Joy Reid Takes A Reality Hammer And Destroys The Conservative Argument Against Obamacare

During MSNBC’s MTP Daily, Joy Reid got into a philosophical argument with conservative columnist John Podhoretz and destroyed the conservative argument that health care should be a choice with a blast of reality.

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Podhertaz made the philosophical argument that people should be able to do whatever they want with their own money and take their own risks. If someone doesn’t want to buy health insurance and gets into an accident, they will have to pay the bill.

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Reid explained to how it works in the real world, “If you are in that car, and you’re an uninsured motorist, and you get hit by a bus, or you hit a bus, you go into the emergency room, and you still end up having your health care paid for by the community, because the emergency room is going to treat you.”

Podhertaz said, “No. you should pay for it yourself.”

Reid replied, “So now, you’ve got some reality.”

The Podhertaz and Reid discussion raises a key conflict with conservative ideology. Conservative philosophy places individual liberty ahead of the community. In an ideal world, a person would be held responsible for their own decision not to buy health insurance, but that is not what happens in the real world.

In reality, conservatives who don’t buy health insurance become free riders who take no personal responsibility for their decisions. When the conservative who has an accident goes to the hospital, they get treatment, and the members of the community who do have health insurance pay for their care through higher insurance premiums.

The reason Trumpcare is failing is that it is trying to provide access to health care by using conservative principles that are opposed to health care access for all.

Joy Reid represented the segment of America that is living in reality.

John Podhertaz was arguing for a philosophical idea that is completely out of touch with how the world works.

Their argument explains why Republicans are boxed in and failing in their efforts to replace Obamacare.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association