Quote of the Day
Via Wonkroom's Twitterfeed, a quote from the health care reform hearings and mark-up:
[US Senator John] Kyl: "I don't need maternity care" in my benefits package. [US Senator Debbie] Stabenow fires back: "I think your mom probably did."
For serious.
Video after the jump.
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Horay! That's why we Michiganders keep her around... :)
w00t represent! I knew I was staying in Michigan for a reason.(If only because I'm going to college affordably in-state)
hiiiii
And why I wish I stayed in Michigan... except for that whole needing-a-job thing...
I feel like her and Carl Levin are among the best pairs that any state has sent to the Senate ...
Plus, Michigan's Rep. John Dingell in Congress kicks ass too--he's the guy who has submitted a bill for health care reform every year since he entered the House more than FIVE decades ago.
Not bad for the automobile state.
I dunno, Dingell is actually fairly conservative on a lot of issues. He's powerful in Congress because he's been there so long and is so moderate, and I'm glad he's so pro-union, but other than that... not a huge fan.
I was pretty upset when gerrymandering combined his district with Lynn Rivers. Now there was a fantastic woman with her heart (and her votes) in the right place!
hiiiiiiiiiiiii
That's fantastic Mr. Senator, that YOU personally don't need maternity care, but guess what, half the population of the country you were elected to work for and represent, at one point in their lives MIGHT need maternity care.
More to point, many women choose not to have children, choose to adopt, etc. etc. But those who DO CHOOSE to have children (as your right-wing party vehemently endorses (or is it forces?) women [in their rhetoric] to do).
You want to deny the much needed health care and pre-natal care to the women that you say should be having children, whether they like it or not? What the hell? It's so screwed up I can't even wrap my mind around it. I am done ranting...sorry.
This guy is "pro-life" but against maternity care included in health care. Shocker.
Gotta love conservatives....No abortion! for anyone! oh you want help having that baby we're forcing you to have? here's some help, I'll write it down in a little note, it says "fuck" and "you"
Win!
Made me laugh out loud. Thank you!
"Over 60 years ago my mom did..."
...and ladies have stopped giving birth since then, so shut up bitch.
::eye roll::
and I don't need the cholesterol or heart medication you need. So how bout we don't cover that either? It makes my insurance more expensive.
Aren't any of you (or Sen Stabenow) familiar with John Kyl? His mother abandoned the nest long before he hatched.
I'm sorry to hear that, but he's still a complete asshole. Stabenow could have said, "your sister" or "your grandmother" or "every mother in this country" and it would have had the same point: just because it doesn't affect you personally doesn't mean it doesn't affect millions of other people. And it's even more meaningful since other policies he supports would make it impossible for women to prevent or be rid of unwanted pregnancies.
Debbie Stabenow's a badass! And one of only 17 women in the Senate, incidentally. I feel like she's Michigan's gift to the nation... :)
The interesting point here is one of personal freedom. How do you force individuals to pay for health care they won't need? Say, maternity care for men & prostate cancer for women? In an individual mandate world this isn't necessarily a big issue (because you might assume that net-net it all equals out in the end)...But unless we have an individual mandate, ppl won't purchase health insurance until they absolutely need it, and that raises the costs for everyone else. We can't let ppl buy into health insurance once right after they decide to get pregnant, or just after they find out they have prostate cancer.
Hence "preexisting condition" exclusions, and the need for mandating coverage if we mandate care for PEC's.
That's what insurance is. You're paying for other people's health care, and they pay for yours when you need it.
Should women only go into an insurance pool with other women, because only women need maternity care? Or maybe African Americans should have their own insurance pool so that white people don't have to pay for their higher rates of sickle cell anemia.
Obviously those two examples are absurd -- but the whole point of health insurance is that risk of various types of care are spread out. Men shouldn't pay less for their insurance because they don't need maternity care -- obviously men benefit from maternity care, just white folks benefit from African Americans getting the health care they need, just as any group benefits from any other group being healthy.
This is an issue with private insurance and public insurance alike...
You make a fair point, but as well ask why people who don't have kids in public school have to pay property taxes the same amount as people who do.
And yes, there are people who argue, jokingly and non, that they shouldn't have to. But that's the social contract (in theory). Everyone pays in, and if god forbid you need something, everyone gets paid out.
Awesome comeback :)
I love that it was a serious "yo mama" discussion!
XO
I won't ever need a prostate exam. But know what? I don't mind if everyone were to have a health plan that covers some things we don't need as long as it covers the things we DO need, and everyone gets it. Hell, hopefully you won't ever have to NEED most everything that's covered!
...and she totally broke Roberts Rules of Order to make that amazing comeback!! Ohhhhhh snap!
i didn't vote for jon kyl. i swear. please don't hold me accountable for that jackass.
***wanting to move to michigan right now, for more reasons than one***
Best "your mom" come back ever!
More on this, from Donna Smith:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/09/25-11
Donna Smith is a community organizer for the California Nurses Association and National Co-Chair for the Progressive Democrats of America Healthcare Not Warfare campaign.
Proof that "Your Mom" CAN be a great comeback in many contexts.