The Republican Prescription Drug Ripoff and Scam the American People Plan of 2003

I caught a news segment on the Republican's new Medicare prescription drug plan on TV Sunday. Most of the segment dealt with many elderly complaining about the difficulties of understanding it but there were also a number of complaints about the wasteful amount of money 'Congress' has laid out for this new prescription drug benefit. Let's be perfectly clear here about one thing. The Medicare prescription drug plan that George W. Bush crammed down America's throat back in late 2003, is ALL Republican. No revisionist bullshit on who gave us this prescription drug plan. No, no, sorry Granny, this is Bush's and the Republicans' prescription drug plan. You know, the one where the administration lied their way through Congress by low-balling what the real cost would be? Presented to Congress at $395 billion before the vote, but then suddenly $523 billion after the vote, then $724 billion and now projected to cost over $1.3 trillion over the next 10 years. Do you know why the cost of the Republican plan is so high? It's because Bush and the Republicans gave a sweetheart deal to the pharmaceutical companies that just so happen to contribute close to 70% of their campaign contributions to Republicans. A sweetheart deal by writing into the law that the government couldn't negotiate wholesale pricing for the drugs purchased through the plan. So, you have doubts that it's a 'Republican' prescription drug plan? Well, let's review just how Republican it actually is; The vote in the Senate was 54-44. Forty-three Republican Senators voted 'yes', 11 Democrats voted 'yes'. Thirty-four Democrat Senators voted 'no', nine Republicans voted 'no', and Jim Jeffords, an Independent from Vermont, voted 'no'. The vote in the House was 220-215. Of the 220 'yes' votes, 204 were Republicans. Of the 215 'no' votes, 189 were Democrats. Twenty-five Republicans, and Bernie Sanders, an Independent, voted 'no'. Sixteen Democrats voted 'yes'. In total, in the House and Senate combined, 91% of the Republicans voted 'yes' and 89% of the Democrats voted 'no'. So, when you refer to this wonderful piece of legislation over the next 10 years, when the actual cost ends up actually being $2 trillion or more, just remember who gave it to you...... Suckers!