Obama Is Losing His Base
Dec 17, 2009 Political
Things are not going well for Barack Obama. His approval numbers have dropped faster than any president at this point in their service and his radical positions are stirring up opposition to him and his Democrat friends. Next November is shaping up to be good for Republicans if things do not turn around.
It is one thing for Obama to stir up conservatives but he is now at a low point in that he is losing the left. Admittedly, he is losing them because he is not being radical enough for them but if he goes in the direction they want he will lose a lot of seats in the next election. This might not matter to the base or to Democrats in safe seats who view the potential loss as the price for the agenda but those who might lose have different feelings about being sacrificial lambs. Sane people have to ask if the agenda is so good why would it cost seats?
Howard Dean is not happy with Obama. He has an axe to grind to begin with because he has been snubbed by this administration even though he was able to help the Democrats win a lot of seats. Dean feels he should have been the Secretary of Health and Human Services and though I disagree with his political views he is more qualified than Sebelius. I would think the fact that he is a doctor would be more beneficial to the position.
Dean said that they should scrap the entire health care reform plan and start over because it is not radical enough. I don’t agree but at least he sticks to his beliefs. I think it should be scrapped because it is too radical but we both think it should be scrapped. Dean also thinks that the Senate should use reconciliation to pass reform because they would only need a simple majority. I am not well versed on the process but I think what it can be used for is limited and if they do it a lot of things would have to be left out of the bill.
Dean also said he would support Obama when he runs for reelection but he will not do so “vigorously.”
Dean is not the only liberals who Obama is losing. Obama now has Markos Moulitsas (Kos), Ed Schultz, Keith Olberman and Arianna Huffington all expressing dissatisfaction with him and the health care takeover plan.
These people represent the far left liberal base. They are all so far to the left that they are holding the wall up and now they are not happy with Obama and the Democrats. Not very long ago these people would defend their politicians engaging in human sacrifice and in their eyes Obama could do no wrong.
Now it looks as if they are not happy at all because their politicians are not being radical enough.
I think they misread what the election was about.
It certainly was not a mandate to transform the country into a Socialist nation.
America is Souring On Democrats
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Tags: dean, dissatisfaction, health care reform, Obama, radicals, senelius
Obama: Ask Doctors For Health Care Reform Prescription
Sep 17, 2009 Political
Barack Obama was at the University of Maryland today giving a campaign speech about his health care takeover plan. During the speech someone yelled “You Lie.” That person was removed by the police once again showing that America’s institutions of higher learning are only tolerant of all opinions if the people expressing them agree with the liberal philosophies of the school or are yelling at conservatives.
Obama was hawking the plan and his plan was to tell everyone that the people who oppose his plan are liars (ironic, isn’t it?) and that they should listen to the people who know more about it than any others:
See, I just want to point out, I think it’s telling, some of the people who are most enthusiastic about health care reform are the very medical professionals who have firsthand knowledge about how badly the system needs to change. (Applause.) So don’t — stop paying attention to the folks who are spreading false charges, crazy rumors about our plan. Pay attention to the health care experts — the doctors and the nurses who know our system best. (Applause.) WBAL Radio [emphasis mine]
So Barack Obama wants us to know that people who oppose his takeover plan are liars (from the speech; “Too many engage in scare tactics instead of honest debates.”) and using fear to keep the people from getting the health care insurance they deserve. He also wants us to know that we should listen to those who know the system best.
To me, this means that I should not be listening to Obama and the people in his party who are telling me to buy into this plan because it is the best thing since sliced bread. I should not be listening to the media wing of the Democratic party when it shills for Obama and tells me to accept this. I should not listen to those who say to ram it down my throat and make me accept it because I am too stupid to know what is best for me. I need to listen to the doctors and nurses who know the system best.
According to Obama doctors and nurses know this better than he does and they know it better than anyone else (if they know it best they must know it better than anyone else). Fair enough. I am a Registered Nurse and I do not like the plan. My wife is a Registered Nurse and she is not in favor of it. I have yet to meet any nurse or doctor who is in favor of it.
Admittedly, my sphere is small compared to the entire country. So let’s take a look at the bigger picture:
Two of every three practicing physicians oppose the medical overhaul plan under consideration in Washington, and hundreds of thousands would think about shutting down their practices or retiring early if it were adopted, a new IBD/TIPP Poll has found.
~snip~
Major findings included:
• Two-thirds, or 65%, of doctors say they oppose the proposed government expansion plan. This contradicts the administration’s claims that doctors are part of an “unprecedented coalition” supporting a medical overhaul.
It also differs with findings of a poll released Monday by National Public Radio that suggests a “majority of physicians want public and private insurance options,” and clashes with media reports such as Tuesday’s front-page story in the Los Angeles Times with the headline “Doctors Go For Obama’s Reform.”
Nowhere in the Times story does it say doctors as a whole back the overhaul. It says only that the AMA — the “association representing the nation’s physicians” and what “many still regard as the country’s premier lobbying force” — is “lobbying and advertising to win public support for President Obama’s sweeping plan.”
The AMA, in fact, represents approximately 18% of physicians and has been hit with a number of defections by members opposed to the AMA’s support of Democrats’ proposed health care overhaul.
• Four of nine doctors, or 45%, said they “would consider leaving their practice or taking an early retirement” if Congress passes the plan the Democratic majority and White House have in mind.
More than 800,000 doctors were practicing in 2006, the government says. Projecting the poll’s finding onto that population, 360,000 doctors would consider quitting. Investor’s Business Daily
So it appears that Obama is lying when he says that he has the backing of the doctors. He has an endorsement from the AMA which, as this story points out, accounts for 18% of physicians and has lost membership since the endorsement. The AMA is a lobbying organization.
Obama said to listen to the doctors and nurses. Well in this case the doctors have spoken out and two-thirds of them do not approve. Additionally, 45% of them would consider leaving practice or retiring early if this thing passes.
Ladies and gentlemen, Barack Obama told us that we should listen to the people who know the health system best which means better than he or his followers. Those people, he told us, are the doctors and nurses.
The doctors are pretty clear on this issue. They do not want it and many would quit being a doctor if it passes.
The issue is clearer than ever for those of you who did not know what to do on this. All you have to do is follow the advice of Obama and listen to the doctors.
The doctors do not want this thing so we owe it to Obama (and to the doctors) to make sure they do not get it.
Others:
Gateway Pundit
Michelle Malkin
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Tags: doctors, health care reform, lies, Obama, takeover
The Democrat’s Straw Man
Sep 9, 2009 Political
The Democrats want health care under their control and they are willing to lie and deceive to get that accomplished. Despite the huge numbers of constituents who expressed opposition they are pressing on with their plan to hijack health care and gain further control over our lives. One method they employ is to use a straw man argument. They present two options, one of which is not true, and then attack the “straw man” they have established. Here is an example in a quote from Obama:
We have never been this close. We’ve never had such broad agreement on what needs to be done. And because we’re so close to real reform, suddenly the special interests are doing what they always do, which is just try to scare the heck out of people.
But I’ve got — I’ve got a question for all these folks who say, you know, we’re going to pull the plug on Grandma and this is all about illegal immigrants — you’ve heard all the lies. I’ve got a question for all those folks: What are you going to do? What’s your answer? What’s your solution? And you know what? They don’t have one. Their answer is to do nothing. Their answer is to do nothing. And we know what that future looks like: insurance companies raking in the profits while discriminating against people because of preexisting conditions; denying or dropping coverage when you get sick. Barack Obama News Blog
In this instance we are led to believe that the two options are the reform Obama wants and doing nothing. He further illustrates this “do nothing” idea by claiming that those opposed have not offered any other options. It is reform the way he wants it or nothing.
Then he and his sock puppets go on to attack the do nothing approach as if it is a legitimate target. The truth is that there are many other options out there and they have been proposed. A handful of other options were proposed when Obama was a Senator and he VOTED AGAINST ALL OF THEM.
My Congressman, Frank Kratovil, took the same approach in a letter he wrote to me not long ago (in response to my call to his office). He said that we need reform and that we could not stick with the status quo. Here again, the options are the reform or nothing and this is just patently false. Once again, a number of bills were proposed in the past and Obama, as well as many other Democrats, voted against them. In voting against them it was they who wanted to do nothing.
I heard Harry Reid say that health care was sick and we needed to have reform and that doing nothing was not an option. Here is a different spin on the same straw man argument. Most folks universally agree that there needs to be changes to health care affordability in this country and many people have ideas. The problem is that the Democrats, the ones who wanted to work together, are not willing to listen to other ideas.
House Republican Leader John Boehner said that Republican leaders have not been invited to the White House to discuss health care since April. He indicated that the Republicans sent a letter to Obama in May stating that they would like to work with his administration to find common ground. The Republicans received what is described as a tersely worded letter indicating that they [Obama and the Democrats] had health care reform under control. [The Hill]
So when Obama says that his question of “what are you going to do?” is not answered because the Republicans do not have ideas and only want to keep things the way they are he is LYING. Barack Obama was presented many options when he was a Senator and he voted against them. He voted against giving things that would have been less costly a chance to succeed before he went all in with his complete take over of health care.
Obama does not want to hear differing opinions and he does not want to hear other ideas and he certainly does not want to let Republicans have a seat at the table because he has his own agenda that involves more control over our lives.
He is lying when he says that those opposed want to keep things as they are. He is lying when he says that there have been no other ideas offered. He is lying when he says that it is either his way or doing nothing.
He and his toadies are setting up straw men and beating them back down in order to deceive the public. Obama ignored reform when he was a Senator as did his Democratic colleagues.
Hold their feet to the fire and do not fall for the straw man argument. Recognize it and call them out on it because they are trying to deceive you in order to gain more control over your life.
Wake up America.
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Tags: Democrats, health care reform, lies, Obama, Republicans, straw man
How Long Before It Comes To America?
Sep 3, 2009 Political
The debate about the health care overhaul bill continues as more Americans voice their opposition to the plan that will allow the government to take over about 17% of our GDP. The government is interested in taking control of health care because then it will control our lives. The bill is not about health and it is not about care. Government has a couple of things in mind besides health and care.
The government wants to control your access to health care. Politicians are lying to you when they say that you can keep your plan if you like it. You can keep it until you need to change (whether you change jobs or your employer drops coverage in favor of government care) and then you will be stuck with the government plan where some bean counter gets to decide if you are treated. This is about controlling people like the government does with Social Security. The elderly are trapped in that system and are at the mercy of politicians who have spent all the money paid into it. It is going broke and there is no trust fund. Today’s workers are paying for today’s retirees. There will be no money left in the very near future.
The government will soon run out of all that Social Security money to confiscate and back with worthless paper so it needs a new source of income. You have heard them say how much money insurance companies make. The government wants to put them out of business and take that money in so it will have more to spend while rationing care.
Remember, the goal is for them to get single payer health care. Obama has said that this is his goal and that it might take 15 or 20 years but that is what he wants. Many other Democrats are on record as saying that they want single payer and that the way to get it is by passing a health care bill that they can use to get us there. This is why they are scaling back. They can say that the government option is off the table but they have said they can get things incrementally. They will get some sort of bill passed and then keep adding to it until they get what they want, complete control. Control of health care is a major way for government to gain more control over YOU.
Do we really want government types making decisions about our health? What about end of life? Do we really want government types forcing end of life decisions on us? That is what will result if we are forced to receive end of life counseling upon reaching 65 (an age where we are not old enough to draw Social Security). If they can steer us toward death then they can save health care dollars and Social Security payments.
Right now, each of us has the right to decide our end of life desires. We can decide to have food or water withheld and which medications, if any, we are to receive as well as the procedures that we do or do not want performed. Once government is involved a bureaucrat will be guiding people in that process and those who are vulnerable will be moved to taking decisions they might not actually want. Doctors will be rated by how well they are doing in this area so they will have incentive to move folks toward death.
Once health care is under government control there will be nothing stopping government from actually taking those decisions for us. They can simply pass a bill that changes health care and allows someone else to decide your end of life issues. Think that can’t happen? Look at what is happening in the United Kingdom:
In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, a group of experts who care for the terminally ill claim that some patients are being wrongly judged as close to death.
Under NHS guidance introduced across England to help doctors and medical staff deal with dying patients, they can then have fluid and drugs withdrawn and many are put on continuous sedation until they pass away. Telegraph UK
There is a pathway in the UK health system that allows clinicians to decide if a person is near end of life and then withhold food, water and medication and keep the person sedated until he dies. People can become dehydrated and get confused and be taken to the hospital where, using the pathway, it can be decided that the person is near end of life and care withheld. Sedating drugs can mask recovery so people who would otherwise recover die because the sedation keeps them from showing signs of improvement.
It is not a leap to say that we could go from mandatory counseling (the word shall means it is mandatory) where people are guided to death to a system where the decisions are made for them. It will not matter if the decisions are in the best interest of the patient and it will not matter what the patient or his family want because the government will mandate the decision.
The UK has had government run health care for a long time but this pathway has only been around since 2004. This means that government changed the health care delivery to include a pathway that takes end of life decisions away from the patient and the patient’s family.
Once government gets its claws into the flesh of health care it will continue to dig deeper and deeper until it runs everything and makes all the decisions. Remember, Obama has appointed people to positions that will decide for you. They are people who have long histories of advocating allowing people to die rather than extending lives. They have histories of advancing Euthanasia. They are on the record stating that the elderly will have to deal with their fate. They are on the record as wanting to advance principles where life is given unequal value based upon age and condition. The elderly, handicapped and mentally ill are not worth as much to them as the young and healthy.
Is this what we want in this country? Do we want government controlling health care and our lives? Do we want the government to have the power to decide if we live or die? Do we want a complete overhaul of the system so that we can include the very small percentage of people who have no insurance?
If this were about health care and reform then Obama would have voted for reform all those times he had the chance in the Senate. He did not want reform and neither do the rest fo the Democrats. They want control. If it were about fixing what is broken then they would not be scrapping what works and replacing it. They want control.
It is time to wake up America. Do not let them pass any kind of health care overhaul. They will work to add to it and take control of your life.
Stand up and be counted.
Your life depends on it.
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Tags: control, Democrats, government system, health care reform, lies, Obama, overhaul, single payer
Out Of Control Town Hall Participants
Aug 9, 2009 Political
The town hall meetings are getting out of control with people standing up, pointing fingers, shouting and accusing others of being insincere or part of a concerted effort to derail the process. This is not a description of the participants, those the liberals call AstroTurf mobs or swastika carrying bigots, not this is a description of a member of Congress.
Representative David Scott, a Georgia Democrat, singled out a person who asked a question about the health care bill at a town hall meeting and dressed the guy down. The politician claimed the person was an Astro Turf political operative and said that he represented the people of his district.
The problem is, the guy asking the question is a doctor who happens to live in Congressman Scott’s district.
The meeting was held to discuss a road project and was opened for questions at the end. Dr. Brian Hill stood to speak. After his question the stuff hit the fan:
Dr. Hill asked Mr. Scott why he was going to vote for a health care plan similar to that implemented in Massachusetts “that is shown not to work” and if he supported a government-provided health care insurance option.
The congressman replied by accusing the doctor of “hijacking” his event.
“I’m listening to my constituents, OK?” Scott said, “These are people who live in the 13th Congressional district, who vote in this district. That’s who I’ve got to respond to … So what you’ve got to understand, those of you who are here, who have taken and came and hijacked this event we dealing with here, this is not a health care event.”
“You chose to come and to do it on your own,” he yelled. “Not a single one of you had the decency to call my office and set up for a meeting.” He went on, in a threatening voice, “You want a meeting with me on health care, I’ll give it to you!” Washington Times
Dr. Hill was interviewed and said that he called the Congressman’s office on several occasions and asked if there were going to be any meetings to discuss health care. Dr. Hill was told that there would be no such meetings so he decided to go to the meeting that was taking place and ask his question.
Congressman Scott became irate and shouted at Dr. Hill and suggested that he was not a constituent. Scott claimed that Hill was an operative sent to disrupt the meeting. Scott then said that all people had to do was give the courtesy of a phone call and they would get an audience with him.
Dr. Hill gave Mr. Scott the courtesy of several phone calls. Mr. Scott did not extend the courtesy of an audience to discuss health care so in addition to making a jackass of himself, Scott outed himself as a liar. If he actually gave an audience to those who requested, Dr. Hill would not have found it necessary to ask his question in a forum dealing with a different matter.
The other issue is that Mr. Scott is an elected official who works FOR the people. His constituents do not work for him, he works for them. If one of them has a question, regardless of the forum, the Congressman is supposed to answer it or use civility in saying why he cannot. A much more appropriate answer would have been; “We are here to discuss a roads project. I understand the health care issue is an important one so I will have one of my staffers here get your contact information and my office will call you in a few days to arrange a meeting.”
Then again, Scott already made it clear he has no intention of answering health care questions. If he did his office would have responded appropriately to Dr. Hill when he called.
I bet Dr. Hill is one vote Scott will not get in 2010. Perhaps Hill can discuss this with the patients he sees and let them know their Congressman is not interested in how they feel or about their concerns.
Mr. Scott is an example of what is wrong with Congress. He needs to lose his job next year.
The Democratic game plan is to accuse those of asking about health care of being part of an organized mob sent by well financed groups with the sole purpose of derailing the process. The thought has not crossed their minds that people might actually be concerned about the issue.
Democrats are not use to having their tactics used against them (though they are not usually peaceful). The silent majority is silent no more.
Let’s vote them all out next year and start fresh.
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Tags: argument, brian hill, david scott, health care reform, lies, town hall