Showing posts with label CO-OPS EQUAL PUBLIC OPTION. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CO-OPS EQUAL PUBLIC OPTION. Show all posts

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Single Payer System Nightmare… Just Doesn’t Stop

Political Cartoon by Michael Ramirez

One Day After accusing Republicans of slowing down the process the Senate Finance Committee voted not to post the full Senate (Baucus) Healthcare Reform Bill online for at least a full 72-hours for the public and all Senators to read it before a vote… as they rumbled about how hard they were working and how they would work all day Saturday (9/26/9) and how posting the bill would slow things up… the Senate called it a day, a half-day yesterday (Friday 9/25/09), (for the Jewish Holiday) and now won’t be back until Tuesday from another long weekend… 

Does anyone want to yell… stop with the b.s.?  Stop with the untruths (lies)?  Stop pushing what most people in America don’t want?????  People really don’t want to read the Baucus Bill… they want it scrapped.

Hit the RESET Button!!!

(Then start working on some real healtcare reform that people want and that will save money, improve services and cover more people… which is not ObamaCare!)

One Single Payer System (CUTE SONG) From MisterDregs

The reasons given not to post the full Baucus HC Reform Bill online for 72-hours before a vote, so people could actually read it were…

1.   The people wouldn’t understand it. (They think we are stupid)

2.  It would take too long to translate into laymen’s language.  (This bill could and should have been written so everyone can understand it in the first place)

3.  It will slow up the process of getting it passed.  (They are hiding not just one thing, but a long list of things and intend to ram this through to promote Obama’s bigger agenda no matter what Americans really want!!)

On Tuesday they are going to take up the Public Option again…  And they won’t tell us what it costs.  Big RED Flags!

Once any part of a Public Option… whether it is called a government-run co-op or a trigger, the Camel’s nose will be in the Tent, and it will only be a matter of time before we are on a single payer (socialized medicine) plan, and there will be turning back.

Neither Healthcare Reform or Cap and Trade have anything to do with improving the lot and life of Americans!!  Both have everything to do with (in President Obama’s own words 5-days before the election) “Fundamentally changing America!”

The Fight For American Freedoms and Real Healthcare Reform is now!!

---------

Solution to the Healthcare Reform…

  1. Address and Clean Up Fraud in All Areas of Medical Care! – Billions are lost and wasted in fraud each year.  Read:  Stop Paying the Crooks
  2. Serious Tort Reform – The lawyers are the winner in Obamacare!  Tort Reform is not even being addressed
  3. Change Intra-State Insurance Laws; allow true competition to sell and purchase insurance across state lines.
  4. Make Health Insurance Portable.
  5. Reward Doctors for Results Not Numbers of Procedures.
  6. Allow the self-employed and small business owners to form private co-ops to purchase health insurance to cut down costs.

7.  These changes alone would improve healthcare and save money to cover the uninsured that could be put on a plan that is a subsidiary of Medicare and Medicaid. Government should act as a neutral regulator only… of insurance companies, Big Pharma and the AMA; not be in competition with them. Exclusions due to previous conditions should not be allowed and honest over-sight (which does not happen now) should be maintained and enforced as far as safety, costs and fraud.

8.  Natural supplements and alternative or holistic treatments and preventative measures should also be covered and encouraged instead of forced out by Big Pharma and the AMA.

9.  “No” centralization of Medical Records!  The opportunity for mis-use of that information is too high.  The government could incentivize medical groups and doctors to update their records to more modern systems (in-house/in system).  Then those records could more easily be sent or hand carried with the patients consent to be shared.

The Obama administration keeps talking about saving money by reforming Medicare and Medicaid.  Let them start there and see what the savings really are without cutting funding or pushing costs over to the states.

ObamaCare is or will eventually be socialized medicine, so we need to fight and stop it now.  There will be no going back later.

A Govt-Run Co-Op is the same as a Public Option and a Trigger will end up being a Public Option… the Answer has to be No to all!

Also “NO” on covering illegal aliens or abortions with public funds.  (Beware:  Obama’s newest ploy is promoting amnesty and citizenship to illegals to cover them, with money we don’t have…)Obama: Legalize Illegals to Get Them Health Care

Call, email, fax and write your Congressman, Senator and all the fence sitter and radical today and everyday!

Call the United States Capitolswitchboard today... everyday at (202) 224-3121 or (202) 225-3121

Senators from your State.

Call the White House at 202-456-1111 and tell President Obama you have had enough!

ObamaCare heads to (in) committee>>>>

Next week, the Senate Finance Committee will consider the latest version of ObamaCare. Click here for 11 reasons to oppose it.

Please contact the Senators who sit on the committee and urge them to oppose this bill and to start over on real reform that most Americans want and need!

DEMOCRATS
Baucus (MT)
Rockefeller (WV)
Conrad (ND)
Bingaman (NM)
Kerry (MA)
Lincoln (AR)
Wyden (OR)
Schumer (NY)
Stabenow (MI)
Cantwell (WA)
Nelson (FL)
Menendez (NJ)
Carper (DE)

REPUBLICANS
Grassley (IA)
Hatch (UT)
Snowe (ME)
Kyl (AZ)
Bunning (KY)
Crapo (ID)
Roberts (KS)
Ensign (NV)
Enzi (WY)
Cornyn (TX)

RINObamaCare petition tops 20,000

Stop RINObamaCareOur national petition calling on Republicans to hold firm against ObamaCare topped 20,000 signatures this week.

President Obama has been inviting select Republicans to the White House as part of his ongoing campaign to get them to cave. We must keep up the pressure.

Help SCF continue to this campaign.

Related Resources:

On, 09/22/09, the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee held a forum to highlight the urgent need for comprehensive health insurance reform. Wendell Potter, Former Communications VP/Spokes...  Wendell Potter

CBO Adjusts Their Numbers On Cost of ObamaCare After White House Meeting

ObamaCare:  Losing Everyone

Here is a video commentary - the case against ObamaCare with explanation on how to beat it by Dick Morris

To access the video - Go here!


Senators are negotiating on Senator Max Baucus' ObamaCare 6.0 proposal and it hasn't even been written yet
     Of course, to state the obvious, the fact that they're negotiating on something that hasn't been written means no one has read it yet either.
And, to add even more insult to injury, it’s now clear they have no intention of letting you read it.
     You read that right. On an almost straight party-line vote, Democrats in the Senate Finance Committee squashed an amendment by Senator Jim Bunning that would have required Baucus’ ObamaCare bill to be posted on the Internet – for all Americans to read – for 72 hours prior to the Committee voting on it.
     Not only that. Bunning’s amendment also called for requiring the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office’s official tally of how much Baucus’ ObamaCare 6.0 will cost the American people and what the real impact will be on health costs to be released before the it was voted on.
     It's as plain as the nose on your face.
They're leaving the door wide-open to pass Baucus' ObamaCare 6.0 proposal in the dead of night... under the cover of darkness… without even telling you and other concerned Americans what it will cost and how it will affect your health care.
     But what really takes the cake is that even after those shenanigans, some Senate Republicans are still going out of their way to play Let’s-Make-A-Deal on Senator Max Baucus’ ObamaCare 6.0 socialized health care scheme.
     They're actually fighting tooth-and-nail, not to stop ObamaCare but to negotiate a so-called compromise on this Obama-Baucus scheme to socialize the nation’s health care system.
     And that's just one more reason why we must tell our elected officials, right here and right now, that the American people don't want any more negotiations or deals or compromises.
     We want ObamaCare off the table and we want it off the table now.


Use the hyperlink below to send your urgent Blast Fax messages to each and every Republican Member of the United States Senate - or alternately to President Barack Obama and each and every member of the House and Senate.
Demand that they listen to the American people and defeat ObamaCare once and for all. Tell them that no amount of so-called "compromise" will make government-run health care acceptable to the American people. Let them know that if they spent the same amount of energy to defeat ObamaCare as they are spending negotiating, the job would be done. Demand, once and for all, that they stop negotiating and win this fight against socialized health care for the American people.

If the button above does not work, please use this hyperlink.


ObamaCare 6.0: A Stunning Assault On Liberty.


     If the previous versions of government-run ObamaCare made you angry… Senator Max Baucus’ ObamaCare 6.0 is likely to make your blood boil.
     Much like its predecessors, the Baucus health care reform plan is chock-full of provisions calling for new government mandates, higher taxes, increased spending and government-dictated, rationed health care.
     In fact, it’s so bad that Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl said of Baucus’ plan:
“This is a stunning assault on liberty!”
     Senator Kyl is right. And, the really sad part is this:
     As previously stated, the Baucus bill hasn’t even been written yet, much less read by the Senators who are doing the negotiating.
     It’s nothing more than a 200-plus-page shell of ideas to be rammed down the throats of the American people with all deliberate speed... before you and other concerned Americans have the time to find out what hit you.
     Senator Lindsay Graham, speaking on FOX News, probably gave the best explanation of what exactly is going on: 
“[T]he Baucus bill… literally changes everyday… we’re making this up as we go… they’re trying to buy votes… the vision here is to pass something… they don’t give a damn what it is and nobody understands what they’re doing.”
     These so-called leaders just don’t get it. Republicans and Democrats are quibbling over what type of government-run health care they believe to be best for you and your family and no one is fighting for the American people.
The American people for months have been sending the message loud and clear that they want no part of ObamaCare, period, regardless of what form it takes. The American people have been telling politicians in Washington that no amount of so-called
"compromise" will make Obama’s government-run health care scheme acceptable or palatable.
     And yet, one of the only things keeping ObamaCare alive is the fact that some Republicans, under the veil of
“negotiations,” are keeping it alive.
     It’s time for these politicians to finally get the message. The American people do not want them to
“fix” ObamaCare… no more so-called “ObamaCare compromises”… the American people want ObamaCare gone… never to be heard from again.


Use the hyperlink below to send your urgent Blast Fax messages to each and every Republican Member of the United States Senate - or alternately to President Barack Obama and each and every member of the House and Senate.
Demand that they listen to the American people and defeat ObamaCare once and for all. Tell them that no amount of so-called "compromise" will make government-run health care acceptable to the American people. Let them know that if they spent the same amount of energy to defeat ObamaCare as they are spending negotiating, the job would be done. Demand, once and for all, that they stop negotiating and win this fight against socialized health care for the American people.

If the button above does not work, please use this hyperlink.


They Don't Want You To Read The Bill, But Will They Read The Bill?


     The Baucus plan, right now, as you read this letter, is rapidly advancing in the Senate – even though the bill hasn’t actually been written and none of the Senators working on it have actually read it.
     And, as previously stated, it’s now clear they have no intention of letting you read it either.  Here’s what Michael Franc wrote on the Heritage Foundation’s blog, The Foundry:
“During the Senate Finance Committee mark up of the Baucus health bill … Senator Bunning of Kentucky put forth an innovative amendment. This amendment stipulated that before voting on the measure in Committee, legislative language would have to be accessible to the public for 72 hours and that the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) would need to publish an official tally of how much this bill will cost the American people and what the real impact will be on health costs."
     Franc continued:
“The amendment failed 11-12 on nearly a party line vote. Senator Blanche Lincoln (AR) was the sole Democrat to support this attempt at transparency. The bottom line: when the committee completes its work on this re-make of one-sixth of our economy, Senators will have voted on a phantom - a bill that does not exist with costs that are unknowable until, that is, the unelected legislative draftsmen write the real bill in some back room on Capitol Hill.” [Emphasis Mine]
     Remember what Senator Graham said:
“the vision here is to pass something… they don’t give a damn what it is and nobody understands what they’re doing.”
     Fortunately, the American people are one step ahead of of our elected officials this time around.
     They believe they can work behind closed doors and try to repackage government-run health care and seal it with a nice pretty bow.
     But in the end, the American people are on to their game, we won’t be fooled and we can stop them.
     No more
"negotiating"… no more "compromising"… it’s time to stop ObamaCare once and for all.


Use the hyperlink below to send your urgent Blast Fax messages to each and every Republican Member of the United States Senate - or alternately to President Barack Obama and each and every member of the House and Senate.
Demand that they listen to the American people and defeat ObamaCare once and for all. Tell them that no amount of so-called "compromise" will make government-run health care acceptable to the American people. Let them know that if they spent the same amount of energy to defeat ObamaCare as they are spending negotiating, the job would be done. Demand, once and for all, that they stop negotiating and win this fight against socialized health care for the American people.

If the button above does not work, please use this hyperlink.


Socialized Health Care Delivered Under A Christmas Tree Filled With Pricey Ornaments…


FOX News anchor Neil Cavuto summed up the mad dash to pass government-run health care – and specifically Baucus’ ObamaCare 6.0:
“Christmas may be months away but that ain’t stopping Senators from trying to outdo each other on health care… all sorts of pricey ornaments… 564 amendments… the pace of this is startling.”
     Like the alcoholic who swears he will never take another drink, only to succumb to temptation the very next day, politicians in Washington lead us to believe that they got the message loud and clear... they lead us to believe they would stop ObamaCare.
    But instead of stopping ObamaCare cold, they rushed to make deals and propose amendments the second Senator Baucus unveiled his proposal.
     Even Senator Hatch, while calling for a so-called
“bi-partisan solution” to ObamaCare, inadvertently stated the case as to why continued negotiations on ObamaCare are a dangerous thing:
“Everything is geared to try to get us to a single payer system… if they can’t do it automatically… they’ll do it in increments… a one size fits all health care system right out of Washington.”
     Simply put, any compromise that is reached… any deal that is negotiated will simply lead us down the road to government-run, rationed health care for all.
     Some will try to tell you that negotiation is simply a strategy… that it is perhaps the only way to stop ObamaCare.
     But the truth of the matter is, ObamaCare never needs to come out of the Senate Finance Committee… it never has to see the light of day.
     Rule 4 of the Rules of Procedure for the Senate Finance Committee reads:
“Rule 4. Quorums. - (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) one-third of the membership of the committee, including not less than one member of the majority party and one member of the minority party, shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business.”
     That means, at least one Republican Senator on the Finance Committee needs to be in attendance in order to pass any legislation out of committee.
     In other words, 10 Republican Senators (Charles Grassley, Orrin Hatch, Olympia Snowe, Jon Kyl, Jim Bunning, Mike Crapo, Pat Roberts, John Ensign, Mike Enzi and John Cornyn) could stop ObamaCare cold right now by simply saying they will not support it under any circumstances.
     If those 10 Senators would simply say
“no,” and deny Democrats on the Finance Committee a quorum; ObamaCare would be done… finished… it would die in committee... but you won’t hear that on the nightly news.
     And yet, instead of finding a way to convince these 10 Republicans to stand firm in their opposition to ObamaCare, we’re told it’s more prudent solution to negotiate and make a deal with the opposition and hopefully cushion the blow of something that never has to happen in the first place.
     Only in Washington D.C. does such a thing seem even remotely rational.  It’s time to tell these Senate Republicans to get serious about stopping ObamaCare.


Use the hyperlink below to send your urgent Blast Fax messages to each and every Republican Member of the United States Senate - or alternately to President Barack Obama and each and every member of the House and Senate.
Demand that they listen to the American people and defeat ObamaCare once and for all. Tell them that no amount of so-called "compromise" will make government-run health care acceptable to the American people. Let them know that if they spent the same amount of energy to defeat ObamaCare as they are spending negotiating, the job would be done. Demand, once and for all, that they stop negotiating and win this fight against socialized health care for the American people.

If the button above does not work, please use this hyperlink.


Where Have We Seen This Insanity Before?


     If this dysfunctional willingness on the part of Republican Senators to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory... to
"compromise" on a battle that could be won outright... sounds familiar, it should.
     It's happened before. It seems like only yesterday that our elected officials tried to ram amnesty for 12-20 million illegal aliens down the throats of the American people.
     Back then, the American people, in resounding numbers (Republicans, Democrats and Independents), told our elected officials to just say
"no" to amnesty.
     And each time the American people spoke up, our elected officials tried to produce so-called
"compromise legislation" ... and they alternately tried to sell it to us or ram it down our throats.
     But the American didn't let them get away with it. We all knew that each so-called
“compromise” was just as egregious as the first amnesty bill... a few words were changed but every proposal essentially led to amnesty for millions of illegal aliens.
     Do you remember their very last attempt to sell all of us on so-called
"compromise legislation?"
     Do you remember seeing that photograph in the paper of that group of Senators uproariously laughing and slapping each other on the back as they emerged from their closed-door negotiations?
     It was almost as if, when they emerged from that room, they were really laughing at all of us.
     Of course, back then, you took decisive action... you called... you faxed... and together we finally broke the back of those bogus amnesty compromises.
     You did it before. You can do it again. Now is the time to show your outrage. Make your voice heard now and we will defeat ObamaCare once and for all.


Use the hyperlink below to send your urgent Blast Fax messages to each and every Republican Member of the United States Senate - or alternately to President Barack Obama and each and every member of the House and Senate.
Demand that they listen to the American people and defeat ObamaCare once and for all. Tell them that no amount of so-called "compromise" will make government-run health care acceptable to the American people. Let them know that if they spent the same amount of energy to defeat ObamaCare as they are spending negotiating, the job would be done. Demand, once and for all, that they stop negotiating and win this fight against socialized health care for the American people.

If the button above does not work, please use this hyperlink.


Yours In Freedom,

Jeff Mazzella
President
Center for Individual Freedom

Neither Healthcare Reform or Cap and Trade have anything to do with improving the lot and life of Americans!!  Both have everything to do with (in President Obama’s own words 5-days before the election) “Fundamentally changing America!”

Contributing to send out the blasts is probably the most efficient, but if you choose not to go that route, you can contact Washington yourself… or do both until they realize that we will not stand for this betrayal!!

Call, email, fax and write your Congressman, Senator and all the fence sitter and radical today and everyday!

Call the United States Capitol switchboard today... everyday at (202) 224-3121 or (202) 225-3121 (House and Senate)

Senators from your State.

Call the White House at 202-456-1111 and tell President Obama you have had enough.

The Member of the European Parliament below, Daniel Hannan, became quite well known for his speech denouncing the economic practices of Gordon Brown's Labor government in Britain. This speech has received over 2 million hits, and I have included it below. Watch it and you will see why…


Click Here to view

Hannan has said several times he cannot understand why Americans would voluntarily move to socialized medicine and that once me did… because of the tremendous infrastructure, there would be no going back.  He also cannot understand that Americans are not standing up for their Constitution… their Freedoms, of which he is a great admirer and advocate.

Please continue to contact all the Senators on the Finance Committee list above plus your own state Senators.

Source: Knowledge Creates Power & the Daily Thought Pad

Posted:  True Health is True Wealth – Cross-Posted: Marion’s Place

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

ObamaCare Speech: A Bust!

Speech Filled With Rhetoric, Untruths, and the usual Obama Smoke and Mirrors; sprinkled with partisanship and disregard for the will of the American people.

President Obama had the chance of his presidency to win the Healthcare Reform battle tonight and be a Uniter. He failed miserably. He was partisan, talked out of both sides of his mouth, attacked and ignored Average America (Town Hallers and Tea Party Attendees) and was both evasive and less than truthful about what was in the bills, all and part of his and the Dems agenda!!!! Not one peep about understanding the feelings of all the people who have poured their hearts out at Congressional TownHall Meetings all summer other than they have been scared by right-wing fear mongers, as if they were all too stupid to think for themselves. (And no peep about the left-wing organized fear mongering by Nancy Pelosi, SEIU and ACORN).

Governor Tim Pawlenty said, “Tonight’s speech was more like “Rhetoric Collides with Reality” than an attempt at bipartisan reconciliation or anything but a move to more government control, which is Obama and liberal Dems (the Progressives) goal. Nobody but people who have ‘not’ read the bill or any reviews and only listen to Obamaganda from the White House through the controlled media outlets (especially NBC, ABC, CBS, the New York Times & the Huffington Post) felt tonight’s speech was a success or an attempt at real reform for the good of the American People.

Bottom-line, you cannot insure an additional 30 to 47 million people, depending on the day and the speech, maintain the level of healthcare and reduce or even maintain the cost(s).

Republican Rebuttal: GOP to Obama: “It’s Time to Start Over”

TRANSCRIPT: GOP Response to Obama's Health Care Address

Related Resources:


It’s Still Government-Run Health Care If ... Public Option or Trigger is Still Government-Run HealthCare… Or Will Be!!!! And Obama Definitely Left the Public Option or some version on the Table Tonight

Remember: Co-Op or Trigger = Public Option = Government-Run HealthCare (which will equal rationing!) Ask any Canadian or Brit!

And then the Cheap Trick for the night was not only placing Ted Kennedy’s widow Vicki next to Michelle Obama during the speech but then quoting “Teddy” while panning between Vicki and Ted’s Congressman son…

Obama Uses Kennedy's Death to Push Public Plan

So far Obama has invoked the God Card, the Race Card, “What Would Jesus Do” and now the Ted Card. With this much desperation you’d think there would be a little bipartisanship and acknowledgement of the wants of the American people if helping them were really goal… wouldn’t ya?

Text of Obama’s Speech to Joint Session as given to the Press

President Barack Obama's first address to a joint session of Congress, on February 24, 2009.

Josh Haner/The New York Times President Obama’s first address to a joint session of Congress, on Feb. 24, 2009. Tonight, in his second address, he unsuccessfully pressed his case for major health care legislation

"Healthcare Petition Presented to Lawmakers – Video

We will be breaking down Obama’s speech and posting his stretches and untruths from the speech, with references Please check back.

Posted: Knowledge Creates Power – Cross Posted: Daily Thought Pad

Friday, September 4, 2009

Lieberman: “Without public option, health reform would pass” – Americans: “That will have to mean no co-op or “Trigger” that only means a public optio

Lieberman says major bipartisan reform is still possible. Let us make it does not include a “trigger”

U.S. Senator, Joseph Lieberman answers questions from the public over the internet during a live video interview session which was streamed over the Hearst Connecticut Media Group news sites. (Bob Luckey/Staff photographer)

STAMFORD -- U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman made it clear Wednesday that he would not vote for a health care bill that included a government-run option, but said that without it, he and most of Congress would support comprehensive health care reform.

Discussion on health care dominated an informal question-and-answer session with the fourth-term Connecticut senator, who spoke to the editors of The Advocate and Connecticut Post and answered e-mailed questions from readers.

If the public option "is off the table, we have the opportunity to achieve significant reform with bipartisan support," Lieberman said during the nearly two-hour meeting Wednesday afternoon.

The Stamford native touched on his concerns that in the current recession the country could not afford a complete health care overhaul.

"We're trying to do a lot at once," he said. "We're trying to bend down the increasing cost curve of health care, and at the same time, turn and say to people ... it will cost a trillion or a trillion-and-a-half over the next 10 years."

He said the people know who will foot the bill.

Still, comprehensive reform -- "big steps, not baby steps" -- is possible, Lieberman said, predicting that Congress will compromise and adopt 75 percent of what is in the bill.

Reform should also include malpractice reform and health exchanges, which would offer different plans for varying costs and coverage for individuals or small businesses, he said.

Lieberman added that he supports mandating that no one can be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions and that everyone be required to have health insurance.

As to how 47 million uninsured will afford coverage, Lieberman said only 12 million don't have insurance because they cannot afford it.

By allowing citizens who are not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid to buy in for a rate below the private market, the government can extend coverage to more of those who are currently uninsured, he said.

To arrive at his position, Lieberman said he reached out to "every conceivable group" in the state, including residents, providers, doctors and hospitals.

"People in Connecticut want to see health care reform," he said, "but (they) have growing apprehension that the proposed reform would leave them with less coverage than they have today."

The Democratic-turned-independent senator said he knows his opposition to the government-run option will probably foil the Democrats' efforts to pass the bill.

"There will be no shot at 60 votes, because I'm not the only one," he said.

But he added: "If we start this out and three years from now a case can be made that the private market is not working effectively, I would support the public option."

Staff Writer Devon Lash can be reached at 964-2242 or devon.lash@scni.com – Connecticut Post

Posted: Daily Thought Pad – Cross-Posted: Knowledge Creates Power

No Public Option

No Co-Op – Another Name for Public Option

No Trigger – Will Lead to Public Option

No – Duty To Die Lectures or Death Panels

No Centralized Database

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Pelosi: Bill That Will Pass House "Will Have A Public Option" – Time to Show This Woman (and the Rest) That She Works For Us!!!

Pelosi: Bill That Will Pass House 'Will Have a Public Option'

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: "I have said over and over again and I commit to this that the bill that will pass the House of Representatives will have a public option in it."

Congresswoman: Holding Town Halls Beneath 'Dignity of My Office'Dem Rep.: "I'm Not Doing Town Hall Meetings; I'm Not Going To Give Those People A Forum"… Rep. Louise Slaughter: "I'm not doing town meetings; I'm not going to give those people a forum. I went through it with the Clinton health care bill, with the John Birch Society, where we had to have police around, and people hysterically crying…"

Rasmussen Report: Most Voters Say Town Hall Meetings Should Be for Congressmen to Listen, Not Speak

Thursday, September 03, 2009

At town hall meetings on the health care issue, most Americans say it’s more important for those in Congress to listen rather than speak.

Fifty-six percent (56%) of voters nationwide say that it’s more important for Congressmen to hear the view of their constituents rather than explain the proposed health care legislation. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 37% hold the opposite view while 7% are not sure.

The desire for Congress to listen may stem from the fact that voters believe they understand the legislation better than Congress.

Forty-nine percent (49%) have a favorable opinion of those opposing the health care reforms at town hall meetings. That’s up eight points from 41% a month ago.Thirty-five percent (35%) have an unfavorable view of the town hall protesters, unchanged from last month.

Fifty-nine percent (59%) now say the town hall protesters are citizens reflecting the concerns of their neighbors. That’s up ten points over the past month.

Thirty percent (30%) believe the protests are phony efforts drummed up by special interest groups and lobbyists.

Stand tall America, “NO PUBLIC OPTION” of any kind!! No on incremental programs that will move us toward a public option. No new Co-op that will ultimately become a public option…!!! No on a Trigger that will be manipulated into a public option!!

There will not be any going back once the Dems get their nose in the door. It is now or never to stop this!!!

--------

VIDEO: REP. PETE STARK TELLS INTERVIEWER, “GET THE F**K OUT OF HERE OR I’LL THROW YOU OUT THE WINDOW

Longtime readers of this blog are well aware of California Democrat Rep. Pete Stark (Raving Mad)’s unhingedness.

He has called a Republican opponent a “c**ksucker”, left a profanity-laced message on a constituent’s voicemail, and suggested on the floor of the House that Republicans are sending men and women to Iraq “to get their heads blown off for the president’s amusement.”

He’s an unrepentant basket case — and everything that’s wrong with Washington.

Here’s fresh proof from an independent TV documentarian Jan Helfeld, whose Socratic interviewing techniques cause Stark to engage in another trademark tirade. Helfeld asks Stark about the national debt and the economy. Stark tells him repeatedly to “shut up,” sneers at Helfeld’s lack of an advanced economic degree, and ends the interview by bolting from his chair and telling Helfeld to “Get the f**k out of here or I’ll throw you out the window:”

“A line that will now live forever, thanks to Congressman Stark:

“The more debt we owe, the wealthier we are”. That pretty much sums up political “thought[.]“

***

Update: Apparently, the vid has been around a while — but it’s a wonderful exclamation point on the long, hot Congressional recess and the Democrat reaction to town hall protesters, which has exposed the arrogance virus shared by Stark and his colleagues.

It truly is time for us to remind both Houses of Congress and the White House who they work for!! Politicians are public servents that work for their constituents, the American people, and whose job it is to protect our nation from foreinh aggression, uphold the Constitution (as written) and follow the will of the majority of the people... not do as they please!!

Posted: Daily Thought Pad – Cross-Posted: Knowledge Creates Power

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Congratulations! The headline on Drudge earlier today was 'It's official: no public option.'

Under fire, President Obama shifts strategy

The headline on Drudge earlier today was 'It's official: no public option.' Congratulations, America! Because you stood up, the President and the government heard you. The spineless wonders probably only caved because they care about their own hides, BUT if you didn't stand up you can bet Universal Health would have been passed. But don't celebrate yet -- there is still work to be done. Think the progressives will give up that easily?

Aides to President Barack Obama are putting the final touches on a new strategy to help Democrats recover from a brutal August recess by specifying what Obama wants to see in a compromise health care deal and directly confronting other trouble spots, West Wing officials tell POLITICO.

Obama is considering detailing his health-care demands in a major speech as soon as next week, when Congress returns from the August recess. And although House leaders have said their members will demand the inclusion of a public insurance option, Obama has no plans to insist on it himself, the officials said.

“We’re entering a new season,” senior adviser David Axelrod said in a telephone interview. “It’s time to synthesize and harmonize these strands and get this done. We’re confident that we can do that. But obviously it is a different phase. We’re going to approach it in a different way. The president is going to be very active.”

Top officials privately concede the past six weeks have taken their toll on Obama's popularity. But the officials also see the new diminished expectations as an opportunity to prove their critics wrong by signing a health care law, showing progress in Afghanistan, and using this month's anniversary of the fall of Lehman Brothers to push for a crackdown on Wall Street.

On health care, Obama’s willingness to forgo the public option is sure to anger his party’s liberal base. But some administration officials welcome a showdown with liberal lawmakers if they argue they would rather have no health care law than an incremental one. The confrontation would allow Obama to show he is willing to stare down his own party to get things done.

“We have been saying all along that the most important part of this debate is not the public option, but rather ensuring choice and competition,” an aide said. “There are lots of different ways to get there.”

The timing, format, venue and content of Obama's presentation are still being debated in the West Wing. Aides have discussed whether to stick to broad principles, or to send specific legislative language to Capitol Hill. Some hybrid is likely, the officials said.

“I’m not going to put a date on any of this,” Axelrod said. “But I think it’s fairly obvious that we’re not in the second inning. We’re not in the fourth inning. We’re in the eighth or ninth inning here, and so there’s not a lot of time to waste.”

Obama's specifics will include many of the principles he has spelled out before, and aides did not want to telegraph make-or-break demands. But Axelrod and others are making plain that Obama will assert himself more aggressively — a clear sign that the president will start dictating terms to Congress.

"His goal is to create the best possible situation for consumers, create competition and choice," Axelrod said. "We want to bring a measure of security to people who have health insurance today. We want to help those who don't have coverage today, because they can't afford it, get insurance they can afford. And we want to do it in a way that reduces the overall cost of the system as a whole."

Also this fall, Obama wants to slap new regulations on Wall Street firms, a goal that is now considered a higher priority than cap-and-trade energy legislation in the West Wing. White House officials think the legislation will show voters, especially wavering independents, that he is serious about making the culprits of the economic crisis pay. It also helps that it doesn't carry a big price tag, like other Obama priorities.

The president also plans to send Congress a report on Afghanistan by Sept. 24 that is designed to build patience after two months in a row of the highest U.S. casualties since the invasion eight years ago. Aides say they recognize they need to show progress over the next 12 to 18 months, or risk losing the support of key Democrats in Congress, who already have balked at funding Obama’s 20,000-troop buildup.

But health care remains front-and-center in Obama’s fall strategy. “I understand the governing wisdom here in town as to where this is right now,” Axelrod said. “I feel good about where it is right now. I understand that there’s been a lot of controversy. I understand that there’s been a lot of politics. But the truth is, we’re a lot closer to achieving something than many thought possible. People look to the president for leadership on this and other issues. He feels passionately about this, and you can look for him to provide that leadership.”

Obama has been criticized for deciding to cede much of the debate to Capitol Hill -- or, as Axelrod put it, “allow Congress to consider the whole range of ideas.”

“History will judge whether this was right or it was wrong,” Axelrod said. “We feel strongly that it was right. As a result of it, we have broad consensus on over 80 percent of this stuff, and a lot of good ideas about how to achieve the other 20. Now, people are looking to the president and the president is eager to help lead that process of harmonizing these different elements and completing this process so that we can solve what is a big problem in the lives of the American people, for our businesses and our economy.”

White House officials say they are looking forward to "a break from the August break" -- a chance to take back control of the debate after a grim month where news coverage of the issue was dominated by vocal, emotional opponents at lawmakers’ town meetings, railing against the cost and complexity of the plans being debated.

So Obama and Democrats will return from vacation wounded, divided and uncertain of the best way to turn things around. Many Democrats, especially in the House, were spooked over break by the rowdy town hall meetings and flurry of polls showing independent voters skeptical of their leadership and spending plans.

The mood swing is hitting some top leaders hard: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), for instance, is trailing little-known GOP contenders in his re-election race now. The news swing has been no less brutal. There has been saturation coverage of the town halls and rising casualties in Afghanistan -- the latter leading to a big drop in support for the war.

All of this makes for a tumultuous -- and wildly unpredictable -- fall for Obama and his party.

Axelrod said he isn’t worried. “Part of it is born of long experience,” he said. “In Washington, every day is Election Day. I’d be lying to you if I told you I don’t look at polls -- I do. But I’ve also learned that you have to keep your eye on the horizon here and not get bogged down. I am not Polyannish, but I am also not given to the hysteria that's endemic to this town.”

By MIKE ALLEN & JIM VANDEHEI

Source: Politico