Communications

President Obama’s Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has spent a lot of time avoiding tough questions on health care in his daily briefings.  With Thursday’s Health Care Summit looming, there are a few points that deserve some follow-up; perhaps the White House would be more responsive if the American people asked, too.

Follow the RNC on Twitter and retweet these questions to Gibbs:

@PressSec Polls show Americans want a fresh start on health care, so why is Obama ignoring them? #askgibbs
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@PressSec Threatening reconciliation doesn’t reflect Obama’s call for a “good faith” exchange of ideas, does it? #hcr #tcot #askgibbs
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@PressSec Don’t price controls indicate the WH’s admission that the Senate’s bill will not keep premiums in check? #hcr #tcot #askgibbs
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@PressSec How will raising taxes on businesses and individuals promote economic growth? #hcr #tcot #askgibbs
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@PressSec Are the Democrats capable of overcoming their internal divisions to pass this ... more

Chairman Michael Steele and Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and John Thune (R-SD) discuss the Democrats’ government takeover of health care and encourage Americans to take action.  

WASHINGTON – Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele released the following statement today:

“Tonight a number of moderate Democrats sacrificed their principles to give Harry Reid a victory that brings America dangerously closer to having a government-run health care system.  Make no mistake: this was not a free vote.  A vote in favor of this procedural motion paves the way for the bill’s final adoption, which would impose a government-run health care experiment on America that increases premiums, increases taxes, cuts Medicare and allows for taxpayer-funded abortions.  As the recent elections in Virginia and New Jersey showed, Harry Reid’s health care scheme is exactly what voters do not want.  President Obama, Harry Reid and their liberal Senate allies will surely gloat and pat themselves on the back for winning tonight’s vote in the dark of night during a rare Saturday session, while Americans were home with their families.  But as they do, those moderate ... more

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today announced that his health care legislation will include the “public option,” also known as government-run health insurance. 

Reid claims that public opinion polls show widespread support for a public option.

Speaker Pelosi doesn’t seem so sure though.

Speaking in Florida, Pelosi admitted that the idea of a health care plan paid for by taxpayers is not very popular. She suggests a change in terminology to a “Consumer Option” will help the public overcome any doubts.

Call it what you want, but Pelosi’s government-run health care plan is not likely to fool the public or the “consumer.” Perhaps if she writes the bill in a different font the public will get on board. 

CBO score of the Baucus health care bill comes to this conclusion: Slash $500 billion from Medicare, levy $400 billion in new taxes and viola, “deficit-neutral”.

The States should love this. Expand Medicaid coverage, it’s “cheaper.”

According to CQ Politics “House Democrats Consider Medicaid Twist”

“The irony is, what CBO is telling us is if you expand the number of people getting Medicaid, you reduce the cost of the bill,” said Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y.

CQ piece continues:

State governors and legislators also are likely to bristle at the approach; Medicaid is a joint state-federal program, and with the economic recession, states are already being forced to cut their budgets deeply in other areas to maintain their Medicaid obligations.

Republican and Democratic governors alike have panned the idea of expanding the unfunded Medicaid burden.

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, a member of the National Governors Association’s health-care task force, was less than enthusiastic, "I can't think of a worse time for this bill to be coming. I'd love to see it happen. But nobody's going to put their state into bankruptcy or their education system in the ... more