Liberal view
Donald Kaul
I imagine President Obama is kicking himself for not working harder in the 2008 election so that his party could have won majorities in both houses of Congress.
If he had, the Democrats would control both the House and Senate, and he could have made good on all his campaign promises: health care reform, bank regulation, global warming initiatives and the rest.
He could have just called up his troops on the Hill and gotten things done, like George W. Bush did in 2001. Of course, Bush got 48 percent of the vote and Obama only got…what was it? Just 53 percent.
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How come he could do all of that and Obama, who actually won his election without help from the Supreme Court, can’t get a parking ticket fixed in Washington? Why hasn’t he been able to give us what he promised in 2008?
There is but one answer to that question: Republicans.
The Republicans have this rather bizarre notion about the position of the minority party in our government. They think that it is the duty of the minority to make sure that absolutely nothing happens while they’re out of power. That way, they figure people will eventually get tired of nothing happening and vote them back into power.
I told you it was bizarre, but it seems to be working.
They have opposed virtually everything that Obama has suggested during his first year in office, and they have done it unanimously. It has been decades since this country has produced a major political party in which not a single elected official has a mind of his or her own.
Russia? Yes. China? Of course. But the United States? You’ve gotta be kidding me. We're the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. You could look it up. We don't march in lock step.
You’d think that the alert American people would take a party like that and throw them out into the middle of the street where they could get run over by a garbage truck.
But no, those free, brave people seem to be listening to the siren song of “No.” They’re losing faith in Obama. He’s falling in the polls. Fire-breathing right-wing candidates around the country are making headway.
They elected a flat-Earth Republican to fill Teddy Kennedy’s Senate seat in Massachusetts last month. A while later, a Republican candidate for governor in Texas was asked whether she thought the government had a role in planning the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers. She said the matter needed further investigation.
And she’s the candidate rising in the polls.
OK, I know. It’s Texas. If it weren’t for weirdo politics, Texas wouldn’t have any politics at all. But still, it’s frightening to see that kind of irrationality beginning to take hold.
I think it’s time for Obama to abandon his futile efforts at bipartisanship and face reality. The Republicans don't want bipartisan solutions to anything. If they can’t have things their way (tax cuts for the rich and corporate, being their way) they’ll continue to throw sand in the gears of government and bank on the American people blaming Obama for the resulting stasis.
I think the president should slim down his agenda to two things: health care and jobs. He should craft an explanation of his health care plan that is no more than three sentences, perhaps four.
I don’t care if it’s a complex plan. Simplify. And if that doesn’t do it, oversimplify. Then do the same thing with a jobs bill.
Sell them to the American people. If you sell the American people, Congress will follow.
And if it doesn’t, that garbage truck comes along after every election, trolling for losers.
Donald Kaul writes for Minuteman Media and lives in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Comments
Mos Tlygay wrote on Mar 29, 2010 6:15 PM:
Liberals love these feel good bills but they wont give you a strait answer on how this will be paid for.
Where are all the doctors going to come from, we will have nothing but 3rd world doctors pushing pill scripts. "
Really Disgusted wrote on Mar 29, 2010 11:32 AM:
I'm not finding that phrase in the Constitution. Section 8 covers the reasons they can do this but when I do a search for your phrase it doesn't exist. "
Really Disgusted wrote on Mar 29, 2010 10:40 AM:
Continental US Fed Poverty Level for one person is 10,830. According to the Table in the Bill, at 133 to 150% of poverty level, as near as I can tell, you would pay no more than 3% of your income and it would rise to 4% by 2014 with an income of 16,000. So by 2014 you would pay $640 a year. 150 to 200% is 4 to 6.3%. 200 to 250% is 6.3 to 8.05%. 250 to 300% is 8.05 to 9.5%. 300 to 400% of Poverty level is 9.5%.
Right now just for my wife we are paying over 10% of our income for her insurance and for all of us we are paying 20% of our income for insurance.
My last doctors visit was $260 w/o insurance and with insurance limitations 132.00 my copay was 25% of that. They don't offer a discount for cash. That's irritating. It's actually the clinic doing the billing because that's who the Doctors work for, usually.
To set the record straight. I am not defending this bill but I'm not trashing it without trying to at least find out what is in it.
I understand why you don't have insurance. It's too expensive, and I don't particularly care for the mandate either. "
figures wrote on Mar 29, 2010 9:15 AM:
Beginning in 2014, you will receive tax credits to help afford insurance premiums in the new exchanges as well as assistance with deductibles and co-payments. According to your income and family size, the tax credits will ensure you do not spend more than $480 to $640 on premiums. Your maximum out-of-pocket costs for deductibles and co-payments would be capped at 6% of the total cost. "
oh really wrote on Mar 29, 2010 8:47 AM:
I do not have insurance. I make $16,000 a year and cannot afford it nor does my employer provide it. I PAY MY OWN MEDICAL BILLS. The hospital and doctors are aware that I do not have insurance and have never offered me a reduced price. My last office visit was 15 minutes and cost me over 2 days gross wages. This wonderful new health care bill will now force me to pay a penalty because I cannot afford insurance. Thanks Obama and you bleeding hearts for making life harder for me. Maybe I should quit working and trying to make my way in this world and let you all support me from now on. Welfare here I come. "
Oh My wrote on Mar 29, 2010 8:23 AM:
Let's try this again:
"Section 8 - Powers of Congress
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes."
It says right in the constitution that they do have the power to do just what they did. "
Lisa Wamsley wrote on Mar 29, 2010 2:29 AM:
Glad you asked. LOL. You actually answered your own question...."powers NOT delegated to the United States by the Constitution, NOR prohibited by it to the states, are RESERVED TO THE STATES". In simpler language "IF IT AIN'T IN THERE THEN THE FEDS CAN'T DO IT" (and by the way my only authority is that I've read the constitution and SWORE to uphold it against enemies foreign AND DOMESTIC). "
Really Disgusted wrote on Mar 28, 2010 4:03 PM:
This education that you refer to is an opinion piece but that seems to be all it is. For his credentials they tell us to go to The Free Republic . com.
The only Michael Connelly that I can find any info on is a Fiction writer.
Anyone can say they've read the bill and that they are retired from practicing constitutional law. He does have his own web site, which doesn't mean a thing. He also doesn't point out the parts of the bill that he bases his opinion on. Near as I can tell he's just another alarmist. "
Sticking to the Facts wrote on Mar 28, 2010 12:11 PM:
educate-yourself.org/cn/healthcarebill31oct09.shtml "
Really Disgusted wrote on Mar 28, 2010 10:46 AM:
Where does it say in the constitution that this can not be done?
Just wondering, as I couldn't find it.
constitution.org/constitution "
Oh My wrote on Mar 27, 2010 11:15 AM:
People who have no insurance don't pay the full cost of their medical care.They are given a cut rate so that they won't cause hospitals to loose a lot of money if they never pay. The rest of the cost is passed on to those who have insurance and the government which pays for it with the extra cost insurance companies and medicare pay for the same care. Check it out with a hospital it is true.
Anyone who doesn't have insurance and can afford it should be ashamed of themselves. "
try it wrote on Mar 27, 2010 9:18 AM:
Mont wrote on Mar 27, 2010 4:59 AM:
This Sums It Up wrote on Mar 26, 2010 10:13 PM:
I'm happy here. I have gained a great sense of pride by doing my all to support myself and my family. Obviously you are not happy with this ideal, so maybe you would be more comfortable in a country that better fits with your political and social agenda. "
E.T. wrote on Mar 26, 2010 5:39 PM:
Oh My wrote on Mar 26, 2010 9:22 AM:
"The danger to America was not George W. Bush, but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the presidency.
It should be easier to limit and undo the follies of the George W. Bush presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to an electorate willing to have such a man for their president.
The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Bush, who is a mere symptom of what ailed us.
Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince.
The republic can survive George W. Bush.
It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president."
I feared Mr. Bush for the things he took away from this country in the name of safety, more than I fear the passage of a bill that was written by several different men over several decades. "
Mos Tlygay wrote on Mar 25, 2010 9:39 PM:
This Sums It Up wrote on Mar 25, 2010 7:08 PM:
entrusting a man like him with the presidency.
It will be easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to an electorate willing to have such a man for their president.
The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails us.
Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince.
The republic can survive a Barack Obama.
It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who
made him their president."
Author Unknown "
AMEN wrote on Mar 24, 2010 9:43 PM:
I think that the voters in November will paint a much different picture than you are alluding to, but only time will tell. "
Oh My wrote on Mar 24, 2010 5:02 PM:
Lisa Wamsley wrote on Mar 24, 2010 4:53 PM:
Lisa Wamsley wrote on Mar 24, 2010 4:45 PM:
to "disgusted" and "Ethel Brost" - Excellent and educated comments. Glad to see other PATRIOTS and constitutionalists are speaking out. More of us need to. We must stop this insanity. "
AMEN wrote on Mar 24, 2010 3:51 PM:
To Really Disgusted: I agree that many people in this country are faced with devastating healthcare hurdles. But we still have access to the best healthcare in the world. However, that fact has very little to do with Obamacare. This bill is mainly about making government bigger, which is a sure fire way to limit opportunity and promote reliance.
This country was built on the ideal that you can be as successful as you want depending on the amount of work you're willing to put forth. It was not built on the ideal that if you don't feel like working your neighbors and/or government, will take care of you forever.
The issue here is not whether or not Obamacare is good or bad for improving healthcare. The issue is that the government ignored the nation's majority who, for whatever reason, did not want this bill to pass. This is a dangerous precident for the government to set, because when we allow government to ignore our wishes, we are no longer a democracy.
But all is not lost. If you are disturbed by Washington's actions, send them a deafening message by voting out ALL who ignored your wishes, from Obama on down. "
Disgusted wrote on Mar 24, 2010 12:30 PM:
I agree that there are millions of heartbreaking healthcare stories in this country. But for every single one of them, there is also someone who wants their government and their hard working neighbors to take care of their problems. I have no problem with the government helping those who truly need assistance. But we already had that with existing social programs.
We did not need this monstrosity of a bill that is nothing more than a vehicle for the government to infringe on our right to make personal decisions. Much of the healthcare problems could be improved with tort reform, the ability to purchase health insurance over state lines, etc.
As far as your comment about getting thinking points from radio and TV hosts, I don't have time for either one. I have three jobs so that I can responsibly provide food, cloths, shelter, and yes, health insurance for my family. And if I have to, I'll get a 4th job. I don't want my neighbors or the government to provide for my family. And contrary to the beliefs of most Democrats, I actually have a brain and can come to my own conclusions about what is right or wrong. I don't need the government to tell me what I should or should not believe or trust.
I respect your right to your opinion, but when the majority of Americans say NO, then Washington should take NO for answer. "
really disgusted wrote on Mar 24, 2010 10:21 AM:
Do a search for people that can afford health insurance but choose not to buy it because they think they can beat the odds and you'll find plenty of those stories as well.
Do a search for people that thought they could beat the odds but lost and you'll find plenty that are broke with huge debts that they can't pay. Lots of those out there too.
Do a search for people that were healthy but now they're not and they don't know what they're gonna do because they're broke and they don't have insurance and they can't work and they don't understand why it happened to them. When you wake up tomorrow it might be you.
Oh, but it's so much easier to get all your thinking points from some radio talk show host or some TV host hammering away in your brain about how health care reform is gonna kill your finances all the while believing that you actually have some control over what happens to you. Good luck with that! "
Oh My wrote on Mar 23, 2010 1:23 PM:
US_HEALTH_CARE_CONSUMER_TIMELINE "
Disgusted wrote on Mar 22, 2010 7:23 PM:
Don't forget what has happened this year when it is time to vote in November. Send these yahoos the message that they have not done their jobs so they join the unemployed.
And for all those Obama supporters who drank the koolaid, I hope you all enjoy the tax hikes that will be coming with this bill. I hope you all get that warm, fuzzy feeling inside when you're paying out all those extra taxes to support those in this country who don't want to work or take care of their families instead of being able to use that money for the benefit of your own families. "
Oh My wrote on Mar 18, 2010 11:30 AM:
Or, are you one of the rich who doesn't need for the insurance and medical communities to be held accountable for taking advantage of the middle income people?
I realize that many of conservartive members of congress are among that group, or are given campaign donations by the insurance and medical communities.
It is past time to deal with this issue and go on to other things. "
Ethel Brost wrote on Mar 17, 2010 7:24 PM:
What does he call a sweep by the Dems in 2008? They can pass legislation anytime they want, but they know that they need someone else to blame for the certain disasters. A pack of devious cowards.
O has written reams of executive orders, probably the size of those packs of 'health reform bills.' What's stopping him now? Writer's cramp?
Interviewed by Bret Bauer of Fox News today, O rattled off the predictable babble he and Pelosi have down so pat. One fairly recent comment was that any 'vote', 'reconciliation', or 'Slaughter Rule' would be for a figment of their imagination.
We're existing in a Twilight Zone. And an autumn wipe-out this fall. "