Republican Argument against Public Healthcare

The Republican argument against a public health care option seems to be this:

A public option will attract many people away from private insurance, this will force private insurers to raise their prices, and government by its nature can overpower the private insurers and will run everyone else out of business, leaving us with only public health care.

But there's a problem with this. First, lets assume people who DON'T have private health insurance can't afford it or at least don't think they can. So they may or may not go to the public option. Either way, the net effect on private insurers of them getting insurance from the government is minimal.

Now, if other people start to leave private health insurance for the public option and it causes the private health insurers' prices to rise for everyone else they insure (because they have less money coming in) -- it seems to me that the Republicans are saying prices can essentially go no where but up. I say this because, are they not the ones who preach how competition and free markets LOWER prices and makes everything more efficient? If a cheaper option doesn't force them to lower prices, what the hell will, a more expensive one?

Could there be some correlation between the fact that our health care here costs more than anywhere in the world and we are the only industrial country in the world without a public option of some kind? Just throwing crazy ideas out there... And why would the government's prices be so low when all we hear about government is how INEFFICIENT it is? It seems Republican's real faith in the market is rather thin to say the least -- but then free markets as we know, are to exist in reality, exclusively for the poor.

Desperate Times Make True Colors Bleed

Yep, its gotten dirty. Palin is bringing up Ayres, people in the audience are screaming about Obama, "terrorist!" and even "kill him!" Meanwhile they are making allegations that he is possibly getting money from shady organizations outside of the US. And his middle name Hussein is used almost daily at McCain events.

It's getting ugly, this is what McCain has decided to focus on while Rome burns, and the thing is I don't think he has any choice. This is how Republicans have won elections over the past several years as they have painted themselves into a corner as a non-diverse party.

Of course, this is all done under the cover, as Palin puts it, to say that the media needs to ask more questions of Obama. We don't really know the "real" Obama, even after campaigning for two years.

Irony was never a Republican strong suit, but this makes my head hurt. I only WISH the media were ALLOWED to ask Palin the "tough questions," instead the campaign has essentially said she won't be having anymore interviews except with FOX News.

The most recent interview with this ditz was again with Sean Hannity, and this time Daddy...I mean McCain was sitting there with her.

If we don't know the "real" Obama after two years, and interview after interview, we sure as hell don't know this woman who can barely speak when she does get an interview.

But this is all beside the point. The fact is, the Ayres connection COULD be a real issue, but why now? Does the fact that it is just being brought up not appear as blatantly desperate? If McCain really cares about Obama having a "tie" with a "terrorist" shouldn't he have brought this up months ago or does he just not care about the American people that much, unless his poll numbers drop?