Issue No. 62
Of dead horses, lost causes and Freddie Kruger
Stephen Combs in Orlando, Florida
How many times have we heard in the last several months that government health care is dead? Today the press is full of the latest obituaries, along with reports of astonishment in the dinosaur media that Republicans who attended Mother Obama’s dog and pony show yesterday did not wilt like violets as they were expected to do.
Single-issue stay-at-home voters got a pretty good reminder of how the political parties really are different when John McCain rubbed the President’s nose in the manure that is government health care. It was one of those “Miss me yet?” moments.
To use the President’s favorite expression, let me make this perfectly clear: Government health care is not dead. Yes, Republicans did very well at Blair House on Thursday. Friday-morning polling suggests that Americans understand the situation with growing clarity. But the soft tyranny of government health care will not be dead as long as Democrats control both houses of Congress. Pay no attention to the television pontiffs who repeatedly administer last rites to this repulsive scheme to retract this most important liberty – the freedom to make decisions about how we take care of ourselves. Simply stated, it’s a long way to Tipperary, and it’s a long way to November.
No sooner had the 7-hour marathon ended when Democrats promised to ram home socialized medicine by whatever means necessary.
Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, said the meeting “made a difference, and it moved us closer to passing a bill. We are determined that we are going to pass health-care reform.”
By acclamation it’s understood that the health care show was a disaster for President Obama and Democrats. It did not help that Mr. Obama was condescending and arrogant – addressing Senator McCain, a certified patriot who has actually accomplished something in his life – by his first name and lecturing him that “the election is over,” for example. He was anything but presidential.
This horse is beaten, for sure. A reasonable man would say it is dead, because surely it should be. After all, the American people have spoken, and they have told their representatives to leave them alone when it comes to medical decisions. But the horse is not dead. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, said Jefferson, and Plato. This is time for the full court press. We cannot let our Congressmen and Senators forget for a moment that their vote to rescind the liberties granted by God will come with a price.
We must not be lulled into thinking that this matter is closed, any more than we should think that Freddie Kruger won’t come clawing his way back through the door. These people simply will not give up.
The speaker is . . . speechless!
When the House Ethics Committee voted to investigate Rep. Tom DeLay in October 2004 when he was Majority Leader, here is what Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi had to say about it: “Mr. DeLay has proven himself to be ethically unfit to lead the party. The burden falls upon his fellow House Republicans. Republicans must answer: Do they want an ethically unfit person to be their majority leader or do they want to remove the ethical cloud that hangs over the Capitol?” And here is what Rep. Steny Hoyer, Democrat of Maryland and now the House Majority Leader, had to say about it: Rep. DeLay “certainly ought to step aside as leader at this point in time because I think his credibility has been undermined by these findings.”
On Thursday, here is what Mrs. Pelosi, now the Speaker of the House, had to say when asked if Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel should resign now that the Ethics Committee has announced it will investigate charges against him:
(Inaudible)
And here is what Mr. Hoyer had to say about it:
(Inaudible)
Actually, Mrs. Pelosi did speak to the matter, although not in any meaningful way. “We’ll just have to wait and see what comes out of the Ethics Committee,” she said. Apparently, “unfit” depends on where one stands, politically that is.
Quotes of the week . . .
“This isn’t good government. It’s bad TV.” – Rep. Mike Pence, Republican of Indiana, on the Obama health care show.
“It’s easy being Vice President. You don’t do anything.” – The Veep himself, Joe Biden.
“”Of course Republicans can trust the President.” – Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
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#100226 Year 2, Continuous Issue No. 62
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