Ah, Libertarians. You walk the walk and then you die because of it. Ron Paul's campaign manager, Kent Snyder, was not provided with health insurance by his employer. (That would be Ron Paul) Snyder was hospitalized two months ago due to pneumonia and ran up $400,000 in hospital bills. Then he died.
Gay staffers from the Paul campaign, some speaking on condition that they not be identified, said they learned about Snyder’s unpaid medical bills from a web site created by his friends that calls on Paul supporters to contribute to a special fund to help Snyder’s family pay the bills, which come mostly from a two-month hospitalization. So far, the site (kentsnyder.com) has raised about $32,000.
“I can’t believe he didn’t have health insurance,” said one political activist who read about Snyder’s unpaid medical bills in a story published last month in the Wall Street Journal. “I can’t believe that Ron Paul didn’t give him health insurance,” said the activist, who asked not to be identified.
Really? Maybe you should read up on the Libertarian philosophy. I'm guessing this is exactly how Paul and Snyder would want it to be. (Except for the dead part)
Craig Max, a D.C. gay Republican activist who sought to become a Ron Paul delegate to the Republican National Convention, said news of Snyder’s death and his lack of health insurance has triggered a behind-the-scenes debate among Paul supporters and libertarian activists over whether or not the Paul campaign should have provided health insurance to its staff.
Right. Employer health insurance is bad, until someone you know dies.
Among the points raised, according to Max and others involved in the Paul campaign, is the fact that Paul is a practicing physician. Some of the Paul supporters are asking why a medical doctor, whose campaign raised $35 million in contributions, chose not to offer health insurance for his staff.
The free market, baby! This is just the free market working itself out. Ron Paul had an awesome excuse.
When asked at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday about concerns raised by critics that his presidential campaign did not provide employee health insurance, Paul said only that he doesn’t believe any political campaigns offer health insurance.
“I don’t know of any campaign that has health insurance for temporary and other employees,” he said. “I’ve never had it and I’ve been in this business for 30 years. I don’t know any campaign that does.”
Ah, the old, "Nobody else does it" excuse. A classic. And totally wrong. Maybe you should remove your head from your anus for a minute and check around. Here's three:
Spokespersons for the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain said both campaigns provide full health insurance coverage to their paid staff. A spokesperson for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign said Clinton also provided health insurance coverage to campaign staffers before she ended her campaign in early June.
Keep up the fight, Ron Paul! Don't let one dead campaign manager knock you down.
3 comments:
I think you are really far off here blaming RP and the free market for this. Your post is in very poor taste skewing a man's fatal medical problem's as political fodder (especially someone who was extremely dedicated to the libertarian movement).
First off realize that Ron Paul's campaign was very much only grass roots efforts. It started off extremely small all on volunteer basis. John McCain and Obama both are very well funded by lobbyists and other parties.
Secondly realize that a person's health is their own responsibility. Everyone should ensure their own well being. I won't go into the specifics, but government mandated employee insurance regulation only cause escalating prices in the health industry. It's insane to blame employers for health problems of individuals, when they are completely unrelated
I just wanted to stress again that I am not often offended by others opinions but this one is in EXTREMELY bad taste. You should be really ashamed of yourself using the death of someone who dedicated his life to freedom as an unwarranted attempt of bashing to very principles he stood for.
What does health insurance have to do with Snyder's health at the time, or the quality of care he received?
This article makes no sense.
First off, let me say that Ron Paul is bat shiat crazy and should not be allowed anywhere near a political office.
Second, home dude knew that he didn't have insurance. If that was a major problem for him, he should have found himself a job that offers insurance. This is kind of like a person accepting a job at a bar then getting mad that there is cigarette smoke there. You know the conditions before you started, so shut your mouth. And before anybody calls me 'privileged' or elitist or any of that crap, know this. I'm poor and work a shitty job that doesn't offer insurance benefits. This is a problem for me so I am looking for a job that has health benefits. In the meantime, if I get sick or hurt, I know that it is my problem because I haven't found a job with benefits yet. My fault and nobody else's. I'm sorry that the guy died, but it's his own fault he didn't have insurance, not Ron Paul's.
Ron Paul is still bat shiat crazy though.
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