Shot:

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: “My proposal would bring down the cost of health care for families, businesses, and for the federal government.  So, Americans buying comparable coverage to what they have today, I already said this, would see premiums fall by 14 to 20 percent. That’s aren’t my numbers, that’s what the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says.  For Americans who get their insurance through the workplace, how many people get insurance through your jobs right now, raise your hands.  Well a lot of those folks, its your employer, it estimated, would see costs could fall by as much as 3,000 percent. That means they could give you a raise.”  (President Barack Obama, Remarks of President Barack Obama, Strongesville, OH, 3/15/10)

Speaker Pelosi seems to have found some new confidence that President Obama’s health care plan will pass the House.  Just a bit ago she said, I’m delighted that the president will be here for the passage of the bill. Yet, it seems that other members of the Democrat caucus aren’t so sure that this so called  “passage” will happen.  Interestingly , even Nancy Pelosi has expressed concerns about finding votes. 

The AP states, “Even with initial votes possible next week, few were claiming that Democrats had the votes in hand to prevail — especially in the House, where the roll call is expected to be a cliffhanger. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., conceded that even once details of the package are complete, leaders will need time to sell it to lawmakers.”

Kim Strassel points out regarding health care, “The polls are dismal, the Democratic caucus is in disarray…”  With such great momentum going into this historic moment it’s no wonder Nancy Pelosi is so confident.

Nancy Pelosi ... more

Nancy Pelosi is the one person the President is depending on to deliver the needed House votes for his health reform proposal.  However, Speaker Pelosi is balking at the White House’s latest deadline on health care. “March 18th is a very interesting date,” Pelosi said, referring to the White House’s preferred deadline -- the date President Obama leaves for a foreign trip. “We will take up the bill when we are ready to take up the bill.”

Sounds like yet another arbitrary health care deadline will be missed.  Maybe the president and Congressional Democrats should stop trying to impose their health care experiment on the American people and focus on doing what the American people want, more jobs.  That is one deadline the American public would support them meeting. 

Today, while discussing his proposal for health care reform, President Obama said, “Our proposal is paid for. … Our cost-cutting measures mirror many proposals which produce most people's premiums and brings down our deficit by up to $1 trillion because we are spending our health care dollars more wisely.” (President Obama, “President Obama Speaks on Health Insurance Reform,” 3/8/10)

President Obama may need to do some research because a lot of folks seem to disagree with his assessment of the plan.  David Broder, Dean of the Washington Press Corps, said “While the CBO said that both the House-passed bill and the one Reid has drafted meet Obama’s test by being budget-neutral, every expert I have talked to says that the public has it right. These bills, as they stand, are budget-busters.” That’s right, the bills are budget-busters. (David S. Broder, Op-Ed, “A Budget-Buster In The Making,” The Washington Post, 11/22/09)

Also, The Washington Post Editorial Board drew attention ... more

Last week, President Obama spent 7 hours at his “bi-partisan” health care summit “listening” to ideas about health care reform.  Today, President Obama  even said, “Every idea has been put on the table. Every argument has been made. Everything there is to say about health care has been said and just about everybody has said it.”

Yet, even with so much being said and so many arguments made, President Obama does not seem to have been listening during his so called “bi-partisan” summit or more importantly to the American people.  Today the president said,  “For us to start over now could simply lead to delay that could last for another decade or even more.”

Poll after poll has shown that Americans want the president and Congress to start over on health care.  Republicans repeatedly asked the president to hit the restart button during their “bi-partisan” meeting.  Yet, the President has decided to ignore what the American people want and impose his will on the American public ... more