I've been saying on Twitter for almost a year now that the V.A. IS single payer health care, and that it doesn't work well. Today, I watched Bob Beckel stutter and stammer on The Five, dredging up every old "Gay Republican" scandal he could think of while debating the V.A.'s abysmal performance. If the Enterprise's deflector array worked as badly as Beckel's....but I digress.
However, when the conversation became "V.A. is single payer, and should be a warning about Obama Care", the sputtering increased, but he stopped the "foot tapping Republican" comments for a second because he thought he had a valid counter point- he reminded everyone that Obamacare isn't single payer and that they were "...comparing apples to oranges". Well, I'd like to remind Mr. Beckel of this (only one of many times he has suggested this over the last year):
I am now asking Bob Beckel to shut his hole. You've been shot down, you've lost the argument. It is time to quit. But if you don't, we LOVE how much of a buffoon you are, and it helps our cause. But remember, as soon as they can make Obamacare single payer, they will. Oh, and by the way, Medicare isn't all that great, either.
Again, it's only apples and oranges right now, Bob. Later, it will be apples and poisoned apples if you get what you've begged for. #TheFive
— Adam Johnson (@awj9009) May 22, 2014
I'm a veteran. The second I could get out of the VA system, I did. Why? Because of wait times. Period. End of story. The only time I got right away service was when I broke my elbow, because it was work comp and they had someone they could pass the bill on to. I don't have all the answers, but I know what doesn't work, and what doesn't work is paying bonuses for improvement without scrutiny of the "improvement" to ensure it's honest. What doesn't work is giving more money and NOT watching to make sure the money doesn't just go to upgrade their national offices.
But Bob Beckel contorting himself to provide duck and cover is helping no one.
AJ
