Red States Plagued by Birther Epidemic, Health Care Crisis
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Red state GOP Congressmen returning home for the August recess will find two epidemics sweeping their districts, crises they seem intent on ignoring. The first is the plague that is the "birther movement," the apparently contagious delusion primarily afflicting Southern Republicans that President Obama was not born in the United States. The second is dismal health care. As it turns out, health care performance is worst in precisely those reddest of states which voted for George W. Bush and John McCain.
While even Karl Rove ridiculed the latest bogus Kenyan birth certificate as "likely a forgery," his red state acolytes remain unconvinced. In a jaw-dropping DailyKos/Research 2000 poll released last week, a stunning 58% of Republicans did not believe (28%) or were unsure (30%) that President Barack Obama was in fact born in the United States. And to be sure, this is a uniquely Southern pathology, a region home to 69% of all birthers and not coincidentally the only part of the country to increase its Republican presidential vote in 2008.
But this disturbing denial of the indisputable truth of Obama's U.S. citizenship is far from the only sign of trouble in red state America. There, the health care systems are in critical condition.
A 2007 Commonwealth Fund report, "Aiming Higher: Results from a State Scorecard on Health System Performance," examined states' performance across 32 indicators of health care access, quality, outcomes and hospital use. Topping the list in the chart above were Hawaii, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. Bringing up the rear were the Bush bastions of Kentucky, Louisiana, Nevada, Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi and Oklahoma. The 10 worst performing states were all solidly Republican in 2004. (8 voted for McCain in 2008.)
The extremes in health care performance are startling.
For example, 30% of adults and 20% of children in Texas lacked health insurance, compared to 11% in Minnesota and 5% in Vermont, respectively. Premature death rates from preventable conditions were almost double (141.7 per 100,000 people) in Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi compared to the top performing states (74.1 per 100,000). Adults over 50 receiving preventative care topped 50% in Minnesota compared to only 33% in Idaho. Childhood immunizations reached 94% in Massachusetts, compared to just 75% in the bottom five states. As the report details, federal and state policies such as insurance requirements and Medicaid incentives clearly impact health care outcomes.
In May, the Washington Post rightly noted it would be blue state residents funding health care reform for their red state brethren in an article titled, "A Red State Booster Shot." (The grandstanding of Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal et al notwithstanding, the same one-way flow of taxpayer dollars from Washington to red states, of course, is a permanent feature of federal spending in general.) And yet a 2008 survey predictably showed 68% of Republicans believe the U.S. has the best health system in the world, compared to only three in 10 Democrats.
For his part, Senator James Inhofe, whose home state of Oklahoma ranked dead last in the Commonwealth Fund scorecard, boasted his party would "stall" President Obama's health care initiative to ensure a "huge gain" in the 2010 election. Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell claims that Americans don't want health care reform that "denies, delays, or rations health care."
Of course, de facto rationing is precisely what their constituents face today. But first things first: let's see that birth certificate.
UPDATE: In the New York Times, Bill Kristol's shoe-filler Ross Douthat argues that Texas should serve as an economic model for the nation. While Ezra Klein demolishes that claim in the Washington Post, other data on working conditions, education performance and other social indicators suggest that things are generally worst in the reddest of the red states.
It's the bigots.
Republicanism is a bigoted illness.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
They know if they use the R... card ,, their deceit is in the open.. So they search for other BS to sling hoping like mud some will stick..
Never knew we have this many people in our country with so much hate in them..
None
Deep seated denial. They still think the South is going to win the Civil War, and if they can't do it militarily, they are willing to bring the rest of the country down to their level.
I love my relatives in the south, but many of them are scared and resentful. (white)
I do have to say, though, it was a handful of my southern relatives who instilled the liberal values that I have today, in me. It is worth keeping up the good fight to try to educate them.
Can we just split up the country and have a liberal country and a wingnut country??
I think they would need to be on an island somewhere. there's not that many of them really, and they'd be more comfortable re-enacting the 'Lord of the Flies' there than anywhere else.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
But there would be no place for them to plug in the squirrel popper?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj3QAzSWVA4
Wingnuts from Texas to North Dakota -- although the percentage who went McCain moderated the farther North a person looked. So United States of the West Coast and United States of the Northeast/(and what they call the) Midwest. Unless we could turn North Dakota.
Yes! Yes! Yes!
Could you imagine how we could prosper in blue state america if we didn't have the red state welfare queens and their idiot fascist repuke representatives keeping us in the 60's. The 1860's.
After the red state welfare queens imploded within 5 years - while the blue states prospered, the redneck morons would attack us, because the GOP would still be able to convince them that the royal screwing they got was because of libruls'.
You can't fix stupid! And man is there a whole lotta stupid goin' on down south.
Rush Limbaugh is what a smart person thinks a stupid bigot sounds like.
But there is also a lot of lack of educating that is going on down there, and it is intentional. Keep the majority of the population poor, divided and pissed off, and you get to have your own mini monarchy where you can run things the way you want.
Is it too late to let the south secede?
That means "kick out of the Union"?
Divine Right of Kings (1600's); Divine Right of Corporations (2011)
to find this much of a concerted effort to divide this country using racism and classism. birthers are the new KKK while the blueDogs are the new carpetbaggers.
while the 'Dems' want everything to be 'bipartisan', what they are really doing is feeding the same corporate interests as the repuglyKKKans.
while the media are all so concerned about the birthers, whom the media refuses NOT to cover, it is so convenient to ignore the money being spent on two wars, tax breaks for the wealthy and the fucking bank bailouts.
Some stuff you can't make up!
Ya, the MSM is slipping
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
Ja.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Rather stunning to see California in the last quartile with most of the Old South.
Equally surprising to see the two Carolinas in the midst of the third quartile. Well, for sure surprising to see South Carolina there.
Democracy is too important to be entrusted to politicians.
Rise Up!
Protest!
... in the last two decades the GOP has been in charge of Cali for the most part... with the dynamic Wilson-Ahnold duo.
Even the bluest of states can be turned to shit with the GOP's magic inverse Midas touch.
Why does anyone not only vote, but actually support the GOP is beyond me. Yes, the Dems are not stellar... but they are far far behind when it comes to pure incompetence and hubris. I am starting to consider that some of the posters in this site are correct: voting for the GOP has to be the symptom of some serious underlying mental health issues.
The Republicans fucked up the U.S. economy and they screwed up California's economy. When are people going to learn?
As it turns out, health care performance is worst in precisely those reddest of states which voted for George W. Bush and John McCain.
Education cures ignorance... nothing can cure stupidity.
Texas ranks about 47th in social spending, but that doesn't stop them from running as tax cutters.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
If a pandemic broke out in an area of anti-health care reform, would they then accuse Obama of political retribution in not preventing it?
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Like this?
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/08/03/doggett-h...
...What ever happened to that whole "Free Speech Zone" thingy from the previous administration? Remember when it was illegal to protest outside designated areas and punishable by "Beating/Tazering into submission" (read resisting arrest) stiff fines, possible jail time and the potential to have an artificial drug charge on your record (charged with drug possession for prescription antibiotics, asthma meds/inhailer, ibuprofin...).
huh...
I found the thread:
Teabaggers want a voice in health-care forums -- one that disrupts, attacks, and distracts
By David Neiwert Saturday Aug 01, 2009 8:30am
and emailed it to both WFAA where I saw the report, and Lloyd Doggett.
His website said he couldn't respond because I'm not in his district, but it said nothing about non-receipt.
Maybe we all should in case our representatives are blind-sided.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Absolutely. I remeber years ago Neil Cavuto and some other Fox nazi's saying what waste it was to spend 8 billion dollars on vaccine prep and research. They thought it would be better spent on gagillionaire tax cuts. Of course.
Then someone asked what would happen if there really was a pandemic?
After a moment, they decided that the super wealthy would probably be able to afford vaccination in a very short supply scenario, and suddenly all was right with the world.
I wish I had a tape of that show. Would be very useful and educational when teaching psych students about sociopathic behavior and lack of empathy personality disorder.
Rush Limbaugh is what a smart person thinks a stupid bigot sounds like.
Currently, they are in criticizing the president for making too big a deal of the flu mode. Criticizing him for not doing enough to stop it is scheduled to begin in October when flu season begins.
I saw that on the news tonight. I want to email that thread the other day about how they want to manipulate these hearings if I can find it.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
in #50. I just love living in a state so red that even their necks have that color. Here I am disabled due to a complicated botch of surgery (in Michigan) and without insurance because it takes 2 yrs to get medicare. Had to move back to OK after I was disabled and now I find out that not only do I have to live with all these rethugicans but when I can get health care it won't be worth a shit...
Sorry to hear that. Which Michigan hospital was it?
Rush Limbaugh is what a smart person thinks a stupid bigot sounds like.
It's no problem, they just take more blue state tax revenue(welfare), and keep going. It's time the red states get cut off from getting more tax revenue than they generate. Make them feel the pain of their policies.
Way over the top ..
Rachel Maddow - GOP's only remaining option - Hooliganism at town halls
Democracy is too important to be entrusted to politicians.
Rise Up!
Protest!
or the hooligans?
...ranking 46th. House Speaker Pelosi's California comes in at number 39.
Looking at Texas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma and comparing health care to senate representation, one could almost believe there is a direct correlation between the quality of the senators and the quality of the health care. Coburn and Inhofe could easily be the two worst senators in the US today. Hell, they could be the two worst senators in American history.
However, we have to keep things in perspective. Health care reform is fine, but until we see that long form birth certificate all loyal Americans should instruct their senators and representatives to delay health care legislation. After all, if I'm going to die prematurely because I don't have health insurance (a very real possibility), I sure as hell want to see that birth certificate before I go!
They lack health care for mental illness, and then vote red.
following the links? Every one I've clicked on appears to be dead. is it just me?
There should be a vaccine against Republicanism. Alas, a vaccine would probably not do--it's a mental illness.
Even if Obama WAS born in Kenya... which they can't prove... if EVEN ONE of his parents was an American, then he's an American from birth and it doesn't matter. The GOP is grasping at straws right now, although some of the smarter heads in the Party are trying to figure out how to repackage their decrepid old BS and they're the ones who really scare me...
-Jay Randall, http://www.econocataclysm.com
As a resident of one of those five loser states, I just want to warn you blue staters not to be too smug. All of the recent acts of domestic terrorism have occurred outside of the south. So far. Not holding my breath though.
... Why should we care what the health outcomes are for the red states?? They brought this terrible scourge on themselves, so why not let them suffer. I think it's more humanitary to help those who would help others (blue states) and let those who hate others suffer the consequences (red states). Otherwise you're simply enabling those people to continue their destruction of others. But if they die due to their own stupidity, it solves our problem havig to deal with them:)
... the southern redneck right wing screwballs are just too stupid to know that they are just too stupid.
beyond hypocrisy, beneath contempt.
And dumber than amoebas on crack!
Let's look at several rankings in the following order (as reported by credible organizations):
(a) Healthcare Quality
(b) Education Quality
(c) Family Income
(d) Adult Obesity
Mississippi: 50,48,50,1
Oklahoma: 50,36,43,6
Texas: 49,25,28,14
Arkansas: 48,32,48,10
Louisiana: 46,44,45,8
Nevada: 46,49,14,32
Kentucky: 45,31,47,7
West Virginia: 44,37,49,3
Alabama: 41,45,46,2
Nevada is an interesting case - it went for Obama but has a Republican governor (discredited), one Republican senator (discredited) and one supposedly Democratic senator (despised). So it's more accurately a "purple" state.
What these rankings say to me is that if you live in a Red State, you are almost assuredly (1) plagued by lousy healthcare, (2) plagued by lousy education, (3) doomed to a low income, but (4) at least you have plenty to eat. I could remark that this is the epitome of fat, dumb and happy but that would be unfair to the minority of people there who don't support Republicans.
As others here have pointed out, the South and Middle West are nothing but a drag on the rest of the country. It's time these states were expelled from the Union. The few progressives who are currently living there - like me, for example - can simply move to the Northeast or Pacific Coast.
Expulsion is a better solution than another Civil War, and we are definitely headed to the latter unless the blue states adopt the Calvinist culture of the South. Actually, many Democratic politicians from the North and Midwest seem to be willing to submit to the Confederate crazies, but this strategy isn't really going to solve the long-term political divide and is merely increasing the social tensions in the country. I think it's time we just accepted that we really are two different countries and divided along the natural geographic lines that exist.
You know, Texas went 45% for Obama, and the major urban areas (Dallas, Austin, Houston, El Paso, San Antonio) were largely blue for Obama. The rural areas went for McCain -- unfortunately we've got a lot of rural areas!
The major psychological problem with Texas is the Texas Attitude. The "we'll manage for ourselves, thank you very much" attitude that worked well in the frontier of 150 years ago, but really doesn't work well now. This attitude demands a hands-off approach to family/domestic/children's issues, but no restrictions on property (Texas' castle law, for example). Since Texas was established as the place to go if you wanted to do your own thing, individuality is highly prized, to the point of absurdity. The cowboy attitude of black and white thinking is drawn on "church learning" (in quotes because an awful lot of "interesting" variations on Christianity started in Texas) and individuality (aka, if it doesn't do anything for me, I don't want it, and I don't want to do anything for other folks, since they have to stand on their own two feet).
As you bash (deservedly) the stupid Republican voters in the Southern states, don't forget about us Texas Democrats who've lived with targets on their backs for many, many years!
There's a clear cultural and political divide between the *confederate* states and the rest of the country, one that goes beyond mere party affiliation. The U.S. is really two different countries at this point, and in fact the only thing that's left is to make it official through a Constitutional Amendment.
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"here" is missing the link.
[Thank you. I dropped the team a line-Sitemonitor]
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