Eric Cantor (R): On Healthcare

Given Eric Cantor's inability to hold Town Hall Meetings or hold anything lately other than book signings for his "Young Guns" release...what is he a celebrity or a Congressman anyway...maybe we should take a look at the few statements he has made in the last few years since Obama was elected. Lets start with the Healthcare debate.
From RTD venue forum with Rep. Bobby Scott:

At the Richmond Times-Dispatch “public square” forum yesterday, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) fielded open questions from his constituents on the health reform debate for the first time this summer.
Patricia Churchill relayed a story about a close family member who recently lost a high paying job and her health insurance. Churchill told Cantor that her relative was dying of stomach tumors and needs an operation as soon as possible. Cantor responded by suggesting that Churchill’s relative should seek “existing government programs” or find charity.
Cantor, who serves as the chief whip for his party, has said that he cannot support a health reform bill with a public option. But despite his political opposition to government insurance programs, Cantor then emphasized to Churchill that every American should be given an “option” for health care, including a government program:
CHURCHILL: I have a very close relative, a woman in her early forties, who did have a wonderful, high-paying job, owns her own home and is a real contributing member of society. She lost her job. Just a couple of weeks ago, she found out that she has tumors in her belly and that she needs an operation. Her doctors told her that they are growing and that she needs to get this operation quickly. She has no insurance. [...]
CANTOR: First of all I guess I would ask what the situation is in terms of income eligibility and the existing programs that are out there. Because if we look at the uninsured that are out there right now, there is probably 23, 24% of the uninsured that is already eligible for an existing government program [...] Beyond that, I know that there are programs, there are charitable organizations, there are hospitals here who do provide charity care if there’s an instance of indigency and the individual is not eligible for existing programs that there can be some cooperative effort. No one in this country, given who we are, should be sitting without an option to be addressed.

So, Eric Cantor is either in support for government run healthcare or he supports its practice but simply does not want to fund it. His answer to Ms. Churchill was very telling about where he really stands. Given Cantor has been in Congress and been witness to the gross expansion of our government under Republican control and now Democrat control since 2006 it begs the question just why it is he refuses to allow himself to be questioned and held accountable for his votes by his constituents save the election.

Here are just a few responses from folks in the District:

96 Responses to “Cantor To Uninsured Woman With Growing Tumors: Get ‘An Existing Government Program’ Or Find Charity”
lcdrrek says:
Jeez, doesn’t Mr. Cantor remember the Republican healthcare plan?
All Americans have health care, all they have to do is go to the emergency room.
How could such a high ranking Republican not know that????September 22nd, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Xisithrus says:
Cantor responded by suggesting that Churchill’s relative should seek “existing government programs” or find charity.
I dont recall them saying anything like that to SchiavoSeptember 22nd, 2009 at 4:00 pm
cd says:
“it was helpful in a sense, but of course nowhere near as helpful as having this healthcare reform bill passed so that we could know that she could definitely go and get taken care of.”
Now that’s a good answer.
Any chance we could get her to run against Cantor?September 22nd, 2009 at 4:02 pm
wisdomofwords says:
Hey Eric, how you come you don’t think this woman needs the kind of insurance that you have? After all she helped pay for it, you asshat.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Uncle Ho says:
Contradict yourself much CAN’Tor?September 22nd, 2009 at 4:04 pm
tom says:
Cantor’s cavelier attitude (so characteristic of all republican lawmakers) makes me think we need a public national referendum. It is time for the electorate to reduce the salaries of all senators and representatives and to cancel their health insurance until they structure and pass a bill to close the gaps in our current system.
Perhaps, they would then be more receptive actually solving the health insurance problem in this country instead of playing politics.
The salary reduction? That stays. It’s their contribution for all the stupid mistakes they made for the past 30 years.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:07 pm
What the GOP REALLY means ... says:
Send her to Matterra’s place, maybe she’ll be deemed “hot enough” for care.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:07 pm
ElBruce says:
This “charity” thing is a meaningless red herring and they know it. Can you think of a charity on the face of the Earth that says “we’ve made enough money to meet the need this year?” Ever? They always fall short of the demand, and they always have. Therefore, Cantor is explicitly referring her to programs which he knows are insufficient to meet the public need.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Mark701 says:
So Cantor wants her to use a government program but voted against a government program. This would have surprised me eight years ago but not now. All I have to do is note the guys party affiliation and it explains everything.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:08 pm
twizzle says:
Dumbass.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Tawdry says:
There’s some kind of virus going around in the Republican party. A little bug gets into the brain and eats away memory. How else can you explain it. Also eats away their hearing- themselves ability. I think if you could open up Eric Cantor’s head and look inside it would resemble a pin ball machine.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:09 pm
MapleStreet says:
But we have scads of public programs. Just look at the picture on my desk of an orphan who we gave eyeglasses to.
Can’t you name all these programs ?
Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses ?September 22nd, 2009 at 4:10 pm
What the GOP REALLY means ... says:
Now this is how end-of-life planning is done, libs. The GOP will plan it for you if you don’t produce the green. If you get laid off we consider you to be weak.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Mark701 says:
Poster 5 made a good point. This womans taxes pays for Cantors health care and he has the audacity to vote against a public option. Hypocrite thy name is Repubican.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Parlezvous says:
Every cent and every perk this man gets is provided by tax dollars yet he can’t see that every American should have that kind of medical care. What a hypocrite. He should give the open heart surgery benefit to someone who can use it. He won’t be needing it because he doesn’t have a heart.
It is prophetic that the first four letters of his name are CANT. He’s a born Reich Winger. He can’t help himself.
I am going to vomit.
Ye gods!September 22nd, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Jackie says:
If Eric Cantor would spend as much time on Health Care for the voters as he does keeping track of Britney Spears the lady wouldn’t be asking that question. Now I notice Eric Cantor has excellent Medical Coverage paid by the taxpayers for himself and his family. Let’s see if the voters of Virgina buy this bull Cantor is giving out.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Leftside Annie says:
Cantor: Are there no prisons?? Are there no workhouses?? Then those who are badly off must go there!
Cantor, I hope with all my heart that someday this happens to YOU or someone you love; how else are you going to learn the lesson of compassion?September 22nd, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Virtual Pebble says:
I get the feeling that Eric Cantor isn’t the brightest bulb on the tree. He’s a talking point parrot of some sort; well, obviously righty, but there’s also obviously nothing going on in his head that makes connections between what he espouses as “conservative principles” and what he recommends to people as a proper course of action. I don’t think I want to get into the morass of discussing his ethics and morals;given his pronouncements on principles followed by immediate contradiction, I don’t think he has any.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:14 pm
tom says:
Cantor’s reference to charity care is a very telling point. By and large, charity care as a means of filling the gap in this country has disappeared. When it did exist decades ago, it was largely the result of the Hill-Burton Act which no longer exists.
Hill-Burton was a government program that provided funding for the development and expansion of hospitals in the U.S. in the mid-1900s. In return for funds received, hospitals were obligated to provide uncompensated care to those who met financial requirements. In other words, the bulk of charity care in the U.S. was funded by the same government that Cantor now says cannot and should not be involved in insurance reform.
How ironic . . . how republican!September 22nd, 2009 at 4:15 pm
SP Biloxi says:
“Cantor To Uninsured Woman With Growing Tumors: Get ‘An Existing Government Program’ Or Find Charity”
[shaking my head] Man, this will bite Britney Cantor in the butt. He accuses Obama’s healthcare reform plan as a government-run program yet he tells Ms. Churchill to have uninsured relative to get ‘an existing government program?
GOP party = mental illnessSeptember 22nd, 2009 at 4:15 pm
What the GOP REALLY means ... says:
ElBruce says:
This “charity” thing is a meaningless red herring and they know it. Can you think of a charity on the face of the Earth that says “we’ve made enough money to meet the need this year?” Ever? They always fall short of the demand, and they always have. Therefore, Cantor is explicitly referring her to programs which he knows are insufficient to meet the public need.
Excellent point. My party doesn’t take the word ‘recession’ into any account, however, unless it’s criticizing the president for not cleaning up our deeply-protruding mess fast enough.
We call the government “bankrupt” as opposed to more intelligent response of “revenues are down, the tax cuts for the wealthy aren’t helping, obligations to the government are at an all-time high as a result of our ousted leadership and lots of wasteful spending is still being made out to mercenaries and fat cats.”September 22nd, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Zooey says:
Cantor, with his taxpayer-funded health care coverage, just told this woman to go f uck herself.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:18 pm
pags2 says:
The people who elect politicians like Cantor are just as much at fault as the politicians. You get what you vote for.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Tachinidae Leporello says:
Congress should vote to eliminate their own health care. That way they could experience the joys of for-profit health care. Even better, they could experience their recommended health care for Americans, the local hospital emergency room! Let’s see how many have the guts to try a dose of their own medicine!September 22nd, 2009 at 4:22 pm
MrBrown says:
-memo to Rep. Cantor-
Where is the charity in your dialogue with your constituents?
The word civility is totally missing, as well as compassion for people who share legitimate stories of healthcare horror. And these people get hit with comments like “Where’s your swastika!?”
Sad……September 22nd, 2009 at 4:27 pm
rsalier says:
Yes, lets petition the congress of the united states to have themselves removed from their posh health insurance so that they can get a taste of what the rest of us have to go through. Cantor is such a jerk, how did the people of Virginia vote for this stupid SOB? I thought the people of Virginia were a lot smarter.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:27 pm
raynman says:
Charity begins at home… unless you’re a Republican, then it begins somewhere way far away where they won’t be bothered…September 22nd, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Anonymouse says:
Today’s GOP: a collaborative project by Charles Dickens and Stephen King.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:31 pm
cwarddc says:
Even if a public option passed tomorrow, it wouldn’t help her relative. I don’t think people realize that if a good bill is finally passed, it will be another four years before it’s implemented.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:38 pm
What the GOP REALLY means ... says:
I thought the people of Virginia were a lot smarter.
Screw smart people. We need people who are very smug with their comfortable position in life denying the same opportunity for advancement to others. That’s why I vote republican. Because if there are people suffering out there, it gives me comfort to know I rank above them. It gives me the feeling of superiority.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:39 pm
dasm says:
Cantor is a sexist, uncaring dolt.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:43 pm
ElBruce says:
What the GOP REALLY means … says:
That’s why I vote republican. Because if there are people suffering out there, it gives me comfort to know I rank above them. It gives me the feeling of superiority.
You know, that explains a lot about wingnuts. I think you’re on to something there.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:43 pm
P.D. says:
This is incredible. All these Repugs dare to call themselves Christian, and they don’t seem to give a sh*t about other people who are suffering. On the other hand, You have ‘Liberals’ (Gasp!) who want insurance for EVERYONE. WTF? Who are the Christians and who are the Hell bound?September 22nd, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Peter C says:
Of course, the existing government program is Medicaid, which only kicks in after she paid out of her own pocket until just about all of her net worth is gone.
This is what Cantor would call ‘compassionate conservatism’.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Wiz says:
Cantor couldn’t do anything but give the cold hearted answer he gave, if he showed compassion he might be accused of hypocrisy. You know Republicans don’t want to be hypocrites!September 22nd, 2009 at 4:50 pm
ralph the wonder llama says:
Now Can’t-or’s reluctance to do town halls this summer makes perfect sense.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:52 pm
GeeDubs says:
I’m really flabbergasted that this is the level of public discourse the Republicans have to offer. Wouldn’t this have been a perfectly good opportunity for Mr. Cantor to espouse what the Republicans would do for this woman if they were in charge of writing the bills before Congress? The empty-headedness of it is astounding enough in itself, but to come up with such a non-sensical answer should give everyone pause to ever say the word Republican again or have that R after their name.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:53 pm
nellre says:
Cobra is available for 18 months… but after that what?
She’s going to be forced to liquidate her possessions (in this buy high, sell low economy) and reduced to poverty?See… that’s the problem. The very poor can get help, it’s the middle class that fall through the cracks.September 22nd, 2009 at 4:55 pm
What the GOP REALLY means ... says:
Frankly, we in the GOP don’t give a shit what the economic conditions are. You had the nerve to vote us out. That means we’re going to use every tactic in the book to tell you NO. The obami appointees we’re not confirming, you can take that as a compliment. You lib folks robbed us of our planned permanent majority and we will make sure good government cannot exist, as per the opposite intention of your vote.September 22nd, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Fred says:
These town halls are backfiring on the gop.
How did they let that idiot mccain get this started?September 22nd, 2009 at 5:07 pm
runfastandwin says:
Shorter version:
Are there no poorhouses? No prisons?September 22nd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
HomerSexual says:
Republicans = HeartlessDemocrats = Spineless
Just pass the Health Care Bill (with Public Option) already!!September 22nd, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Marie says:
Jeebus! Heartless, ice-water in their veins, and believing that they are never going to suffer anything that afflicts the “little people.”It makes me want to wish that Cantor and all the other fools like him develop an agonizing and painful disease.September 22nd, 2009 at 5:19 pm
EllieElliott says:
May his wife, his mother and his daughter never be in this situation. As for him…September 22nd, 2009 at 5:19 pm
HomerSexual says:
re: GeeDub’s (#339) comment:Wouldn’t this have been a perfectly good opportunity for Mr. Cantor to espouse what the Republicans would do for this woman if they were in charge of writing the bills before Congress?
He did. They would do nothing.September 22nd, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Keith says:
Bill Maher said “Our healthcare reform would make the U.S. the envy of several African nations”.September 22nd, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Hoodathunk says:
So Can’tor is telling this woman she should consider robbing a bank? If her need is immediate, that would be the fastest way to get into a government program.September 22nd, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Hoodathunk says:
It makes me want to wish that Cantor and all the other fools like him develop an agonizing and painful disease.
They already have. Its called Republicanism. The big problem is they are to insensitive to notice. Sort of like leprosy.September 22nd, 2009 at 5:34 pm
had enough says:
Cantor, you piece of sh!t cut the crap…. just come out and say:
The woman with the tumors and millions like her will die. But the health insurance industry, which is most important and helps my campaign must thrive.
It was all over the news last week that 45,000 a year die because of lack of access to health care. Cantor has to know this.September 22nd, 2009 at 5:40 pm
ElBruce says:
You know the “bleeding heart liberals” they used to use against us? More and more these days that strikes me as an admission that their hearts don’t even pump blood. Just pure icewater moving through stone.
.
Hoodathunk says:
So Can’tor is telling this woman she should consider robbing a bank? If her need is immediate