"only idiots" disagree with Kerry's healthcare plan

[tonyswife]

Says Teresa Heinz, anyway. I do not wish to turn this into a healthcare debate. There are more than two sides to the healthcare debate, but for Teresa to say people who disagree are "idiots" is absolutely absurd. Can you imagine the uproar if Laura Bush said that people who disagree with Bush are "idiots. If the Kerry camp is serious, they really need to keep Teresa out of the lime light. She has a habit of sticking her foot in her mouth.

Heinz Kerry Bashes Health Care Plan Foes

LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) -- Teresa Heinz Kerry says "only an idiot" would fail to support the health care plan proposed by her husband, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

Kerry's proposal includes health care subsidies for children, the unemployed, small companies and others as well as government assistance to insurers and employers that hold down premiums for workers.

"Only an idiot wouldn't like this," Heinz Kerry told the Intelligencer Journal of Lancaster for a story in its Thursday editions. "Of course, there are idiots."

If Kerry is elected, Heinz Kerry predicted, opponents of his health care plan will be voted out of office. Still, the multimillionaire and philanthropist balked at the idea that she was selling her husband's plan.

"I don't have to sell it - the people want it," she said. "The common man doesn't look at me as some rich witch. I talk about what I see. It has always been so. You judge people not by their pocketbook but by their actions. Walk the walk."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/H/HEINZ_KERRY?SITE=WASPO&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

 

[Maleficent13]

I don't really care for her much. That's all I have to add I guess.

 

[krissy3483]

then call me an idiot i guess

 

[wvrevy]

Wow...she speaks her mind, and it's a bad thing to some people ? You're right, I suppose...she should just shut up and get back into the kitchen Hey it could be worse....We could have a VP candidate telling people that if they don't vote for his ticket, the terrorists will come and kill them
----------------
Gore: Cheney 'Wrong Choice' Remark Sleazy

By JOE MANDAK, Associated Press Writer

PITTSBURGH - Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites)'s remark that "the wrong choice" by voters could result in another terrorist attack was "a sleazy and despicable effort to blackmail voters with fear," Al Gore (news - web sites) said Thursday.


The former vice president criticized the Bush-Cheney administration — which he repeatedly called the Bush-Halliburton administration — for their "failed record" on the economy, health care and the war in Iraq (news - web sites) during a speech before about 200 supporters at the headquarters of the United Steelworkers of America.

"The claim by Bush and Cheney that the American people must give them four more years in office or else be 'hit hard' by another terrorist attack is a sleazy and despicable effort to blackmail voters with fear," Gore said.

"They are going back to the ugliest page in the Republican playbook: fear," he said. "They're not even really trying to convince you to vote for George Bush (news - web sites). Their only hope, they've decided, is to try and make you too afraid to vote for John Kerry (news - web sites). It's the lowest sort of politics imaginable. It is not worthy of a presidential candidate."

Cheney told supporters in Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday that, if Kerry were elected, the United States risked falling back into a "pre-9/11 mind-set" that terrorist attacks are criminal acts that require a reactive approach.

"It's absolutely essential that eight weeks from today, on Nov. 2, we make the right choice, because if we make the wrong choice then the danger is that we'll get hit again and we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States," Cheney said.

Gore joined other Democrats, including Kerry and running mate John Edwards (news - web sites), in condemning Cheney's statement. President Bush (news - web sites) declined to discuss the issue with reporters on Wednesday. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Cheney was talking about differences in how Bush and Kerry would approach the war on terror.

Gore also criticized Bush over Labor Department (news - web sites) statistics showing the country has a net loss of 913,000 jobs since he took office.

"It takes real work doing the wrong things in order to counter the natural momentum of the U.S. economy," he said. "But this president is now, along with Herbert Hoover, the only one to end up giving our country a net loss of jobs" since the Great Depression.

 

[caitycaity]

Can you imagine the uproar if Laura Bush said that people who disagree with Bush are "idiots.

well technically she didn't say people who disagree with Kerry are idiots. just people who disagree with his health plan.

 

[peachgirl]

As soon as she is running for President, I'll be concerned with what she says.


You're right....we should take all women and get them out of the limelight. Nothing's more obnoxious than a woman with an opinion!

While we're at it, let's do the same thing with "vote for Bush or die" Cheney.

 

[tonyswife]

Originally posted by wvrevy
Wow...she speaks her mind, and it's a bad thing to some people ? You're right, I suppose...she should just shut up and get back into the kitchen

Hyperbole. She's a liability to the Kerry camp. It's not a matter of speaking her mind. It's a matter of calling half the American public "idiots"

Hey it could be worse....We could have a VP candidate telling people that if they don't vote for his ticket, the terrorists will come and kill them

Is that a direct quote?

 

[tonyswife]

Originally posted by caitycaity
well technically she didn't say people who disagree with Kerry are idiots. just people who disagree with his health plan.

So? If people disagree with his healthcare plan, they are "idiots" and that's ok?

 

[rcyannacci]

Don't Kerry and Bush give us enough to argue about? Do we really have to drag the spouses into it? It's not thier contest.

 

[TandJ61574]

My teen daughter walked into the room when Teresa Heinz was on T.V.and said, "that lady is scary who is she"?

I told her who she was and she said..."hmmm maybe she should hang around Laura and have lunch with her so Laura could teach her how to be a class act"!

Had to laugh LOL

 

[Maleficent13]

Originally posted by peachgirl
You're right....we should take all women and get them out of the limelight. Nothing's more obnoxious than a woman with an opinion!

I'm a Kerry voter, and I still don't care for her. There's a way to express your opinion and a way not to, for women and men, whether they're running for President, the wife of someone running for President, or just your average everyday person. You can express your opinions very strongly without insulting people.

 

[tonyswife]

Originally posted by peachgirl



You're right....we should take all women and get them out of the limelight. Nothing's more obnoxious than a woman with an opinion!

It's not a matter of her "opinion" It's a matter of her calling people who disagree with her husband's healthcare plan "idiots"

While we're at it, let's do the same thing with "vote for Bush or die" Cheney.

Get back to me when he actually says that.

 

[wvrevy]

Originally posted by tonyswife
Hyperbole. She's a liability to the Kerry camp. It's not a matter of speaking her mind. It's a matter of calling half the American public "idiots"

Half the public ARE idiots I don't really have a problem with that statement.

Originally posted by tonyswife
Is that a direct quote?

The quote was in my post....Did you have a problem reading it for some reason ? Here it is again:

"It's absolutely essential that eight weeks from today, on Nov. 2, we make the right choice, because if we make the wrong choice then the danger is that we'll get hit again and we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States," Cheney said.

 

[tonyswife]

Originally posted by Maleficent13
I'm a Kerry voter, and I still don't care for her. There's a way to express your opinion and a way not to, for women and men, whether they're running for President, the wife of someone running for President, or just your average everyday person. You can express your opinions very strongly without insulting people.

This is exactly it. I'm a half-hearted vote for Bush, IMO six of one half dozen of the other. I just think for anyone debating any political issue, well, it's counter-productive to call the people on the other side of the debate names.

 

[Peter Pirate]

Yuck, yuck, yuck...Laura bush is a dolt and Tersa Kerry is a bright, well educated, self assured person who is not afraid to speak her mind. Was it a smart move? Probably not, but she isn't running for anything.

As for "Can you imagine the uproar if Laura Bush..." No, notreally. The bush camp would either (1) say the quote was taken out of context (2) Blame the Kerry camp for trying to change the focus of the election from real issues to personal attacks or (3) blame Clinton.

 

[tonyswife]

Originally posted by wvrevy
Half the public ARE idiots I don't really have a problem with that statement.

I'm not surprised you have this very condescending opinion. I don't think you;re an "idiot" if you disagree with me, but whatever.

The quote was in my post....Did you have a problem reading it for some reason ? Here it is again:

How is this different from saying Bush has made the world more dangerous?

 

[tonyswife]

Originally posted by Peter Pirate
Yuck, yuck, yuck...Laura bush is a dolt and Tersa Kerry is a bright, well educated, self assured person who is not afraid to speak her mind. Was it a smart move? Probably not, but she isn't running for anything.

Laura Bush is a dolt? Is she not "educated"? Hmpph. Heinz may be bright ans educated, I don't doubt that...but surely such a bright, educated person could make her case without resorting to name calling.

Yes, if Laura Bush had said something like this, the Bush camp would be making excuses, just like the Kerry sympathizers are now doing for Teresa. It's still wrong.

 

[shrubber]

Go figure,
11 posts so far and not one comment about the healthcare plan itself.

 

[Disney Doll]

wvrevy, once again your nasty condescending tone really dilutes any type of message you may have to send.

In response to your extraordinarily sarcastic question about hwehter or not VP Cheney's quote was read the first time, I can only answer that yes, I did read it, and I see no where where it says "vote for Bush or die".

What that is is your interpretation of the quote. Doesn't exactly make it Gospel.

Carry on with diluting your measage with nastiness and condescension.

Sad, sad soul...

 

[rcyannacci]

Originally posted by shrubber
Go figure,
11 posts so far and not one comment about the healthcare plan itself.

Good point. http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/health_care/

I'm particularly interested in and support his position on women's health:

"Improve Women's Health

Nearly one in five women below the age of 65 lack health insurance. As the economy has lagged, states have been forced to cut Medicaid budgets and businesses have been pushed to trim health care coverage and benefits - with women disproportionately affected. John Kerry and John Edwards will ensure that women have access to affordable, quality coverage that provides specialty care and preventive services, as well as wellness check-ups for their children. And they will work to improve the economy and shore up our Social Security and Medicare programs, which predominantly serve America's women."

Just checked the Bush site and didn't note any position on women's health. (edited to add: unless you count his...interesting comments about OBGYN's the other day.)