If there was any doubt in the minds of Americans where in the ideological universe Barack Obama's belief system orbited, his health care address to a joint session of Congress last week simply reinforced the fact that his ideology is way out there. Well out of step with the American mainstream.
No one honestly believes Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's ridiculous notion that Obama's address, which offered nothing new, was a "game changer". Thinking Americans saw it for what it was; a partisan screed, brimming with belligerence, embellishments, omissions, verbal cheap shots and demagoguery.
Obama has been trying to shove the public option down our throats for months. As a result, his approval ratings have taken a beating. But, in his new sales pitch, Obama changed his position on the public option, now saying it must remain an option, but isn't critical to his reforms, a cynical attempt to have it both ways. Obama's waffling on the public option shows he lacks the intestinal fortitude to lead on the issue he lectured all of us over. And his dishonesty and lack of leadership are precisely the reasons Obama must constantly seek refuge in the company of those who can help stroke his ego back into its natural, morally superior state of equilibrium; school children and union members.
Wednesday night, Obama offered the same, regurgitated arguments that killed his approval ratings back in August, the only differences being that he sharpened his attacks on his critics, his figure of 46 million uninsured suddenly dropped to 30 million without explanation and his disingenuous, token offering of "demonstration projects" to experiment with small-scale malpractice reforms, which failed to placate his critics.
Obama claimed that US automakers are at a disadvantage because of the skyrocketing costs of health care. But, we all know why US automakers are at a disadvantage: Because of labor unions. Because of the entire suite of retiree and employee benefits that unions have negotiated, not just health care.
He also claimed that our health care problem is our deficit problem. Wrong again. Health care is not our deficit problem. Reckless, uncontrollable spending by both parties in the absence of budget cuts or tax increases to pay for ever-expanding entitlement programs is our specific problem.
Obama also said his reforms are critical to our economic recovery, but they won't take effect for four years. Conflicting with that current message of doom while discussing health care, during his recent briefings on economic recovery, he said the economy is recovering nicely and is expected to grow significantly in the next two years. But, you can't have it both ways. If Obama is wrong on the economy and/or health care, and I believe he is on both, by the time his health care reforms are actually implemented, he'll either be out of office or in a second term, and unconcerned about the political ramifications of any health care or economic policy failures.
For someone who was elected on a promise of uniting the country, Obama gets a solid "F". His speech, peppered with insults, referred to Democrat committees who drafted the legislation, as "working tirelessly" and offering "thoughtful ideas", while those who disagree with him were engaging in a "partisan spectacle"; using "scare tactics" and digging into "unyielding, ideological camps that offer no hope of compromise." He mockingly said he was open to all "serious" proposals, but taken in proper context, the implication of that lawyerly remark is that Republicans weren't really being serious. Starting over with new legislation is not a serious proposal to Barack Obama. Nor is fixing just the broken parts of the system, ensuring illegal aliens aren't covered, ensuring Medicare cuts don't affect care delivery to seniors or ensuring taxpayer money doesn't fund abortions.
Obama also mocked citizen efforts to get lawmakers, who work for them, to actually listen to them, characterizing the most important debate in a generation as nothing more than bickering and games, while he and his supreme arrogance remain above the fray. He admonished Americans on our alleged lack of civility during the health care debate and he labeled American unwillingness to pass his reforms "fear".
Obama also chastised small businesses not offering health insurance to their employees, most of whom likely can't afford it, as acting irresponsibly. Yet, while ObamaCare forces everyone (except illegal aliens) to carry health insurance or face a penalty, he will exempt 95% of small businesses, by far the largest employer group, from the mandatory requirement, placing almost the entire burden on the individual. If small business needs so much help getting affordable coverage, why would Obama label them irresponsible? Because, to him, small business owners are all just useful idiots he can use to score cheap political points.
Although Obama elicited a hearty chuckle from his audience, when he alluded to the "significant details" that still needed to be ironed out, I find nothing funny about that omission. This is a deadly serious debate, with long-lasting, possibly life-altering consequences and he has yet to explain how to pay for it or what fuzzy math he relied upon to declare a trillion dollar proposal "deficit-neutral".
Although Obama tried to dispel what he calls the disinformation over coverage of illegal aliens, he was indeed, as Joe Wilson accused, lying. The potential for insuring thousands of illegal aliens does exist. Democrats have killed and buried several Republican amendments that would have required verification of citizenship. Two days after Wilson's accusation, the Senate said it would indeed adopt citizenship verification provisions in their version of the bill and on Friday night, Obama also said he would include it.
Congress is chock full of lawyers. The omission of specific language requiring the verification of citizenship in House legislation was intentional and was intended to provide an illegal alien loophole.
You want civility, Mr. Obama? Stop lying, bankrupting this nation, stop enslaving future generations, stop attacking this nation's defenders and stop spitting on my Constitution.
