Health care. Say the words and they naturally incite deep-seeded emotions. Whether through personal experience or those of loved ones, we have all had some interaction with the system. So, it should be no surprise that when large, sweeping change to the American healthcare system is on the table, both positive and negative feelings will erupt, including hope, fear, and hate.
With so much apparently at stake, members of Congress have headed back to their constituents to explain the contents of the bill and hear about their hopes and fears of the plan. Unfortunately, meaningful dialogue has been impeded by an organized “shouting down” of congressional Democrats at these town hall-style meetings. While I am all for protesting and public displays of dissent, meaningful debate is clearly not the intent of these groups (Note: I use the term “groups” here, not “mobs”, which I feel is being inaccurately used as a Democratic talking point to build support for the healthcare bill) and it’s unfortunate questions can’t be answered in the forum. These individuals come to the meetings with the impression that they know all they need to know about the proposed reforms. Principally, they believe this bill will result in a single-payer system and ultimately, is just more big government intrusion into the lives of citizens.
But who’s informing and organizing these groups? Clearly, this can’t be a random gathering of concerned citizens, right? Last night, Chris Matthews had on a representative from FreedomWorks, the principal group behind these shouting-sessions:
It only took a few hours after Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner announced his troubled-asset bank relief plan for House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) to label it “fundamentally flawed” and a “shell game that hides the true cost of the program from the taxpayers that will be asked to pay for it.”
While the country’s economy struggles and attempts to “right the ship” have been met with heavy partisan politics, it appears Geithner’s “bank plan” is not sitting well with every Democrat on Capitol Hill either. Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman of California criticized the plan for rescuing banks while neglecting taxpayers. This is a common refrain that’s beginning to sound like a broken record: Why are we “bailing out” banks that got us into this mess?! Trust me, I’ve asked myself this many times.
Tonight we had the opportunity to hear President Obama’s first address to the Joint Congress. Promptly after, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal offered the Republican response.
Obama seemed to bring his standard message of Hope, but fortunately he laid out several more specific goals focused around the economy, health care, and education. His message was hopeful and incredibly ambitious, but I suppose that’s better than the alternative. Here’s a snippet of his hour long address.
To commemorate President Obama’s one-month anniversary in office, political pundits and finance “experts” are renaming all Americans at risk of foreclosure “Losers” and “Idiots.” Leading the charge in this effort is CNBC’s Rick Santelli, who in addition to being a former derivatives trader, dabbles in tea party organization. His current plan involves dressing up as a Democrat and throwing Losers into Lake Michigan:
Not to be outdone, the folks at Fox News completed the trifecta of insulting the President, “his” American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and Idiots everywhere. Continue reading
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