"Freeriders" as I heard used by Nancy Pelosi Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives (D-CA) and "Freeloaders" said by Xavier Becerra Democratic Vice-Chairman of the United States House of Representatives (D-CA) seem to be a thinly veiled slur on a segment of our population
You say you heard this used by Nancy Pelosi, but unfortunately you neglected to provide either a transcript of what you heard her say or a link to what she said.
Suggestion: it's a good idea, if you wish to discuss something someone has said, to provide the actual quote. Too often in politics people get heated up over what someone has supposedly said, as reported by third parties who may have garbled, misinterpreted, or even in some cases invented the claimed quote.
I did a quick Google of
Nancy Pelosi free riders to see what it is she said that has you so worked up. Most of the hits were not of news stories reporting such a quote; they were simply right-wing sites echo-chambering their outrage that Pelosi had said this. Sort of like your OP.
But among all the echo-chamber outrage posts I was able to find a couple which actually explained what was going on and gave the quote.
Here's the quote:
Nancy Pelosi said:
Who is the penalty on? The penalty is on people who have the wherewithal but refuse to buy health insurance, figuring they won't be sick, and if they do, other people will have to cover it. So free riders, as they were identified by Governor Romney himself, he said, people have the ability to pay and can't expect to be free riders, and I think that he termed it exactly right. These free riders make health insurance for those who are taking responsibility more expensive.
Pelosi claims to be quoting Mitt Romney. And
her claim appears to be correct.
Here he is quoted as saying it January 5, 2008, while appearing in a NH primary debate:
Mitt Romney said:
Yeah, we said, look, if people can afford to buy it, either buy the insurance or pay your own way. Don’t be free riders and pass on the cost of your health care to everybody else.
Here he is quoted as saying it in an op-ed he wrote for USA Today, published July 30, 2009:
Mitt Romney said:
Our experience also demonstrates that getting every citizen insured doesn’t have to break the bank. First, we established incentives for those who were uninsured to buy insurance. Using tax penalties, as we did, or tax credits, as others have proposed, encourages ‘free riders’ to take responsibility for themselves rather than pass their medical costs on to others. This doesn’t cost the government a single dollar.
And here he is quoted as saying it during an appearance at Claremont College on April 15, 2010:
Right now people who can afford to buy insurance make the decision I’m not going to buy insurance. I’m going to be a free rider. And if I get sick or get in a serious accident, then government’s going to pay for me. That in my view is the big government solution we have right now. The alternative – there are a couple alternatives – one is to say to employers you must give insurance to every one of your employees. I said no I don’t want to do that. That’s going to kill jobs. And the other alternative is to say to people if you can afford to get insurance, you ought to buy insurance. And if you don’t buy it you’re going to get penalized with a higher tax rate for not having gotten insurance...
This appears to have been a standard Romney line, that people who could afford to buy insurance but don't are free riders.
rcfieldz said:
An obvious smear campaign against some fringe element of the Republican party no doubt.
I'm surprised Romney would do that, since he needed Republican votes during the primaries to win the nomination. Interesting campaign strategy! But apparently it worked. It will be interesting to see if he continues this smear campaign as part of his strategy to win votes in November's election.
rcfieldz said:
Hopefully they can make their reference a bit clearer so that the public can define their intentions.
I agree, it would be good if Romney and his campaign staff are pressed to clarify what Romney meant by calling people free riders. Even though you think it was an obvious smear campaign, it's possible there's some more innocent explanation for his repeated use of the term.
