It’s funny how this works. This guy wouldn’t even consider getting Obamacare, thanks to Fox News. We can blame Roger Ailes for so much of the division that plagues this country:
The story of Dean Angstadt’s sudden embrace of Obamacare made MSNBC last night. Host Chris Hayes picked up on a heartwarming story in the Philadelphia Inquirer about a 57-year-old logger of Boyertown, Pa., who’d resisted signing up for Obamacare coverage but finally relented under the urging of a friend.
Noted Hayes of Angstadt, “He was so resistant to the thought of submitting to the tyrannical Obamacare pushed by a party he despises that he refused to sign up, even though he needed to have a heart valve replaced. Finally, his friend basically staged an intervention, helping him apply and choose a plan, which then enabled him to have life-saving surgery. And without that, Angstadt says — quote — ‘I probably would have ended up falling over dead.’”
In an interview with the Erik Wemple Blog today, Angstadt reported having watched that MSNBC segment online today. It was an introduction of sorts: “You wouldn’t have caught me dead watching MSNBC,” said Angstadt. “That’s probably the longest I’d ever sat and watched MSNBC in my life.”
Angstadt was in bad condition prior to his March 31 valve-replacement surgery. “I was going to die,” he told this blog. “I was preparing myself. I knew I was pretty sick since last October.” Yet he still resisted the attempts of friend Bob Leinhauser to get him enrolled in Obamacare. “I had to back him into a corner,” says Leinhauser, who worked for 27 years for Montgomery County’s fire and rescue department. He told Angstadt, “You’re what we call a cardiac cripple.”
After signing up for insurance via the Obamacare exchange, Angstadt pays $26.11 for the Highmark Blue Cross silver PPO plan, as reported by the Inquirer. The policy took effect just before Angstadt’s surgery.
But what accounts for Angstadt’s resistance to Obamacare in the first place? He says that he “leans” Republican and essentially listened to what the GOP had to say about Obamacare, and not so much to what the Democrats had to say. As for his media diet, Anstadt says he goes online for some of his news, but when it comes to television, “Fox News, of course, and that’s basically what I watch on TV,” in addition to local news, he says. “I like some of those radicals” on Fox News, he says. “I like O’Reilly.”
Asked if Fox News had molded his view of Obamacare, Angstadt responded, “Yeah, yeah — they get people fired up. You know what, I really do have a different outlook on it. It’s really wrong that people are making it into a political thing. To me, it is a life-and-death thing.” Of Obamacare’s namesake, Angstadt says, “I didn’t care for Obama. I can’t say nothing bad about him now because it was his plan that probably saved my life.”
This guy is still a dopey dupe. As soon as he gets over his “come to Jesus” moment he’ll go right back to watching the FOX Propaganda and War channel. Delivering the ACA to the American people will eventually be seen as one of Obama’s biggest failures as president. In 2008 between 60% and 70% of the American people wanted the health care system “fixed.” In November of that year Obama was elected and handed a Democratic House and a Democratic Senate. Had he acted like FDR or even Carter, Obama could have gotten passed through congress any health care bill he wanted. Including Medicare for all. Instead Obama made a few empty speeches then handed the entire project off to the House and Senate. (Which was better than handing it off to his wife like “Slick Willie” did.) He roamed the country and the world pretending that he was special. Endowed by his creator with a “gift.” What he was, was a fraud. Then and now. Only now he’s going to be a very rich fraud because he’s done the bidding of the 1% for the last 5 1/2 years.
“it was his plan that probably saved my life.” Ooo, that’s gotta piss Rethugs off, since it’s a 1% Stink tank plan, first touted by the Great White Hope – Millard Romney.
Doesn’t help my son though, who’s too old for my insurance and who can’t sign up because the ‘system’ can’t identify him. He was out of work for a couple of years and doesn’t even show up on the credit rating company (Experion) that verifies a person’s existence under ACA. ‘Somebody’ would get back to him, he was told by the ‘helpline.’
There are 20 million Americans who make too much money to qualify for Medicaid and too little money to qualify for ACA subsidies. That could be corrected tomorrow (well, in short order) if Obama and the Democrats demanded Medicare for all. Everybody over 65 is already in that system. Most people between 55 and 65 is looking forward to being allowed to join the system. And the majority of Americans between 18 and 55 hate the Republicans. Passing Medicare for all is a no brainer.
Another rightwinger saved from martyrdom by the exact things they opposed, almost to the death. They never do manage to put their money where their mouths are when it’s crunch time. But I guess they really enjoy the martyrdom of imaginary injustices, like affirmative action, ACORN, the equal rights amendment, etc.