Cathy McMorris Rodgers, congresswoman from Eastern Washington, gave one of the GOP’s responses to the President’s State of the Union address. McMorris Rodgers was presumably chosen to bolster the Republican party’s image with women, and has also talked about a “kinder, gentler vision of Republicans…”
What her speech really did, however, was solidify the Republican party’s commitment to using half-truths, distortions and irresponsible scare tactics to turn Americans against the Affordable Care Act. McMorris Rodgers used “Bette from Spokane” as an example of Obamacare armageddon. Allegedly, Bette’s health insurance policy was cancelled, resulting in increased premiums of approximately $700 more a month, all because of Obamacare. What McMorris Rodgers failed to mention was that Bette could have purchased a much better plan than her old catastrophic plan, at a competitive price, if she had actually researched her options. However, Bette avoided the Washington State health exchange, apparently due to her political beliefs and Republican propaganda.
Perhaps McMorris Rodgers is so incompetent that she didn’t thoroughly investigate Bette’s situation, but more likely it was yet another example of Republican sabotage. The GOPs ongoing effort to discredit the Affordable Care Act is not only irresponsible, it ironically sows mistrust among their own constituents, resulting in people like Bette acting against their own best interests.
Larry Wechsler
Edmonds
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