California Republicans Speak Truth to Power

Well, well, well. It's always a glorious day in a socialist paradise when the lefties show their tyrannical hand and try to suppress speech. They want Americans to have accessibility to healthcare, but not to any information about the insurance they are forcing millions to purchase. In order to arm Californians with accurate information about the California Healthcare Exchange, the California Republican Assembly launched a website this past August called CoveringHealthcareCA.com -- clearly setting forth what you have to do, the date by which you have to do it and the consequences if you don't. Unquestionably a resource for the public, the home page is titled "Helping You Navigate Federal Health Care Changes," there is link to the California Exchange, and a comprehensive FAQ section with answers to questions like why it is more expensive to buy health insurance, what happens if you don't purchase insurance, what if you are already covered, and whether your financial and medical information will be kept confidential, etc. There is a separate page on taxes, one specifically addressing seniors and one for youth. Basically, the site takes what's been shrouded in thousands of pages of legislation and regulations, and explains it to the general population.

Can you imagine anything more heinous? Yes, "fake" websites that compete with the authentic CoveredCA.com and set out to defraud consumers with domain names that deceptively draw them in. Unsuspecting consumers end up mistakenly providing their social security numbers to identity thieves masquerading as government thieves, only to find out one day that they don't have medical insurance. Their lives will unravel into the nightmare Jason Bateman goofily experiences in Identity Thief. Only, it's not funny at all. Fortunately, about ten real "fake" sites have been removed from the web by California's Attorney General, Kamala Harris, one of the few things she has done that we can applaud. But the Republican site is not one of the fakes and therefore has not been removed. It provides clear, concise, truthful information and does not peddle false hopes. Nor does it attempt to enroll anyone for the purpose of defrauding them, posing as the real site. Unlike healthcare.gov, it reveals costs and liabilities before customers are forced to enter all of their personal information -- removing the veil of secrecy "the most transparent administration ever" has placed over the entire process. But the ObamaZombies in the press and at MoveOn.org are in a panic now that there is a website that lays out the truth and consequences of enrolling in the California Exchange. To further block the facts from seeping out, MoveOn.org and their media pals are piggybacking off of the hullaballoo surrounding the shutdown of the fake sites -- miscasting the Republican site as another fake and petitioning to have the government remove it from the internet. Here's a gander at some of the headlines supporting this effort: ABC News: California Republicans Defend Fake Obamacare Site HuffPo: Californiia Republicans Direct Constituents to Misleading Obamacare 'Resource Guide' thinkprogress.org: The Fake ObamacareSite That is Trying to Trick Californians Yahoo 'News': My personal favorite. Notice "resource," which it indisputably is, is in quotes but "fake," which it clearly is not, is not. California Republicans Send Voters to a Fake Obamacare 'Resource' Site Business Insider: Republicans Trick Californians with Fake Healthcare Site Daily Kos: California GOP Creates Fake Healthcare Website to Discourage Constituents from Obtaining Insurance HuffPo quotes California Republican Assemblywoman Connie Conway, saying: "Hard-working Californians have serious questions about how the new federal health care mandate will affect them and they are looking to lawmakers for answers." Connie gets it. When lawmakers pass legislation that affects the average Joe, they are obligated to explain what the law requires of him. Average Joes don't have the time or inclination to read thousands of pages of droll Washingtonspeak. Add to that the fine print for California, which can be viewed here, and even the nerdiest law student's eyes glaze over. But HuffPo's Molly Reilly is miffed that the sections for seniors and the youth provide "details on what the new law means for each group." Good Golly, Miss Molly. She's really upset that the people affected by the law might actually find out what the law is and its implications for them in the real world, not her utopian paradise where information is withheld. She is worried because "[t]hose details are often drawn from Republican talking points on the law's drawbacks." OMG. For example: Seniors are counseled that "they may not see changes immediately to their benefits or coverage" but "[d]own the line... the erosion and accessibility of care may become a problem." And "Young Adults" will "end up paying for much of federal health care reform by subsidizing the cost of sicker people, or by paying a tax penalty." Not only are both statements objectively correct, but they are facts oft repeated by Democrats too numerous to list. But this cannot stand for today's utopian-wannabe's. When "Republican talking points" mirror "objective facts" the only way Miss Molly and her fellow travelers can continue to pull the wool over everyone's eyes, is to pull the site that bears the truth. Poof. China? Cuba? Venezuela, anyone? The press and MoveOn aren't the only players who are horrified that the truth might get out. Rep. Janice Hahn (D-California) is "appalled by the so-called civil servants who have stooped to confusing and misleading Californians who are trying to get health insurance." Apparently, she missed the memo in Civics Class that civil servants are supposed to impart information to the public, especially about confusing and misleading laws they crafted that impact the citizenry. Their job isn't to snooker individuals into buying something they don't want that costs more and offers less than they had in the free market. But, when push comes to shove, if they have to withhold facts to make that happen, the ends justify the means. If anything, the Republican site unmuddies the ACA's muddy waters for the millions of Californians who are confused by the swirl of lies coming from the president and the spin from all of the stakeholders, like this, from Rep. Hahn: The unhelpful website seems to be little more than an attempt by Affordable Care Act opponents to undermine the law's success and prevent people who need health coverage from getting it. I urge all Californians looking for affordable health care to visit CoveredCA.com and be on the lookout for fake sites. And there you have it. Republicans are using a fake site (which it isn't) to undermine the law's success (of which there isn't any) and preventing people from getting health coverage (which they can't access because of a derailed, Democrat-controlled website and, when they can log on, they refuse to enroll after discovering that ObamaCare isn't all it was cracked up to be). Touché to the California Republican Assembly for going on offense and refusing to back down. Let them continue to speak truth to power and fight this socialist mob on behalf of the People. MoveOn.org is homing in on the 25,000 signatures they need. Contact Assembly Minority Leader Connie Conway and express your support for this effort and encourage California Republicans to remain steadfast in exposing the realities of ObamaCare and how it affects Californians. If you live outside of California, contact the Republican leaders in your state and urge them to launch similar websites. Below is the wording for MoveOn's petition: In a last ditch attempt to undermine the Affordable Care Act -- a.k.a. Obamacare -- California Republicans have launched a fake website (CoveringHealthcareCA.com) designed to capture those interested in the state's real Obamacare site: CoveredCA.com. California Republicans have promoted the fake site with tens of thousands of taxpayer-funded mailers to constituents. It sows fear and confusion by promoting misleading or outright false information and avoiding basic facts and benefits of the law. It's a politically motivated, unconscionable attempt to prevent sick people from getting the care they need. Disagreeing on a matter of public policy is one thing, but actively working to mislead voters and prevent them from accessing healthcare is unacceptable.