Shooting themselves in the head

Yesterday I quoted John Cole as to why he was leaving the Republican Party:

I simply can not believe this is what the Republican party has become. I just can’t. It just makes me sick to think all those years of supporting this party, and this is what it has become. Even if you don’t like the S-Chip expansion, it is hard to deny what Republicans are- a bunch of bitter, nasty, petty, snarling, sneering, vicious thugs, peering through people’s windows so they can make fun of their misfortune.

Not only have the Republicans demonstrated what vicious thugs they are they have demonstrated they are not very bright. Their attack on the Frosts has in fact demonstrated how screwed up the current health care system is and probably made national single payer health care more likely.
The Baltimore Sun tells us about the Frosts and the picture on the left of their palatial home.
Frost family draws ire of conservatives

The Frosts say the description of their family's circumstances now circulating is misleading. Halsey, they say, is a self-employed woodworker - he has no employees - while Bonnie works part time for a medical publishing firm. Together, they say, they earn between $45,000 and $50,000 a year.

That would make the Frosts eligible for Maryland's Children's Health Program, which is open to families that earn no more than 300 percent of the federal poverty level, or $82,830 a year for a family of six.

[....]

Halsey Frost purchased the family home for $55,000 in 1990, according to city records, and refinanced in 2005, he says, to make improvements to accommodate the return of Graeme and Gemma from the hospital. The 1936 brick rowhouse, on a side street near Patterson Park, has an assessed value of $263,140.

Halsey Frost purchased a 1920 warehouse in East Baltimore for $160,000 in 1999, according to city records. It is assessed at $160,500. Frost says he is still paying off the mortgages on both properties.

The four Frost children depend on financial aid to attend private school, the Frosts say. In addition, they say, Gemma receives money from the city for special education made necessary by her injuries.

Halsey and Bonnie Frost say they still have no health insurance. Bonnie Frost said she priced coverage recently at $1,200 a month.

As we can see the vicious right wing spin about the Frosts has been misleading at best. An as to why they didn't have insurance; do the math. The $1,200 expense for health insurance would represent 29% of the Frost's pre-tax income. That is assuming that after the accident they could get insurance at all. For profit insurance companies don't like to insure people who have something wrong with them and even if they had insurance at the time of the accident it probably would have been canceled after the accident. The always hate filled and vicious Michelle Malkin accused the Frosts of being irresponsible for not having insurance - that is to say they were irresponsible for not being rich. This will not go over very well with a vast majority of Americans who say health care is one of their major concerns. With their vicious attack on the Frosts they hateful wingers may have made what they fear most, single payer health care, more likely.

This may well turn out to be the Terri Schiavo moment for health care.