Putting lipstick on the Obamacare pig

In a Sharon Lem’s report “Nursing a grievance” (Sun Media, Aug.10, 2009), Ontario Liberal Health Minister David Caplan is quoted saying: "Today, 800,000 Ontarians who didn't have a family health-care provider in 2003, have one. We have lowered wait times for key surgeries and set ambitious emergency room wait time target."

Setting ambitious targets is not the same thing as actually meeting real targets, Mr. DaCap. And, access to a health care waiting list – courtesy of your Liberal-run health monopoly – is not the same thing as actual health CARE. This is an incompetent Liberal spouting bullshit in the hopes that someone believes him. Hey, BTW, DaCap; the eHealth scandal is NOT an “ALLEGATION” -it's a FACT!

Funny, though, how DaCap can't cite how many Ontarians his Liberal government sent to the United States for healthcare since 2003!!

Interesting to see Obama's references to Canada's health care system in Andrew Mayeda's report, "Obama plays down Buy U.S. policies" (National Post, Aug11, 2009):

"Barack Obama, the U. S. President, yesterday downplayed the threat to Canadians posed by Buy American policies while rejecting the notion Canada should be seen as a health-care "bogeyman."

The Buy American policy, which requires U. S. suppliers use American-made materials in economic-recovery projects, has cast a chill over Canadian exporters and provoked fears of U. S. protectionism.

But as he wrapped up a summit here yesterday with Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister, and Felipe Calderon, the Mexican President, Mr. Obama called for cooler heads.

"It's important to keep it in perspective that, in fact, we have not seen some sweeping steps towards protectionism," he said at the close of the two-day summit.

He noted the Buy American policy has so far only been put into law in his US$787-billion stimulus bill, although other legislation working its way through Congress contains similar provisions. He also said the policy does not run afoul of his country's obligations as a member of the World Trade Organization.

Meanwhile, the President tried to defuse controversy over the portrayal of Canada's public health-care system by opponents of his administration's health reforms.

In a recent television commercial sponsored by a conservative U. S. lobby group, an Ontario woman describes how she travelled to an Arizona clinic for brain surgery because of long wait times in her home province.

"I suspect that you Canadians will continue to get dragged in by those who oppose reform, even though I've said nothing about Canadian health care," the President said.

"I don't find Canadians particularly scary, but I guess some of the opponents of reform think they make a good boogeyman."

Mr. Obama has been pushing Congress to pass a healthcare reform bill that would require all Americans to obtain health insurance.

However, the President emphasized that the new model that emerges will be "uniquely American."

"I said that the Canadian model works for Canada, it would not work for the United States. In part, simply because we've evolved differently," he said.

Mr. Harper, who lambasted the Canadian public healthcare system before becoming prime minister, steered clear of the issue,

"As you know, Canadians support their health-care system. As for the rest of this question, my only answer is that this is an American debate, and a responsibility of the provinces."

On the Buy American front, he said he was "happy" to see the provinces and territories pledge last week to support the federal government's efforts to fight protectionism.

The premiers backed the concept of a procurement agreement with the United States in which the provinces would agree not to retaliate in exchange for an exemption from Washington.

But Mr. Harper also made it clear negotiations with the Americans are still under way, suggesting the next opportunity for a breakthrough could come when he makes his first official visit to the Obama White House on Sept. 16.

"Our respective trade ministers have been talking, officials are talking, and I anticipate that President Obama and I will be discussing this at greater length in our upcoming meetings," the Prime Minister said."

*

When Obama tells us what he thinks we should "keep in perspective", we should remember that Obama already threatened to "hammer" Canada over NAFTA during the Ohio primaries, when he also said "I don't think NAFTA has been good for America -and I never have."
(see: http://rightinniagara.blogspot.com/2008/02/dangerous-us-democrats-want-to-hammer.html; see:http://rightinniagara.blogspot.com/2008/02/obama-blames-canada-and-nafta-for-ohio.html)

When it comes to health care, Canadians do indeed 'Buy American': we have to, because healthcare is often unavailable when needed in our single-payer provinces. Let's 'hope' that Obama doesn't 'change' this for the worse.
Obama would be disingenuous if he blithely ignored what single-payer has done in Canada - and if he blithely ignored that many in his Democrat party STILL shill for Canadian-style single-payer!
Many ignorant Americans don't even believe that Canadians are sent from our single-payer Utopia to the U.S. for treatment that can't be found at home. Are these people -real victims of failed single-payer ideology - 'boogeymen' to Democrats; to be marginalized, demonized, disparaged, and dismissed?
Obama says he 'doesn't find Canadians particularly scary' - what's that supposed to mean? Why should he find us scary? It's our single-payer monopolism which IS scary - and many Canadians are seeking "health care reform" here too: Obama doesn't have a monopoly on that concept.
Shona Holmes' case symbolizes what many DON'T WANT in Canada -no-choice, single-payer, state-run, unaccountable health monopolism. We need competition, not single-payer monopolism, and we are seeking reforms towards a hybrid-private parallel system. Obama is being coy when he claims our single-payer model works. Chaoulli affirmed it didn't in Quebec. And Holmes is up next in Ontario.
Many Canadians - those same ones, by the way, who also love to smugly deride Americans as scary, are frankly shocked at Obama's claim that he isn't emulating their own supposedly-superior system! What an affront!
As to Obama's claims that he's going to come up with something that's "uniquely American", we'll just have to wait and see; it might be that this 'something unique' turns out to be a wasted-opportunity version of single-payer-in-disguise... or... 'Putting lipstick on pig', as Obama once said.

Here's an article ("High Priced Pain: What To Expect From a Single Payer Health Care System", by Kevin C. Fleming, written Sept.22, 2006 and still relevant today) which single-payer-pushing Demotards will not enjoy reading:

http://www.heritage.org/research/healthcare/bg1973.cfm

Feel free to deride Fleming and Shona Holmes, while kissing Tommy Douglas's dead socialist ass.