As one may guess, my e-mail has plenty of feedback on last night’s passage of Pelosicare. Here are three sample reactions, first from the desk of President Obama:
(Last) evening, at 11:15 p.m., the House of Representatives voted to pass their health insurance reform bill. Despite countless attempts over nearly a century, no chamber of Congress has ever before passed comprehensive health reform. This is history.
But you and millions of your fellow Organizing for America supporters didn’t just witness history (last night) — you helped make it. Each “yes” vote was a brave stand, backed up by countless hours of knocking on doors, outreach in town halls and town squares, millions of signatures, and hundreds of thousands of calls. You stood up. You spoke up. And you were heard.
So this is a night to celebrate — but not to rest. Those who voted for reform deserve our thanks, and the next phase of this fight has already begun.
The final Senate bill hasn’t even been released yet, but the insurance companies are already pressing hard for a filibuster to bury it. OFA has built a massive neighborhood-by-neighborhood operation to bring people’s voices to Congress, and tonight we saw the results. But the coming days will put our efforts to the ultimate test. Winning will require each of us to give everything we can, starting right now.
(snipping out appeal for money)
(Last night’s) vote brought every American closer to the secure, affordable care we need. But it was also a watershed moment in how change is made.
Even after last year’s election, many insider lobbyists and partisan operatives really thought that the old formula of scare tactics, D.C. back-scratching and special-interest money would still be enough to block any idea they didn’t like. Now, they’re desperate. Because, tonight, you made it crystal clear: the old rules are changing — and the people will not be ignored.
In the final phases of last year’s election, I often reminded folks, “Don’t think for a minute that power concedes without a fight,” and it’s especially true today. But that’s okay — we’re not afraid of a fight. And as you continue to prove, when all of us work together, we have what it takes to win.
The folks on the TEA Party Express begged to differ:
The leadership of the Tea Party Express tonight denounced the vote by the House of Representatives (220-215) to pass a healthcare bill that includes a government-run component.
“Shame on them! Congress chose once again to defy the will of the people who have spoken out at tea parties and town halls against this big government plan, because the politicians cared more about growing the size, power and control of government than what the people wanted,” said Mark Williams, Co-Chair of the Tea Party Express.
“The politicians forget that the Constitution begins with the words, ‘We The People,’ not ‘We the Government.’ The people have made it clear they did not want this quasi-socialistic plan, and since they haven’t gotten the message then in 2010 we’re going to be handing out pink slips to these politicians. Enjoy your final days in office, and start searching the want-ads for a new job, because we’re going to vote you out of office,” said Deborah Johns, Co-Chair of the Tea Party Express.
The Tea Party Express is currently conducting a national cross-country tour holding tea party rallies in 40 cities across the country to defeat the efforts to impose a government-run healthcare plan and other related issues.
So did Americans for Limited Government:
Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today condemned the House of Representatives for voting to approve “$2.1 trillion takeover of the nation’s entire health care sector in spite of overwhelming public opposition to the measure.”
Americans for Limited Government estimates the legislation will cost $2.1 trillion over ten years once fully implemented, and “will drive millions Americans off of private, employer-based health care, on to substandard, below-average government-run care, and open the door for a single payer system,” said Wilson.
The final vote was 220 to 215.
“This Congress is rotten to its core,” said Wilson, adding, “Members no longer represent their constituents, they serve the Washington political elite. They have succumbed to the insider deals, handouts, and kickbacks Nancy Pelosi needed to secure the votes for the federal government to claim an iron grip of one-sixth of the nation’s economy.”
Citing the Congressional Budget Office cost estimate of H.R. 3962, Wilson said, “This bill will raise taxes by more than $780 billion and cut Medicare by more than $450 billion. In the process, they are enraging political independents and seniors, both critical voting blocs for whom dozens of vulnerable members in the majority must answer to.”
“Members that voted for this abomination have signed a political suicide pact for which they will be held accountable,” Wilson declared. “They have gone against the express will of their constituents who opposed this legislation.”
The bill would force millions of uninsured Americans to obtain insurance or else pay a fine, includes employer mandates, and creates a national, government-run “public option.” Americans for Limited Government estimates more than 45 million Americans would ultimately be required to enroll in government care at an average cost of $4,700 per individual to taxpayers.
“As health care costs skyrocket because of the elimination of the private sector health options contained in this bill, so too will the costs owed by taxpayers, resulting in hundreds of billions of deficit-spending,” said Wilson. “Because insurance under the plan is mandatory, the more private insurers that are driven out of business by diminishing insurance pools, the more Americans who will be forced onto government-run and subsidized care.”
“This bill will ration care away from seniors, water down and reduce the quality of everyone’s care , increase health premiums, put bureaucrats between doctors and patients, break the public treasury, and leave taxpayers with a bill that cannot possibly be paid back,” Wilson added.
According to Rasmussen Reports, 54 percent of voters oppose the “public option” proposed, which only 42 percent support. In addition, James Carville’s Democracy Corps polls found a full 54 percent of seniors oppose the nationalized health care plan. According to the poll conducted in June, 41 percent of seniors strongly oppose the Obama plan and only 14 percent strongly favor it.
“To pass this monstrosity on the heels of Tuesday’s overwhelming election results against her party, Nancy Pelosi has clearly lost her mind and needs to check her meds. She doesn’t care if vulnerable members in her caucus are wiped out in 2010 or not,” Wilson said.
“Democrats are throwing away seniors as a political constituency,” Wilson added, stating in conclusion, “They are enraging independents, who see their children and children’s children being burdened with an unsustainable debt that will rise to $20 trillion in 2020 and top the Gross Domestic Product in 2011. And taking over health care against the express wishes of tens of millions of Americans who like their private health options and want to keep them.”
It’s worthy of note that President Obama’s appeal was the only one asking for money; then again, it wasn’t a true press release so perhaps the Democratic National Committee (which actually runs Organizing Against America) can have a pass for that.
When you think about it, though, which side tried to use its power to buy off particular interests? Obama bludgeoned Big Pharma to bring them on board, tried to do the same for the insurance industry, then Democrats in Congress did their part by adding little treats for Big Labor and the AARP to buy their support. Naturally he dubs the opposition as the insurance companies, who simply are fighting to maintain their very existence because it’s pretty difficult to compete in the market against an entity with much deeper pockets than yours (because they can print money.) It’s akin to a mom-and-pop shop competing against Wal-Mart, with the exception being Wal-Mart could only dream of having the power to regulate competition out of business as the government does.
On the other hand, both the TEA Party Express and ALG point out that the people don’t favor nationalizing health care.
One could dismiss the TEA Party Express in particular for having a small sample size, as each rally draws a few thousand people at each stop. Then again, I don’t recall any sort of pro-health care bus tour that drew average Americans from all walks of life without being paid to do so or manufactured as part of supporting Big Labor. I seem to recall over a million people came to Washington, D.C. to register their opposition a couple months ago! And something tells me that the number of calls against Pelosicare dwarfed the number in favor – most Congressmen refused to listen.
And ALG shrewdly brings in the polling data which proves the point that we don’t want to follow the trail blazed by Canada and Great Britain, where those who need care quickly hop on a plane and come here to get it or go to an underground network of private-sector doctors.
As I mentioned last night, now the fight moves to the Senate, where the last best hope is a filibuster stopping the bill in its tracks. But elections have consequences and right now the folly of continually electing Democrats who work against the interests of the people is rearing its ugly head.
We need to remember last night in about a year and make sure those who voted in favor of Pelosicare can’t make similar mistakes after 2010.
By the way, my weekly LFS column returns next week.
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