Healthcare Crisis, Iraq, Politics
Pete Stark, Democrat of California, speaking on the House floor yesterday:
First of all, I’m just amazed that they can’t figure out — the Republicans are worried that we can’t pay for insuring an additional ten million children. They sure don’t care about finding $200 billion to fight the illegal war in Iraq. Where are you gonna get that money? You gonna tell us lies, like you’re telling us today? Is that how you’re going to fund the war? You don’t have the money to fund the war or children, but you’re going to spend it to blow up innocent people, if we could get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the President’s amusement.
This bill would provide health care for ten million children and, unlike the President’s own kids, these children can’t see a doctor or receive necessary care. Six million are insured through the Children’s Health Insurance Program and they’ll do better in school, and in life. In California, the President’s veto will cause the legislature to draw up emergency regulations to cut some 800,000 children off the rolls in California and create a waiting list.
I hope my California Republican colleagues will understand that if they don’t vote to override this veto, they are destroying health care for many of our children in California.
In the previous job as an actor, our Governor used to play make-believe and blow things up. Well, [the] President and Republicans in Congress are playing make-believe today with children’s lives. They claim we can’t afford health care. They say the bill will socialize medicine. Tell that to Orrin Hatch, Chuck Grassley and Ted Stevens, those socialists on the other side of this capitol. The truth is: [The] CHIP program enables states to cover children primarily through private health care plans. But, President Bush’s statements about children’s health shouldn’t be taken any more seriously than his lies about the war in Iraq. The truth is that Bush just likes to blow things up… in Iraq, in the United States, and in Congress.
I urge my colleagues to vote to override his veto. America’s children need and deserve health care, despite the President’s desire to deny it to them.
Stark’s assertion that the troops die in Iraq for Bush’s “amusement” gave Republicans ammunition, and House Minority Leader John Boehner fired back:
“Our troops in Iraq are fighting against al-Qaeda and other radical jihadists hellbent on killing the people we are sent here to represent. Congressman Stark’s statement dishonors not only the commander-in-chief, but the thousands of courageous men and women of America’s armed forces who believe in their mission and are putting their lives on the line for our freedom and security. Congressman Stark should retract his statement and apologize to the House, our commander-in-chief, and the families of our soldiers and commanders fighting terror overseas.”
But, according to Keith Olbermann on MSNBC’s Countdown last night, Stark is hanging tough:
“I have nothing but respect for our brave men and women in uniform and wish them the very best, but I respect neither the Commander-in-Chief who keeps them in harms way nor the chicken hawks in Congress who vote to deny children health care.”
Stark represents California’s 13 District, which includes East Bay cities of Alameda, San Leandro, Hayward and Fremont.
Topics: Healthcare Crisis, Iraq, Politics
YEA FOR STARK! AT LEAST WE HAVE ONE DEMOCRAT THAT STILL HAS HIS BALLS AND BRASS! KEEP IT UP TELL THEM THE TRUTH AS YOU SEE IT! STARK _ DO NOT BACK DOWN MAYBE SOME MORE SORRY DEMS WILL GET OFF THEIR ASSES AND FIND THEIR BALLS AND BRASS EXCEPT PELOSI WHO HAS NO BALLS AND CAN’T SEEM TO FIND HER BRASS!!!!! WHY DON’T SHE PROCEDE TO IMPEACH THE SOB’S
REBUT OF PETE STARK’S COMMENTS
I applaud you Pete Stark from CA for having the balls to finally call “bush” the sadist dictator he really is! Maybe not in so many words – but the planting of the seeds and meaning were there at long last. It’s just too bad we now have to drag into and use our kids in this political healthcare fight, but if that is what it takes – so be it. Bring it on! Finally someone with enough balls to tell Georgie boy (the divider) where he can go that the sun don’t shine!
I’d like to see the day our DEM politicians actually come to physical blows with these idiotic GOPS on the floor much like they do in other foreign countries, as this is what this country needs right at the moment. Knock some sense into these useless asinine GOPS once and for all…
I myself wouldn’t mind punching bush’s lights out permanently!
GOPS shoot their BIG MOUTHS off (much like that chicken shit piece of TX crap bush does) about BI-PARTISAN this and that when all they want to do is NOTHING but block passage of needed bills and changes to this otherwise useless GOP administration and it’s DO NOTHING policies!
You talk about DOING NOTHING since the MIDTERMS (like bush was just mouthing off in his yada yada yada illiterate nothing speech) – well there you have it folks! Name me one POSITIVE thing this useless GOP administration has done since being in office and I’ll eat my shorts!
They’ve done nothing but run up a TRILLION DOLLAR PLUS unsanctioned IRAQNAM WAR DEBT that is more then all the wars fought to this day, and then have the balls to veto one good thing for our kids, not to mention ask for BILLIONS more to waste on IRAQ! Now – does that reach any level of sanity? I DON’T THINK SO!
Now if only Nancy Pelosi had enough “pants” (balls) to wear and do the same thing as Pete Stark did, as well as with the rest of the DEMS in WASH DC. I’m tired of seeing a bunch of DEM pussies let this ignorant and illiterate dufus of what is called a president march on with his BLOOD WAR for OIL at something like $90 a barrel right now!
I mean come on people what’s it going to take to IMPEACH and throw this useless F*** out of government totally? 7 years of this bull*hit and we are supposedly liking the way our once great country is being run into the gutter by this totally illiterate idiot for a president named “bush”.
No wonder we are the laughing stocks of the world today. Look who we have as a poor excuse of what’s called a president! Have we all just fallen into LA LA land and “SLEEPWALKED THROUGH HISTORY” much as the country did when “ronnie the vegetable” was prez as well? I guess so….
Letting this present day idiot “bush” run this once great country more into the ground makes about as much sense as CA having that idiot actor ARNOLD THE DORKENNAGGER as governor much like Pete said!
The GOPS out in CA aren’t very happy with old Arnold either, and if you don’t believe me – ask them – as I’ve been told by the best of them there that they think he’s an idiot as well. So why are they still putting up with him there as well? Go figure huh? America – LAND OF ILLITERATES!
Have a nice day!
I am very proud of Pete for speaking out. It is rare to hear such blunt truths from a politician. Successful politicians are the ones who have perfected the art of lying. Politicians hide behind masks that rally the audience of the moment. They will tell lies about Pete, now, and continue lying about the subject. There is no hope unless we return to the Superman’s
philosophy…”truth, justice, and the American way.” And no sitting president has the right to over-rule truth, justice or Superman.
So you slam Ann Coulter, a columnist, for her controversial ramblings, but Stark saying these outrageous things on the House floor is OK. Selective outrage from the left, as usual. Yeah, I’m sure Bush likes soldiers dying in Iraq. When he meets with families and cries along with them he is faking it. You liberals have Bush Derangement Syndrome. Anything bad about Bush goes, no matter how over the top. If Bush saved your mothers from a fire you’d say he did it for the PR. You have no ability to be fair or reasonable. Maybe if you libs disavowed Stark’s vitriol, the right would be more likely to hold Coulter accountable.
The left’s transparent hypocrisy is so obvious to everyone but you.
Bravo Pete!!! If the rest of the democractic “ladies” in pink tutus would grow some balls then things would happen. And did I hear Mrs. Pelosi reprimand Mr. Stark and tell him not to attack Bush?
You’re right, Jim. The troops aren’t dying for Bush’s amusement. Pete Stark was wrong about that. But the reality is even worse — they’re dying so Bush’s cronies can have the Iraqis’ oil.
Bravo, Mr. Stark, for having the courage to say what many Americans are afraid to in this former democratic republic.
Bravo to Mr. Stark for having said this on the House floor, in front of TV cameras, so it can be played time and again.
This will give the goose-stepping, brown shirt crowd some ammo, and fascist agents like Rush “Mr. Dopey” Limbaugh will use it for more state sanctioned propaganda to keep the masses in line.
BTW, Rush old boy, how’s that drug conviction coming?
What’s that, you’re not going to do any time?
Gee, Rush, it couldn’t be that your brand of hate and vitriol are needed by blood thristy war mongers like Bush and Cheney to keep them propped up in office, could it?
Gosh, Rush, thank the stars that you’re white and connected, for if you had been black or brown and poor, you’d already be in a state prison, serving 5-10 years.
Hooray for CA Rep. Pete Stark for saying out loud and to his face what so many Americans feel about the “selected” puppet we have in the White House! The thousands of deaths in Iraq (Iraqis as well as Americans) may not “amuse” the puppet, but the whole goal is, after all, OIL at all costs. And USA children, elderly, all U.S. citizens, are now paying dearly, and will pay for generations, for this fool administration’s edicts.
How sad for my beloved country that this puppet has not yet been impeached!
Peter Stark should be given a free lunch for the rest of his life. The Bush government is the worst disaster to hit the US and the world in the history of the US.
Al Quada’s death squads are mere gad flies compared to the destructive power of George W. Bush and his cronies.
For a child, accessible and competent health care is not a priviledge, it is a human right.