History repeating itself....

[634-5789]

[Phoenix61]

1. Wow! Just wow. nt

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

2. More info...

Frustrated, President Dwight Eisenhower ordered Hobby to quickly develop a plan for vaccine distribution since summer was coming and the rate of infection rose with the heat. Hobby, a conservative Republican donor from Texas, was slow to respond, so Eisenhower called a cabinet meeting to discuss his desire for free federal distribution of the vaccine. But Hobby wanted states, corporations, or charities to distribute the vaccine—anybody but the federal government. As Lepore explains, she opposed “socialized medicine.”

More at link:

https://www.govexec.com/management/2020/07/history-does-repeat-itself-lessons-polio-vaccine/167068/

[elleng]

3. Thanks for this.

[HUAJIAO]

8. What a selfish, stupid, ignorant moron. Oh wait, she was a republican......

[Earth-shine]

15. I Like Ike!

[sprinkleeninow]

4. The vileness is difficult to comprehend.

[rickyhall]

5. The dumbastards never learn.

[monkeyman1]

6. classic republican's , worthless . donny said he'd take 'm down .

[Bo Zarts]

7. As a victim of polio, you would think Mitch McConnell might have grown up more compassionate ..

McConnell contracted polio in Alabama as a two year old, and was treated at the Warm Springs Rehabilitation Center in Georgia. One might think that such an experience would temper Mitch's later life, especially with respect to compassion. Obviously, and inexplicably, it did no such thing.

[SunSeeker]

14. Yup, just like how the wheelchair-bound governor of Texas refused the ACA's Medicaid expansion.

Governir Greg Abbott is a soulless asshole, like everyone currently in the Republican Party.

[mopinko]

16. not to mention fdr.

[treestar]

9. Really stupid

communicable diseases are an entirely different thing. It's not socialism and is one thing the government should do, even to right wing minds. It is not about redistributing wealth but about stopping the disease from spreading.

[titanicdave]

10. ......Where Have We Heard That Before????...........

.....The Rethugs NEVER LEARN......

[smirkymonkey]

11. K&R

They are always on the wrong side of everything. Always! You would think people would catch on after a while.

[dmr]

13. Then they take the credit when it all works out.

They always do that, without fail.

[caraher]

12. This is somewhat oversimplified

Yes, Hobby was a Republican with the same mindset as today's Republicans (and she had backup from Barry Goldwater). But Eisenhower was immensely frustrated by this, and the party as a whole wanted kids to get the vaccine ASAP.

Frustrated, President Dwight Eisenhower ordered Hobby to quickly develop a plan for vaccine distribution since summer was coming and the rate of infection rose with the heat. Hobby, a conservative Republican donor from Texas, was slow to respond, so Eisenhower called a cabinet meeting to discuss his desire for free federal distribution of the vaccine. But Hobby wanted states, corporations, or charities to distribute the vaccine—anybody but the federal government. As (author of "Cell Strain" Jill) Lepore explains, she (Hobby) opposed “socialized medicine.”

At the cabinet meeting, Hobby proposed waiting to see how many states would provide the vaccine themselves without federal funds. Governors, however, wanted the federal government to take charge. The cabinet argued about how to pay for the vaccine for poor children whose families could not afford it. Hobby proved an implacable obstacle to planning, and even declined to decide what federal agency should take the lead in distributing the vaccine.

Grilled at hearings that summer by unhappy members of Congress, Hobby insisted the problems could not have been foreseen. Forced by Congress to take some action, she finally developed a program to allocate grants to states to provide funding for the delivery of the vaccine to poor children, but continued to make it clear that the federal government would not “take charge” or make the vaccine “compulsory.” More hearings ensued, and while some lawmakers called for Hobby’s resignation, she support from Sen. Barry Goldwater, who shared her fear that a government vaccination program would be “socialized medicine by the back door, not the front door.”

Needless to say, Ike and his ilk would be run out of today's Republican party. After all, Eisenhower led anti-fascists in deadly attacks...

[malthaussen]

19. "the problems could not have been foreseen"

Where have we heard that before?

-- Mal

[czarjak]

17. Republicans. Wrong, and damned proud of it too. Still.

[malthaussen]

18. Not much different from the 19th century and the smallpox vaccine.

The excuses change ("socialized medicine" was not a thing in 1800), but the song remains the same.

-- Mal

[BobTheSubgenius]

20. The more things change....etc.

This was the Cold War thinking of 2 generations ago. Why have things not changed, at least in the concept of delivering health care? What exactly is the downside of having your citizens - you know the ones...the people you are ostensibly serving - be healthier today than they were yesterday?

Billionaires will still be billionaires, so let them whine and bluster all they want. Countries FAR poorer than the US can manage universal health care, and every industrialized country does.

[ShazzieB]

21. Some things never change. 😖