Arguments made by tea baggers and 9/12ers

As a panelist last night at the raucous health care town hall FCAN co-sponsored along with SEIU, I got to respond to arguments made by the rabid, Glenn Beck-inspired 9/12 group and the rest of the mob that tried to shout us down. Rep. Kathy Castor bravely would not be intimidated and made her points, updating the town hall on her work on health care reform. Thank you, Rep. Castor.

But the baggers did ask questions, which you could hear earlier in the day on the right wing radio talk shows. The first question is, "How can we afford another trillion for health care when the country is already struggling with deficits?" The answer is that health care reform is needed to get the economy going again and make America competitive in the world economy. President Obama's reforms will SAVE money compared to the Limbaugh/Hannity/Beck (LHB) Just Say No alternative.

Here in Hillsborough County, we were struggling to keep our public hospital afloat, and it was eating up more and more taxpayer funds every year, largely to keep up with indigent health care. Indigent care can be very expensive because America is still a country where anyone that walks into an emergency room will be treated. I assume the LHB alternative would be to request payment first. As Hannity said on his show a few nights ago, anyone can afford health care if they just work sixteen hours a day. That is his health care plan.

So, Hillsborough voters passed the Half Cent for Health Care sales tax to fund indigent care, and the Hillsborough Health Care plan began doing primary care. We got a lot of people out of the ER and we have saved money. Our plan is a model for the nation. Obama's health care will save money. That's why all the industrialized countries in the world have health care. We lag behind and our economy is in trouble because of the opposition of teabagger thugs.

Another suggestion made by the right is that care will be rationed and that we'll have waiting lines. We have that now because care is rationed by one's ability to pay. How is that fair? It is estimated that 22,000 people died in the US last year because of lack of health insurance. And, of course, you can still choose to pay for your private insurance and you may pay as much as you want. You can also do what wealthy people do now, which is just pay the doctor. If you have enough money, you don't need insurance and you get to see doctors that don't take insurance. If you have the cash, you will still be able to buy whatever health care you want. No change.

Baggers suggest that euthanasia will be offered instead of live saving treatments, just to save money. What a ridiculous claim! Under our current system, you have to be able to afford health care or you don't get it. You can get down on your knees and beg your pharmaceutical company for a hand out. Maybe they will let you live. And if you're insured, you can hope your insurance company will pay for the treatment you want, and will not start looking for errors on your application. The Obama plan would allow us to make decisions, as a community, on how we want to treat people that are gravely ill and require expensive treatments. This would have to be one of the most difficult choices a community could make. But that would be better than they current system where you either have the money, or you beg for your life.

We are in the fight of our lives here, and future generations are counting on us. A couple young people asked me what it would mean for them. They used the LHB inspired phraseology, "Will we have to pay for your generation's health care?" The answer is, as it has always been, that the young must care for their elders. That's what we do in my family, and probably in yours too. It is a sign of respect and civilization. We don't want to see our seniors begging in the streets or choosing between food and health care. We also want to accept all our seniors have created for us. All the institutions, all the wealth, all the knowledge. The price is small, and the new generation won't prosper unless we leave them with a good health care system. Let's make sure we get it right.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy