SCHIP battle heats up

Posted: Thursday, October 18, 2007 12:39 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under: Congress, Democrats, Republicans

From NBC's Mike Viqueira
Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA), a gentleman not known for circumspection in his public commentary, has the following to say today on the House floor during the SCHIP debate: "I'm just amazed that they can't figure out -- the Republicans are worried that they can't pay for insuring an additional 10 million children. They sure don't care about finding $200 billion to fight the illegal war in Iraq."

More Stark: "Where are you going to get that money? Are you going to tell us lies like you're telling us today? Is that how you're going to fund the war? You don't have money to fund the war or children. But you're going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the president's amusement."

These comments may be considered inflammatory by some, including the Republican staffers who brought them to our attention.

Stark is the same congressman who once enraged a female Republican by saying that all she knew about health care she learned from "pillow talk" with her husband, who worked in the industry. On another occasion he publicly questioned the provenance of J.C. Watts' offspring, comments that so enraged the former Oklahoma quarterback that he angrily marched up to Stark on the House floor and had to be restrained from beating the living daylights out of the 70-something liberal. Also, during a gun control debate some years back, Stark suggested that opponents of gun control were phallically challenged. And not too long ago, he called a GOP opponent on the Ways and Means committee a "fruitcake" during committee proceedings.

*** Update *** The National Republican Congressional Committee issued this release in response to Stark's comment today: "Pete Stark and the Democrat leadership owe the American people an apology, the troops and their families an apology, and they should apologize to the millions of children being held political hostage by their party’s desperate attempt to score a political victory instead of providing healthcare for those who need it most."

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Comments

Is there really any argument that Stark's wrong?

The GOP can find all the money in the world for War but have none for American Kids.

Stark Is Right (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 12:51 PM)

At least he's honest!!

Tampa (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 12:54 PM)

MoveOn.org ... here we go again.

--NSMSNBC (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:04 PM)

So true, Pete, so true. Tell em like it is, especially the part about Bush's amuzement. I'm beginning to think Bush is getting some sexual arousal over the deaths he's caused because he's certainly impotent as a leader.

Brian, Cedar Hill, TX (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:05 PM)

right on!! Go Pete Go!! More More

Want to spend our nation into oblivion with war without end? Vote Republican.

nuanced (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:07 PM)

stark's comments certainly highlight the priorities of the current administration, what's sad, nothing can be done about it

MK,MO (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:10 PM)

Wow! a guy in the Congress with big ones!!!
I hope he drives the repukes STARK RAVING MAD!!!!
It is time some one stood up to the buffoon in the WH and revealed the money wasted, the lives WASTED!

hate/bitterness with sprinkes..in a cone please (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:11 PM)

Truth hurts. But the fact of the matter is that the right wing in this country only supports children if they haven't been born yet. Once they're born the Republicans think that children should stop crying, get a job, and support the troops.

John Doe, The Peanut Gallery (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:11 PM)

His hyperbole may irritate the GOP, but so what? They've got Limbaugh, Hannity, etc, etc. Apparently they can dish it out, but can't take it. And he's right!

Ol' Lefty (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:12 PM)

Well, Stark may not be the most tactful man in Congress but he is right on this issue. All of this has been for the President's amusement. I think Bush enjoys scaring the bejesus out of everyone just so he can do whatever it is he wants.

Robert Catalano, Salem, OR (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:16 PM)

Look at the fraud in the existing system! NY is treating ADULTS with money targeted for poor children. And you want to dump more more into the sinkhole!??? Besides, over 75% of the children not covered by the program ARE eligible for healthcare! And let's get one thing straight, because of our laws, NO ONE in this country can be denied healthcare; whether legal or illegal. It's only a matter of WHO pays for it. We're already paying out the whaazooo for all those who are milking the system.
Nobody minds taking care of those who absolutely can't take care of themselves, especially for catasrophic care (we all may need government help sometime), but we need to look carefully at those who LIVE off of others. BEWARE this program! The Dems are lying!

T B Cleveland, OH (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:16 PM)

Stark is an idiot and buffoon. Who is he anyway? That is what I thought. A damn nobody trying to make a name for himself. What a stupid clown.

D-1, CA (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:25 PM)

Too bad we don't have any Dems with balls that are in the Leadership positions. Reid sucks, Pelosi sucks, Leahy sucks. May as well get used to a dictatorship with this kind of representation.

noballsfordems (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:27 PM)

Too bad we don't have any Dems with balls that are in the Leadership positions. Reid sucks, Pelosi sucks, Leahy sucks. May as well get used to a dictatorship with this kind of representation.

noballsfordems (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:27 PM)

The Congressman may be right on the issues but surely his speech is needlessly inflammatory.

Tom at DailyInterview.net (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:28 PM)

Finally, SOMEONE in Congress is telling the truth as it really is!!!Is it inflamatory? You bet! We NEED inflamatory to wake the Congress and the country up to what's REALLY happening! GO STARK!!!

Class Warrior, D.C. (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:28 PM)

Yah! SCHIP veto stands!

Those little pukes can carry a rifle in Iraq if they want health care! And for you whiners who 'll say; "But Iraq will be over by the time they're 15!" there's always Iran.

Sick children sap our national strength and divert need dollars from maining children over seas.

All hail our glorious and brillian leader!

(Another brain dead) Bush lover! (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:33 PM)

jerry/corpus christi texas (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:38 PM)

First of all, you all need to do a little research on a thing called the League of Nations. It was because of the League's failure to do its job resulted in WWII. That's why we went into Iraq. If the UN isn't going to do what it was created for in the first place, then what's the point of being in it, let alone having it exist.

Second, 43,000 Americans die on the road as a result of auto accidents every year, and I don't see or hear anybody standing up to do anything about that. But you certainly take the time to whine about our troops who VOLUNTEERED to sign up for the military in the first place. They knew what was at risk.

Now as for this bill, from what I understand the Democrates wanted to raise the minimum income level to qualify to what the IRS considers a tax bracket that is considered wealthy. So your rich enough to have to pay an additional tax, yet you're considered too poor that you have to have the government pay for your kids health care?? How does that even BEGIN to make sense?

Toby, Nebraska (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:42 PM)

Where will the chickenhawks get their next generation of "volunteers" for their christian crusades in the ME if all the children get sick...oh thats right, bush wants to import them from mexico...lmao

Rick, WS, NC (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:43 PM)

Jerry
Women do have a place in the bedroom - just not in your bedroom !!! - that place is reserved for the wide stancers

U2 (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:46 PM)

Shhhhhhh...That's the sound of nobody caring what you think jerry.

stark silence (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:48 PM)

Hes absolutely correct, they are fruitcakes. More and more republicans are falling out of the closet.

G (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:54 PM)

"But you certainly take the time to whine about our troops who VOLUNTEERED to sign up for the military in the first place. They knew what was at risk. "
Toby, Nebraska (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:42 PM)

Yet one more example of what Republicans REALLY think about the troops. It doesn't matter that those brave men and women volunteered to defend the country (and not necessarily to be pawns in the radical right wingnuts attempts to trigger "armegeddon"). They're day labor to people like Toby, and their deaths (as well as the deaths of millions of children who are uninsured) mean nothing to him.

Remember statements like you just made, sir. They are the reason why the GOP is going the way of the Whigs.

John Doe, The Peanut Gallery (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:55 PM)

D-1, CA is an idiot and buffoon. Who is he anyway? That is what I thought. A damn nobody trying to make a name for himself. What a stupid clown.

mirror mirror on the wall (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 2:03 PM)

Bush et al did lie us into the Iraq war and they should be made to pay for those lies, preferably with their lives. Bush and the rest of his Fascist supporters rely almost solely on lies, indimidation, obfuscation, and misdirection to achieve all of their so-called legislative victories. There will come a time when we wrestle control of this nation away from the current crop of usurpers hell-bent on destroying it from within, and when that time comes they will pay for their crimes.

Jamie, Boston, MA (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 2:04 PM)

TB, have you addressed the BILLIONS in fraud as a result of this "war"? How about the billions in waste and poor workmanship from the no-bid contractors? These amounts pale in comparison to fraud perpetrated by average citizens. Yes, it does exist, but not close to the extent you would like us to believe. Just the money "lost" by the Pentagon alone amounts to $8,000 per person, every one of us in this country. You know, that wasted $ could have paid for health care for a lot of citizens.

While it is true you can get emergency treatment at an ER, if they don't let you die while waiting to get treatment (yes that happens sometimes too), you can't get most routine preventive care, like physicals and blood tests. Wouldn't it be better to have preventive care to head off small medical issues before they get to be emergency problems?

The only adults who might benefit from this program are the full-time college students. My state has passed a proposal to REQUIRE college students to have proof of medical coverage in order to attend college. If this kind of thinking prevails, a lot of youth will be unable to attend school, even if they are smart and receive scholarships, just because their families fall into the category of middle class. The truly poor will always have assistance. Who is going to stand up for the working class who can't afford medical insurance, but are too "rich" for public assistance?

Lisa, Fort Worth TX (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 2:06 PM)

Ya know, it seems almighty strange to me that so many want to just throw more money at this rather than correct the problem that is destroying the health care system.

John (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 2:07 PM)

Apologize, Heck no, Go pete, they diserve a bit of their own snake oil.

John S. Alexander,Edinboro, PA (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 2:09 PM)

The question is valid. Why is there no concern about where the money will come from for the conflict in Iraq? Why are they are looking for 35 billion for health care for children when it there seems to be no problem for several hundred billion for overseas fighting.

I say we do what any Republican would do -- borrow the money instead of spend what we take in. Tax and spend is better than Borrow and Spend; that means someone else has to pay for it later.

S. B. Stein E.B. NJ (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 2:11 PM)

TB - You're right...any program needs to be examined. Fraud needs to be eliminated. We shouldn't throw money down a sinkhole.

OK...now apply that standard to Iraq, and you'll get Stark's point. Republicans are willing to throw money at Iraq but they're not willing to spend an order of magnitude less on additional healthcare.

Any possible fraud in this program is nothing compared to our money wasted on no-bid contracts in Iraq.

Roger, Oakland CA (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 2:17 PM)

TB - No one can be denied emergency, life-saving, necessary health care. So if you had a bullet in your stomach, they would have to treat you. If you have cancer, they don't. I don't really consider that to be health care.

Carrie, Eastern Iowa (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 2:17 PM)

What do I start with? I am an XRay Tech and have done a lot of temp work in my time. The contrast between rich and poor is glaring in this environment. In wealthy communities a child has a family doctor, regular check-ups, immunizations, and a place to call and go if they get sick. Not only that, but the waiting rooms are carpeted and there are toys to play with. If they need it, a referral is made to a specialist.
In poor communities such as New Orleans where I live, there is only ONE walk-in emergency room for ALL the people who don't have insurance. The wait averages 6-8 HOURS, (for real), in a bare room with plastic chairs and not even a water cooler.
Children are seen once by a doctor they will never see again, have no access to further care if they need it except by returning to the emergency room. ER visits cost us ALL a fortune, about 30 times as much as a doctor's office visit. Think how many tanks and guns we could buy with that to kill off the kids who survived the health care system.
By the way, I am a diabetic and have had no care or medication for almost a year because, after waiting 6 hours at a clinic to see a doctor, I was given a prescription I could not afford to fill. I am 54 years old. Can you imagine a parent's dispair when they can't give their child the medicine they need to get well?

Sick in NOLA (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 2:21 PM)

This is the message that will propel the Democrats to a supermajority (veto-proof) in '08. Pete Stark may not be politically correct, but his words pack a punch, in a way that the current Democratic leadership's do not. The GOP will sink on this issue and the war in Iraq. Get middle-class moms mad, and they will turn out in droves to vote (D)on Election Day. The Democrats are already outraising their Republican counterparts in campaign funding by at least 2:1, and this issue will increase the ratio.

kim, crofton, md (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 2:23 PM)

Just what this country needs... the middle class paying for more kids to have health insurance when we have a hard enough time paying for our own kids. I feel bad that kids have to go without, but maybe the parents should have thought twice about bringing kids they couldn't afford into this world. It doesn't take a village to raise a kid. It takes responsible parents.

I don't care what party you're affiliated with. I take great offense at what Statk said concering the President finding amusement in our soldiers getting their heads blown off. Stark would never have said that about Clinton if in a reverse situation. Stark needs to be impeached and called a traitor.

a soldier who hasn't gotten their head blown off (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 2:27 PM)

First Clinton would not have put troops in this situation to begin with. Second people who have a problem with what Starks said but have not responded to where the republicans will get the money for the war. Sorry not for the war to pay their contractor friends...

R. nyc (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 2:40 PM)

"but maybe the parents should have thought twice about bringing kids they couldn't afford into this world."

But it's OK to rush headlong into an illegal and war?

Glad you haven't got your head blown off - the day may come when it starts working. Bush is the traitor.

Bush Sucks (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 2:44 PM)

Rep. Stark is 100% correct. Now if Halliburton were running the SCHIP program, the program would be fully funded without limits. Show you the priority of this administration and gutless Congress

Rob, Mt Laurel, NJ (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 2:50 PM)

Pete Stark is your typical goofy liberal who fell down too many times. All the screaming that people did about Rush Limbaugh supposedly said that was later found not to be true, that is now overtaken by this lamebrain. he really needs to resign.

I guess this proves without a doubt that the democratic party cares nothing about our fighting forces in Iraq. First John Murtha (hard to believe he was once a marine), then John kerry calls our guys stupid (no wonder President Bush whipped his butt in 04) and now this gutless bay area wonder. No wonder California is falling into the sea. For democrats to call our forces cowards and liars and stupid just goes to show how desperate liberals in general have become in trying to secure our defeat. This so-called congressman (don't think he is much of a man), he really needs to go.

jerry/corpus christi texas (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 2:52 PM)

"I feel bad that kids have to go without, but maybe the parents should have thought twice about bringing kids they couldn't afford into this world."

What happens to the kid you would force a girl who was raped to have when abortion is outlawed?

What about the kid who is insured by parents who thought they could afford him, but then gets hit by a car driven by a drunk driver who is driving w/o a license or insurance and the child has such catastrophic injuries, the family's ins runs out?

Or the parents who can't pay their ins premiums cause they're too busy saving up to buy body armor to send to their older child serving in Iraq, or pay for private medical treatment for the one who came home wounded and is waiting two years for the VA to START his treatment?

It seems to me this gov't has all the money in the world when it comes to wars w/o end that cause more problems than they solve, but now AFTER SIX YEARS OF NOT VETOING A SINGLE SPENDING BILL UNDER A REPUBLICAN CONGRESS, Bush is all of a sudden the 'compassionate conservative' again?
I submit he's neither compassionate nor conservative.

cg,ny (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 2:53 PM)

The Democratic Party needs a dozen more Pete Starks.
Beorge Bush LIED about Iraq.
Why aren't our candidates saying this ?
Why isn't the Congressional leadership saying this ?

Pete Stark (a SF Bay Area progressive) has been a great congressman for years.

Nancy Pelosi has been a disappointment as Majority Leader !!
Could she and the Democrats give in ANY MORE to the crooked President ?
Pete Stark needs to replace Pelosi or Sen. Feinstein !!

Let's get some real leadership !!

Sierra, SF (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 3:00 PM)

Hey Jerry, Like our fearless leader who said about his wife," well she makes a good lump in the mattress he he". TB Cleveland, you can either help those at home that are dead beats or those 4000 mile away. I think I'll choose those here .At least they may be able to fight in the future instead of feeding and housing those 4000 miles away to invade and fight us in the future! As far as SCHIPs, I think it’s funny as hell old G.W.B. vetoed the bill then gets on national T.V. and blasts the dem. congress for not stepping up the process on insurance for the children. Ha Ha Ha he is definitely feeding off the misery of others, look at what he’s done with the soldiers.

Jeffersonian Don (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 3:00 PM)

When you talk about an illegal war, lies and blowing up innocent people:
Are you talking about the illegal attack on 911 in New York killing 3000 innocent people?
Are you talking about Saddams lies to the UN to cover his illegal weapons stockpiles?
Are you talking about the Al-Qaeda blowing up peace-keeping Marines & innocent people with roadside bombs?
I hope so, otherwise it sounds like you hate America and give our enemies a free pass on the evil they started even before 911.

John G, Tennessee Valley (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 3:03 PM)

I did a little reading about Pete Stark:

he doesn't work and play well with others
Thinks a woman's place is in the bedroom
he is a racist
the only job he seems to have ever held is congress
had his wife on his payroll
he hates the military (of course, he's from california)

in other words, the perfect liberal

jerry/corpus christi texas (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 3:06 PM)

hey soldier who's paying for your kids healthcare?

Jerr/Corpus Christy Texas (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 3:07 PM)

It doesn't matter that those brave men and women volunteered to defend the country (and not necessarily to be pawns in the radical right wingnuts attempts to trigger "armegeddon").(Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 1:55 PM)

How does that not matter John Doe? If someone jumps out of a plane and the parachute fails to open, do we blame the pilot? We think to ourselves, poor fella, but hey...HE'S JUMPING OUT OF A PLANE. With some jobs/activities there comes risk. Our soldiers are NOT day labor people to me and their deaths do mean something to me. How dare you even begin to belittle the job they do. Their deaths, although sad, mean that there are people willing to lay down their life so that good can prevail!

Toby, Nebraska (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 3:08 PM)

I have an idea for how to pay for SCHIP. What do you say we quit the Iraq war 3 weeks early. We'll have the entire amount of money the Dems are requesting and some left over. Soldier, thanks for your service to the nation. I take issue with your assertion that only irresponsible parents have problems with insurance. My job was eliminated and I spent 5 1/2 months without work, and a total of 18 months with my family not covered due to preexisting conditions clauses. It can happen to anyone under our present system and denying that is just washing our hands of the situation.

John B, Des Moines, IA (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 3:16 PM)

John G, Tennessee Valley / chief, iraq had nothing to do with 911

MK,MO (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 3:22 PM)

Bless the Troops and the Children! The fact of the matter is that the Government wants to pay for the healthcare by increasing the tobacco tax.

The majority of smokers are the low income!

Isn't this the group that they want to help?

The people supporting this bill are not going to pay for it. If all Americans are truly concerned about the children let's all pay for the healthcare.

We'll see how much support it gets then!

P.S. I am not a smoker!

Santonio, Jackson, MS (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 3:22 PM)

The only children that Pete Stark cares about are the ones he commits sex-crimes against.

Truthteller Washington DC (Sent Thursday, October 18, 2007 3:24 PM)

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