As I sip my coffee this morning, I’m shaking my head at the bone-headedness of the four people representing this district: Scott Tipton in Washington and Laura Bradford, Ray Scott, and Steve King in Denver. Not one of them has the common sense that God gave a goose.
In the Letter to the Editor section of the Daily Sentinel, there is a letter from David Cox offering Kudos to our people in Denver for sponsoring House Bill 11-1205. It would change Colorado’s laws to allow any “law-abiding” citizen to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. The letter is signed by David Cox as president of the Pro Second Amendment Committee of Grand Junction. If Bradford, Scott, and King are listening to David Cox, we are in real trouble. Remember him? He was one of three Republican candidates vying to represent the people of House District 54, until he was forced out of the race after being arrested for driving while seemingly impaired (he’d been drinking at a fundraiser) and with a non-permitted handgun in his pickup. When other brushes with the law were reported, even Republicans decided he was too toxic to elect. And now he is advising Bradford, Scott, and King? I don’t know who the bigger boneheads are, the elected officials or Cox, who is still playing with guns. To be fair, there are 27 House sponsors, and 12 Senate sponsors. My new favorite language in bills, including this one is “The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety.” Oh yeah, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to think that people with guns could be running around the campus at Mesa State College.
Scott Tipton’s bonehead award comes from his belief that the people of Congressional District 3 elected him because he promised to repeal “Obama Care.” Again, to be fair, he seems to understand that there are parts of the bill that have gained in popularity once people understood them—things like not being denied health insurance if one has a pre-existing condition. He claims that the bill does nothing to reduce the costs of insurance or increase the accessibility. Well, DUH. That is because the cost saving measures in the bill haven’t kicked in yet (Insurance Exchanges) and the most sensible cost saving measure (universal health care, with a single payer) was never on the table. Evidently Tipton has been asking people to raise their hands in meetings if they have seen their health insurance premiums go down. Again, DUH. Nobody has, because insurance companies are busy increasing rates in order to pay for the new benefits (no life-time limit, and insurance for people with pre-existing conditions) prior to the pool of insured being expanded by mandatory insurance purchases—the device in the existing bill to bring costs down. The way the bill was written, costs to insurance companies go up before revenue goes up, so in order to protect profits (and obscene salaries and bonuses for CEOs) insurance companies are raising rates.
Nobody has ever said that the bill, as passed, was perfect. Nothing ever is when it is a compromise between two diametrically opposed political ideologies. But Tipton is dreaming if he thinks that the repeal of this bill and defunding of this bill is going to get past the Senate and the President. It is a nice bone to throw to the extreme right wing, who wants this President to fail, but it has nothing to do with insurance accessibility and affordability.
Finally, where are the jobs? When are our representatives going to get serious about helping people get back to work? Didn’t everybody say that was their highest priority when they were asking for votes? So, where is the plan? Why do we still have high unemployment in Mesa County? And don’t give me the bullshit about regulations.
Homework:
Letters to the Editor February 13 2011
April 6 2010 Story About David Cox Trying to Explain his Arrest
Link to HB 11-1205
How to Get a Concealed Gun Permit in Colorado
Tipton Wants to Make Sure No Money Goes for "Obama Care"
Mesa County Unemployment Rate 10.2% December 2010
In the Letter to the Editor section of the Daily Sentinel, there is a letter from David Cox offering Kudos to our people in Denver for sponsoring House Bill 11-1205. It would change Colorado’s laws to allow any “law-abiding” citizen to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. The letter is signed by David Cox as president of the Pro Second Amendment Committee of Grand Junction. If Bradford, Scott, and King are listening to David Cox, we are in real trouble. Remember him? He was one of three Republican candidates vying to represent the people of House District 54, until he was forced out of the race after being arrested for driving while seemingly impaired (he’d been drinking at a fundraiser) and with a non-permitted handgun in his pickup. When other brushes with the law were reported, even Republicans decided he was too toxic to elect. And now he is advising Bradford, Scott, and King? I don’t know who the bigger boneheads are, the elected officials or Cox, who is still playing with guns. To be fair, there are 27 House sponsors, and 12 Senate sponsors. My new favorite language in bills, including this one is “The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety.” Oh yeah, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to think that people with guns could be running around the campus at Mesa State College.
Scott Tipton’s bonehead award comes from his belief that the people of Congressional District 3 elected him because he promised to repeal “Obama Care.” Again, to be fair, he seems to understand that there are parts of the bill that have gained in popularity once people understood them—things like not being denied health insurance if one has a pre-existing condition. He claims that the bill does nothing to reduce the costs of insurance or increase the accessibility. Well, DUH. That is because the cost saving measures in the bill haven’t kicked in yet (Insurance Exchanges) and the most sensible cost saving measure (universal health care, with a single payer) was never on the table. Evidently Tipton has been asking people to raise their hands in meetings if they have seen their health insurance premiums go down. Again, DUH. Nobody has, because insurance companies are busy increasing rates in order to pay for the new benefits (no life-time limit, and insurance for people with pre-existing conditions) prior to the pool of insured being expanded by mandatory insurance purchases—the device in the existing bill to bring costs down. The way the bill was written, costs to insurance companies go up before revenue goes up, so in order to protect profits (and obscene salaries and bonuses for CEOs) insurance companies are raising rates.
Nobody has ever said that the bill, as passed, was perfect. Nothing ever is when it is a compromise between two diametrically opposed political ideologies. But Tipton is dreaming if he thinks that the repeal of this bill and defunding of this bill is going to get past the Senate and the President. It is a nice bone to throw to the extreme right wing, who wants this President to fail, but it has nothing to do with insurance accessibility and affordability.
Finally, where are the jobs? When are our representatives going to get serious about helping people get back to work? Didn’t everybody say that was their highest priority when they were asking for votes? So, where is the plan? Why do we still have high unemployment in Mesa County? And don’t give me the bullshit about regulations.
Homework:
Letters to the Editor February 13 2011
April 6 2010 Story About David Cox Trying to Explain his Arrest
Link to HB 11-1205
How to Get a Concealed Gun Permit in Colorado
Tipton Wants to Make Sure No Money Goes for "Obama Care"
Mesa County Unemployment Rate 10.2% December 2010
RSS Feed