Jimmy Carter's Racism Excuse for Health Care Legislation Hold Up Doesn't Hold Water

Jimmy Carter's assertion that race has anything to do with the contentious health care debate is ludicrous. Former President Jimmy Carter's racism remarks, in which he asserted that widespread opposition to Barack Obama's health care plan was based on race is not only insulting, it is plain wrong. If one takes a trip back in time to the Democratic primaries and compares Hillary Clinton's health care platform with Barack Obama's proposed health care reform as explained last Wednesday before Congress, one sees similarities that cannot be ignored. In the most simplest of terms, Barack Obama stood before our nation to sell us "Hillary Care."

In fact, even during the Democratic primaries, the Obama and Clinton health care platforms were 95% alike, with the mandate for coverage being the biggest sticking point. Hillary Clinton wanted health care for all and then-candidate Obama's plan called for a mandate to cover children only. Now Obama calls for coverage for all.

Jimmy Carter racism charge: If Hillary Clinton were president, would he blame the great health care debate on misogyny?

If it were Hillary Clinton in the Oval Office, chances are that we'd have the same health care proposal working its way through the House and Senate. The fact that both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama's plans from the Democratic primaries mirrored each other except for a few finer points should be enough to quell any calls that the great health care debate is based on race. If Obama had lost and Hillary Clinton had won, would Jimmy Carter be calling Americans misogynists instead?

Health care debate because of policy issues, not racism.

The health care debate is mired in controversy due to policy issues, not race issues. One of the largest sticking points with Republicans is that they feel that any health care reform put forth should include medical malpractice tort reform to bring down the cost of a doctor's bottom line by ultimately reducing their costs for malpractice insurance, not to mention their need to practice defensive medicine to avoid lawsuits if a health care consumer is unhappy with their treatment outcome. During Obama's health care speech, he conceded that defensive medicine may be adding to the high cost of health care, and pledged to have his HHS Secretary move forward with some Bush-era pilot projects to test that theory. Tort reform, a legitimate monkey wrench in a comprehensive health care reform bill, is not a racial issue. It is an economic one, pure and simple.

Did Joe Wilson's 'You lie' outburst prompt Jimmy Carter's racism remarks?

Joe Wilson's 'You lie' outburst was not about race. Despite Joe Wilson's skin color and state of origin (South Carolina), his unfortunate outburst was borne out of frustration (and arguably, poor manners). Certainly, he should have held his tongue during the health care speech, but his loose tongue ultimately placed a loophole in the spotlight. The bill on the table at that time would have allowed illegal aliens to be insured because though the proposed bill forbade illegal aliens from obtaining coverage, it lacked enforcement via verification of citizenship. Joe Wilson was not nay saying the president because of the president's race. His bone to pick was with the president's statement, coupled with the lack of enforcement he recognized in the proposed bill.

In summary, Jimmy Carter's assertion that the health care stalemate is because of Obama's race is a fallacy. For the most part, Obama's proposed health care reform includes most of what both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama ran on as part of their platform as candidates. Americans are not fighting against Obama's health care reform because he is black. They simply have differing ideas on how to best approach health care reform.

Sources:

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/theyve_got_you_covered.html
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/22/obama.health.care/index.html