GOP Congressman: Massive Traffic To Obamacare Exchanges Was Members Of Congress And The Media

[TomCADem]

Source: Think Progress

A Republican congressman sought to dismiss the higher-than-expected web traffic for Obamacare’s HealthCare.gov on Friday by suggesting that most of the six million people who visited the law’s marketplace website were journalists and members of Congress, not uninsured Americans looking for coverage.

“I think if you subtract out members of Congress and their staff and reporters who called in those first 48 hours the numbers will be considerably lower,” Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX), who is also a medical doctor, told CNN. “We will have an opportunity to dissect these numbers in our subcommittee of oversight investigations later this month or next month.”

Obamacare’s website experienced high volumes of traffic in the first couple of days of enrollment, which may have contributed to massive glitches and delays.

The popularity of the site has led some conservatives to downplay the popularity of reform. On Tuesday, Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer suggested that the numbers paled in comparison to the population of the United States and the Arkansas head of the group ‘Americans for Prosperity’ told The Voice’s The Alice Stewart Show on Thursday that most of the traffic was driven by the Drudge Report.


Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/10/04/2733351/gop-congressmans-tries-to-explain-away-obamacares-popularity/

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I can understand dismissing healthcare.gov hit numbers as being due to a denial of service attack, but being due to hits by members of Congress and the media?

[bigdarryl]

1. STUPID FUCK!!!

Some people just don't need to be born

[TomCADem]

3. Listening to the clip, it is hard to tell...

...if he is making a joke, being snarky, or being dead on serious, particularly on the tail end.

[dgibby]

6. Too stupid to be a Dr.

I'd never go to him, that's for sure. In fact, I "fired" a Dr. who had his waiting room tv set to Fox News and tried to badmouth the ACA to me. Told him he obviously didn't need my money and I wouldn't ask TRICARE to pay him, either. I also told him I didn't think he was smart enough to treat me, then I went to the Navy and the VA and asked them to blacklist him.

[Scairp]

31. And some are just terribly sore losers

Which is what this sounds like to me. Assholes.

[TlalocW]

2. I've been a web site programmer for over a decade

And I can tell you, when you roll out something new, and your servers get slammed, that's a sign of success. We did the first ever website for a famous country singer, and he mentioned how he hoped that on the day it launched, the servers would crash from the traffic as that would be a bragging point to take to the media. (Alas we distributed his site over 3 robust servers). If healthcare.gov were a business, it would be bragging about this.

TlalocW

[B2G]

29. It's been down for days now

If you think this is a success, I'm glad your not on any of my project teams.

[greymattermom]

4. so how many are there?

Probably not more than 10,000 of those folks in the whole country. Even if there are 10 times as many, that would have little impact on the 6 million hits.

[MindMover]

5. The only reason that Burgess is in politics is to keep everything the same ... no change ...

he likes his 174 grand a year plus his doctoring income on the side ...

his motto is: no more taxes for the 1 % ers ....

[rtracey]

7. I believe it

I think it was congress and media.... several million of them.... you arrogant idiot, you know ACA is going to work, you know it will help save millions of lives, you know many republican seniors and uninsured will use it and it's killing you to know it will save this country money......

[Octobrist]

8. Look on the bright side, Burgess:

When the ACA is in full force, you just might have access to the psychotropic meds you so obviously need.

[KansDem]

12. Shrewd observation!

...you just might have access to the psychotropic meds you so obviously need.

"Physician heal thyself?"

Welcome to DU!

[calimary]

23. Welcome to DU, Octobrist!

Glad you're here - I love the point you just made!

Physician, heal thyself. Consider mental health treatment or counseling. Or heart surgery. To see if you have one.

[ZRT2209]

9. it was LOLZ cats

[groundloop]

10. He forgot to mention the DOS attacks by right wing hackers

I'm not actually sure if there was anything to that, but I've read some speculation to that effect. In any case the GOP will do everything they can to downplay the fact that people are desperate for better, more affordable healthcare.

[treestar]

11. Laughable

That is not many people at all. Even if they tried to do that they could not have any effect.

[freshwest]

13. Unless he'd like to claim credit for DDS bots on the net. There's a Teaparty Intermet Warriors gang.

Saw a thread here at DU...

[appleannie1]

14. That explains what is wrong with Congress

They are so crowded in the Capital that there is not enough oxygen for all of them to breathe and their brain cells are starving to death. And the same applies to the people at FOX. It is hard to fit over 6 million people in just one building and one studio.

[liberal N proud]

15. The GOP has never adhered to facts before

Why would they start now?

[Kber]

16. Everyone he knows and interacts with is either a member or staff of congress or part of the media

so it stands to reason.

It also explains a whole lot about the bubble he's living in.

[Stonepounder]

17. Denial of Service

I can understand dismissing healthcare.gov hit numbers as being due to a denial of service attack, but being due to hits by members of Congress and the media?

Well, isn't the House refusal to even bring a CR to the floor without loading it up with so many poison pills that the entire Democratic caucus in the Senate would drop dead if they voted for it a 'denial of service attack'? National Parks, NIH, CDC, NASA, etc?

[JoePhilly]

18. They clogged up the Innertubes!!

[Thinkingabout]

19. And does he think there just might be some interest in obtaining information

And apparently the GOP is feeling the heat and unhappy anyone called. I am thinking the more phases happen the happier Americans will be and appreciation will grow and the name Obamacare will fade and the GOP will try to find a way to place a GOP name. I have been waiting for the day for this to happen.

[Orsino]

20. Dumbass. n/t

[heaven05]

21. DUMB ASS

Last edited Sat Oct 5, 2013, 06:35 PM - Edit history (1)

believes everyone is as dumb as the voters who put him into Washington's snake pit.

[calimary]

24. Well, louie gohmert is certainly alive and well, so this schmuck need not feel alone!

Just imagine the negative IQ of the voters who sent gohmert to Congress.

[Roland99]

22. It's an alien attack! We're doomed!!

that would have been more believable!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

25. Either Burgess is clueless about arithmetic (let alone math) or he writes for the ONION.

Third alternative: when you got nothing, then just make stuff up.




(edited typo)

[Lint Head]

26. Suuuure.... Everyone's going to believe that. That bad old media.

[Politicalboi]

27. One would think by keeping their base alive

Through Obamacare, they would be happy.

[Arkana]

28. What the fuck?

Yes, 200 Congressmen and the media somehow managed to overload every server for every healthcare exchange in the country. Do these morons LISTEN to themselves when they talk?

[kestrel91316]

30. There are 6 million members of Congress and the media and staff??

[MrScorpio]

32. Another Tealibaner, of course

I'm double checking these stupid Republican statements against the Tealiban Causus membership from now on...

He's another one.