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Three Republican Congressmen from Georgia, Rep. Nathan Deal, Sen. Johnny Isakson and Rep. Paul Broun, followed Barack Obama’s Congressional Address on Healthcare with strong statements against the public option part of the reform.
"It is disappointing that very few ideas or reforms were advanced by the president. Instead, it was an effort to put some shine on a plan that many Americans have already rejected," Rep. Deal said. "The American people have opened their eyes to this administration’s attempt to lead our nation down the dangerous path of socialism, and no speech, no matter how clever or well-delivered, will close their eyes again."
Isakson maintains that his constituents are not interested in government running any part of the healthcare industry.
“He [Obama] is insisting on a government option, but the thousands of Georgians I heard from back home during the month of August are very leery of being pushed into a government-run system that will have to be paid for with higher taxes. I am not going to be a part of mortgaging my kids’ futures by driving Americans to a government-run health care system we can’t afford," Isakson said in a statement.
Broun added that the message he’s gotten from his 10th District voters was about lowering over all health care costs. "[American people] want access to more doctors and treatments and less interference from insurance companies, special interests and of course Washington politicians. They want the doctor-patient relationship protected. And for those uninsured, I heard compassionate calls for an affordable approach to help those who truly need it," Broun said.
All three stated that while there is room for compromise with Democrats, public option part of the reform is not debatable.
Deal believes it will lead directly to socialized, government ran healthcare system. “While there are many areas of bipartisan agreement relating to insurance reform, these areas are used to camouflage the underlying purpose of the president’s plan — the dramatic and rapid movement of millions of Americans into a government-run health care system, known as the public option," Deal said in a statement.
Isakson agreed: "There is some common ground in terms of portability and not being rejected for pre-existing conditions and not being canceled if you have a disease. There are ways to reach these goals through the private sector, but the president is insisting on doing it through a government plan and that is a non-starter."
For Broun, the main problem is that price tag on the public option. "I hope that the president opens his door to our ideas and opens his ears to the calls from Americans for reform without a $2 trillion government experiment," Broun said.
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