By John Wilkes from Eyesonobama.com:
Joining in a similar comment made by Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN), conservative Republican Senator Jim DeMint declared that health care was a privilege for those Americans who can afford to pay for it, or who work for an employer willing to carry them, not a right for all.
Joining in a similar comment made by Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN), conservative Republican Senator Jim DeMint declared that health care was a privilege for those Americans who can afford to pay for it, or who work for an employer willing to carry them, not a right for all.
In an interview with Charleston's Post and Carrier, a newspaper from DeMint's native South Carolina, the two-term Republican was asked whether her believed Americans had a right to health care. DeMint replied, "I think health care is a privilege. I wouldn't call it a right."
Wamp, who is running for Governor of Tennessee in 2010, made the same comment earlier in the week, declaring that "health care is a privilege, not a right."
Their reasoning raises a few interesting questions: do children have a "right" to education? Do people who can't afford to have 12-foot fences and alarm systems have a "right" to have their property protected by police? And yet, both are essentially socialized services, paid for by the taxpayer and not necessarily used by all. In those cases, as well as in health care, we're not talking about a benefit conferred by the Constitution. Certainly in providing every individual the opportunity for free K-12 education, we're going far beyond the mandates of securing for American citizens the inalienable rights of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." But in refusing to provide Americans with affordable options for health care- whether government-operated or private co-ops, both of which are vehemently opposed by the majority of Republicans- are average men and women not deprived of the "right" to life? If the choice is made not by the individual, but rather superseded by the person's financial abilities and constraints, is that really a right at all?