Will Republicans ever contribute good ideas instead of just bing Obstructionists?

Actually they're petitioning to end one day of service.

''

Regulations were removed by Clinton so that everyone could acheive "the american dream"

I think honestly we are just about where the Democrats want us to be. In a crunch and looking to the government for help. I would hazard a guess that the current economic climate is acutally beneficial to him in as far as pushing nationalized healthcare, radically increased governmental subsidies to the poor, etc.

Kind of like the song, I want you to want me, I need you to need me...this current overhyped economic "crisis" allows him to attract more people to the governmental teat.

Did you not notice the rebound that stocks had when the news was all about the swine flu? Let the market correct itself and stop crying Great Depression to puch toward new and dangerous legislation and you may be surprised how well Americans can solve this crisis themselves.

~faith,
Timothy.

Gov't shackles are reason enough to be "obstructionist". 'No' is actually a very healthy word.

~faith,
Timothy.

For those posters who believe that Republicans never contribute workable ideas or solutions, and only "obstruct"...

The GOP's Health-Care Alternative

Republican congressional leaders are finally offering a clear alternative to the health-reform plans being developed by the White House and Democrats in Congress. The goals and the rhetoric of both sides are remarkably similar: cover the uninsured, allow people to keep the coverage they have, provide more choices of affordable health insurance, and rein in health costs. But their policy prescriptions are remarkably different....
Four Republicans in Congress -- Sens. Tom Coburn (Oklahoma) and Richard Burr (North Carolina) and Reps. Paul Ryan (Wisconsin) and Devin Nunes (California) -- will today introduce a bill that moves away from federal centralization. Aptly called the Patients' Choice Act, it provides a path to universal coverage by redirecting current subsidies for health insurance to individuals. It also provides a new safety net that guarantees access to insurance for those with pre-existing conditions.

The nexus of their plan is redirecting the $300 billion annual tax subsidy for employment-based health insurance to individuals in the form of refundable, advanceable tax credits. Families would get $5,700 a year and individuals $2,300 to buy insurance and invest in Health Savings Accounts.

Low-income Americans would get a supplemental debit card of up to $5,000 to help them purchase insurance and pay out-of-pocket costs. They would have an incentive to spend wisely since up to one-fourth of any unspent money in the accounts could be rolled over to the next year. The combination of the refundable tax credit and debit card gives lower-income Americans a way out of the Medicaid ghetto so they can have the dignity of private insurance.

The great majority of Americans with job-based health insurance would see little more than a bookkeeping change with the Patients' Choice plan. But implicit in the policy is the acknowledgment that our system of tying health insurance to the workplace is not working for upwards of 45 million uninsured Americans....

Democrats are fretting over how to pay for their plans, which early estimates peg at $1.5 trillion or more over 10 years. Economists at a recent Senate Finance Committee roundtable unanimously supported limiting the virtually invisible $300 billion tax subsidy that workers receive when they get health insurance through their employers. Even Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.) said he feels like Willie Sutton: Congress must look at redirecting at least some of this huge subsidy because "that's where the money is."...

While many Americans are fed up with private insurance, opinion polls consistently show a majority think government-controlled health care would be worse. There are problems in the private insurance market, and the Republican plan takes steps that can help.

States could provide one-stop insurance shopping through new Health Care Exchanges rather than giving the federal government control, as most Democratic plans would do. And it frees up Medicaid money and provides added resources to the states to target additional help to those with disabilities and low incomes. It also calls for auto-enrollment to expand insurance coverage: People will have many options and opportunities to select insurance, but if they don't make an active choice they can be automatically enrolled in private policies financed by the tax credit....

full piece: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124277551107536875.html

Will Republicans ever contribute good ideas instead of just bing Obstructionists?by Agrippa

You initiated a thread charging that Republicans fail to contribute meaningful input and act simply to obstruct the Democrat agenda.

I posted an item that clearly disputes your assertion, and you attack.

I'm not sure why you felt the need to boldly proclaim that the item I linked is an opinion piece, as it is clearly indicated as such when one clicks on the link provided to read it. I never held it up as an unbiased, 2-sided presentation of both the Democrat and Republican health plans. It is what it is, which is a brief, easy-to-understand and readable explanation of the Republican plan for healthcare reform.

Based upon your response to the post, I conclude that you are not genuinely interested in hearing the proposals of the Repblican Party, which is fine, but begs these questions: Why start the thread in the first place? and Who is obstructing now?

Quote from Agrippa above, "Let me know when this thread becomes mature again."

So what if it's an op-ed from the WSJ? What would you call the opening post in this thread? An unbiased objective observation?

The post that was shared (and you subsequently attempted to attack) seems to fit well with the theme with which you started this thread.