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TNN Exclusive: RN’s Health Care Plan More Comprehensive Than Obama’s

March 25, 2010 by Ben Stein | Filed Under Domestic issues 

All eyes have been on Washington in the past year as the parties debated President Barack Obama’s shifting versions of national health care. On Tuesday, after a highly questionable series of parliamentary maneuvers, President Obama signed into “law” his health care plan.

With some considerable reason, he noted that health care for all is an idea whose time has come. (His plan still leaves more than 20 million not insured, but let that be.) And, with some justification, most of the media rejoiced that national health care had arrived for people with low incomes, with pre-existing conditions, without jobs, with impoverished employers.

To call Barack Obama’s response to the passage (however questionably executed ) of this bill “triumphalist” is like calling Mount Everest “tall.”

But among the glorying, there was little or no mention of my former boss, Richard M. Nixon, and this was a monstrous wrong, one of an innumerable number of wrongs directed at Mr. Nixon.

The flat truth is that in February 1974, with the hounds of hell baying at him about Watergate, with a national trial by shortage under way after the Arab Oil Embargo, with the economy in extremely rocky shape, and with large Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress, Republican Richard M. Nixon submitted to Congress a national health care bill in many ways more comprehensive than what Mr. Obama achieved.

Mr. Nixon’s health care plan would have covered all employed people by giving combined state and federal subsidies to employers. It would have covered the poor and the unemployed by much larger subsidies. It would have encouraged health maintenance organizations. It would have banned exclusions for pre-existing conditions and not allowed limits on spending for each insured.

I know a bit about this because I, your humble servant, as a 29-year-old speech writer, wrote the message to Congress sending up the bill.

In many ways, the bill was far more “socialist” than what Mr. Obama has proposed. It certainly involved a far larger swath of state and federal government power over health care. Please remember that this was 36 years ago, when middle-class Americans still had some slight faith that government was on their side.

My point is not whether or not Mr. Nixon’s plan was better than Mr. Obama’s. In fact, they have many points in common.

My only point is that if you want to call someone a visionary, if you want to call someone compassionate, if you want to note that someone was a foe of inequality and a friend to mercy, think of Richard Nixon, with a host of problems of his own the likes of which Mr. Obama cannot imagine, reaching out to the poor and the uninsured to help.

The plan, of course, was killed dead by the Democrats, led by Edward Kennedy, who later regretted what he had done. Still, attention must be paid to a prophet without honor in his own land.



Comments

12 Responses to “TNN Exclusive: RN’s Health Care Plan More Comprehensive Than Obama’s”

  1. David Emig on March 25th, 2010 10:55 am

    And it will. Generous props to you, sir. Meeting you at the pre-dinner for the library opening was one of the highlights of the event for me. I still have all of my Checkers issues, and would be pleased to email the pdfs at some point to you.

    As for your post, it might also be interesting to note that Senator Kennedy almost killed health care legislation twice. Once during the Nixon Administration, and again as a aftermath to his death. Sen Kennedy’s leadership and 60th vote was sorely missed. Personally, I’m unclear why health care didn’t get done last spring, when the Democrats had majorities in both houses, and a filibuster proof majority in the Senate.

  2. Ron Gordon on March 25th, 2010 12:19 pm

    This is just another example of why, along with Harry Truman, Richard Nixon should go down as one of the 2 greatest presidents of the 20th century; we sure need him now.

  3. DAVID PHILLIPS on March 26th, 2010 2:20 am

    BEN STEIN’s most timely analysis is welcomed, yet somehow not surprising.

    “The Process” [sic.] – on Capitol Hill in both Democrat-controlled houses of Congress and with a fawning White House looking on IN PRIVATE – makes Baron von Bismarck’s “sausage-making machine” in law-making seem somehow trite!

    The Liberal Elites are now attempting to type-cast opponents as ne’r-do-well Red Necks and beer-guzzling Bubbas (sic.)!!

    Frankly, I prefer a low-cost Rhine Wine — at discount from a Sam’s Store or Wal-Mart outlet — bottled by the family of “A [late] Little Old Wine Maker and Drinker” from Northern CA in these lean days and weeks.

  4. DAVID PHILLIPS on March 26th, 2010 2:22 am

    FOR my partian ally “RON GORDON” in his above second post = “DITTO”! ;-)

  5. DAVID PHILLIPS on March 26th, 2010 2:23 am

    THAT IS “… PARTISAN ally … “, vice ‘partian ally’!!!!!

  6. DAVID PHILLIPS on March 26th, 2010 2:45 am

    MEANWHILE IN “The Beehive State” of UTAH = BOTH INCUMBENT REPUBLICAN U. S. Senators are failing to distinguish themselves in the partisan legislative lists.

    On a key issue offered by Senator DeMINT for a Senate MORATORIUM on ‘ear-marks’ for JUST ONE YEAR — matching the House Republicans VOLUNTARY MORATORIUM for that time — here’s how it “went down”!

    ORRIN HATCH’s Washington, DC staff put out word — IN TIME for dinner news in the Mountain Daylight Time Zone — that he would support DeMINT.

    YET when the roll call was taken, HATCH VOTED “NAY”!

    We have ‘the paper trail’ on that vote, folks! It’s now etched in stone, too!

    BOB BENNETT – in a pitched, highly contested GOP primary to retain his seat – quite amazingly “DID NOT VOTE”!

    BENNETT’s precise whereabouts at time of the vote = unknown!

    * * * * *

    It should be noted = That BOB BENNETT [R- UT] recently hired former House Speaker NEWT GINGRICH “for an image make-over”!

    With likely Republican voters — reported by “The Salt Lake Tribune” – Page One story on Thursday – March 25th — NEWT’s “help” is failing quite miserably & apparently rather expensively, too, THANK YOU !

    * * * * *

    AND HOW IS “The GOP ESTABLISHMENT” reacting? Not well, it seems!

    Litmus tests — like a Crusader’s gauntlet — are being tossed about on “who is a REAL conservative”!

    NOTABLY = These have been seeming ‘non-negotiables’ thrown down by the likes of a self-described, folksy gent named “HUCK”- A-BEE [as in the Samuel Clements - 'Mark Twain' (pseud.) fictional character] on his week- end Fox News television program.

    At a time when Republicans should be[!] BUILDING BRIDGES, the GOP seems He*ll Bent on BURNING{!} THEM — just AS FAST AS “Tea Party activists” can build NEW CONSERVATIVE bridges to a better world, after this year’s ‘off-year’ elections!

    * * * * *

    THIS ‘New Political PARADYM’ IS UN-LIKE ANYTHING I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED during MY 70 YEARS OF OBSERVING or commenting upon the National Body Politic!

    What about you???

  7. DAVID PHILLIPS on March 26th, 2010 2:57 am

    “THIS JUST IN …” from the McClatchy News Service’s Washington DC Bureau =

    GOP Senatorial Candidate TOM CAMPBELL has upped Senator DeMINT’s one year moratorium – with his offer to HAVE ABSOLUTELY “NO ear-marks”[!!] — while serving in office, if elected.

    * * * * *

    In NEVADA = Non-establishment Republican US Senate candidate — for Harry Reid’s upper house seat — leads the Nevada GOP preferred candidate +AND+ Harry Reid in any match-up for that office!

    WITHIN JUST WEEKS = Harry Reid’s own approval rating is NOW only 8% – down from 30% (before President Obama’s visit to Las Vegas to embrace Harry’s re-election campaign) — THEN also down from 17% (per Mason-Dixon polling – AFTER the President’s “embrace”)!

    House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s approval rating now is at ONLY 11%! WHICH CONTRASTS MARKEDLY from a mis-leading, false-optimistic front put up to Jim Lehrer on “The NewsHour” (PBS-TV on Thursday night, March 25th]!

    ABSOLUTELY AMAZING what “a dis-connected” world she now lives in!!!

    * * * * *

    SOURCE IS WATCH for timely updates = LOU DOBB’s e- News-Letters.

  8. DAVID PHILLIPS on March 28th, 2010 12:56 am

    THANKS TO THE ANONYMOUS POSTER WHO ADDED TWO LINKS ABOVE!

    AND THANKS, once more to BEN STEIN. himself – for stimulating this blog!

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