question from the medical poster. In my view how can the government control what a Dr can provide if the Dr is not an employee of the government … just thought it wasa a question worth pursuing … hoping someone can shed some light on that side of things … I think that if they are employees and that gets made known to people they will say “no way” …
Off topic a little bit, but, Liz Edwards was in one of our stores the other day, right near closing (Raleigh), and was apparently talking to Breck Girl on the cell. She finally said “look, just go do your speech.”
Yes, that is true.
Now THAT’S an attention-getter. Good move, John. Even some of us Republicans can relate to that.
Side note: Aren’t we tired of the terms “demoncrats”, “democraps” and other stupid derivatives?
DesertLover (#28; #31):
Here’s a great blog by a physician, who is also actively addressing the current state of affairs:
http://www.lindahalderman.com/default.htm
(also, check Pajamas Media — apparently her essays are posted there first, then later to her blog)
I have a collection of Dr blogs … glad to share if anyone’s interested.
–Ken
I guess people then can mean it literally when they say “the president makes me sick.”
If I’m not mistaken, Congressional medical benefits are a matter of law. It’s a BENEFIT of the J-O-B.
And like most other federal employees, each congress person can either participate in the health plan or not. Just because med benefits come with the job there is no requirement for you to take it.
Why do liberals think that as president they’ll have absolute power as if they are king or queen as the case may be?
Now, I am certainly not a John “Pretty Boy” Edwards fan and don’t come close to supporting universal healthcare. But, I would certainly enjoy seeing legislators lose the wonderful healthcare coverage that they get to keep, along with a few other cushy perks. Of course, there is that whole separation of powers issue that he would have to overcome to ever make good on his hollow rhetoric.
I can only imagine what it is like to work somewhere, like Congress, where you get to vote to give yourself pay increases, implement the best in healthcare for you and your family, etc.
Wouldn’t that be an awesome position to be in? It’s a good thing we don’t any corrupt politicians in Washington that would only be looking out for themselves and not consider how wasteful and unfair that would be to the working Americans who vote them into office to represent their interests.
Maybe that’s it. They can’t represent our interests adequately, if they have to worry about their loved ones having good health coverage and a fat salary or pension on which to live. *sarcasm*
Its called don’t vote incumbant.