Posted on 02/08/2010 9:01:46 AM PST by NetRight Nation
With the seating of newly elected Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, Barack Obama has now agreed to hold televised meetings with Republicans and Democrats on health care reform. This feeble attempt by Obama and the Democrats to look bipartisan is nothing more than calculated damage control trying to prevent the inevitable losses in the coming 2010 mid-term elections.
According to Politico, Barack Obama stated that he wants to "look at the Republican ideas out there." But the real question is, where was this idea six months ago when Congressional Democrats were having backroom meetings while crafting a bill like a one-party aristocracy?
This shows once again that Barack Obama and his Democratic colleagues in Congress will only listen to the American people when they are forced to. And in this case, it took the special election in Massachusetts.
If this government was truly created “by the people, for the people,” then why was it that the Obama Administration and Congress refused to drop their push for socialized medicine even though the American people were vehemently opposed to it? (Final Health care poll showed 58% opposed the current bill according to Rasmussen Reports)
And before we get all excited about Obama’s newfound ways, let’s remember he has only promised to “look” at Republicans and not to start over with bipartisan input. In fact, at the Obama-GOP Baltimore confab some weeks back, Obama explicitly said that he had “read every Republican bill.” Apparently, that gem now enters the growing repository of Obama “misstatements.”
This paper has repeatedly called for Barack Obama and his Democratic majority in Congress to go back to the drawing boards and take an honest and open look at ways to lower costs in the health care industry.
One major idea that has been ignored by Obama and his cohorts is to allow state-to-state competition. It’s simple, why should someone from North Carolina not be allowed to buy health insurance from South Carolina?
In almost every case, more competition equals lower prices.
Another major idea that has been ignored is tort reform. According to Legal Newsline, “the Congressional Budget Office director, Douglas Elmendorf, has said as much as $54 billion could be saved over the next 10 years if Congress enacts legal reforms including a $250,000 cap on damages for pain and suffering and a $500,000 cap on punitive damages and restricting the statute of limitations on malpractice claims.” And this doesn’t even include the likely savings that will occur based upon a reduction of defensive medicine often practiced by doctors today.
These are just two entirely obvious ideas that have been ignored by the Obama Administration and Congress. They should be included in the mix when Congress goes back to the drawing board. And they should start with a tabula rasa – to be filled in at the will of the American people.
They should follow Monty Phython’s advice and “Run Away” ...
We have a bill that took a year to concoct and they want to have an hour photo op meeting coming to a TV near you?
I’d like to see the list of RINOs that agrees to this.
“Barack Obama has now agreed to hold televised meetings with Republicans and Democrats on health care reform.”....
Of course!....the demoncats couldn’t get it done behind closed doors...now they want to televise it and blame it on republicans when it does not pass!....If the repubics have any smarts they will tell Obango, NO THANKS!
No -— No -— No!!! This is not Democrat “damage control” -— this is going to be lecture the Republicans like the last photo-op “meeting”, blame the Republicans for obstructing the “hope and change” the people “wanted”, and make Republicans the fall guys and gals for anything that doesn’t work in the future.
The GOP should stand strong as they have against this bill. DO NOT let obama pull the wool over your their eyes. If obama truly wanted their input he would have done it all along. He only wants camera face time with the GOP to make himself look good.
Good...that is the answer they should have given. This is all about obama and the GOP should think long and hard about this. This is what began the Tea Party movement and the pubbies better damn well sit up and listen!!!
*whew*
Tennessee has joined several other states in trying to pass a Health Care Freedom Act. NO COLAs for granny, retired Military or retired fed employees. BIG NEW fees for Tricare for Life retired over 65 Military's secondary health ins. (DOD bill already passed, delayed but goes into effect 2011)
New Dem mantra: Woof, woof eat dog food granny....ala let them eat cake.
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