So, first HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (among others) intimates that the public option isn't essential to reform in Obama's eyes:
Then, this morning, Press Secreatary Robert Gibbs says Sebelius "misspoke".
Translation: She accidentally told the truth, as Matt Lewis at Townhall indicates.
Interesting factoid: Obama wrote a 1200 word editorial on health care for the New York Times over the weekend, and it didn't mention a public option once. Hmmmmm.
Reagan talks on health care...he talks about national health insurance, socialized medicine, "sticking a foot in the door"...
Here is a snippet, talking about the dangers of the "slippery slope" inherent in government control of healthcare:
But let's also look from the other side, at the freedom the doctor loses. A doctor would be reluctant to say this. Well, like you, I am only a patient, so I can say it in his behalf. The doctor begins to lose freedoms; it's like telling a lie, and one leads to another. First you decide that the doctor can have so many patients. They are equally divided among the various doctors by the government. But then the doctors aren't equally divided geographically, so a doctor decides he wants to practice in one town and the government has to say to him you can't live in that town, they already have enough doctors. You have to go some place else. And from here it is only a short step to dictating where he will go. This is a freedom that I wonder whether any of us have the right to take from any human being.
Everyone should listen to this. Even years after his death, Reagan still leads.
Check out this blog post over at Townhall. I'm reluctant to throw stones at crazies, because both sides have them. BUT, since the left has played the "crazy card" with such glee, here goes:
Wow. As the cliche' goes...you just can't make this stuff up.
At What Cost, Cutting Off A Leg? - The Atlantic Politics Channel
This is a great post by The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder. Basically, the American College of Surgeons is coming down hard on Obama for misstating facts, sowing distrust in patients for their Doctors and basically attempting to give medical advice without a license.
Bravo.
Newt has a great column in Human Events about the possibility of nationalizing turning into rationing, and rationing turning into an Orwellian world where a government agency decides what amount of health care you are worth. Here's a snippet:
Supporters of government-run health care dismiss these worries as alarmist. They argue that because their big government health care bill doesn’t overtly call for rationing, it is somehow illegitimate to talk about this danger.
But it is always legitimate to consider the long-term consequences of a government program. By refusing to have an honest debate of this issue -- to explore honestly the consequences of the “painful choices” that all supporters of government health care say must be made -- their argument boils down to nothing more than this:
Trust the government.
Trust the politicians who are passing 1000-page bills they haven’t read.
Trust the leaders who are demonizing the citizens seeking to express their disagreement by calling them “un-American.”
Trust the advisors who advocate sacrificing the weak and the old and then hide in the shadows.
Trust the government to know what’s best for the most intimate, most personal part of you and your family’s life: your health.
Go ask a British citizen if it’s worth it.
To just shut up and trust the government.
This is the kind of thing that isn't a big deal by itself...but is part of a drip, drip, drip that's serving to discredit Obama's effort to get this passed...
Wow...more scary stuff...
Chuck Norris : Dirty Secret No. 1 in Obamacare - Townhall.com
Well, David Wu’s Portland town hall meeting at Good Samaritan Hospital is over. I didn’t make it, but from the report in the Oregonian, it sounds like it went much like the meeting last night in McMinnville. Clearly, Wu wasn’t about to risk meeting with all his constituents, as attendees were given numbers, and questioners were “randomly” (you can raise your eyebrows and snicker here) selected to be able to ask questions. Here’s a snippet from the article describing the process:
It helped that a sizable share of Wu's audiences Monday and Tuesday, both exceeding 125 people, appeared to support Democratic health care reform legislation. It also helped that Wu and his staff kept tight control over the proceedings.
Hundreds couldn't even get inside. Those who lined up early enough to gain admittance were handed numbers, and only those whose numbers were drawn could speak. No follow-up questions were allowed, and Wu wisely avoided remaining engaged with several who ignored that rule.
It’s quite a contrast to see the anger and apprehension at these town halls, and compare them to the President’s “town hall meeting” (snickers again) today. It was clear Obama wasn’t going to risk anything so messy as a challenging question. That audience appeared as “scrubbed” as a hospital floor.
Sometimes liberals will describe health care as a "right" or a "freedom". It isn't.
Rights are given to you by God, and the Government simply protects them...for instance, the Government doesn't tell you what church to join or where to go, or when services are...it simply protects your right to worship as you see fit. It doesn't teach you how to speak well, it just protects your right to speak (well or poorly).
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