MORE THAN ZERO…. Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the House Republican caucus’ point man health care reform, sent out an interesting press release yesterday afternoon.
The header read, “Health Care Solutions Group — Roy Blunt, Chairman.” The release read:
In Case You Missed It…
Blunt on Fox News: the Democrats’ 1,990-page government takeover of health care “could very well die under its own weight.”
The release included a big screen-grab of Blunt’s soundbite, and a link to the YouTube clip. It is, in other words, a quip that Roy Blunt and the “Health Care Solutions Group” is especially proud of. It’s probably something Blunt and his allies will be repeating quite a bit.
There are, however, a couple of problems here. First, going after legislation based on its length, rather than its merit, is pretty silly. Second, calling the reform plan a “government takeover” is a lie, no matter how many times conservatives repeat it.
But most important is Blunt’s invitation to comparison. The Missouri Republican wants to bring attention to the Dems’ 1,990-page bill, based on the assumption that 1,990 pages is too many. But the next question is obvious: “OK, Rep. Blunt. How many pages is the Republican health care reform plan?” For now, the correct answer is, “Zero.”
It was, after all, none other than Roy Blunt who boasted, “I guarantee you we will provide you with a [health care] bill.” That was 136 days ago.
Given the severity of the problem, Blunt is effectively asking Americans to choose: address the health care crisis with a 1,990-page bill or ignore the crisis with nothing. Seems like an easy choice to me.
