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Health Care Bingo-Play Along At Home January 19, 2011

Having spent the better part of two hours watching C-SPAN today, I can report that some new sound bites will emerge. House members are using a variety of speaking techniques to regale a small live audience with sound bites for the home crowd.Create a bingo card and listen for these words and phrases:

Contrary to media reports-the legislation has not been changed to read “Job-Destroying” instead of “Job-Killing” in the Thomas system for Congress.

I just heard a new alliterative term, “Trillion-dollar tragedy” from a Republican member.

A Democratic member from Oregon, Representative Wu, finally brought the D’s into the rhyming fold with two phrases, “Amend, don’t end!” He also used “Mend, don’t end!”

I could pay my monthly COBRA premium with a dollar for the number of times I have heard the phrase “donut hole” and “hurt small businesses” today, from both side of the aisle.

Rep. John Fleming (R-FL) from the 4th District created a new phrase in calling the bill’s accounting system, a “Disney fantasy”. Did he mean the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report?

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) from the 7th District used a repetition technique when describing the effects of a repeal:

NO CARE, for young people under 26

NO CARE, for pre-existing conditions

NO CARE, if you are in the donut hole (extra square here)

Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) from the 6th District used the phrase “Enron accountant”, thus linking a previous scandal linguistically to the current legislation.

A Democrat,  Jay Inslee (WA-1st District) gets the last word here for giving a floor speech without using any of the previous phrases, but introducing sport to the House Floor by suggesting that PPACA asks “Americans to jump without a parachute”. He did go on to mention some health successes in the state of Washington, which include Providence Everett hospital reducing the stay of cardiac patients by almost one full day; and reducing the rate of infection by almost 50%.

Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL), of the 13th District began his speech with this statement:  “This bill …has nationalized 1/6 of the national economy!” Since all of the for-profit health care and insurance stock prices went up immediately upon passage last March, I hardly think that is the case.

Good day for English majors and bingo players-lots of fiction on the floor today, some rhetorical devices, a little poetry and some ,but not enough non-fiction.

For the center Bingo square: feel free to use “let’s be clear”.