When Even "The Good Guys" Are Full Of...

I've gotta tell ya... today has been a real stomach churner.

As I noted in my previous post - the one slamming John "The Idiot" McCain - I didn't start out in the best of moods this morning and it seems with each bit of news I read today my mood grows darker.

Case in point:

Has anyone come across the Newsweek Magazine op-d Red Alert penned by Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI)?

Click the link. Read the piece. Take your time... I'll wait.

(OK? Done? Good... let's continue.)

While the op-ed is officially titled "Red Alert," the folks at Newsweek took the liberty of using the following tag-line to draw attention to the piece:

Paul Ryan: Don't Patronize the American People.

Cute! Hey... it caught my attention! That's how the link to the piece was "teased" via RealClearPolitics which is where I first stumbled upon it.

The line was taken out of last paragraph of Congressman Ryan's piece, which in its entirety reads...

I welcome the debate on how to tackle our fiscal crisis—and the larger debate on the proper role of government. But I'd encourage those taking aim at the Roadmap to arm yourselves with a specific alternative. My dad used to say, "Son, you are either part of the solution or part of the problem." (That was usually when I was being part of the problem.) Now we must make the same demand of politicians in Washington: Don't patronize the American people as if they were children—deferring difficult decisions and promising fiscal fantasies. Tell the American people the truth and offer them a choice, and they will do what's right.

The problem is...

(*SIGH*)

...if one is to back up five paragraphs one would find - as I did find - that Ryan himself is bullsh... er... patronizing the American People.

Here... see for yourselves...

For those now under 55, the Roadmap turns Medicare into a health-care program like the one enjoyed by members of Congress.

Like hell!

Ryan's "Roadmap" is a good plan (if you're not familiar with it, follow the above provided link and check it out for yourself) but it's absolute nonsense to claim that either Democrats or Republicans in Washington will or could "give Americans now under 55" (or Americans now 55 or older for that matter!) a healthcare program "like the one enjoyed by Congress."

Ever hear "OAP?" The letters stand for "Office of the Attending Physician."

Well, I just called up Congressman Ryan's office and asked the poor staffer who answered the phone the following, "Hmm... question regarding Congressman Ryan's claim that his Roadmap would provide me access to a healthcare program like the one Mr. Ryan enjoys - specifically... OAP access. Where should I send my check for $503?"

(*SNORT*)

Yeah. You can no doubt imagine the reaction. Hey... I'll give the staffer credit... he at least knew what I was talking about and didn't try to duck the whole "for $503 a year you get what amounts to a concierge medical service rider" issue if you're a Member of Congress or the Supreme Court.

Hey... it's a sweet deal! For instance... check this out:

Through interviews with former employees and members of Congress, as well as extensive document searches, ABC News has learned new details about the services offered by the Office of Attending Physician to members of Congress over the past few years, from regular visits by a consulting chiropractor to on-site physical therapy.

Services offered by the Office of the Attending Physician include physicals and routine examinations, on-site X-rays and lab work, physical therapy and referrals to medical specialists from military hospitals and private medical practices. According to congressional budget records, the office is staffed by at least four Navy doctors as well as at least a dozen medical and X-ray technicians, nurses and a pharmacist.

Sources said when specialists are needed, they are brought to the Capitol, often at no charge to members of Congress.

"If you had, for example, prostate cancer, you would go to one of the centers of excellence for the country, which would be Johns Hopkins. If you had coronary artery disease, we would engage specialists at the Cleveland Clinic. You would go to the best care in the country.

Members of Congress do not pay for the individual services they receive at the OAP, nor do they submit claims through their federal employee health insurance policies. Instead, members pay a flat, annual fee of $503 for all the care they receive. The rest of the cost of their care, sources said, is subsidized by taxpayers.

Last year, Congress appropriated more than $3 million to reimburse the Navy for staff salaries at the office. Next year's budget allocates $3.8 million for the office, including more than half a million dollars to upgrade the Office's radiology suite. Sources said additional money to operate the office is included in the Navy's annual budget.

In 2008, 240 members paid the annual fee, though some sources say congressmen who didn't pay the fee were rarely prevented from using OAP services.

[M]embers of Congress are treated by specialists from military hospitals who visit the OAP at no charge. Congressmen are also eligible for free out-patient care at military facilities in the Washington, D.C., area, including Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Medical Center.

One aspect of the office's operations which remains unclear is just how the annual $503 fee is determined.

Until 1992, OAP services were free to members of Congress. But after former Sen. Harris Wofford of Pennsylvania angered members by introducing a bill to make Congress members pay market rate prices for using the OAP, a compromise was reached.

The Office of the Attending Physician refused to comment on the fee or why it has not changed significantly in 17 years, despite rampant inflation in all other areas of health care costs.

Anyway...

Here's the bottom line: No matter what these bastar... er... "honorable" men and women in Congress promise us, no one - no one who is not independently wealthy or by dint of position or circumstance in the right place at the right time to receive "the healthcare of the rich, famous, and powerful" is going to get "the healthcare of the rich, famous, and powerful" - unless of course one wins a seat in Congress or on the Supreme Court.

Don't bullshit us. That's all we're asking.