The acts of our country’s leaders today show just how power
hungry politicians are. The so called health care summit was a farce. It was a
ploy by the party in control to continue ramming through the program they want
while pretending that the debate was an exercise in bi-partisanship. All the
while the majority of Americans are against the planned takeover of the health
care system by the government. Add to that the comment of Senator Dodd prior to
the summit.
Wednesday, on Capitol Hill, the statements of two
leaders illustrated the chasm between the parties.
"We'll have that meeting," said Sen.
Chris Dodd, D-Conn., who helped write the Senate bill. "But far more
important, after that meeting, you can either join us or get out of the
way."
Read more: http://www.gopusa.com/news/2010/february/0225_dodd_health1.shtml
I realize that a tyrant is an individual, but comments like that put the
party on the edge of being tyrannical.
tyr·an·ny
–noun,plural-nies.
1. arbitrary or unrestrained
exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority.
2. the government or rule of a
tyrant or absolute ruler.
3. a state ruled by a tyrant or
absolute ruler.
4. oppressive or unjustly severe
government on the part of any ruler.
5. undue severity or harshness.
6. a tyrannical act or proceeding.
No matter the party, no matter the year, that definition
seems to apply more and more to the federal government. With the recent
bailouts, TARP, auto industry “take over” and now the health care industry and
insurance industry revamping, this label is gaining a fairly strong foothold.
As for bi-partisanship, Senator McConnell doesn’t hold out
much hope.
"I think it's nearly
impossible to imagine a scenario under which we could reach an agreement,"
said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. "Because we
don't think we ought to pass a 2,700-page bill that seeks to restructure
one-sixth of our economy."
Read more: http://www.gopusa.com/news/2010/february/0225_dodd_health1.shtml
And,
"It's hard to imagine what the purpose of Thursday's
summit is," he had said earlier. "If the White House wants real
bipartisanship, then it needs to drop the proposal it posted Monday - which is
no different in its essentials than anything we've seen before - and start
over."
Read more: Senate
GOP leader McConnell gets in Obama's way at health summit - KansasCity.com
Does this sound like tyranny or working together?
By Philip Klein on 2.25.10 @
12:24PM
After Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell noted
that Democrats' opening statements had lasted twice as long as Republicans,
President Obama responded that his time shouldn't count in the calculation.
“There was an imbalance in the opening statements,
because I’m the President," Obama declared. "And I didn’t count my
time in terms of dividing it evenly.”
Read more: http://spectator.org/blog/2010/02/25/obama-hogs-more-time-declares
Then there is the White House blog.
A Productive Day & Another Step Towards Putting
Americans in Charge of Their Health Care
Posted by Dan Pfeiffer on February 25, 2010 at 07:32 PM EST
I am in charge of my health care. So is everyone else. We
all make choices on how to spend our money. We determine whether it is spent on
a fancier car, large flat screen television or health insurance. If people don’t
want to go to the doctor, they don’t have to. If people don’t want to spend
their money on insurance, they don’t have to. Not at the present time, anyhow.
Reports are that under the new plan, everyone either buys into the program or
gets taxed. Either way, you will pay. Nobody gets refused at the emergency
room, and although it is not a good system economically, the whole system doesn’t
need to be government run.
Anyhow, the official spin blog hails the summit as the great
bi-partisan debate.
Today’s bipartisan health care
meeting offered something you rarely see in Washington: an open, honest, productive
discussion between the political parties. Leaders from across the political
spectrum gathered at Blair House to exchange thoughts about an issue that
touches all of us: rising health costs and unfair insurance company practices.
The President doesn’t view today’s
meeting as a campaign debate or piece of theater – and he didn’t approach it as
if it were scored like an Olympic event. The President went to Blair House
focused on the substance – not the process – and he left the meeting focused on
substance: how we put the American people in control of their own health care.
Read more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/02/25/a-productive-day-another-step-towards-putting-americans-charge-their-health-care
The government taking control is not putting me in control.
I believe more people are waking up to the fact that our government can’t
afford all these programs. They are also waking up to the fact that government
can be too big. Witness how the government currently ignores the majority that
is against this proposal.
The next thing to happen will be the Senate leadership using
this summit as an example of the minority party saying nothing but “no” without
proposing any valid alternatives. They will be sure to proclaim how hard they
tried to work in a bi-partisan manner, but the other party just wouldn’t
cooperate. They will go on to say that it only shows what an impasse exists,
and that for the good of the country, the Senate will need to go to their rules
for reconciliation.
Reconciliation
is a procedure under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 by
which
Congress implements budget resolution policies affecting mainly permanent
spending
and revenue programs. The principal focus in the reconciliation process has
been
deficit reduction, but in some years reconciliation has involved revenue
reduction
generally and spending increases in selected areas. Although reconciliation
is
an optional procedure, it has been used most years since its first use in 1980
(19
reconciliation bills
have been enacted into law and three have been vetoed).
Read more: http://budget.house.gov/crs-reports/RL30862.pdf
This Congress and President want this legislation so
badly that they will leave no stone unturned in their efforts to find a way to
implement new law. Beware the words, “for the good of the people” or any
variation thereof. Also watch for the stretching, changing, or breaking of
rules to the cries of “foul” by the minority party. When you see this happen,
break out those Y2K supplies and head for the hills.
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