Excellent points, Mike. I have no doubt he had depression, but he behaved irresponsibly. I hope someday we can stop this epidemic of insider trading in government.
I don't think Congress should receive healthcare that's separate from the general public's care. Their healthcare should be linked to the way they vote. Why should they get the benefit of healthcare while denying it to their constituents? If they deny it to the American public, they should also be denied to the same degree. It's harder to vote against your own interests than to take away from someone else. They need to be forced to have 'skin in the game'.
Well, Obamacare originally included what they called the "public option," basically the chance for anyone to buy into Medicare. But it was killed by my second most despised politician of the 2000s: Joe Lieberman or as I called him Joe Liarman, whose wife was a lobbyist for big hospital interests.
(My #1 most despised was Dick Cheney. And he doesn't seem so awful anymore!)
I agree with you. I, too, experienced major depression and severe anxiety. It runs in my family. Get treatment for sure, but don't lie about your absence from your job for 4 months. That just ruins your credibility.
If billionaires get tax cuts, it’s capitalism. If large corporations gets huge amounts of money from the government for free, it’s not corporate welfare, it’s capitalism. If poor people get healthcare, it’s socialism and that’s bad.
I have been saying for years that Congress should be limited by law to no better healthcare then what Congress provides to the people of this country. You could bet we would have socialized medicine if that were the case.
I don't like to defend any of these people, but I see many outsiders (citizens, non-federal employees) make the assumption that ALL of the healthcare that House & Senate members get is free. That is not true. They have health insurance with co-pays, deductibles, etc. However, I do think Trump's care is 100% free while he's in office. So disgusting.
The issue is not that they do or don’t have to pay for it, although not paying for it would make it all worse. The issue for me is simply that I know they get extremely good healthcare, kind of healthcare that my partner and I get, because he is medical. Regular people don’t get that kind of healthcare. Medical bankruptcy is all too common, and people have to decide between food and healthcare. You can bet the Congress people do not
I don't think talk of taking things away from Congress is helpful. Same when I hear talk of cutting their pay. The only thing this accomplishes is to assure that ordinary people cannot serve in Congress and making it a fiefdom of the Rick Scotts and Darrell Issas (both criminals but very wealthy) of the world. But the Max Frosts and AOCs and my congresswoman Shontel Brown would not be able to consider it because none of them are rich.
I wasn’t talking about taking anything from Congress. But they will not act for the benefit of the people. And if the people cannot have healthcare, then neither should Congress. This would be a motivation for them to pass a decent healthcare law rather than a comp compromise like Obamacare, or just tell people that they can die
I do not want to sound cruel but depression or not, I did not buy that story. He was gone for 4 months and shirked his duties and as you said was certainly well enough to engage in insider trading. These days, it is rare to be hospitalized with depression for 4 months. They generally stabilize you and then wean you back into society (your home or whatever) as soon as possible. He and his family covered this up and congress did not even realize he was missing for quite some time which shows you how inept it has become. When you are a public servant, you are responsible to your constituents. That is the problem with so many in congress, they forget that they are public servants. They work for us, or are supposed to. The fact that almost all senators and many in the house come from privilege adds to this problem. Those that should be making way for the young do not want to give up their power.
To be fair, Congress was probably in recess for much of that time because Liddle Mikey is scared to do anything that might upset Daddy Trump.
Also being young is no guarantee you will be in tune with the needs of others. The two most progressive senators are both closer to 80 than 70, and both never stop fighting for regular people (The Massachusetts Two).
call his office and ask what he is now going to do for the American people, so they get the same great care, paid FMLA, etc., as he did. If he can't answer, that's the answer that needs to be to be told...(202) 225-5361
Thank you. I can't believe this isn't more of an issue. It doesn't even matter what his illness was, he has a clear, obvious responsibility to inform the public..and as Mike points out, he still found time to not only make investments but travel to Las Vegas and to a conference in Virginia.
Also like Mike says here, it still really doesn't add up. Why on earth was it impossible for him to say anything at all for months?
I think Keane's going to pay for the way he handled this in November. I agree that it's great he got the help he needed and even better that he didn't try and cover up his diagnosis. 30 years ago no politician would dare to admit a mental health diagnosis it just wasn't done, so I'm glad we're moving forward as a country to the point where even a Republican representative is open about this. The other side is he voted to take the same care away from his constituents.
That congressman that went missing for months was actually being treated for depression, kinda ironic republicans do not support mental health, but for them its okay??????
Just use this case against his reelection, he’s worthless. Counting on sympathy votes, delivered nothing- except to his own bottom line. Call that public service? Representation? Use this case against Republicans, all.
I too once suffered from depression. But I got help. I stayed on my job and was honest about my struggle. We should expect no less from our politicians.
Excellent points, Mike. I have no doubt he had depression, but he behaved irresponsibly. I hope someday we can stop this epidemic of insider trading in government.
Tom Kean needs to go. Vote him out. Mentality capable if inside trading but too diminished to tolerate congress.
I don't think Congress should receive healthcare that's separate from the general public's care. Their healthcare should be linked to the way they vote. Why should they get the benefit of healthcare while denying it to their constituents? If they deny it to the American public, they should also be denied to the same degree. It's harder to vote against your own interests than to take away from someone else. They need to be forced to have 'skin in the game'.
Well, Obamacare originally included what they called the "public option," basically the chance for anyone to buy into Medicare. But it was killed by my second most despised politician of the 2000s: Joe Lieberman or as I called him Joe Liarman, whose wife was a lobbyist for big hospital interests.
(My #1 most despised was Dick Cheney. And he doesn't seem so awful anymore!)
100% Mike, he should have to give his salary back for all the time he missed and then get voted out.
I agree with you. I, too, experienced major depression and severe anxiety. It runs in my family. Get treatment for sure, but don't lie about your absence from your job for 4 months. That just ruins your credibility.
If billionaires get tax cuts, it’s capitalism. If large corporations gets huge amounts of money from the government for free, it’s not corporate welfare, it’s capitalism. If poor people get healthcare, it’s socialism and that’s bad.
I have been saying for years that Congress should be limited by law to no better healthcare then what Congress provides to the people of this country. You could bet we would have socialized medicine if that were the case.
I don't like to defend any of these people, but I see many outsiders (citizens, non-federal employees) make the assumption that ALL of the healthcare that House & Senate members get is free. That is not true. They have health insurance with co-pays, deductibles, etc. However, I do think Trump's care is 100% free while he's in office. So disgusting.
The issue is not that they do or don’t have to pay for it, although not paying for it would make it all worse. The issue for me is simply that I know they get extremely good healthcare, kind of healthcare that my partner and I get, because he is medical. Regular people don’t get that kind of healthcare. Medical bankruptcy is all too common, and people have to decide between food and healthcare. You can bet the Congress people do not
I don't think talk of taking things away from Congress is helpful. Same when I hear talk of cutting their pay. The only thing this accomplishes is to assure that ordinary people cannot serve in Congress and making it a fiefdom of the Rick Scotts and Darrell Issas (both criminals but very wealthy) of the world. But the Max Frosts and AOCs and my congresswoman Shontel Brown would not be able to consider it because none of them are rich.
I wasn’t talking about taking anything from Congress. But they will not act for the benefit of the people. And if the people cannot have healthcare, then neither should Congress. This would be a motivation for them to pass a decent healthcare law rather than a comp compromise like Obamacare, or just tell people that they can die
No, it would't. Why should half-billionaire congressmen care whether the job comes with. health care?
If I were a Republican, I would be depressed too.
The republicans have made all of us depressed.
He says he suffered from depression, but if he was engaged in insider trading, he wasn't that “disabled”.
I do not want to sound cruel but depression or not, I did not buy that story. He was gone for 4 months and shirked his duties and as you said was certainly well enough to engage in insider trading. These days, it is rare to be hospitalized with depression for 4 months. They generally stabilize you and then wean you back into society (your home or whatever) as soon as possible. He and his family covered this up and congress did not even realize he was missing for quite some time which shows you how inept it has become. When you are a public servant, you are responsible to your constituents. That is the problem with so many in congress, they forget that they are public servants. They work for us, or are supposed to. The fact that almost all senators and many in the house come from privilege adds to this problem. Those that should be making way for the young do not want to give up their power.
To be fair, Congress was probably in recess for much of that time because Liddle Mikey is scared to do anything that might upset Daddy Trump.
Also being young is no guarantee you will be in tune with the needs of others. The two most progressive senators are both closer to 80 than 70, and both never stop fighting for regular people (The Massachusetts Two).
The majority of the Republican Party are a vile party. Period.
call his office and ask what he is now going to do for the American people, so they get the same great care, paid FMLA, etc., as he did. If he can't answer, that's the answer that needs to be to be told...(202) 225-5361
Thank you. I can't believe this isn't more of an issue. It doesn't even matter what his illness was, he has a clear, obvious responsibility to inform the public..and as Mike points out, he still found time to not only make investments but travel to Las Vegas and to a conference in Virginia.
Also like Mike says here, it still really doesn't add up. Why on earth was it impossible for him to say anything at all for months?
I think Keane's going to pay for the way he handled this in November. I agree that it's great he got the help he needed and even better that he didn't try and cover up his diagnosis. 30 years ago no politician would dare to admit a mental health diagnosis it just wasn't done, so I'm glad we're moving forward as a country to the point where even a Republican representative is open about this. The other side is he voted to take the same care away from his constituents.
Does the name Thomas Eagleton mean anything to anyone anymore? Google him. It was once a career killer, just like being gay was.
That congressman that went missing for months was actually being treated for depression, kinda ironic republicans do not support mental health, but for them its okay??????
Just use this case against his reelection, he’s worthless. Counting on sympathy votes, delivered nothing- except to his own bottom line. Call that public service? Representation? Use this case against Republicans, all.
I too once suffered from depression. But I got help. I stayed on my job and was honest about my struggle. We should expect no less from our politicians.