Yesterday, Democrats on the Senate Finance committee tackled the first of about 500 health care bill amendments queued up for a vote.  The measure in question would have forced them to publish the final health care bill online for 72 hours and provide a complete cost estimate before making the national health care system law.  According to  Senate Dems, John Kerry in particular, the 72 hour window was nothing more than a “delay tactic” and was immediately voted down.

That’s right.  According to Senate Democrats you have NO right to read the bill that you are paying them to craft.  You have no business knowing what’s in it, and no need to see the final language of a health care system that you will be living under.  Why?  If this new system is so wonderful, shouldn’t they be proud of it?

Obviously it’s just easier for this bunch of cowards if you have no idea what they’re up to, especially since so many of you don’t support their “reforms.”

Instead, Pelosi has decided that they should release “conceptual” language, and a far less stringent CBO cost estimate.

Look, whether you’re for the new health care system or not, this should be a disturbing wake-up call to every American.  The people YOU put in power are now telling YOU what legislation they think you ought to be able to read before passage.  The inmates are running the asylum, and Obama, head of the “most transparent administration in history” is markedly silent on the issue.

We’re sure the far left are proud of the cowering children they’ve put in office, but the moderates and independents are another story.  If the DNC thinks that this behaviour is going unnoticed by their more centrist membership, they’re in for one hell of a rude awakening. 

- Robert Laurie

Obama spent weeks telling us that illegals wouldn’t get to take part in any government run health care plan.  Joe Wilson didn’t buy it, called the President a liar, and was officially “rebuked” for it.  Obama steadfastly maintained that he wasn’t lying.  Now we know why.

Illegals won’t get health care because if he gets his way, they won’t be illegal anymore.

Wednesday night, during a speech to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, Obama said “Even though I do not believe we can extend coverage to those who are here illegally, I also don’t simply believe we can simply ignore the fact that our immigration system is broken.” 

 Barry went on to say that our “broken” immigration system is “why I strongly support making sure folks who are here legally have access to affordable, quality health insurance under this plan, just like everybody else. ”

All well and good.  A reiteration of his previous, albeit disastrously wrong-headed, position.  Then came the kicker.

“If anything,” he said, ”this debate underscores the necessity of passing comprehensive immigration reform and resolving the issue of 12 million undocumented people living and working in this country once and for all.”

So, in order to give health care to illegals, all Obama has to do is make them legal.  Super.  When inconvenient laws make it difficult for him to enact his policies, he’ll just get rid of the laws.

It’s funny, but I could have sworn there was something in his oath about upholding them….

- Robert Laurie

In a brief statement Thursday morning, Obama killed the Eastern Europe missle defense shield.  If all you heard was his speech, however, you might not even know it.  The President painted the U.S. policy reversal as a grand new endeavor, full of new technology, better defensive strategies, stronger alliances, and as per usual, no specifics of any kind.  Beneath all the rhetoric is a cave-in of historic proportions, giving Putin exactly what he’s been demanding for the last few years.

At the same time they were giving Putin a major win, the administration also downplayed the threat of Iranian missles.  Joe Biden, who earlier this week refused to confirm rumors that the missle shield program was being scrapped, did explain that  “I am less concerned — much less concerned — about the Iranian potential. They have no potential at this moment, they have no capacity to launch a missile at the United States of America.”

This may be true but completely ignores their potential to hit Eastern Europe.  Then again, so what?  Remember, Obama believes that they’re just a “Tiny” country – not a serious threat.  In fact, his decision to hand Putin such a victory might be explained by comments he made last year at an Oregon town hall.

“Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union,” Obama said, ”They don’t pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us.”  Is the President scared of Putin?  Has he “looked into his soul” and decided he’d better not anger the former KGB agent?

As always, Obama kept things classy by choosing the 70th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland to announce that the United States would be abandoning the missile shield there.  An unnamed source in the Polish Defense Ministry told CNN that “This is catastrophic for Poland.”

At least Poland can rest easy knowing that, while they may have to contend with Russia, Joe Biden believes that Iran isn’t a substantial threat.  After all, it’s not like Iran’s working on nuclear weapons or anything. 

Oh wait…  Just yesterday, French President Sarkozy told lawmakers that ”It is a certainty to all of our secret services. Iran is working today on a nuclear weapons program.”

Hmmm…  Well, I’m sure they have no intentions of using it.  Right Mr. Obama?  ‘Cuz if they did, y’know, that shield might come in handy….

- Robert Laurie

 

Last week, when Joe Wilson shouted “You lie!” during the President’s health care speech, no one heard any racism.  When Obama accepted Joe Wilson’s forced apology, it was for a breach of ethics, not for some sort of racist tirade.  For a day or two, it looked like the whole thing was going to fade away, as it became clear that the vast majority of Congressional Dems were perfectly happy to let the incident come to a close.  After all, the more it was inspected, the more people might come to the conclusion that Obama actually was lying.

Sadly, moderate Dems are saddled with the far left, and the fringe of their party has spent a week trying to gin up the bogus notion that Wilson’s shout was some sort of bigoted attack.  Yesterday, none other than Jimmy Carter weighed in on the issue, claiming “I think it’s based on racism.  There is an inherent feeling among many in this country that an African-American should not be president.”  That Carter, who’s been the subject of some substantial anti-semitism charges, should be lecturing anyone about prejudice is obviously laughable, but that’s not the real story here. 

The Dems have started charging racism across the board.  Don’t like Obamacare?  You’re a racist.  Speaking out against taxation?  You’re a racist.  Part of the massive demonstrations in Washington DC last weekend?  Clearly, you’re a racist.

In a way, it’s good news.  Whenever the Dems are cornered, powerless, about to lose, or just plain unpopular, they drag out the “racist” straw man.   They did it during Reagan’s landslides, when Hillarycare was falling apart in the early 90’s, and again when Bush 43 was at the height of his popularity.  Vietnam was racist, as were both gulf wars, and of course the entirety of the post WWII military in general, as it evidently does little but prey on poor, uneducated minority members. 

It’s nothing new, but these days they have a couple of problems. 

The first is the simple fact that they have commanding majorities in Congress, and the nation’s first African-American President in the White House.  If they’re not getting their way, the blame lies with Dems, not with the fictional racist boogieman they’re trying to create.

Secondly, no one they’re targeting has said anything racist.  It seems a ridiculous point to have to make, but the fact that people like Carter are running around claiming that those who oppose Obama’s policies “have a racist tone” is utterly laughable.   Are there racists out there who will oppose Obama because of the color of his skin?  Of course.  Are they the majority?  Of course not.  Are they even a significant minority?  Nope.  We all know that if the Dems had proof of ANY prominent member of Congress, the tea party movement, or the conservative media saying ANYTHING racist, they’d never stop running the tape.  Since they don’t have it, they’ve created a sort of “phantom racism;” a mysterious spectre that hovers over us all and adds racist words and intent to statements that contain neither.

Yesterday, despite his accepted apology, Joe Wilson was officially rebuked by the House Of Representatives because of his “you lie!” moment.  It seems that amidst skyrocketing unemployment, massive deficit spending, the health care debate, two wars, and record low Congressional approval levels, it was the most important thing on their agenda.

Fine.  Meaningless rebuke entered into the record, day wasted, racist straw man pleased.

Keep up the good work, Dems, and please, keep claiming racism.  It hasn’t worked for the last 30 years, but you should definitely stick with it.  The longer you make the charge in lieu of any legitimate arguments, the weaker you’ll become, and the more invested you’ll make your opponents. 

Despite Robert Gibbs constant dismissals, we all know you’re watching as the crowds of protesters grow.  Please.  Keep egging ‘em on.

- Robert Laurie

Ah Acorn, everyone’s favorite leftist thug organization.

In the videos below, you’ll see what happens when a young prostitute seeks the help of Baltimore Acorn members.  She wants to get her life together.  Do they get her off the streets? Advise her to give up a life of hooking and get her into some kind of program?  No, of course not.  This is Acorn!

They tell her how to beat the IRS by applying for child tax credits for the 12 underage girls she’s smuggling into the US, how to secure an Acorn backed home loan so they have a brothel to work in, and how to funnel the money into a future congressman’s campaign.

Remember, Obama gave these guys 4.2 Billion dollars in the stimulus package.

Your tax dollars at work.

- Robert Laurie

You have to admit, he’s got cajones.  In a speech where many expected him to ditch the wildly unpopular “public option,” Obama did exactly the opposite.  During the address last night, he actually doubled down, putting his already damaged credibility, and the future of his administration on the line, saying “I am not the first president to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last.”

The plan he’s after, one which includes the public option, will cost $900 Billion over the next decade.  Of course, that assumes that the numbers are right, that there aren’t any unforeseen costs, and that the program stays at the size envisioned.  Given that just about  every other massive federal program has ballooned, been riddled with fraud and corruption, or been woefully underestimated cost-wise, I think we can all agree that the $900 Billion figure is a bit Pollyanna-ish.

Last night, the President said he would “not sign a plan that added one dime to our deficits, either now or in the future.”  So, how will he find almost a trillion dollars without raising a deficit?  Well, according to Obama there are hundreds of billions of dollars worth of waste and fraud in Medicare, which he will cut.

Huh.

So, rather than cut the hundreds of billions of waste now, fixing the bankrupt Medicare system, Obama’s pledge is to only cut that waste and fraud if it’s used for socialized medicine?  If the Feds have allowed Medicare to become so rife with corruption that it’s going to throw away almost a trillion dollars over the next ten years, why should I have ANY hope that the same criminality won’t affect Obamacare?  Similarly, if Obama isn’t willing to get rid of such corruption unless it’s done to support his agenda, what does that say about the president?  Waste, it seems, is just fine…at least until he needs the money for something else. 

Prior estimates by the Congressional Budget Office have shown that even if Obama achieves every one of the cuts he’s proposed, the plan will still be bankrupt and running defecits in just eight and a half years – conveniently, just after he leaves office.  Perhaps that’s what the President was referring to when he said that significant “details still need to be ironed out.”

Despite all the lingering questions, during his speech, The President continued to speak with certainty.  “As soon as I sign this law,” he said, not “if.”  With the joint Congressional address, Obama has staked it all on the passage of a public option.  He claims the government run plan has become unpopular due to lies and fabrications perpetrated by Republicans and talk radio hosts. 

If only he were so lucky.  The plan’s unpopular because people have now had time to read and digest it.  It’s not about lies, it’s about the inconvenient facts contained in both the House and Senate plans.  “Pay no attention to all the scary stories,” Obama said, channeling the Great and Powerful Oz. 

Sadly, Obama is rapidly starting to look like the impotent old “Man Behind The Curtain,” and the truth of what he faces is that as of yesterday, only 42% approved of his health care machinations.  In the House, a recent whip count shows that the Dems don’t have the votes to pass the plan, perhaps not even if they take the nuclear option of reconciliation.

Remember, if the Democrats in Congress were behind this measure, we’d already have it.  Obama can get this signed into law without a single Republican vote.  That he’s been unable to do it says a lot about his lack of leadership.  A single speech, most of which was simply repetition of the same lies and half-truths he’s been spouting for months, is unlikely to turn it around.  If the measure fails, it will be because Democrats killed it, and the damage to Obama’s administration will be nigh-on incalculable.

If he somehow manages to pull it off, he may have a bigger problem.  Congressional Democrats, who already face a nightmare scenario in the 2010 elections, would be decimated.  In 2012, Obama would be forced to campaign for re-election after jamming the despised bill down the throats of an electorate which has already made its position quite clear. 

“I am not the first president to take up this cause,” Obama said, “but I am determined to be the last.”

Hopefully, he’s right.  If we can stop it now, perhaps we can head toward a brighter future where Presidents would be less eager to champion such a ridiculous plan.

- Robert Laurie

In a few minutes, Obama will be addressing Congress with a Hail Mary speech designed to put the health care train back on the tracks.  It’s a tremendous task.  One that, considering his astonishing leadership failures of the last two months, seems nigh on impossible.

Can he do it?

Doubtful.  For Obama, July and August were among the worst two months any President has had to weather.  He took PR hit after PR hit, made bad choice after bad choice, spoke when he should have piped down, and remained silent at the exact moments he needed to speak up.  Nixon and Carter knew what the subsequent public opinion beating must have felt like.  Likewise, Clinton and Bush faced similar periods in their presidencies.  Unfortunately for the current administration, all four managed to handle their respective train wrecks better that Barack.

Obama’s problem is that for all his oratory skill, for all his much-ballyhooed charisma, charm, and personality, he is an utter mess without an enemy.  During the campaign, he could lash out against Bush and, to a lesser degree, McCain.  After his election, he successfully managed to keep the “It’s Bush’s Fault” mantra alive…at least until sometime in April.  Then, the wheels started falling off.

By the end of the summer, the problems faced by the United States were his.  The blame game had stopped working.  People had grown sick and tired of hearing the “George Bush Excuse.”   The President made a series of gaffes, perhaps most notably the ridiculous Beer Summit and his foolish accusations that preceded it.  Two wars that, at the end of the previous administration had (despite their unpopular status) been going pretty well have started to revert back to their more difficult days.  Even Cindy Sheehan turned up to lay the responsibility directly at Obama’s door.  That the door in question was attached to thirty million dollar mansion didn’t help.

Then we had the Van Jones debacle.

Still, it could be maintained that all of this would have done little damage if the President still had an enemy to attack.  Someone he could deflect to.  A person, a group, or a thing to distract the American people from his errors.  There was only one problem.  He didn’t come up with one.

Yes, the DNC tried to paint the town hall protesters as an evil mob.  Yes, they raised the specter of Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.  What happened?  The protesters proved to be part of the majority, and the Glenn Beck show cost Van Jones his job.

Now, the enemy is another mob: congressional Democrats.  Never forget that if the DNC had the votes, we’d already have a national health care system.  Republicans are, for all intents and purposes, powerless.  The President’s own party has derailed his plans, and presented him with no where else to shift the blame.

So now, it all comes down to one speech.  The administration claims it will have “All the answers.” 

Let’s get this straight.  He has answers that, for some reason, he decided not to mention in the previous hundred health care speeches?

Answers that will change this disasterous situation in the House Of Representatives?

Highly, highly, doubtful.

- Robert Laurie

“I pledge to be a servant to our President.” – adorable couple, Ashton & Demi

Yes, a whole gaggle of millionaires have gotten together to make a cult-like video pledging themselves to the service of Barry.  They also want you to make a pledge, promising that you’ll help change America.

To be fair, there are a few nice platitudes here, but the idea that anyone should pledge their fealty to a President is fairly disturbing.  A president, as the root of the word implies, presides.  Nothing more, nothing less.  He’s just a citizen like everyone else, and his station is temporary.  He is not a goal, not a symbol, and certainly not some sort of an ideal to which any American should be pledging.  He’s a steward.

The thing you shoud be pledging to?  Well, you may have learned that in grade school.

That said, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore want to know what my pledge is and I’m not about to upset a Hollywood power couple.  So here’s a list of promises.

1.  I pledge to question authority, and promise to examine the motives of those who seek and achieve such power. 

2.  I pledge that I will not overlook hypocrisy in my public officials, even if doing so may expedite the achievement of my goals. 

3.  I pledge to do my best to hold my government to its Constitution.

4.  I pledge to uphold the laws of the nation I serve, not use my station as a means to subvert them.

5.  I pledge to protect my personal freedom, and the freedoms of those around me, as they are our most precious possessions.

6.  I pledge that I will no longer remain silent about my beliefs, for my silence grants power to those above me.

7.  I pledge that I will not let those in office intimidate me.

8.  I pledge that I will not take from my fellow American what is rightfully his, either by force, or via legislation that forces redistribution.

9.  I pledge to look to the lessons of history, as today’s mistakes are likely repetitions of previous failures.

10. I pledge that, before pledging to change America, I will ask “change it to what?”

Those are my ten.  Oh, and of course, the one you may have heard before.

11.  I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States of America, and to the REPUBLIC for which it stands.

- Robert Laurie