The Town Hall Meetings of No

I've been researching the House versions of the proposed Health Care Reform and I can only say I'm appalled. In fact, I'm sickened. I need health care.

It is clear that compromise is dead. It is clear that bipartisanship is dead. It is clear that honesty, honor, and candor are on their respective death beds.

I had hoped for Universal Health Care this year. We need it and we deserve it and we can afford to do it. Alas, it's my own party, the Democrats, that has killed it. Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama have performed an abortion that was unnecessary.

When you set out to lie to the American people, to pull the wool over their eyes, you can only succeed for so long. President Obama wanted quick approval of a bill he hoped would be hidden from the light of day. Thank the gods he has failed.

The American people are not stupid. We are trusting and we are slow to learn. We want to believe. But the bill in the House of Representatives is a Trojan horse, convoluted, complex and duplicitous. It doesn't do any of the things Democrats and President Obama promised. It will destroy the current American Health Care System. It's sad.

You can only lie to the American People so many times before you get caught. And now the Dems have been caught red handed. And they are paying the price. Below are just two of dozens of examples, with more to come.





The tragedy is that this horrific lie will likely kill all chances of Universal Health Care.

I lay 100% of the blame at President Obama's feet. If he had told the truth, if he had genuinely allowed a bipartisan bill to emerge, Universal Health Care could have become a reality.

Now we can only hope the bipartisan efforts in the Senate can save the bill. It's a slim chance. If you don't believe me, replay the above video and the dozens like it from all across America.

Who is President Barack Obama?

The Barack Obama we have as President today is not the Barack Obama we elected. I strongly believe Americans overwhelmingly elected Barack Obama because he promised massive reform in Federal Government. He promised honesty. He promised transparency. He promised the strict rule of law. He promised to keep his promises.

My fellow Democrats and I were sick and disgusted at what we felt was the "Imperial Presidency" of George Bush. Especially galling were the "signing statements" that President Bush claimed allowed him and the Executive Office to ignore the law. Barack Obama made this a centerpiece of his campaign against the Republicans.

And Barack Obama promised a new era in Washington, an era of bipartisanship. Republicans would have a place at the table and all bills would have input from all parties. All ideas would be welcome and we would have compromise instead of gridlock.

Barack Obama made more promises for transparency including posting all bills on line for at least 5 days before signing, no current lobbyists in his cabinet and more. Barack Obama is a great orator and we really did understand his message. He won the election by a modern day landslide.

I'm having a great deal of trouble today finding a single promise Barack Obama has made that he hasn't broken. Not just broken but flaunted. In six short months Barack Obama has made George Bush look like Honest Abe.

The Barack Obama we elected is not the man who is President today.

Immediately abandoned was the promise to post bills on line. In fact, in what has turned out to be the biggest lie in legislative history, Obama demanded Congress quickly pass and he quickly sign the Economic Stimulus Act, a pork barrel filled gift to lobbyists and supporters that has put the country deeply in debt. Now, six months later there is no stimulus and only a scant 10% of the money has been spent. There most certainly were five days available to post that turkey on line! As it turns out almost no bills have been posted on line for taxpayer review.

Exemption after exemption allowed lobbyists to fill the Cabinet. But what is much, much worse is the thirty plus CZARS who are actually responsible for everything from soup to nuts. None need be approved by Congress and several are radical zealots who aren't remotely qualified for the positions they hold. Some are downright scary characters. For example, consider Van Jones, the newest Environmental Jobs Czar, a religious and social fanatic.

Even more tragic is Obama's immediate implementation of "signing statements," which has really earned the ire of Democrats in Congress. The Associate Press reports:

President Barack Obama has irked close allies in Congress by declaring he has the right to ignore legislation on constitutional grounds after having criticized George W. Bush for doing the same. House Democrats on Tuesday said they were "surprised" and "chagrined" by Obama's declaration in June that he doesn't have to comply with provisions in a war spending bill that puts conditions on aid provided to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Earlier in his six-month-old administration, Obama issued a similar statement regarding provisions in a $410 billion omnibus spending bill. He also included qualifying remarks when signing legislation that established commissions to govern public lands in New York, investigate the financial crisis and celebrate Ronald Reagan's birthday. "During the previous administration, all of us were critical of (Bush's) assertion that he could pick and choose which aspects of congressional statutes he was required to enforce," the Democrats wrote in their letter to Obama. "We were therefore chagrined to see you appear to express a similar attitude." If Congress can't place conditions on the money, "it will make it virtually impossible to provide further allocations for these institutions," they wrote.

While these are troubling signs, what has concerned me the most is his virtually total failure to even attempt to work on legislation in anything remotely resembling a bipartisan way. Instead the leadership in the House and Senate have completely shut out all Republican and even moderate Democrats from the legislative process. Bills are crafted in secret. Republicans are not allow to attend these sessions. Then Pelosi and Reid decry the lack of Republican support even though they are the total cause of the Republican alienation.

Barack Obama could put a stop to this with one single phone call. It's a call he has not made.

The tragedy is the proposed Health Care Reform Legislation. With the Insurance Companies and most Republicans FIRMLY on board for reform, this could have been Obama's finest moment. He is allowing EXTREME PARTISANSHIP to potentially scuttle the potential cornerstone of his young administration.

Later today or tomorrow I will post a special entry on the blueprint for real Bipartisan Health Care Reform that is already on the table from Republicans AND the Insurance Companies.

A Ray of Sunshine in a Storm of Spending

There is a glimmer of hope this morning that good judgement and financial responsibility will gain strength among Democrats who effectively control the government.

I've been saying for some time it must be the Democrats who reign in Barack Obama who is showing all the restraint and maturity of a college freshman turned loose with daddy's credit card on a distant campus.

As it turns out a good number of Democrats have become quite alarmed at Obama's largess and are ready to cancel the credit card. POLITCO reports this morning: Moderates uneasy with Obama plan

Moderate and conservative Democrats in the Senate are starting to choke over the massive spending and tax increases in President Barack Obama’s budget plans and have begun plotting to increase their influence over the agenda of a president who is turning out to be much more liberal than they are. A group of 14 Senate Democrats and one independent huddled behind closed doors on Tuesday, discussing how centrists in that chamber can assert more leverage on the major policy debates that will dominate this Congress. Afterward, some in attendance made plain that they are getting jitters over the cost and expansive reach of Obama’s $3.6 trillion budget proposal. Asked when he’d reach his breaking point, Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson, one of the most conservative Democrats in the Senate, said: “Right now. I’m concerned about the amount that’s being offered in [Obama’s] budget.” Another attendee, Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (D-La.), said she expected the newly formed caucus to shape Obama’s budget proposal as it moves through Congress. Sen. Evan Bayh, the Indiana Democrat who assembled Tuesday’s skull session, added that he was “very concerned” about Washington’s level of spending, especially in a $410 billion “omnibus” spending bill to fund the government until the start of a new fiscal year in October. As for the tax increases on high-income earners called for in Obama’s plan, Bayh said, “I do think that before we raise revenue, we first should look to see if there are ways we can cut back on spending.” “The American people and businesses are tightening their belts,” Bayh added. “I think we need to show that the government can economize as well.” If the moderate Democrats in the Senate are willing to work with moderate Republicans — as Bayh said they are eager to do — they will negate the White House’s ability to portray opposition to Obama’s spending as partisan obstructionism.

This is genuine bipartisanship at work. A welcome development.