The Speaker of the House Throws Down the Gauntlet

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid informed the House of Representatives that it need not waste its time repealing Obamacare.

Speaker John Boehner's reply was simple and to the point. Hat tip to RedState:


Senators Reid, Durbin, Schumer, Murray and Stabenow:

Thank you for reminding us – and the American people – of the backroom deal that you struck behind closed doors with ‘Big Pharma,’ resulting in bigger profits for the drug companies, and higher prescription drug costs for 33 million seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D, at a cost to the taxpayers of $42.6 billion.

The House is going to pass legislation to repeal that now. You’re welcome.

Harry Reid wants to pretend that the House has no power here, but it does. It is the source of all money bills and can defund the whole project. They can use this threat as leverage to completely redo health care and turn it from deform into real reform. Or chuck the whole thing because health care here was much betterthan most places to begin with.

Either way, Speaker Boehner gets it. Thank goodness!

Joe Manchin Supports Obama and Government Run Healthcare

Another Case From the Glorious Health Care Paradise of Britain

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,593111,00.html

Doctors accused of trying to save time and money by not taking victim seriously. And Obama wants us to have the same system.

Transparent As Mud

Occasionally the media does do its job. This occurs most often when it is in its own interest to do so.

Two years ago, Obama promised to urge Congress to put negotiations over important legislation on C Span. One can argue that the "transparency in government" theme helped to create an image of a president who would do things differently and keep the people in mind. Conservatives saw through the rhetoric, most believed it.

Needless to say, very little of the health care bill's battles have appeared in any public forum. Obama has completely backed off his pledge to encourage it. Why? Maybe because the final product will include massive taxes on the health care plans of th emiddle class. Many employers, including state governments, keep health insurance plans inexpensive to employees in lieu of raising salaries. Pro health care deform advocates call them "Cadillac plans." Most holders of "Cadillac plans" are government employees and union members working full time jobs. Unions have quietly opposed such taxes, advocating (as usual) soaking the health care plans of the rich. Of course the rich don't tend to have costly plans because they can afford high deductibles, or in many cases can go without entirely and only pay on a cash basis.

As a result, the public has little idea what is happening behind the scenes. What they do know they do not like. In one poll only 32% of respondents had a favorable opinion of the legislation.

C Span has fired back at Obama and congressional Democrats, demanding that they adhere to the pledges made that helped them to get elected.

One wonders if C Span will now get the "Fox" treatment from the White House. It is refreshing to see some in the media doing their job.

Left Wing Policies Dramatically Hurt the Young

Obama and Democrats generally like to tout their popularity among the youth, even to the point of hauling out pre teens to voice approval of their policy initiatives, as if America ought to follow a ten year old on the country's gravest issues. The current Democratic Congress has already substantially harmed the young when it comes to employment and threatens to do more damage in the future.

According to Walter Williams at George Mason University, teenage employment has not seen such a bleak outlook since directly after World War II. The age 16-19 group currently sees 25% unemployment. When narrowed to blacks in that age range, the percentage jumps to 50%.

Small businesses employ more people than any other sector of the market in the United States. Minimum wage hikes slash away at their miniscule profit margins, forcing them to divest themselves of the luxury of extra part time help. Instead of hiring someone, they will do extra work or get family members to help. These are the places where a kid has teh best chance to find a solid starting job that will give him income and a real reference. Many 16 to 19 year olds do not just work for extra cash. but to support families started too early.

Worse news is coming down the pike. If health care deform and the massive taxes designed to support it pass, small business will take the brunt. They will lay off even more workers or shut their doors altogether.

The minority angle on this problem was explored further by Walter Williams in the link below

http://economics.gmu.edu/wew/articles/09/CollusionAgainstOurYouth.htm

Breaking Down Health Care Opinion Polls

The media is trying very hard to give legs to the notion that Obama has a "silent majority" out there that approves of his ideas of socialized health care. It is rather interesting that writers keep coming back to Nixonisms when they speak of Obama. I suppose that is improvement over seeing him as either Lincoln or the Messiah.

You have to think about these polls and what is asked. The question can skew the result. If I asked 10,000 random people if health care in the United States needs reformed, a solid majority would say "yes." However, if you dig a little deeper the differences emerge in the details. Some want full socialism, some want a government option. Most want to keep the whole system private. Many support tort reform to eliminate frivolous lawsuits and lower costs. Quite a few want to find ways to decrease free use of the system by illegal aliens. Many have proposed changing regulations to encourage pooling by small business owners. Most support getting rid of the "pre-existing condition" cluase from health insurance. You won't find many people defending that little detail. Just asking if you support reforming the health care system includes all of these different positions.

This only indicates that health care reform is a big tent issue. Most want to see changes. That does not mean that people want the radical plans and unconstitutional requirements now floated around by left wingers. Create small business pools, pass tort reform, get rid of the restrictions on pre-existing conditions, and keep the government out. That is what Americans want; that is what they ought to get.

Taxation and Resistance

In the late 1760s King George III appointed Charles Townshend to the British Cabinet. One contemporary said that this man had abilities above any man, but judgment beneath any man.

Townshend came to office in a time when the British government was trying to prove a point to its colonies. Colonials believed that the British Parliament could not tax it because Americans had no representation there. The British believed that each Member of Parliament represented the entire empire sufficiently no matter where their district lay.

Townshend tried to raise revenue by passing excise taxes on certain goods thought popular or necessary. Glass, tea, and other items were taxed. Americans were sufficiently roused bythe political nature of the tax. Money would be used to pay colonial governors directly from the British Treasury. Previously the colonial assemblies elected by the people paid these important officials. This taxation had a political goal in mind in reducing the liberty of the people.

Americans responded by refusing to purchase the items, one of the few truly successful boycotts in history. Britain once again was frustrated and angry. However their hands were tied. The government cannot punish people because they refuse to buy something, right?

Today the US Congress is looking at just that. They have proposed a virtual excise tax in the form of compulsory health insurance. Unlike the British they intend to force us to buy it. Like the British their motive is political, transform this country into a bastion of socialism and infringe upon our liberties.

Persistence by the British led to more serious conflict than angry words.

Obama's Misplaced Priorities

Obama went to one of the few crowds left in the world that adore him, liberal college students, and made the announcement that the struggle for health care reform was the most important one of our time.

Honestly, this guy is the president?

The President of the United States is commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the country. Tens of thousands of troops remain in harms way in Iraq. Tens of thousands more are going actively into battle every single day in Afghanistan. Their loved ones wait every day to hear good or bad news.

Obama, get this message. When American soldiers are in battle THAT is the most important struggle of the time. Everything else is secondary.

Did Obama mean to show disrespect to the troops? Probably not. He just lacks a basic understanding of America and what we consider most important. Our soldiers fight in Afghanistan to prevent the reestablishment of a regime that assisted in the 9/11 attacks. They fight to give to that nation a measure of stability and rule of law where women can go to school and almost all can live without fear. Compared to those ends, Obama's health care proposals pale considerably.

Again, Obama shows a basic lack of comprehension and inability to understand the big picture. He needs to stop campaigning and start being president.

Media Mythologizing

If I had a dollar for every time I saw the word "myth" in the media recently, I'd be rich for awhile, but then an Obama redistribution czar would say I had too much and take it away.

For once, the left found itself on the short end of the language battle. Well schooled in postmodernist principles of the slippery nature of words, they scared the dickens out of people when Bush proposed modest changes in Social Security. No one accused liberals of mythologizing when they made seniors think that Bush wanted to put all of their Social Security into the stock market. As usual, conservatives lost the language war by trying to keep the tone and rhetoric at what they believed was a civil level.

A new generation, guided by Newt Gingrich and led in part by Sarah Palin, attacked leftists on their own turf. Conservatives and libertarians were still more accurate in their rhetoric than leftists in the past. Obama and his ghoulish chief of staff discussed independent panels and allocating resources to people with social usefulness. Palin called them what they are, "death panels." If you withold health care to an elderly person with dementia, as Emmanuel wants, you kill them. Leaving the decision to an independent panel of experts, as Obama advocates, put them in charge of saying who will live and who shall die. What is mythological about that?

Leftists struggle to regain the initiative by calling conservative and libertarian concerns "myths." Opponents gained the initiative on this debate because, unlike congressmen and media types, they actually read the bill and imparted their sense of horror to the world. Democrats opposing Social Security reform did not quote at length from the bills as conservatives and libertarians have. The word "myth" still lacks the punch of "death panel" and I would assume that baby boomers will continue to fight for their immediate future and the health care they have paid for all of their working lives.

We ought to still seek a tone of reasonableness and civility whenever possible. However in some cases the stakes are too high to not inflame and mobilize. Those opposing the transformation of America into something alien have not lied, nor have they exaggerated the truth out of all proportion. However they have succeeded in getting your attention. Hopefully that will be enough.