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August 18th, 2009
Dear Liberty Activist, Congressional support for taking the public "option" off the table is declining even quicker than public support for the government takeover of the health care system. On Saturday, the Obama Administration publicly moved away from government-run health care. Speaking in Grand Junction, Colorado, Obama said, "I think that we can craft a system in which you've got a public option that has to operate independently, not subsidized by taxpayers—it would be nonprofit... they would have to go on the market and get a market price for capital." On FOX News Sunday, Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) said, "The fact of the matter is there are not the votes in the United States Senate for a public option. There never have been." This has set off a firestorm from the radical base of Democrats in the House, and by members in the Senate that still support the so-called public "option". According to the Washington Post, Nancy Pelosi said, "There is strong support in the House for a public option." John D. Rockefeller called it "a must." Russ Feingold said "without a public option, I don't see how we will bring real change to a system that has made good health care a privilege for those who can afford it." All of which means, it's not going anywhere. And what we've got here is a distraction. Said ALG President Bill Wilson, "Politics is a turbulent sea. And Obama is moving his ship out of the storm of opposition to his plans to take over the health care system. He doesn't want his ship to go down." But, Wilson warned, the move is only temporary. "The idea behind talking about non-profit 'co-ops' is to deflate opposition to the actual bills that exist in the House, all of which contain the so-called public 'option.' He knows the Democrats in the House won't go for the 'co-ops,' but then his goal is to take the heat off of them by distracting the American people from the actual threat," Wilson said. Which means we can't take our eye off the target. There's still 3 bills in the House that contain the public "option," and there is little doubt that when the House returns from its August recess, they will be voting on a government-run health care proposal. I have upgraded our target list to now include all Blue Dog Democrats, and also vulnerable Democrats. It's got everything except for the new email addresses. We'll get those. But thank you to everyone on the list that has been helping me make improvements. Here's the .xls and .pdf versions. The 52 Blue Dogs are listed in blue. And, for your own representatives, you
can now use CapWiz.com to send a personal message to your
representative by clicking here. Just enter your zip code and
follow the easy steps. In today's Liberty Action Report, the public "option" is still very much on the table, William Warren gives us a glimpse of America through Washington's eyes, and $8.2 trillion of the bailout were not even necessary. Plus, Appointment Watch returns looking at Craig Becker and Mark Pearce, both for the National Labor Relations Board. Please send your letters to the editor at Robert@getliberty.org. We publish all points of view! Today, Reboaz writes, "Please forward this health care video to all." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPQc9JtDaoM You got it! And keep fighting! This ain't over yet by a long shot! For Liberty, Robert Romano P.S. Want to give 'em Hell? Help
us out with a small donation today! Open Source & Copyright Free The
Public "Option" on the Table The
View From Washington Giving
Back to the American Taxpayer ALG
Research Appointment Watch The Public "Option" on the TableBy Robert Romano The so-called public "option"—no less than a government takeover of the entire health care system—is apparently off the table. Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND), appearing on FOX News Sunday, said, "The fact of the matter is there are not the votes in the United States Senate for a public option. There never have been." Not that it matters in the great scheme of things. Because the American people's adamant opposition to ObamaCare does not matter all that much to their representatives. Besides expanding government's reach to control the lives of the American people, what matters most to Congressmen are their prospects for reelection. They desire nothing more. And now the American people are learning that, at least in the Senate, they are not willing to lose their seats over this bill. To put this revelation in perspective, despite having 58 Democrat Senators plus two Independent Senators that caucus with them, and 256 Representatives—more than enough to pass any bill they desire—Congressional Democrats allegedly cannot summon the votes in the Senate to enact their top agenda item: socialized medicine. And why might that be? The American people have made their voices loud and clear: They do not want a government takeover of their health care. They do not want rationing boards to eliminate "overhead" costs and cut out "unnecessary" tests and procedures that really means less quality care administered to America's seniors. They do not want the unsustainable debt the program would produce to be passed on to their children and their children's children. However, while a prominent senator declaring the public "option" dead on arrival in the Senate is certainly good news for the American people, it should be taken with a grain of salt. Congressional opposition to this proposal is contingent upon the continued opposition by the American people to a proposal that threatens no less than the quality of health care their families and friends receive. And if the American people stop making phone calls, writing letters, and visiting with their Congressmen to express their opposition to the takeover, then representatives may start to believe that the coast is clear. That perhaps they can get away with it. And that is when they can and will deliver the deathblow to the nation's health care system. In the House, there are still 3 pieces of legislation, all of which still include the public "option." Meaning it is still very much on the table, at least in that chamber. After all, whether or not the plan can pass the Senate really has little to do with the legislation that the House will pass. It also says nothing about what a final version of the bill will look like out of the conference committee, which is where the action always is. There, the House—represented by Nancy Pelosi—will have a full seat at the table. And there, the public "option" will very much be on the table. In truth, there is no way Nancy Pelosi can get a health care bill out of the House that does not include the public "option," which Kaiser Health News reports will cost more than $1.5 trillion. Indeed, the inclusion of the public "option" is a deal breaker for the more radical members of the House. On CNN, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson said, "It would be very, very difficult, because without the public option, we'll have the same number of people uninsured. If the insurance companies wanted to insure these people now, they'd be insured." The fact is: the public "option" is the Democrat Party's proposal on the issue of health care. Without it, they would have to go back to scratch. Certainly, Barack Obama is not ready to call it quits. In Colorado on Saturday, he said, "I think that we can craft a system in which you've got a public option that has to operate independently, not subsidized by taxpayers—it would be nonprofit... they would have to go on the market and get a market price for capital." What this so-called not-for-profit "cooperative" would look like legislatively or if it will even be in the final bill remains to be seen. But even Barack Obama still says there will be a "public option." All of which means that the public "option" is actually still on the table. They may call it something different. They may move a few boxes around. They may paint it pretty colors. But it will still be the same abominable government takeover of the entire health care system. And the American people will not like it. Robert Romano is the ALG Senior News Editor. http://blog.getliberty.org/default.asp?Display=1477 The View From Washington
http://blog.getliberty.org/default.asp?Display=1476 Giving Back to the American TaxpayerBy Justin Williams The worst is over and we can all rest assured that the economy will recover thanks to Barack Obama and the Federal Reserve. The good news is that they can give back all the money that they allocated to help get us out of this recession. CNN reports that even after all of the bailouts, stimulus, and TARP funds the government handed out, it did not have to spend $8.2 of the $11 trillion allocated. And, of course, every American (man, woman, and child) would enjoy the roughly $27,000 each citizen would get if Congress simply gave the allocated money back to the citizens. It would surely make every member of Congress popular as a recent FoxNews poll states that 72% of Americans want whatever is left of the $787 billion in stimulus money returned to them. So health insurance reform: done. Poverty line: eliminated. Who could ask for anything more? Except for one minor detail. As with all great offers "too good to be true," there is one small catch: the government never actually had the money. In fact, the government has no money at all! Congress along with the Obama Administration is expected to run a budget deficit of historical proportions, while it has been almost a decade since the government brought in more than it spent. The CBO, back in February, estimated that the budget deficit for this year would reach $1.85 trillion. The logical move then would be to not spend the money while saving America from such a large deficit. But that, of course, is not what Barack Obama has in mind. Instead, with roughly $5.1 trillion left in the Federal Reserve's "rescue efforts," the Obama Administration will surely solidify complete control over an already overregulated financial industry. And, of course, don't forget about the Bush tax cuts, they are soon set to expire raising the income tax on all Americans. CNN Money reported last year that if – no make that when -- the tax cuts are allowed to expire, it would add "$1,900 to the tax bill of a family of four with an annual income of just $60,000. Even if Obama was banking on a revenue increase from what is going to be one of the most crippling tax hikes in American history, sadly (or not so for some) it will not help him until 2011. So what does this all mean for Americans? In short, Socialism is not coming; it is
already here in different sectors of the economy. But not to worry -- because America has Barack Obama who has already declared in the New Times, "I am not a socialist" all the while claiming to defy the laws of economics with stimuli, health care, and cap-and-trade. As he portends to be the only person who can bring about neo-Marxism without all the invariable bad side effects, including mass killings, shortages, and redistribution of wealth. Well one out of three, ain't bad. Remember this when the disaster finally beings to evanesce: Big Government got us into it. Bad government kept it going. And no amount of "Hope" or "Change" is ever going to get the Obama government to give the money back to the people they took it from. Justin Williams is the Senior Commentary Editor of ALG News Bureau. http://blog.getliberty.org/default.asp?Display=1475 |
