Congressional candidate Pete Stauber sure sounded a lot like President Donald Trump with a statement in a commentary in the News Tribune on Oct. 21 ( Candidate's View: "American dream can be available to everyone" ).
Stauber wrote: "Of course I support covering pre-existing conditions."
That was it? What exactly did he mean? Given that House and Senate Republicans tried repeatedly to repeal the Affordable Care Act without proposing an alternative, can we trust Stauber's statement? How does he propose to protect citizens with pre-existing conditions? His vague platitude sounded like Trump throwing out a bone. Easy to say, but where's the substance?
Stauber also proposed that parents be able to cover their children on insurance plans until the age of "24 or 25." Does he not know the ACA already covers children up to 26? So what he proposed was a rollback of existing provisions. Sounded again a lot like Trump.
He also claimed without evidence that his opponent supports a "full-throttle $33 trillion government takeover of health care" that would "kick seniors and veterans off their health care altogether." How scary! First, the entire 2018 federal budget request put forward by the White House was about $4 trillion. Setting aside that Trump and Republicans expanded the federal budget and increased the deficit, the math Stauber used to get from $4 trillion to $66 trillion for one program alluded me. The image of a takeover by bureaucrats - or, perhaps, government stormtroopers - seemed meant to scare people and distract from the fact he doesn't offer a better way." Such disinformation seems a deliberate attempt to inflame voters with angry rhetoric typical of Trump.
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Stauber's pandering comment that "Minnesotans are ... what makes America great" showed clear allegiance to Trump. Given Trump's penchant for disinformation and scaremongering, the real Stauber seems to be an eager and ready Trump copycat.
John Goodge
Duluth
