PrintSeptember 16, 2009
Calling Obama Out on HealthCare
At his nationally televised address to Congress on Sept. 9, President Obama talked long and hard in an effort to sell his grandiose healthcare scheme. Meanwhile, the 800-pound gorilla in the room representing the town hall protests across the country, sat quietly, waiting to be acknowledged. Unfortunately, for the majority of the country having serious concerns over healthcare "reform", no acknowledgement was forthcoming.
The speech was delivered as though the month of August never happened. Obama's preaching missed the context upon which millions stand. Not one respectful word was uttered to the dissenting majority. There was no apology for trying to rush through over 1,000 pages of unread, bureaucracy-creating legislation before the August break.
There was no apology on Sept. 9 because Obama makes it clear that he tolerates no honest disagreement:
Put simply our health care problem is our deficit problem. Nothing else even comes close. These are the facts. Nobody disputes them. We know we must reform this system.
Nobody disputes his facts? Is he for real? The likes of such arrogance normally is only witnessed in totalitarian regimes from which people are not allowed to dispute the facts. For heaven's sake, the Congressional Budget Office disputes the facts. The CBO's research effectively reveals that Obama's numbers don't add up.
Call the American people stupid, but most people don't believe deficit problems are helped by borrowing and spending more money on government entitlement programs.
Yet, in the age of Obama, dissent is not tolerated. It is not possible for opponents to have legitimate positions after reading the proposed bill. No, all opponents must be demonized and their claims framed as bogus:
Some of people's concerns have grown out of bogus claims spread by those whose only agenda is to kill reform at any cost. The best example is the claim, made not just by radio and cable talk show hosts, but prominent politicians, that we plan to set up panels of bureaucrats with the power to kill off senior citizens. Such a charge would be laughable if it weren't so cynical and irresponsible. It is a lie, plain and simple.
A lie? That is a pretty strong word. Mr. Obama has long been a master of diffusing the real issue by pointing to the obvious with which no one can disagree. Of course, none of the drafts read as follows: "Under this provision the heretofore mention commissioner is hereby authorized to set up death panels. Said panels are granted the power to kill off senior citizens in the interest of solving the deficit problem."
Once again we must revert to commonsense and observe that healthcare rationing has been inevitable in all "progressive" countries in which government has overextended itself in the healthcare industry. So, no, Mr. Obama, your dissenters don't believe the government intends to kill off seniors; it's just that unintended consequences flow naturally from the pens of well-intended, yet sophomoric politicians who haven't a clue as to what they are doing in the real world. By the way, how's that stimulus bill working out?
The President's tone in the Congressional Address was dictatorial, condescending and frankly, the following threat is a little scary:
But know this: I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it's better politics to kill this plan than improve it. I will not stand by while the special interests use the same old tactics to keep things exactly the way they are. If you misrepresent what's in the plan, we will call you out. And I will not accept the status quo as a solution. Not this time. Not now.
I will not waste time with those? We will call you out? What on earth does he mean by that? Are we going to see a revival of the "Barack Obama Truth Squad," on a national level? If anything is reported as "fishy" or "bogus" will Attorney General Holder bring charges?
The Missouri Truth Squad fiasco during the presidential campaign was so entirely surreal that you must click here to believe it. Several Obama-loyalist sheriffs and prosecutors across Missouri, known as the "Barack Obama Truth Squad," organized to criminalize the opposition's words that were deemed untruthful. News Channel 4 reported that, "The Obama presidential campaign is asking law enforcement to target anyone who lies or runs misleading television ads during this presidential campaign."
The Truth Squad "remind[ed] voters that Barack Obama is a Christian who wants to cut taxes for anyone making less than $250K a year." Democrat Bob McCulloch, the prosecutor for St. Louis Co., told the reporter: "If they're not gonna tell the truth, then somebody's got to step up and say, wait a minute, that's not true, this is the truth."
The repressive, banana-Republic tactics and words used in Missouri are eerily similar to the words of Obama on Sept. 9:
If you misrepresent what's in the plan, we will call you out.
Got it? Obama's truth is the only truth. When Obama uses his poll-tested rhetoric and says the Democrat healthcare "plan" will not get between you and your doctor, well that is the truth. Period. Informed voters, having read the House bill must not reach their own conclusions based upon the actual language. The spoken words of the Great Obama must take precedence over all reasoning and commonsense. If you disagree you are lying. Sean Hannity is a liar. Sarah Palin is a liar; and besides she's stupid. Rush Limbaugh is a big fat liar, temporarily disguised in an increasingly slender body. FOX news should be scorned, if not banned.
So, in context of Mr. Obama's unmitigated arrogance and authoritarian tone at the Congressional joint session, a certain member of Congress just couldn't help himself. After having been called a liar by the President, the 800-pound gorilla in the room roared through the voice of Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC). "You lie!" the Honorable Addison Graves Wilson, Sr. (otherwise know as Joe Wilson) blurted out, in the assembly of Congressmen.
Finally, that which Obama had utterly dismissed and ignored, the passion of the people, found expression through the brave lips of Wilson. The spirit of the tea parties and town hall meetings could not be suppressed; even at Obama's theater of the absurd.
I don't understand why, but Mr. Wilson immediately apologized to Mr. Obama. I guess out of respect for the presidency. It was reported the day after the speech that President Obama accepted Wilson's apology. How kind.
Meanwhile, the American people wait for an apology that is long overdue. Of course, don't hold your breath waiting for Obama to apologize to the American people.
Monte Kuligowski is an attorney who can be reached at montekuligowski@gmail.com
