YOUR COMMENTS

New Hampshire's voters first ousted Jeb Bradley from Congress in 2006 and then voted against him again in his bid for reelection in 2008. They did so for good reason. It was the frivolous spending policies of Jeb Bradley's own Republican Party that led to our current deficit. Not to mention that during all of their years in power they did nothing to solve the health care crisis.
- Dave Anderson, Portsmouth

Thank you, Bill of Concord, for proving my point.
- Rich, Portsmouth

How can anyone call this healthcare bill in congress a solution? It is just a diversion from the real issue of unemployment that this country is facing. The current bill does not address the real problems facing health care and is just another spending program for the government to cling to justify its own self worth. This administration continues and exceeds the spending problems that haunted the last administration and continues to dig their heads in the sand when it is time to solve the current issues. Health Care needs to be addressed but this bill does nothing for this country or its citizens. If Shea-Porter would only take off the blinders and think this through...instead she will vote for this abomination of a bill in order to stick some self serving amendment to the bottom of it and call victory.
- Mike, Merrimack

Robert, You are right Congress does have great healthcare but one thing Robert THEY don't pay for it, you do. As for dear ole Ted I am sure you know all about him.Well for the record I knew the family, and hung out with Joe in Hyannisport. What a noble family,let me see Joe crippled a girl and ran away from the accident, Ted killed a girl who was found in the back seat of his car in a a bay. Both weren't charged HMMMMM. Do you know why the were in politics Robert,please do some research comrade and you will find the family had questionable revenue streams and oh when Ted was dying he begged the Pope for forgiveness for killing MaryJo 50 years earlier. A guilty conscious needs no accuser!

Robert finally you are right your emperor utilizes ACORN SEIU and AARP and when someone criticizes your emperor they get beat up by ACORN thugs. Robert that is a documented fact. Robert why hasn't any ACORN people been arrested for that assault? Maybe you could enlighten us if you took off your rose colored glasses comrade.
- Paul, Candia

"No logic from these commenters, no common sense, just hot air."

Sounds like the entire republican party to me.
- Bill, Concord

Once again, the lefties here can only make personal attacks against critics of the Democrats' healthcare proposals. Not one of them can offer a substantive defense of the provisions of the current House or Senate bills. That's because the bills are indefensible. They will increase healthcare costs, lower the quality of healthcare, raise taxes, kill jobs and ultimately not come anywhere close to universal coverage. Just as with Judd Gregg's Tuesday column, the libs can only lob ad-hominem attacks at Bradley. No logic from these commenters, no common sense, just hot air.
- Rich, Portsmouth

It's amazing how many people here are supporting Shea Porter. While she's apparently my Representative, her office seems to show no regard to my opinions or desires. It's disgusting to see such blind support for an Unconstitutional health plan that does NOTHING to actually improve (or even stablize) health care in this country. Rather, all it does it take more of our freedom and money away and give it to unelected bureaucrats in Washington. They've done such a great job with all of the government monstrosities...er programs...they should be excellent at taking care of our health care, right? Heath care for clunkers?
- Jeremy, Tamworth, NH

Jeb Bradley your hypocrisy is astounding. You rubber stamped everything Bush did for 8 years and marched in lockstep with Republican leadership while Bush brought our country to the brink of a new Great Depression with his Iraq lie, no bid contracts for Dick Cheney's Halliburton, unfunded medicare part D, and tax cuts for the über rich. Now all of a sudden Jeb Bradley is a fiscal conservative? What a load of bull.

This piece is riddled with lies and distortions, which pretty much sums up the current state of the Republican Party. Republicans can't talk without lying these days it seems, we can't have an honest debate because they are too busy fearmongering. Inventing death panels birth certificate conspiracies, and numerous other BALD FACED LIES. (and of course right leaning media like the Union Leader do absolutely nothing to correct the record when the lies are put out there).

Republicans have to be the most selfish people on the face of the earth. Want to raise the minimum wage? Republicans will stand against it. Want to expand healthcare for children? Republicans will stand against it. Want to do something about global warming? Republicans stand against it. Want to bring the USA out of third world status on healthcare? Republicans stand against it. You can go on ad nauseum.

The entire Republican agenda can be summed up as "more tax cuts for the wealthy please." It seems to me that the only thing Republicans want is more for them and less for everyone else. It's tragic and pathetic.
- Bert Gerrish, Manchester

Paul, paul, paul why do you want to make things worse. The Congress has great health care. Why shouldn't the rest of us have good health care. Instead of continually tearing stuff down, why not build up the bad stuff to the level of the good stuff. You are in the bottom of the hole and refuse to stop digging. What do they pay for health care? They, for instance Ted Kennedy, spend 50 years of their lives sometimes, trying to fix the messes that Republicanics do in their sleep (the previous two administrations for example). A screw up like Katrina, or Iraq, or Abramoff or you name it is very expensive and time consuming to fix. Fortunately, Obama includes the willing Americans in his proposals and is perfectly willing to leave obstructionist Republicanic conservatives to their own mean spirited, greedy little efforts to tear things down. (Except their children who can't be blamed for their parents political thoughlessness.)
- Robert, Deerfield

Jeb Bradley is the corporate hack that won't go away, no matter how many elections he loses. He is from a wealthy family and never had to earn an honest living in his life.

Jeb represents the health insurance companies, those are his constituents. He has no regard for the NH residents who are seeing double-digit premium increases each year from their health insurance companies.

Only a non-profit, governmental plan would provide real competition to the insurance companies and help drive down costs. Jeb knows this but is only concerned about protecting the exorbitant profits for the health insurance companies.
- James R., Hampstead, NH

Koolaid blinders on fringe right people seem to effective in keeping them from understand THEIR boy Bush ran up national spending WITHOUT paying for his two quagmire wars WHILE handing a middle-class-bends-over-and-spreads'em tax break to those who did not deserve it or need it.

Now, with blinders still firmly strapped to their heads, they can only see Obama as the cause of all our national troubles. Ha ha that's laughble.

Eight heinously mismanaged, sabre-rattling years out of Bush are now nonexistent, never happened, but ten months of the most thoughtful President in decades is cause to react like a flock of Chicken Littles. I can only imagine their self-pitying angst near the end of Obama's second term!

Their is nothing we can do for these koolaid addicts. Addiction, it seems, is forever. Fringe right neocons are simply going to have to be uncomfortable and unhappy. It seems they can't get their blinders off and we are not going to be putting them on.
- Roger, Rochester

I have an idea that addresses the complaints about health care and unpaid-for wars piling up debt on our kids:

First GOP whiners completely pay off Bush's two wars, and then Democrats will pay for their own health care mandate, without GOP whiners participating at all, they can buy private insurance. Bingo, everyone get their own priorities first!

The Republicans can have all the glory of their wrongheaded fight for democracy as their very very own. I hope they cherish that - lol! The Dems get health coverage. Everyone should be happy and it seems like an equitable way to dispose of our current bills.
- Billy, New Boston

10.2% are unemployed right now, 2 wars are going on, the American auto industry is now essentially dead, and the banks are in shambles. How on earth can anyone think that shoving this health care reform down our throats right now is anything but a disaster? Fix the health care insurance industry, cap lawsuits against doctors, and stop giving away the pharmaceuticals that the government develops and set caps on what we are then charged for those drugs. Oh ya, nobody in government would get rich off those things.
- CL, Manchester

NSR,

you and I both appear to be non-fans on Bush's liberal spending habits. Can you help me see any change that Obama has brought with him? So far I see only more of the same from the WhiteHouse and from Congress.

Checks and Balances has been perverted by both the Whitehouse and Congress to mean write checks without regard to the balance in the account.

Carol Shea-Porter is a great example of a walking hypocrisy: Her husband is a US veteran, yet does not receive medical care from the VA system. Similarly, Carol supports the current excuse for healthcare reform that will continue to provide federal employees with a different system of healthcare than the rest of us are able to purchase.

The problem with current proposals is they lack solutions to all of the current complaints about the healthcare system. Instead, like good plebes congress has "solved" all that ails the healthcare system with a checkbook, the taxpayers checkbook. To enact real reform would require going against special interests and actually representing the interests of the people. That was not an option on the ballot for NH first congressional district in 2008.
- Michael Layon, Derry

Jeb Bradley had no problem spending a trillion dollars to kill people for no identifiable purpose. I’d rather spend a trillion dollars over ten years taking care of our people, than fighting a senseless war. We have a defense system that protected us from real threats- like the Soviet nuclear arsenal. Today we have our nation’s entire mite trying to suppress a bunch of thugs who have no weapons that threaten us and only present a danger to our troops because we’re there. It’s a waste of lives and money. Let’s bring the troops home and use the money to heal people instead of killing people.
- Gary, Bedford

"Patriot Paul?" Bob? Greg?

Are you kidding?

You're the kind of people who hate America, becuase an election didn't go your way.

Bush's eight years were the biggest disaster this country has ever had. I just pray to God that real Americans can help fix some of that damage.

Bradley is as big a hack as Gregg and they both sold the country down the river.
- NSR, Epping, NH

Hey Dave,

NPR, now that is an unbiased media outlet. Please give me more, quote ABC, CNN, ABC&Y MSNBC. While no one is perfect and yes past Presidents have under estimated but please Dave they didn't do it deliberately! Please review the emperor's history, he wants a one payer health system, he wants re-distribution of wealth, he protects ACORN and SEIU, while paving the way for AARP to get more. He wants long lines and reduced healthcare services and yes he wants the Obamaites and then the rest of us. BTW you do understand that there is already an exodus from the medical profession so you better call your local veternarian!
- Ray, Raymond

Mr. Bradley, what did you do for the rest of us while you wiled away your days following the party line while in Congress?
Carol works very, very hard for the rest of us. You worked for the haves, and were part of the administration that wrecked our reputation, shredded our economy, put our environment in mortal danger, and put what remains of the middle class on the skids. Why in the world would I want to listen to you?
- Lucy Edwards, Northwood

You have to laugh at Robert from Deerfield's naivete. Rich conservative Republicans? C'mon. The Dems are the party of the rich elites and all these programs serve those interests. Health care is but one of the lynchpins of freedom that must be dislodged so that Americans can become slaves to those who would impose their utopian managed society upon us. They are even going to give teachers a litmus test now for social issues and if you don't pass muster you won't be hired. That will get rid of all conservatives in public education who question stuff like this and won't teach to the 'agenda'.
- Sue, Manchester

NSR

But Jeb Bradley is not lying when he points out how the Democrats always place a lower cost on their schemes when selling them to the public and in my book that is deceit on the people they claim to serve.

Anyone can look up John Kerry selling the people Boston’s BIG DIG project and his words are still etched into my brain. He said “it would cost 9 billion dollars and continued to say it would be a bargain at any cost."

Well that is exactly what the people got, any cost as it sky rocketed to nearly double the price claimed to the people. Forget the fact it is still plagued with problems that need constant fixing. It seems that when the Democrats want to gain control of either spending or creating another government institution lying is not an issue that should get in the way of their plans for us.

Those of us who think are no longer interested in the lefts name calling attacks as they avoid honest facts, so I’m not sure who you intend to sway or manipulate with such childish tactics. The party should just call itself the socialist or communist party because the name Democrat Party is now as big a lie as the cost they are telling us for this health care takeover plan and luckily for the nation even many a Democrat are starting to pay attention rather than follow the name callers like yourself with the exception of the corrupt one party state of Massachusetts.
- Deb, Derry

This guy was already shown what his opinion means to the voters of NH! Go away!
- DM, Hampton

Okay, so let's argue the facts:

1) First, this is another example of a Republican suddenly becoming hyper cost and deficit conscious after not complaining or raising an alarm during eight years of Bush, who cut taxes to the tune of 1.5 trillion, pushed through Medicare part B to the tune of 1/2 a trillion, started wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to the tune of.... etc, etc. When you complain about costs ONLY when it's the opposing party proposing them, it undermines your credibility rather starkly.

2) The whole 'across state lines' meme sounds good, but as is easily discernible if you do a little research, most health care analysts feel that this is a bad idea. Why? Because if one state eases regulations, (sort of like Delaware for corporations), then insurance consumers will all flock the the cheapest, unregulated states, which will undermine the plans in the states with higher regulations and costs.

3) Tort reform. This has been shown to be a tiny percentage (somewhere around 3%) of the overall costs of the health care burden in this country. So though there are benefits, they would be small. In addition, is it really fair to ask health care consumers who are the victims of malpractice to give up their rights of redress to solve this problem? Is limiting the rights of consumers - for the benefit of insurance companies - really the GOP's best idea for reform?

4) When Medicare was introduced - a program, remember, that now enjoys an almost 80% approval rating among its beneficiaries - President Johnson purposefully understated the projected costs , to make it's passage more likely- realizing that estimating the costs too far into the future would make voters nervous and put them off the plan. Jeb Bradley knows this - hell, it was on NPR a few weeks ago - but he does not point it out. Instead he states the comparison as apples and apples. That's misleading.

5) He continues to use the phrase 'government-run health care', which is itself disingenuous. The government will no more run 'health care' - which is provided by hospitals, clinics, and doctors - than insurance companies do now. The reforms being proposed have more to do with reforming the private health care PAYMENT system- which is, by any measure, bloated and inefficient, far more so than Medicare - than it does with reforming how providers deliver service. Mr. Bradley also knows this. But he continues to use misleading, incendiary language in order to kill any effort to provide Americans with affordable health care coverage.

Corporate money and lobbyists have already successfully defeated single-payer, which, in MHO, is the only real way to truly initiate the top-to-bottom reforms that are necessary. Rather than being happy, the GOP continues to scrape away at the last remaining vestiges of real reform, ensuring years of rising health care premiums with their obstinate disregard of the needs of average working Americans.
- Dave, Sandwich

Robert, Robert, Robert!:
* Please ask the Obamaites if they will sign up for the healthcare bill?
* Please ask them why they have the Ted Kennedy Health Plan that protects them for having to join.
* Please ask them if they pay 1 cent for healthcare today.
* Let me see almost $1T so 40M get insurance, we get medicaid cuts and these gov't panels have already stated no mammograms until 50 and no pap smears until 21. People will die but hey we save money right Robert.
* Please ask your Congress reps (comrades) why don't they meet with their constituents?
* Finally please ask them if they have kids and grandkids and if so do they feel good about passing on this debt to them.

So Robert you are right! We are well on our way to a 2 class system the Obamites and the rest of us.
- Paul, Candia

We have a great President, the general rules he has laid down for a health care package are solid and fair. Supporters of Obama like CSP are doing the right thing and I commend her.

Jeb Bradley here is just a GOP koolaid addict with nothing to offer or say, just scare scare scare, except Jeb Bradley does not have what it takes to scare anyone!

Nice work NSR, get in there early and rankle these myopic sticks-in-the-mud.
- Roger, Rochester

Thank you Jeb for your strong leadership. CSP is nothing but a complete disappointment who has failed the people of New Hampshire. She has voted to gamble our children's and grandchildren's future with higher taxes, bigger deficits, and unfunded mandates..but what more do you expect for someone who takes her marching orders from Nancy Pelosi.

Jeb, I wish we still had your leadership and common sense values in Washington right now - we could use it.
- Jennifer P, Manchester

I am and have been waiting for anyone who supports this healthcare bill to show me where in the Constitution or U.S. Code that every citizen is entitled to health care. It's bad enough that medical facilities are required to provide emergency services to those suffering from life-threatening injuries or illnesses, but even that concept has been morphed into providing free routine medical care for indigent, low-income and unscrupulous cretins who believe that they ARE entitled to receive these benefits that are paid for by honest, hard-working people through increased health insurance premiums. Treatment for those who cannot afford it should be a choice by the medical facility - not a requirement.
- Steve, Strafford

I cannot believe the load of bull still being touted by left wing radicals. They still cling to the idea they are right in wanting bigger government and more interference in our lives. These people, though they may be able to put a couple sentences together want government to do their thinking because they are either too lazy or too ignorant to handle it themselves. They care not about balancing our own checkbook but want all our children to pay for their blatant abuse of power.

I do however, agree with one thing. Most in Congress need to go and We the People need to take control of these people. They lie and they cheat. They are the biggest abusers of the system because they write the laws. They enact laws and add taxes but they continue to think they are above the law. They write tax laws and then write in loop holes so they do not have to pay the new taxes. They are pushing Healthcare Reform down our throats that will give government total control of the population but they will not take part in it.

We need to make sure the next round of politicians damn well remember they work for the people not the special interest groups. We need to take back the debt we have given our Children and give them back their lives. Hopefully they learn by our mistakes.
- John D., Danbury

I suppose that Jeb figures his doing nothing is better that Carol's doing something.

Where was Jeb when the drug companies took over the prescription drug coverage for Medicare (oops -- government health care) recipients?
- Doug, Gilford

Well said Jeb! Now that you are in the State Senate perhaps you can convince the rest of the legislature to pass a recall law. Carol is as good as gone, but I wish we did not have to wait until next year to let her see what unemployment is like.
- Gary Hoffman, Bedford, NH

We've already got the two class system. There are the rich conservative Republicanics and the rest of us. Of course they want no health care changes. They have got theirs. Bradley, in Congress and poodling for Bush when the deficit went through the roof, no bid contracts were the name of the game, two wars started and not even understood, National Debt from five to say ten trillion and $750 billion in TARP money given to stock brokers and bankers on their way out the door and now they want to cut back? Republicanics are for limited government - limited to Republicanics. They are corrupt and can't be trusted now or ever.
- Robert, Deerfield

NSR cut and pasted his remarks from his attack on Senator Gregg two days ago.

Again, he can't debate the points made.

His socialist buddy's in Washington can't debate either and they will lose in '10 and '12.
- Greg L, Hudson

Well said, Jeb. The first thing I noticed in the readers comments complaining about Jeb Bradleys` view on this subject, there was a lot of name calling, but no dispute of the facts. This is because Jeb has presented the facts accurately. The remarks concerning bi-partisonship are a joke. For my money, if going along with a stupid idea is what it takes to be bi-partison, I was glad Jeb voted common sense instead of bi-partison, when he was in office. With the libs trying to put forth such destructive legislation as nationalized health care, cap and tax ( to support that fairy tale of global warming ), soon to be followed by amnesty for illegal alliens (i.e. foreign criminals) New Hamshire would be much better served if we had representation like Jeb Bradley, as opposed to the intellectual midgets we are suffering with now.
I`m looking forward to 2010 in hopes that we can get rid of the Shay Porters and Hodes types. If we can at least install a common sense check on Comrad Obama, maybe the destruction of our country can be stopped, or at least minimized.
- Vic, Derry

Come on now please don't give Carol Shea Pelosi credit for saying anything. Don't you see the strings being pulled by Pelosi et al to make her mouth move? I am curious when she spews all the good, she doesn't mention that on her watch the gov't has driven the national debt more in one year that all the other presidents combined. Fact. As for the continued banter on jobs, how many high tech jobs have been created? how many mid management jobs have been created. All we hear is the healthcare and temporary highway jobs will save the US. People, can't you see the goal of this admin is to establish a 2 class system with healthcare, cap and trade and increased taxes. I can't wait for the castles and moats to be built for this admin by their temporary stimulus jobs! But they will have the word healthcare whether they get any is another quest/ NSR comments on the subject and not the person?
- Pete, Pembroke

Jeb Bradley, go away! You lost twice against Porter. Don't you get the message the voters have given you yet?
- Bob V, Manchester

NSR,

Your vitriolic attack on Sen. Bradley is irrelevant and does not diminish the fact that he is dead on in his analysis of Shea-Porter and the health "care" debacle.

We can only hope that a few courageous democrat congressmen will show the spine necessary to defeat this monstrosity.

"I told you so" is going to be small comfort for our children and gandchildren when the multi-trillion dollar bill comes due and medical rationing begins!
- Patriot Paul, Hampton

NSR Be serious, more of a disastrous nature has happened in the last 10 months than the last ten years.

Please pay attention to the failed Obama Presidency, Please pay attention to the Debt that the Socialist Democrat Party has thrust upon everyone. Please pay attention to dropping troop morale due to presidential dithering. Please pay attention to wacky extreme liberal people from Chicago and San Francisco running the Congress.

The same goes to you NSR for trying to divert attention away from the disastrous Socialist Democrat Party. It will not work, people are on to that cheap trick.
- Bob, Salem

Carol Shea Porter on her web sites in 2006 and 2008 said she supported Medicare for all which means "Canadian Style" healthcare. If anything she has moved to the right on this issue. CSP wasn't anywhere close to supporting GOP positions on Health-care or any other issue.

Carol Shea Porter supported Pelosi and Obama at higher percentage than Bradley supported Bush or Delay. Carol Shea Porter voted for twice the amount of Federal expenditures as Bradley did in his two terms.

Next year the voters will send her a strong message and one that will pave the way for her new career as a Labor Union Lobbyist.
- Chris, Merrimack

Jeb Bradley! Of all the hacks without a plan, a clue, or a future.

All he did - all this hack Bradley did for his four failed and pitiful years in congress - was vote with hard right radicals like Tom Delay and Michelle Bachman to advance an anti-New Hampshire agenda at every turn.

At no point in Bradley's "career" did he do anything that put him remotely at odds against Bush's TRILLION dollar wars all over the globe.

At no point in Bradley's career did he stand up for financial responsibility, or accountability.

All this hack Bradley did was take his marching orders from Tom Delay and like a good little boy, he did what he was told.

He disgraced America with his four failed years in office - but worse than that, he embarrassed New Hampshire by his presence in the capital.

He was never bi-partisan, never supported compromise, never supported a path that would help the poorest Americans get a leg up at any time.

Jeb Bradley was bought and paid for by rich lobbyists and ordered around like a shoeshine boy by people like Tom Delay.

Jeb Bradley? Talking about health care?

Shameful, Jeb. Like your whole career, a simple shame.
- NSR, Epping, NH