By Cliff Montgomery – Sept. 4th, 2009
Conservative lawmakers who refuse to discuss any public health care option for average Americans have longenjoyed the benefits of a government-run health care service for their own surgeries and intensive care needs.
For years, the late Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts freely pointed out this obvious hypocrisy ofAmerica’s most conservative congresspeople.
In Memphis, Tennessee on December 9th, 1978, the senator gave an excellent speech which touched on thisissue at a health care workshop sponsored by the Democratic National Committee:
“We’ve got national health insurance for members of the Senate and House of Representatives,” saidKennedy.
“They give their speeches and cast their votes in Congress. And then they go out to Walter Reed ArmyHospital or Bethesda Naval Hospital for the free medical and dental care that Uncle Sam provides,” he added.
“That isn’t fair. If national health insurance is…good enough for Congress, then it is good enough for everyAmerican citizen in every city, town and village and on every farm throughout this land,” declared Kennedy.
It’s a conservative hypocrisy which continues to this day. Need a concrete example? Representative Roy Blunt(R-MO) shows by his actions that he doesn’t believe his own words about a public-run health care system.
Rep. Blunt cries that a government-run health care system would be behave like an out-of-control elephant,stomping the life out of the ‘little guys’ who run America’s huge and wildly over-priced private insurance industry.
But during his tenure as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Blunt has opted to have at least twohighly-involved medical procedures performed at Bethesda Naval Hospital, via the government-run health careservice provided to members of Congress.
The first operation was performed in July 2002, when Navy surgeons removed Blunt’s left kidney. The secondoperation came one year later after Blunt was diagnosed as suffering from prostate cancer, still in its earlystages. Bethesda Naval Hospital surgeons performed prostate surgery on the Missouri representative, almostcertainly saving Blunt’s life.
Bethesda Naval Hospital also is known as the National Naval Medical Center. It is the top medical center of theUnited States Navy–and since it is a Navy service, it is run by the federal government.
Bethesda Naval Hospital is where lawmakers of every political party and of every ideology often choose to gofor surgeries.
Congresspeople pay a yearly fee to receive top government-run medical care, either at Bethesda NavalHospital or at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Rep. Blunt’s medical procedures were not delayed. They were not denied. They were not rationed. And Blunthas a personal net worth of up to $1.6 million, according to OpenSecrets, a leading political watchdog group -hence he has no monetary need to use this publicly run health care system.
Representative Roy Blunt freely chose this government-run option because he knew he could trust it with hislife, and because it was much less expensive to boot. If that high-quality, inexpensive service is good enoughfor America’s millionaire conservative lawmakers, it will be good enough for you and your family.
Other conservative lawmakers who happily use the government-run health insurance program ofCongress–but tell you it would be pure horror if you enjoyed the same benefits they’ve enjoyed foryears–include Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Senator George Voinovich, (R-OH), Senator Kit Bond (R-MO),and even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
Americans aren’t asking for too much. They just want to be covered by essentially the same kind of publicly runoption which conservative lawmakers bash in public, but in private trust with their very lives.
