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Subscribe to RSSGov. Rick Perry may face an old political ghost from his tenure as Texas Agriculture Commisioner -- a complimentary letter he wrote in 1993 to then-First Lady Hillary Clinton to urge her to consider the needs of rural residents as she drafted what would later be derided as "Hillarycare."
In the letter, dated April 6, 1993, Perry wrote to Clinton, “I think your efforts in trying to reform the nation’s health care system are most commendable."
He went on to request that the health-care task force consider the unique needs of "farmers, ranchers, and agriculture workers, and other members of rural communities."
Perry campaign strategist Dave Carney told The Daily Caller, which first reported on the letter yesterday, that Perry would not have known the specifics of the policy at the time. "The letter was at the onset of her efforts before she proposed anything," he said. "No one could have imagined the horrible monstrosity she cooked up, in fact, not to be outdone until 'ObamaCare' years later."
It is true that the precise details of the plan were unclear at the time and the process of hashing out the policy was (now infamously) opaque. But some of the broad goals of the legislation were being reported at the same time Perry was penning praise to Clinton.
According to a Los Angles Times report from April 5, 1993, the plan was designed to, in part:
* Guarantee that a uniform package of basic benefits will be available to everyone, although not all the uninsured will get this coverage right away. Among the basic benefits would be hospital and doctor services, including mental health care, and some prescription drug coverage.
* Create a standardized insurance form and bar insurers from refusing to cover people with pre-existing medical conditions, in order to enable people to change jobs-and insurers-without fear of losing coverage.
* Enact tort reforms to reduce medical malpractice litigation.
* Impose a price freeze on private-sector medical providers while the system of cooperatives is phased in, a process that could take three to five years.
* Phase in a requirement for employers to provide workers with health insurance, with government subsidies to help the smaller businesses.
Several of those objectives, including the mandate that employers provide health care for workers and the guarantee of universal benefits to everyone regardless of pre-existing conditions, are now objectionable to conservatives like Perry, who has said he wants to use an executive order to dismantle "Obamacare."
Asked if Perry would have considered "commendable" those goals, which were public at the time that Perry praised Clinton, Carney told NBC News that while "insiders" were speculating about the details, Perry was simply raising concerns about an important constituency.
"The letter is very clear," Carney wrote via email. "They were trying to reform health care and no one knew how awful the final product would become. Insiders may have speculated on what might come out of the process. Rural voices and concerns deserved to be included."
NBC's Marcie Rickun contributed to this report.
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Spot-1951183
Spot is a lib who thinks the armed forces OWE him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You need some midol
Spot-1951183
God help the children of SPOT if he has any for they will be lost!!!!!
Spot-1951183
Spot is against the Constitution in every way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Richard....I usually agree with some of your posts....but not this time. If you are a veteran, then act like one...quit ranting about wanting respect and somebody being mean to you. You are now acting like a GI Joe toy (2 year old) and not a veteran of this great country.
Really??-3862758
Do you not get pissed once in a while when people point the finger at you????
Yes....but I don't usually go off in a temper tantrum demanding an apology. Be better than most of these people posting....don't bring yourself down to their level. You are better than that!
Instead of caring what some rich uncaring politician is spouting we should be examining what is proposed in a truly national health care program,which almost all of the industrial countries have had ,and have run sucessfully for many years, most of them from the early 20th century. They do not claim to be the richest country ,nor have the largest gnp First you must have the young healthy people enroled as they do not use too much health care and it is usually only when they are in their retirement age that expensive care is needed.This is called pre-paying . The general population cannot control the exploding prices, but a government can, so the costs can be reasonable.The looting of the system can be stopped as the financial part is dealt with by one agency only.The paperwork can also be reduced. I believe that all countries that have a national health scheme have never considered giving it up ,o I suggest that instead of giving an uninformed opinion on this important benefit one should study the many countries that have a successful health care program.
They also all have a AAA credit rating?
Jesus Richard go back and look at your posts - you are asking for an ass whipping and I believe you got it!
Perry is going to have a hard time explaining this one. The goals of Hillarycare were already known at the time he wrote that letter of praise. How is he going to backtrack on that?
I insulted no veteran Richard, I said veterans are watch you. And veterans are watching your posts. I am one of them. And you talking about the republicans/tea party not wanting to do away with social security and medicare is just plain wrong. And by saying they don't want to do away with it indicates to me you support either the republican or tea-party agenda. Elderly people earned their social security, and medicare, disabled people can't help being disabled, as all veterans earned their benefits. You can't play both sides of the fence. And as far as all your comments about my service, I don't even comment on such ignorance.
You are SPOT on!
Thanks deborah, I think Richard need to see the real world, some of those same people he is calling hand-out or whatever he said, are veterans. Again thanks deborah
Richard-1923090..I know a number of military people who have served in both Iraq and Afghanistan and Obama is held in high regard..You must be listening to Hannity,Rush and the Hooter's Fox Network..You might recall Bush sent our soldiers into Iraq ill equipped...Hell,parents and family members had to buy bullet proof vest for their loves ..The average soldier had little love for the Bush as a person but respected the office.
Perry has said SS and Medicare are unconstitutional. He'll have a heck of a time reeling that garbage back in.
Just another 2 faced politician. Which way is the wind blowing now?
The answer to this is very easy. It looked good when he was young but he grew up and became a responsible adult.
Neo-Fascist Perry is in bed with EndTimer's
America is headed towards fascism with these people... they say the bible gives them the right to kill anyone who disagrees with them. That Jews are preventing Jesus from returning to Earth (from his spaceship?).
These people are equivalent of KKK/Nazi's .... BEWARE
He fooled enough Texans to get elected Gov.
Guess you can fool Texans more than once (Re: GWB).
There is nothing wrong with what he wrote, he is asking in a very polite way that his constituents be regarded when Hillary was working on her plan.
It shows neither support for the final plan nor does he state that he opposes it; he states that he commends her for trying to fix the problem or at least working to change it for the better and he requests that rural people be remembered when drafting the plan.
Perry has done nothing wrong as far as his letter to Hillary is concerned.
being 60 + i know we need a new president. obama can't fill that position. guess rick is the best choice unless hillery runs against obama. she would win hands down
Perry speaks with fork tung. It got forked because he had his foot in his mouth too often.
God help America if this is the best the Republicans can offer as a presidential candidate.
Larry, Curly or Moe could do a better job running the Texas state government than Perry. How in the world will Perry learn that the President is where the buck stops and there is no one sitting on the hot seat but the President. Half cocked and half cooked is no way to run either a state or a country.
Big deal. If you haven't figured out by now that Mr. Perry will kiss, suck, eat or say anything in his pursuit of the presidency then you haven't been listening or watching.
Unbelievable. If you read the letter, it's clear that it is a polite letter asking for consideration for a constituency that Perry valued. I'm not sure how I feel about Perry, but this is not a legitimate attack. I would rather be talking about his immigration policies and his odd view of forcing girls to get the vaccination for cervical cancer when that is a behavioral disease. Parents ought to have the right to decide with their children.
The best that the left attack machine can find so far, is that Perry is "soft" on immigration and that he "liked" Hillarycare. Two things that make him sound like them. Wow! And having to go back 18 years to do so. If that's all they got, he might as well tell O-BUNGLE to Move Out NOW!
If the ability to say "It's okay because Obama does it too!", coupled with the lack of any requirement that the claim be true, were taken away from a lot of the folks on this forum, they'd have nothing to say. Hmm, come to think of it, that's not a bad idea. The forum would be easier to read and a LOT shorter.
And while you're at it, your "clever" mishmashes of the President's last name do not suggest deep thinking. Just sayin' ...
Warren: You have great advice. I know you didn't leave it out intentionally, but for every varient of Obama's name there are at least three for we republican's and the TEA party advocates.
I was for it before I was against it or something like that. Ug
So what? it's well known he was once a liberal. Then he became wise. It happens with age as long as a person actually learns in life.
He became a Republican in 1989. Exactly when did he become wise? The world is still waiting.
Has God answered Rick's prayer for rain yet? I think that is a no. Maybe if he loses the nomination for President he will fulfill is threat to secede from the Union. I heard Mexico wants Texas back.
And just think of the economic stimulus for the rest of the country when all the military bases move North. Not to mention the thousands of NASA jobs as the space agency moves.
The savings to America would be well worth letting Texass go.
hey chuck the d-f--- we did get some rain but god (obama) is waiting until after the election. i heard obama and rev wright are going to do an african rain dance. if texas did secede we would be better off, we not have to listen to chris and chuck.
honest - Please change your name, As a American I'm offended! To disrespect our President in the most racist way. And bring up Rev Wright, do you know anything about the man? No, you know a little snippet, of a video! Did you know he served his Country, in the military? Wow, we have free speech, but only if you like what's being said! I bet you didn't have any problem, with Beck saying our President hates white people. Turn off the faux noise it's rotting your little brain!!!! As soon as all the Military bases, Nasa etc close, go ahead and secede!!!!
Perry is in bed with "SATAN", and Bachmann's husband is praying the gay from Perry.
little-bird and unpatriotic a-hole, i hope after the election you can continue to collect your welfare or go back to the country you illegally came from. rev wright i am sure did something military style but i doubt it had nothing to do with our armed forces. don't wan't fox but i know how to spell it c---blower
Jumping to conclusions? You know nothiing about the people you are posting about.
i am sure they are real nice based on there nice comments they conveyed. i am sure rev wright is a great guy. the hmmbird guy says fox is rotting my small brain even though i never have seen it. i will invite them over for a big party and we will all become best friends.
Want to get a lucrative government contract in Texass? Give a big contribution to the corrupt governor Perry's campaign fund.
For someone who is so against the gubernment in Washington, Hypocrite Perry sure sucked hard on the federal stimulus tit.
Texass is looking at a $26 billion dollar deficit. It is now in the top ranks of most polluted states.
To call him wise marks YOU as a Cretin.
Isn't one Texass governor/president enough for a 100 years?
That is if you are not one of the fools who still says Shrub did a good job for 8 years.
hey chris you should check your facts. i don't think perry sucked as hard on the stimulus tit as you think. maybe you are just fantasizing. we are not one of the most polluted states, look it up. we would prohably be in the top 10 if you moved here. otherwise we are about 30th. we do have a deficit here but what state doesn't. we have had a large influx of people moving here from other states to get a job and a large amount of people from mexico. if you live in the north you would not understand that concept. i lived in the north for 24 years and it is totally different here. our education and health care suffer because we are taking care of people that have no health care and cannot speak english. it costs alot of money for both. more schools, more healthcare facilities and extra time just to teach people to speak english. a doctor i work with said that a person who only works cash jobs does not report their income. they do not pay taxes and a 40,000 dollar income is like 60,000 for a normal taxpaying individual. perry has just started his campaign so i doubt he received any lucrative contract from anyone. in all honesty i do not like any of the presidential hopefuls and definitely do think obama has not done anything positive.
Turn off the faux noise. If it wasn't for the big bad GOVERNMENT, Texas would be in the toilet. Look it up yourself.
we have had a large influx of people here over the last 8-10 years because many companies have moved here. if you term school teachers, city workers, university professors, garbage collectors so on and so forth as government jobs. then yes, we did add government jobs to meet the needs of our rapidly growing state. but to say government created all of our jobs here is a joke. i do not watch fox network but simply looking at what is going on nationwide. i think less and less people will stop drinking the kool-aid. it is evident in the most recent presidential approval ratings. unemployment is more like 16% and people nationwide our feeling the pain.
I'm sure you watch fox news H.A. You just won't admit it as you pretend to be a moderate.
wade, i do not have time for tv. i have worked 2 fulltime jobs for the last 16 years. on my one day off a week i volunteered for community service. coaching baseball, soccer and basketball. i am a democrat but soured on that party after we lost our family farm under the carter presidiency. my dad killed himself. i had no skill or trade. i moved to texas and worked 72 hours a week while going to school. i earned a degree was married here and have 2 young adult children here. they finished in the top 10 percent of their class. they receive small scholarships and we have to take loans out to keep them in school. i think it is unfair that a person can come from another country here and receive free ride scholarships and many perks. we pay taxes to the point where it is hard to get by. i buy discounted foods at groceries stores while other people pull out their lonestar welfare card. all races, not just illegals. they buy premium food. do you think this is right? one of my knees is bone on bone but i cannt afford to get a replacement, but if i jumped the us-mexico border fence i may qualify if i was illegal. i am not a moderate, i am simply pissed off at a country that does not reward the working class. so excuse me for not being a happy camper. i do like texas and the state has turned my life around after my father's death.
I'm sure you make time for fox news. You hit on all their talking points. Make your self seem like a moderate, force others on to the defensive. Do not allow that anyone else has the right to disagree with you. All concepts Karl Rove stresses. I'm a moderate who has adopted Karl Roves tactics to a point. I do my home work. I will post references. I will not attack you personally. I will not attack your family.
What I will attack is the conservative concepts I see you spouting. Moderates and Liberals work as hard as you do. Said engagement will continue without let up until you respect people here and focus on the issues. If you want respect it's a two way street with me H.A., you won't get any until you respect those who disagree with you.
The above goes for any conservative poster who thinks I will wilt. Wilt? I have the personality of a timber wolf. And I am not afraid to bite hard any more.
Got to go. I'm meeting with fellow right-wing liberals tonight. Hasta la vista babies.
going to a gay bar, right.