Originally posted by jd140

Originally posted by astrij
For those of you claim he should be commended for adhering to what his constituents want; Is it really what they want or what they have been told they want?

I think it is a fairly safe bet that very few Americans that are opposed to this reform have even bothered to read the 1000 page document for themselves.

Rather, they have formed their opinions of it based upon the propaganda and misinformation that is spread via certain media conglomerates throughout the US.

I would take that same bet for the Americans who are FOR it.

This is what I find funny. It doesn't matter what the bill is or who is proposing what, those who are in favor for it always act smarter then those who are in opposistion.

You can say what you want, but I doubt you have read this bill. If you are brave enough to admit the truth, tell me something. Why are you for it when you have no idea what it says?

Maybe it is you who has formed your opinion around propaganda?

I am brave enough to admit that I have not read the bill. However, I think that many claims in its regards are fear mongering at best. Assumptions like euthanasia, when in reality, from reading snippets, it seems as though it was actually focused on people who were dying and giving them the option of counseling as a means of helping them deal with their impending deaths. That sounds like compassion to me.

Or that Americans would lose their private insurance and be forced to participate in a universal health care system when it was reiterated countless times that those allegations were completely untrue.

I will admit however, that it is difficult to trust politicians these days. One minute they are pissing away trillions of dollars in taxpayer funds to international financial institutions and the next they are offering what seems on the surface, like a viable health care alternative for those who cannot afford private insurance. And of course this list could go back and fourth and on and on.

It is becoming increasingly difficult in today's political climate to know who exactly it is to trust. It makes it even more difficult when the media espouses information from every possible angle and could be involved in any number of agendas.

Whether or not I have read this bill, however, should not absolve the fact that Senator Inhofe refused to read the bill that he decided to pass on. And neither have many American who do not support this bill, either. And as you have stated, neither have those who are in support of it.

As an aside, I do not think that I ever stated whether I was for or against this bill anyway. The true importance of this thread is that a US senator who is paid by his constituents to do his job has decided to do just the opposite.

If this were any other bill, and senators refused to read what it was they were voting upon, Americans would be up in arms. And for good reason too.

Alright, I've downloaded the document. I'll have it translated to English and I'll see my fellow ATSers in about a year.

Wish me luck.

The Patriot Act, in my opinion, was only passed because of 9/11.

I think a lot of people felt that because of what happened, we should do whatever was necessary to stop the terrorists.

The people who oppose the health care reform legislation that is still in the process of being discussed and amended and haven't even looked at the legislation (I bet there are a lot more than Imhofe--he's just honest about it) are showing their hand.

They don't care to know anything about it. They don't want to contribute to the ongoing process of drafting legislation because they know already that they don't want to add anything constructive to the debate.

They have already decided to do everything in their power to stamp their feet and just say "No!"

The rationale is simple:

Anything President Obama does -- bad.
Anything Democrats do--bad
Government--bad
People who say no to bad things--good.

They are counting on the American public to just swallow these assumptions without questioning. It's easy to say no and hard to say yes. As P.T. Barnum once said, "Nobody ever went broke by underestimating the intelligence of the public."

I think the American people have some surprises in store for them. The people who want health care reform are at present being drowned out by the cries of the naysayers, but before this is over they will be heard.

Cool thread...just goes to show you that Public Relations trumps any relevant trait associated with positions of societal responsibility...