Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

The Daily Caller's Faux Health Reform Scandal

Sarah Palin calls it "unflippingbelievable." Tim Pawlenty declares that it's "crony politics." And Newt Gingrich claims that it "presents an enormous danger for corruption."

These and other top Republicans have been piling on the Obama administration lately for what has snowballed into a major scandal on the right—what GOPers charge is evidence of cronyism and dirty dealing involving Obama's signature health care reform law.

The controversy boils down to this: As the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has gone into effect, the Obama administration has exempted certain businesses, states, and insurance companies from complying with the law, often temporarily. Republicans view these waivers as proof that Democrats are granting favors to political allies, pointing, among other things, to a disproportionate number of exemptions granted to businesses in House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's district.
The GOP's latest round of political attacks has emerged from a series of articles published by Tucker Carlson's Daily Caller last month. But on closer examination, the web site's allegations of favoritism don't hold up.

One the Caller's articles, titled "AARP to Receive ObamaCare Break," reported in late May that the Obama administration had exempted a special insurance policy sold by the American Association of Retired Persons, the senior citizens' advocacy group, from strict new insurance regulations. The AARP—an Obama ally and fierce defender of the ACA—is among the groups that sell supplemental insurance policies to Medicare participants, known as "Medigap policies."

Full Article
Source: Mother Jones 

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