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Is this what Joe Wilson may have been thinking?

by Susan Marie Kovalinsky | September 28, 2009 at 02:16 pm

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We will have to see how this all plays out:

Of course, there are reasonable arguments for such a plan, but from Wilson's seat, and with his thinking, the outburst may have been unavoidable:

Fearful that they're losing ground on immigration and health care, a group of House Democrats is pushing back and arguing that any health care bill should extend to all legal immigrants and allow illegal immigrants some access.
The Democrats, trying to stiffen their party's spines on the contentious issue, say it's unfair to bar illegal immigrants from paying their own way in a government-sponsored exchange. Legal immigrants, they say, regardless of how long they've been in the United States, should be able to get government-subsidized health care if they meet the other eligibility requirements.

"Legal permanent residents should be able to purchase their plans, and they should also be eligible for subsidies if they need it. Undocumented, if they can afford it, should be able to buy their own private plans. It keeps them out of the emergency room," said Rep. Michael M. Honda, California Democrat and chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

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Rory Cripps

at 15:44 on September 28th, 2009

There's no doubt that many Democrats would like nothing better than for illegal immigrants to be covered under a national health care plan. And Wilson and every other congressman and senator know this and have known it for years. BTW: Most American voters know this too.

At least these House Democrats admit it! But from a pragmatic political standpoint, any explicit inclusion of illegal immigrants in proposed health care legislation will just make the passage of a health care bill that more difficult and cause many that are now sitting on the health care fence to oppose any health care reform bill that comes up in the future.And yes-- for many, Joe Wilson's outburst will be viewed as righteous. The American voting public (the operative word here is voting) are upset enough as it is over sky-rocketing health care costs and those same voters don't want illegal immigrants in their country to begin with.

In spite of all the economic and social arguments (many of them valid) for including illegal immigrants in a national health care package, most American voters don't buy any of them.

a211423

at 16:05 on September 28th, 2009

Aside from doing what is the humane thing to do, it's possible here that the Democrats realize that if they put language in the health care reform bill that excludes people located on American soil from health care, it could be unconstitutional, and they want to avoid problems with this down the road and not have a repeat of what happened in California in 1993.