If passion, eloquence and moral gravity were the main currency of American politics, Barack Obama would have changed the course of the health care debate tonight.
But with Washington as it is, the President could hope for no more than to restore some sanity by calling out the opposition for its "scare tactics," indicting insurance companies for greed and evoking the "large-heartedness" of Ted Kennedy's efforts for universal coverage as "not a Republican or a Democratic feeling" but "part of the American character."
After a summer of public discontent and falling approval numbers, Obama abandoned his disastrous hands-off approach to the legislation by firmly outlining what he wants.
From here on, the White House will be calling the signals for Congressional Democrats and, in time-honored tradition, making party loyalty an issue in the effort to use its majority effectively.
The President declared that "the time for bickering is over. The time for games has passed. Now is the season for action. Now is when we must bring the best ideas of both parties together, and show the American people that we can still do what we were sent here to do. Now is the time to deliver on health care...
"I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it's better politics to kill this plan than improve it. I will not stand by while the special interests use the same old tactics to keep things exactly the way they are. If you misrepresent what's in the plan, we will call you out. And I will not accept the status quo as a solution. Not this time. Not now...
"I understand that the politically safe move would be to kick the can further down the road--to defer reform one more year, or one more election, or one more term.
"But that's not what the moment calls for. That's not what we came here to do. We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it."
Barack Obama has thrown down the gauntlet to Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and their fractious factions. Now they will have to pick it up and meet the challenge.
Did you not laugh when, right after (rightly) "calling out" scare tactics, BO went on to warn in dire tones that Americans will go bankrupt, lose their homes, and die if we don't go for the government option? The government option that is not going to add a dime to the defict because this government agency will run on the money from the fraud and abuse of another government agency that handles healthcare? OMG, that whole speech was a complete balls up.
ReplyDeleteI never again want to witness a president of my country threaten to "call out" opponents like a two-bit thug. It's bad enough that he wants people who have the right to dissent "reported" to the White House (flag the fishy), but to actually stand there and make vile threats . . . it's an affront to every American who still believes in free speech and the right, nay duty!, to voice their dissent about government.
His poll bump right now is to be expected, Clinton got the same thing after his address to Congress. If we're all very very lucky the same thing will happen now as happened then, including the culling of far left loons from both Houses of Congress in the mid-term elections.
The president has 1st Amendment rights too. Especially when he calls out the insane babbling we have witnessed this summer.
ReplyDeleteOpposition to an idea should try and advance the thinking, and not just be an arms folded, NO. The opponents of Obama are bringing nothing to the discussion, except obstructionist criticism, and then call him a bully when he calls them on it.
It is mind boggling that the status quo will be seen as success for the far right.
You know as well as I do that if they don't have a system to verify citizenship, illegals WILL be covered. For heavens sake, the federal government is bringing illegals back from Mexico to testify against Sheriff Arpaio in Arizona for profiling them in checking for illegals. We punish the government officials that actually enforce our laws!
ReplyDeleteThe truth is that if there is ANY bill, no matter what it says, the government will find a way to regulate health care into what it wants. It's all in what is enforced and regulated.
Insane babbling? Are you serious? Have your read HR 3200? Every concern that was expressed this summer is in that document. You should try getting informed rather than simply repeating the party line.
ReplyDeleteAs to the arms folding comment. Again, do some reserch. There are three republican bills in the House right now, the republicans have been offering solutions to the problem that do not include the government option. The only people folding their arms and saying "no" are people like you, BO, and Pelosi who don't really want to help people but simply want that one "solution." Try prying open your mind sometime. Why throw out a system that works for 255 million people? Why not address the reason that some 30 million are not covered? "Bipartisan" does not mean, "My way or nothing." And that's what you are saying here, and that's what BO is saying.