Former Arizona county sheriff Richard Mack, a fierce opponent of Obamacare and a leader in the "constitutional sheriff" movement, is struggling to pay his medical bills after he and his wife each faced serious illnesses. The former sheriff and his wife do not have health insurance and started a GoFundMe campaign to solicit donations from family and friends to cover the costs of their medical care.
"Because they are self-employed, they have no medical insurance and are in desperate need of our assistance," reads a note on Mack's personal website.
Mack, the founder of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, suffered a heart attack in January and is in recovery. His wife fell ill late last year. Mack is on the board of Oath Keepers, a right-wing fringe group made up of police and military veterans, and is known for supporting Cliven Bundy in his standoff against the federal government. He is also an ardent opponent of Obamacare.
"The States do not have to take or support or pay for Obamacare or anything else from Washington DC. The States are not subject to federal direction," he wrote on his website, outlining how state governments can block President Obama.
Hey you know if this idiot had spent his time surfing the Healthcare.gov website instead of trying to find ways to overthrow the Federal government he might not be in such an unfortunate situation.
After all Jan Brewer finally caved and allowed the Medicaid expansion in Arizona, so you might think this guy would see the writing on the wall.
I would be interested to see if whether or not after this close call he has a "Come to Jesus moment," and decides that Obamacare might not be the work of the devil after all.
Nah, what am I saying? These guys never learn.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.....Serves him right
ReplyDeleteI was trying to remember why the guy's name caused my eyebrow to raise and now I remember. I just don't know him for supporting Cliven Bundy, I know him as the guy who said this :"We were actually strategizing to put all the women up at the front. If they are going to start shooting, it’s going to be women that are going to be televised all across the world getting shot by these rogue federal officers." So as a former Sheriff, he wanted not only to start an armed conflict with Federal Agents doing their appointed duties, he wanted to use women and children as human shields to protect his sissy ass. He may claim he was doing it for the media coverage, but he wanted no where near the possible shooting. I would not wish ill on any one, especially his wife, and even him, but considering he was willing to sacrifice other people's lives for his misguided cause, I am not crying tears for him.
DeleteOh, it's *that* guy?
DeleteBwa ha ha!
Hope he ends up selling everything he owns for those medical bills, then ends up homeless, destitute and bankrupt.
Couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.
God works in mysterious ways
ReplyDeleteCHeck out his GoFundMe page-ALmost all of the comments with donations ask him to use it to buy heath insurance.
ReplyDelete....with donations! with? They are saints.
DeleteI see many liberals have donated but where are the RWNJ's who hate Obama and the ACA? Why doesn't he appeal to the GOP and the Koch Brothers since he was a spokesman against Obamacare?
DeleteExactly! Most of the people who have donated have prefaced it with the fact that they are gay, or atheist, or liberal, etc.. It is a thing of beauty.
DeleteSo this hypocrite will basically be living off the generosity of the very people he hates.
DeleteKinda shows the basic differences between the two political philosophies.
I am proud to say I chose to be on the side of compassion.
But I'm still not giving this guy one penny. I am only so progressive. I believe you also need to learn from life and this guy isn't learning his lesson.
(BTW I truly think he will take the money at the same time insulting his benefactors for being stupid enough to give it to him.)
Thanks to Obamacare, this guy can GET insurance now, because before the ACA law was passed, any insurer could usually turn you down for the dreaded pre-existing condition
ReplyDeleteI've been dealing with a health issue for 15 years, and the procedure to address it costs $150,000 , assuming you don't have insurance.
Of course the hospital will cut about %25 off that number if you have to pay cash, but most of us can't come up with over $100,00 out of pocket.
When are these far right conservative nutcases going to realize that most personal bankruptcies in this country are caused by catastrophic illness?
Sheriff Mack probably doesn't qualify for Medicaid, because in most states you have to make very little money to be able to enroll. In my state, it's anyone making less than $12,000 a year.
Health really is our most precious asset, and the fanatic Teaparty types can whine about the ACA all they want, but I don't see many of them giving up their Medicare or Social Security benefits
I have a family member who 'couldn't afford insurance' (this was during the fall before ACA marketplaces opened)- a car accident and $130k in hospital bills later, they claim they still can't afford it. You'd think people would learn!
DeleteHilarious take on Wonkette!
ReplyDeleteComments are well worth the read.
I enjoyed such a restful night after laughing myself into exhaustion.
http://wonkette.com/577824/obamacare-hatin-sheriff-wants-you-to-pay-his-medical-bills-for-him-because-he-aint-got-no-obamacare
This guy is a grifter.
Sound familiar?
Mack is in a leadership role in his anti-Federal govt activities. While he is now finding out the hard way how important it is to have access to health insurance, his many idiot acquaintances are also hearing about it. Karma.
ReplyDeleteHe wont be getting a dime from me. Karma's a bitch.
ReplyDeleteDumb asses.
ReplyDeleteAnd no, I do not feel sorry for them.
You can go to his GoFundMe page and leave a comment even if you don't donate. Here is what I said:
ReplyDeleteI will GoFundYou when you decide to 1) renounce your stand against ObamaCare by going on Fox News to explain to Bill O'Reilly how stupid you were, 2) write an open letter thanking the President for giving you the opportunity to buy yourself insurance even though you were too stupid to do it, 3) use your new-found notoriety to convince Republican Governors who have refused Medicaid expansion to accept it, and 4) publicly speak out to the Supreme Court to convince them of the harm they will do if they decide against the subsidies in states that use the federal exchange. If my husband and my daughter lose their health insurance because of a ridiculous decision by the Supreme Court, will you GoFundThem and all the other hard-working Americans who find themselves in the same position you are in but through no fault of their own? Only by doing these 4 things will you make up for the damage you have caused others who have emulated your position. Let me know when you have your come-to-Jesus moment and I will personally give you the remaining $10,574 to bring you to your goal.
Excellent! Is your comment still posted?
DeleteYes, go here to read them all: http://www.gofundme.com/helpsheriffmack
DeleteThere are many excellent ones!
Great comment! I would add that he be used in ads as the poster child for the democrats running in the next election.
DeleteIt appears that they have now eliminated comments by those who are not donating.
DeleteThe comments on his GoFundMe page is PRICELESS!
ReplyDeleteHold on there a minute! Are you telling us that they can't Pray Away the Illnesses? But..but..but..he's anti-gubmint, he's against socialist/communist/nazi/freeloader social programs!?? hahahahaha
ReplyDeleteHe had enough money to travel to Bundy's defense. Now he wants contributions? Wouldn't that sorta be a socialist/communist request, I mean wanting other people to pay for his needs? Reminds me of Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), who, in a town hall meeting way back before ObummerCare was passed, Coburn told one of his constituents to "ask her family and neighbors to help her" when the woman cried while telling of her husband who had cancer and had hit their maximum insurance limit. Cold-hearted SOBs.
Thanks Gryphen, I needed a good laugh this morning.
And apparently no local churches stepped up to cover the bills either.
DeleteFor a man whose wife "had a serious illness in 2014", and who himself suffered a heart attack, he sure is a busy guy. Check out his website:
Deletehttp://sheriffmack.com/index.php/speaking-engagements
He had enough money to travel to Bundy's defense.
Delete-------------
Yeah, bet he has the money to pay for guns and ammo, but has to grift to pay medical bills.
While I'm no fan of Jan Brewer, it wasn't exactly a "cave" on her part - she pushed for the Medicaid expansion. She recognized it's importance not only to low-income people who would be covered, but also to health care providers who would be much better protected from providing services for which they would never be paid. She also acknowledged the jobs aspect of it. Most importantly to me, she declared it morally wrong to deny 100K people the opportunity to have health insurance. Despite her crazy (and being known around the capitol as Otis, after the town drunk of Mayberry), she has been a good buffer against the truly manic crazy of her fellow Teabags, even though she has also signed a lot of their Koch-whore legislation.
ReplyDeleteAppreciate your comment.
DeleteKARMA IS A BITCH
ReplyDeleteHe almost has $20k and his goal is $30k.
ReplyDeleteI know where he can get $10k right now.
Hey Sarah a fella who hates Obamacare needs your help and money.
Guess Who’s Helping Bigoted, Uninsured Anti-Obamacare Sheriff Who Can’t Pay Medical Bills?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/02/28/guess-whos-helping-bigoted-uninsured-anti-obamacare-sheriff-who-cant-pay-medical-bills-screenshots/
Maybe we should suggest that he ask the Koch Brothers for help.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, they can afford it.
Yeah, where are they? LOL. I guess you find out who your friends really are when you're down.
DeleteHis GoFundMe page was started a month ago, ACA open enrollment was still going on until Feb 15Th ( extended even longer if you had started the process). But instead of being fiscally responsible this rightwing nutjob had his hand out begging for $$$$$. I would give him a donation, only if, he rents a pole and strips for a few bucks and posts the video on his go fundme page.
ReplyDeleteI'll send him a chicken with which he can pay his doctors.
DeleteRemember the Republicans' nostalgic line about "the good old days," when the family doctor would take chickens or a sack of potatoes in payment for his bill?
This story is Chicken Soup for the Liberal Soul.
What a weasel.
ReplyDeleteThere's got to be more about this story than what is being told. This man had to know, at his age, with a wife, that sudden health crisis can occur; why did this couple not have any insurance? That is crazy. In fact, it's not believable. Young students, the unemployed or poverty-level families might take that chance, but a man with his credentials wouldn't risk losing his shirt in a health crisis. There's got to be more to the story than this.
I would bargain that he had some insurance, but was turned down, once he and his wife both needed expensive treatments. It may be that they were aware that the 'safety net' of private insurance isn't all it's cracked up to be.
He probably has had a health insurer who stopped paying his bills and he is not being forthright with his followers, making himself some martyr or some tough western John Wayne persona. He can't be serious, begging for OPM. Does he think every other sick family out there beg? Most lose their investments, homes and adjust their expectations.
These guys are always angrily pointing a finger when they speak to audiences. Why is that? Sarah too. She's got two fingers pointing in both directions when she speaks. Pointers are the biggest hypocrites.
ReplyDeleteA delicious serving of schadenfreude.... I hope the bastard and his stupid wife lose everything they have and are then destitute beggars...which apparently, they already are. HaHaHa! Karma's a bitch!!!
ReplyDeleteNot all IM'ers feel this way.
Delete10:16 am Yes, many of them DO and I am one of them! It's their problem which they created themselves and I would NEVER provide he and his wife a penny!
DeleteBeg to differ Anonymous 10:16. I am a faithful follower of IM and I do hope that Richard Mack and his wife receive everything karma can throw at them.
DeleteI went to his GoFundMe site and read quite a few of the comments. Most donations were from kind-hearted liberals, atheists and LGBT.
I would never criticize anyone's decision to donate their own money to any person or cause they choose. However, I would never give a penny to this low-life scum.
My choice for a GoFundMe donation is James Robertson, the Detroit man who has walked many miles to work every day, for years and years without complaint. He couldn't afford a car and bus service is not all that available to where he needs to go.
Through all this difficulty, including our Michigan weather, Mr. Robertson has persevered and maintained perfect attendance! I sent him a donation a couple weeks ago and and am so pleased at the out pouring of money he has been given.
Now, because I appreciate Gryphen and all he does for us progressives, I'm sending a contribution to IM.
Karma, baby, Karma!
ReplyDeleteNow when will the Wicked Witch from the Dead Lake get her dose?
I'm waiting for her to get hers too. Does she get health insurance thru the government because she was a governor? Or does she get it thru Todd? Does anyone know?
DeleteGee, and here Chuck Heath, Jr. wanted other people to pay for his photography hobby. While this odeous man seeks to deny others affordable access to healthcare, he ask others to pay for his. But I still don't wish him ill, or an unsuccessful campaign. But I am not moved to help.
ReplyDeleteBeing self employed is no excuse for not having health insurance, I was paying for my own insurance when I was unemployed.
ReplyDeleteThey were being cheap, letting the rest of us foot their bills, got caught and now they want others to continue to pay their bills. Next they will declare bankruptcy and we will get stuck with bills again.
What is the matter, didn't the OathKeepers come up with a plan for health insurance in their "new world order"?
Too bad, hope the next heart attack does him in, one less terrorist to deal with.
I thought medical bills was one of the loopholes the Republicans closed when they revamped the bankruptcy laws.
DeleteThe same ones that don't allow you to refinance your student loans.
So the Sheriff and his wife cannot declare bankruptcy to dodge their medical expenses.
They are free to sell their house, car, all of their possessions, then go on welfare, get food stamps and live in a shelter.
They might get some free healthcare from some state clinic.
Oh, Arizona.
Maybe not.
If you go to his funding page, it is FILLED with donations from Democrats & liberals, all saying (in essence): "we're sorry for your problems, hope this amount helps. Please get some health insurance". I can just imagine how a similar site would look if a liberal got caught in such hypocrisy.
ReplyDeleteAlso, he didn't HAVE to buy insurance through the exchange. He could have done as we other self-employed people have done for years: found an independent insurance agent, compared plans & bought one. Easy peasy, no "damn government" involved.
What a clown.
It's just fine to shit on everyone , until poor me. We are self destructing .
ReplyDeleteWhy are we so stupid,selfish,hateful and greedy? Oh hell,never mind.
Let them die and don't give them a dime!
ReplyDeleteYou just can't fix stupid!
ReplyDeleteShoulda:
Had a better benefits package from his Sheriff Job.
Have gotten his ObamaCare Health Insurance.
Been on the Koch Payroll for his Bunkerville Services.
"Thinning of the Herd" Darwin was Right!
Oh wait a minute...
He probably doesn't believe in evolution...
Prayer Brother!
Pray Harder...
Good Luck!
Cuz you just know his tightwad teabagged buddies aren't going to ante up...
Which begs the question.
DeleteWhat did he do to piss God off since the fundies believe bad luck is a result of divine retribution.
So, Sheriff Dumbass. What did you do to piss of the Almighty, who thus rained down his displeasure on your and your wife's health?
Could it be that statement about using your wife as a human shield?
Knew this piece of shit would laugh all the way to the bank. Just posted on the fund me page he is giving an interview tonight on a tea bagger station affirming that he is getting all these donations due to how much people love his stance in life.
ReplyDeleteIs there anyway for people to cancel their donation?
Wow, what a piece of work. Asshole.
DeleteI think if you complain to GoFundMe they can get it back to people.
DeleteI think some got their money back. This afternoon it was up to 26K and now I went and looked at it it's only 23K...hmm.
DeleteIf he really practiced what he preached, he wouldn't take any money from those commie, socialist, liberal, gay, non- Christians :) but a grifter gotta grift.
DeleteI think the people donating are willing to lose a few bucks just to give him a piece of their minds.
Imagine if he were in chemo therapy and the Supreme Court guts Obamacare sending the whole system into chaos and he gets cut off of chemo. Yeah that could happen to a lot of people on chemo, dialysis etc soon. Not to mention insurance companies spent a lot of $ hiring more doctors & nurses to cover all the new patients that signed up. Republicans may soon have a huge sh*tstorm on their hands of their own making. It would be funny if it wouldn't impact so many ill people.
ReplyDelete~Canuck~
They've shut off comments on the gobailmyassoutofmybadchoices site, and put up a very defensive update basically saying it's not this idiot begging for the money but his "friends", so he doesn't need to justify his hypocrisy. Anyway, I wanted to donate $5 along with all the other bleeding-heart liberals who just wanted to call him out. But then I realized that it was his own well-informed, conscious choice not to apply for medical insurance AFTER he had his heart attack, and to resort to pan-handling instead. Oh...pardon mois...had his friends pan-handle for him. So I was down at my neighborhood tavern, and there were a few dozen cheap paper hearts with people's names written on them, but no indication of the cause. Turns out they were for one of the bartender's little girl's heart transplant. A little girl who didn't think, "well, I COULD get insurance to cover some of my medical expenses, but I have the FREEDUMB to beg for charity instead!" I wanted to leave a comment saying I donated to this little girl's heart in Sheriff Mack's name, because she deserved it more, but because they shut off the comments, I'm saying it here.
ReplyDeleteGood for you, I notice some of the "liberal commies" on his go bail me out page stated that they were going to match their donation to various liberal, socialist, etc causes in his name!
DeleteWhat a hoot, too bad they can't include his address so he will continue to get bombard with mail.
He could have health insurance. He just chose not to pay for it.
ReplyDeleteNow he wants others to pay his bills?
What? He doesn't have any bootstraps to pull himself up by? Isn't the the Republican mantra?
Sorry, buddy. You made that bed. Now you can sell it. Sell your house too. Like other people had to do before Obamacare.
I'm not giving this tightwad, right wing asshat one penny.
I read his gofundme page, it dosen't say one word about him not having insurance. Even if you have your own insurance or obamacare insurence you will still have bills because they don't pay it all. Why the lies to make your story?
ReplyDelete