Representative Alan Grayson speaks truth to power on healthcare reform

Former Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson once quipped "I have been thinking that I would make a proposition to my Republican friends... that if they will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop telling the truth about them." I was reminded of that quote earlier this week when I heard that Democratic representative Alan Grayson had described the Republican plan for healthcare as "don’t get sick," and if you do get sick, "die quickly."

Naturally, Republicans threw a fit, even though what Grayson said was accurate, and even though they closed ranks just a few weeks ago around fellow Congresscritter Joe Wilson, who called the President a liar on the floor of the House of Representatives (which, incidentally, was a breach of decorum).

Republican Representative Tom Price, who voted against the resolution reprimanding Wilson, had the gall to demand an apology from Grayson.

When asked about this demand, Grayson replied:

"I would like to apologize," he said. "I would like to apologize to the dead."

Citing a statistic that 44,789 Americans die each year because they don’t have health insurance, Grayson said, "That is more than ten times the number of Americans who died in the war in Iraq, it’s more than ten times the number of Americans who died on 9/11... It happens every year."

Grayson added in another apparent dig at the GOP, "We should care about people even after they are born."

Grayson apologized one last time.

"I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven’t voted sooner," he said.

We should care about people even after they are born. Indeed. And before they die, as well. When Congress was under Republican control, it had no trouble speedily approving legislation that actually interfered with a husband's efforts to honor his wife's wish to die with dignity.

Now Congress is Democratically controlled by Democratic supermajorities, but Republicans are still obstructing progress, and they're getting help from the ConservaDems who really should call themselves Republicans since they are opposed to strengthening our common wealth and protecting the public interest.

At least there's one Democratic Congressman out there with some wit who's willing to match the Republicans' theatrics with a candid and sober assessment of what they believe. Republicans can protest all they want, but the truth is the private sector is simply incapable of providing access to healthcare to all Americans.

Only government can do that.

By opposing the public option and even reform without the public option, Congressional Republicans have made their position on healthcare perfectly clear: Don't get sick. Those terse words dispense with all the mumbo jumbo Republicans spout about how there is a better way and the private sector can provide it. There is no better way. Republicans like Tom Price are just mad because Alan Grayson smashed their mirrors and dispersed their smoke.

They shouldn't be so upset. It's not like they don't have healthcare. They can rest easy, because they're already covered by a government plan.

But they don't want to allow Americans who don't have any insurance to be covered by a public option that would keep the private sector honest.

Who knew Republicans could be so selfish?