Obama Healthcare Spin Speech: To long, to short on details, full of fuzzy math, and still Unconstitutional

So Obama gave his latest campaign speech on Wednesday evening regarding healthcare and spun more BS on the nationalization and take over of healthcare.

The most glaring points that need to be noted here is that he still gave NO specifics or details on the plan. Even the Congress people in the chamber laughed when he said that the “specifics” need to still be worked out. Secondly, EVERY single government “fix” he talked about could be done with reform and expansion of the CURRENT free market private system without blowing up the private system that 80% of Americans with this coverage don’t want changed!

And as far as Congressman Joe Wilson goes, that man should receive a gold medal of courage for his “outburst” during the speech when he yelled out “LIE” during the speech when Obama insisted that illegals would not be covered in the legislation. This is a lie and Obama is a liar and the Congressman needs to apologize to no one as far as I am concerned. He did try to call Obama on Thursday to do so, but he only got to talk to “Rambo” Emanuel and not the President but apparently king Obama was going to graciously accept his apology…wasn’t that nice of him?? (maybe we should have another Beer Summit??) We need more people like Wilson in the Congress to call out socialism and liberals lies more often! Go to www.joewilsonforcongress.com and send this guy a couple of bucks for his reelection campaign. He is an awesome Conservative and needs to be reelected next year!

Where was the left’s outrage when lib Congressmen loudly booed GW Bush in 2005 during his State of the Union speech (not a campaign propaganda speech like Obama gives every day it seems like) when Bush tried to warn everyone of the impending failure of Social Security without major reform such as partial privatization. Or when Harry Reid called Bush a “loser”, a “liar”, and “the worst President” we have ever have.
Double standard anyone?

The meat of this posting will deal with the speech and counter or rebut the spin he tried to sell all of us. There is enough material in the speech and talking points memo he handed out to members of Congress just before he started talking—yes, talking points, not the whole speech as is traditional—to fill pages on this blog but I will try to keep limit to the most salient points especially since many of the points have been addressed in prior posts. Grab a cup of coffee or a beer before you read this—it may take some time to cover all his spin and, yes, lies.

Pre Healthcare Myths:
The Economy is Improving thanks to the Stimulus plan: FALSE. Unemployment is near 10% and actual unemployment (including those no longer looking or no longer eligible for benefits) is about 16%! Obama has asked to have the debt ceiling raised to $12 TRILLION dollars and his own budget deficit for this year stands at near $1.4 TRILLION alone! Only hyper inflation and sky rocketing taxes can follow this nightmare. Can you spend your way out of debt in your household?

Obama mentioned that the Congress has been trying to pass healthcare “reform” since 1943 when now Congressman’s John Dingell’s (D-MI) father was in the Congress. What more reason do you need for term limits!! And if it was so wonderful and needed, why wouldn’t it be done in 66 years??


Now for some of the health care myths:

30 Million Americans (or is 45? Or 47?) don’t have health insurance:
False. This number is always inflated to include illegal aliens, people who just choose to not buy insurance (that’s called freedom and liberty), and people who are transient uninsured for just a few months at a time. The remaining is around 12 million actual chronic uninsured. So why are we talking about blowing up the entire system for the other couple of hundred millions of people who have and like their insurance?? See this link for more: http://www.factcheck.org/2009/06/the-real-uninsured/

Obama also said that 14,000 more lose their coverage everyday. That may be true, but if he was serious about changing that, he would be serious about improving the economy and this statistic will drastically improve!

"Rising Costs cause us to spend 1.5 times more per person on healthcare than other countries and he noted that premiums have gone up 3x faster than wages:"

Government mandates both at the state and federal level, regulations, and laws barring insurers from selling policies across state lines, And of course trial lawyers are a huge problem and cost factor as well.

He also said that “our health care system is placing an unsustainable burden on taxpayers.” That may be true in its current form but how will eventual nationalization of the system and providing coverage for 45 million more people lower the tax burden? It won’t—costs and taxes will explode and rationing will occur. That is just simple supply and demand economics my children would understand!

The President said that Congress has been working on creating a plan that takes the best of both parties’ ideas:

That would be a start, but unfortunately, Democrats have defeated or ignored all Conservative plans and amendments to their respective bills and Republicans have been pretty much shut out of the process since the spring. (Libs are telling them it’s our way or get out!)

“Our overall efforts have been supported by an unprecedented coalition of doctors and nurses; hospitals, seniors' groups and even drug companies – many of whom opposed reform in the past.”

Drug companies have made their deal with Obama as a hedge because they know if they oppose it, they will be the next industry targeted for destruction by Obama. Believe me, I know this is the case as I work in the pharmaceutical industry currently.
Senior groups=AARP, a liberal group that has been out for its own interest for many years but especially since the Medicare Part D benefit was added and AARP became one the insurers who has profited handsomely by this huge entitlement for the last several years.
The “coalition” of doctors and nurses include the bureaucracy of groups like the AMA—hardly a true representation of the rank and file physicians who would have to live under this unbearable system.

“What this plan will do is to make the insurance you have work better for you. Under this plan, it will be against the law for insurance companies to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing condition. As soon as I sign this bill, it will be against the law for insurance companies to drop your coverage when you get sick or water it down when you need it most. They will no longer be able to place some arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage you can receive in a given year or a lifetime. We will place a limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses, because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they get sick. And insurance companies will be required to cover, with no extra charge, routine checkups and preventive care…”

Sounds like a utopia, but again this mandate will cause premiums to explode even more. And severe rationing will take place as well. You just cannot cover that many more people for that many more services with the same number of doctors we currently have or could hope to add to the system.

“We will do this by creating a new insurance exchange – a marketplace where individuals and small businesses will be able to shop for health insurance at competitive prices. Insurance companies will have an incentive to participate in this exchange because it lets them compete for millions of new customers. As one big group, these customers will have greater leverage to bargain with the insurance companies for better prices and quality coverage. This is how large companies and government employees get affordable insurance. It's how everyone in this Congress gets affordable insurance. And it's time to give every American the same opportunity that we've given ourselves.”

As I have said before, there is no need to create a new huge bureaucracy that will do just the opposite by killing competition and the private market. Modernization of existing laws that truly allow competition is all that is needed. And Congress will not participate in this scheme nor do they have this type of plan now. They have a taxpayer funded plan that is managed by PRIVATE insurers they so want to demonize. And the Dems have already rejected an amendment that would require Congress people to have the same coverage as they want to force on us. Hypocrites!

“And all insurance companies that want access to this new marketplace will have to abide by the consumer protections I already mentioned.”

King Obama has spoken on what businesses must do under his distinct leadership! And this will be the mechanism by which they will eventually take it over entirely. Whether by a trigger or outright confiscation when “mandates” cannot be met or the insurers are forced out of business because they can’t compete with the government.

“In the meantime, for those Americans who can't get insurance today because they have pre-existing medical conditions, we will immediately offer low-cost coverage that will protect you against financial ruin if you become seriously ill.”

How is he going to do that? And if that was possible or even desirable to do, why wouldn’t if have been done many years ago? We are just supposed to believe everything the Messiah decrees I guess…


“If there are affordable options and people still don't sign up for health insurance, it means we pay for those people's expensive emergency room visits. If some businesses don't provide workers health care, it forces the rest of us to pick up the tab when their workers get sick, and gives those businesses an unfair advantage over their competitors. And unless everybody does their part, many of the insurance reforms we seek – especially requiring insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions – just can't be achieved. That's why under my plan, individuals will be required to carry basic health insurance – just as most states require you to carry auto insurance. Likewise, businesses will be required to either offer their workers health care, or chip in to help cover the cost of their workers.” Or “. But we cannot have large businesses and individuals who can afford coverage game the system by avoiding responsibility to themselves or their employees. Improving our health care system only works if everybody does their part.”

Who the hell does this guy think he is?? He really does believe that he is a dictator. Collectivism and Big Brother at its best. As I said before, the freedom to choose health care or not is what liberty and personal responsibility is all about. Plus it is UNCONSTITUTIONAL to dictate and force participation of citizens into anything! I believe this may very well cause a Constitutional showdown with citizens if this ever does become law and states may well try to reject this intrusion into their sovereignty by invoking their 10th Amendment rights. That has already begun in many states!


“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.”

The fact is that there is language in the legislation that encourages and pays doctors to provide “end of life counseling.” There should be absolutely NO government interaction of any kind in the doctor/patient relationship and with the rationing and cuts that are bound to come, you had better believe there will be “encouragement” if not outright denying of services to some seniors—this already takes place in England where age vs. sickness values are placed on people’s lives.

“There are also those who claim that our reform effort will insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false – the reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally. And one more misunderstanding I want to clear up –under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions, and federal conscience laws will remain in place.”

In the end, illegals WILL get covered because there is no language in the bill that would specifically require proof of citizenship and amendments have already been rejected that would SPECIFICALLY bar illegals from getting this public option. For more information see: http://www.stoptheaclu.com/2009/08/28/congressional-research-service-obamas-healthcare-plan-does-not-exclude-illegal-immigrants/

As far as abortions, although the House bill doesn’t specifically cover abortion, there is nothing that bans it being paid for in the “public option”. And the only reason why they are not covered explicitly by the government now is because of the Hyde Amendment (names after former Congressman Henry Hyde) which prohibits federal funding. But this amendment must be renewed every year and Obama is a Planned Parenthood sycophant and receives lots of campaign money from the abortion lobby. So what is the chance this amendment would not be renewed under the Democrat Congress and White House that are clearly pro-abortion. Pretty good I would say…
Ditto for federal “conscience” laws which allow doctors and nurses to not be forced into providing abortions due to religious or moral objections which Planned Parenthood clearly opposes and wants repealed.

“Now, I have no interest in putting insurance companies out of business.” And “No one would be forced to choose it, and it
would not impact those of you who already have insurance.”

Sure you don’t! You are on tape prior to the election talking to a friendly crowd where you said that you favor a single payer government healthcare system. Here it is: http://www.stoptheaclu.com/2009/08/28/congressional-research-service-obamas-healthcare-plan-does-not-exclude-illegal-immigrants/


“First, I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits – either now or in the future. Period. And to prove that I'm serious, there will be a provision in this plan that requires us to come forward with more spending cuts if the savings we promised don't materialize. .Second, we've estimated that most of this plan can be paid for by finding savings within the existing health care system – a system that is currently full
of waste and abuse… And this is also true when it comes to Medicare and Medicaid.”

If there is so much waste and fraud in the system now, why not address that immediately and realize those savings now especially if they are in Medicare? What are these magical spending cuts you are referring to? The military I would suspect would be on the chopping block again! Again seniors, watch out! There is NO WAY that you can cut hundreds of billions of dollars out of Medicare and not have that lead to lower care and rationed service. Medicare is beyond broke now—there is no Medicare trust fund! They have spent it all! How about slowly phasing out Medicare for younger generations—or at least the option to—and let us have our money back to save and invest in our own health care and savings as we see fit?? Nah, because then the ponzi scheme doesn’t work if you do that. Congress would lose its power and control over your life, and they will never allow that to happen.

“Finally, many in this chamber – particularly on the Republican side of the aisle – have long insisted that reforming our medical malpractice laws can help bring down the cost of health care.”

Don’t bet on this one folks! Obama has said previously to the AMA that he does not want to see tort reform in this bill and Howard Dean even said in a candid moment that they will not put it in because they don’t want to make “enemies” out of the trial lawyers (that fund their campaigns). Remember, most of the Congress, and including Obama, are lawyers. They will NEVER include meaningful tort reform in any plan. The lawyers (like ambulance chaser and failed Presidential candidate John Edwards) will not allow it. There is just to much money at stake for them…

“Add it all up, and the plan I'm proposing will cost around $900 billion over ten years – less than we have spent on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and less than the tax cuts for the wealthiest few Americans that Congress passed at the beginning of the previous administration.”

Since when has a government program cost “only” what they project?? In fact the numbers are usually 2-4x as much as predicted. We don’t have $1 to spend, forget about $900 billion more. And I love the class warfare and hatred of the military that keeps us safe from this guy. Many libs loathe the military and will always attack and gut it first to fund their social engineering.

And ALL Americans that pay taxes should get tax cuts INCLUDING the wealthy. In fact they should get more because they pay more. Have you ever gotten a job from a poor person?? We have nearly 50% of population that doesn’t pay ANY federal taxes now and the top 1% pay nearly 95% of the federal tax burden! How is that fair? (by the way, I am middle class myself and I want more of the tax cuts to go to the higher tax brackets).

So as you can see, this speech is full of endless spin, lies, and propaganda. I could have gone on for twice as many pages in rebutting these points but I picked the obvious and important ones out. Again, do your own research and form your own opinions. Even talking about such a scheme is frightening. Passing and implementing it will be unsustainable and I argue illegal via the Constitution.

The battle will continue either way and the lines will continue to be drawn even clearer with each day. We will see what the “final” versions of these bills look like but don’t expect any major deletions to occur. Some may be watered down to ease passage of the bill or cloaked in different language but they will be resurrected at some point by amendment or lawsuit, you can count on that!

Thanks for reading! Go get yourself another beer now before the Obama health police take it away…