Tuesday, August 11, 2009

The Angry Mobs at the Town Hall Meetings

It is said by the Democrats and others that the Town Hall protesters are organized by Republican parties around the country. That everyone is taking marching orders from conservative talk radio show hosts. While some are coordinating information, a huge conspiracy of conservatives opposed to the reform measures does not exist. And, frankly, organization is good.

Candidate Obama used his years as a "community organizer" in Chicago as a big part of his resume to run for President. He thought it a badge of honor. That was until those of another opinion used the same methods. Paging Mr. Alinsky.

The talking heads on MSNBC say that the Town Hall protesters are racists - that they are simply against anything the bi-racial president is pushing. Ron Reagan, from Air America, debated Dana Loesch (yes, he was way out of his league with my girl Dana) and he was predicting gunshots at any time during these angry exchanges at Town Hall meetings. Nancy Pelosi - the Speaker of the House, third in line for the Presidency - and her Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer proclaim you as "unAmerican" if you are passionate. Hey, wasn't Joe McCarthy on a hunt for "unAmericans"? Senator Ben Cardin in Delaware made the mistake of condescendingly telling his last crowd that he "knows you don't want to hear the facts" and was immediately shouted down. Here's a tip, Senator: don't insult your constituents because they'll probably remember your attitude come next election. Just sayin'.

President Obama continues with his riff that "some" want nothing to be done. "Some" only want to play politics. Yes, Mr. President, exactly who would be these "some" to which you refer? Hmmm? Never mind that this president doesn't even have the details of the very legislation he is allowing the far left in the House write for him. He thinks it keeps him out of the weeds, above the fray. He has another think coming.

Americans are angry and confused. Americans are just plain scared. Why? Turns out the majority of Americans are covered by insurance plans and are essentially happy with the coverage. They certainly don't want to gamble on being forced into a government run system that will deny personal choice and ration services. The President enjoys pointing out that Medicare and the VA are both government run programs. True enough. Both are, however, riddled with excessive cost and bureaucracy. Both, however, are the bain of those on the plans. Yes, it is better than absolutely nothing, but is that our national standard? Huge amounts of money can be saved to provide for those without by beginning with cutting waste and fraud. And, tort reform, too. Democrats are completely beholden to trial lawyers - even the President who proclaimed he would not be under the thumb of lobbyists - and without tort reform the continuing burden of liability insurance will remain for caregivers.

Do you think it is only Republicans playing politics at these Town Hall meetings? That would be silly. Look at the crowd and their faces. It is everyone. Young, old, every ethnicity, insured and not, professional and working man. Health care reform will affect absolutely every person in this country. Cradle to grave. The dirty little secret that the President doesn't care to expand on is that even with the huge bill being rammed through the House, not everyone will be covered. It will take a decade to accomplish that, if even then. And, by then, the predictions that the system will be completely broken and out of money abound.

Long term viability must be at the forefront of any reform. The White House is busy making deals, in private, with the big drug companies after claiming support from the insurance companies before they jumped off the train. Now it is time to demonize the insurance companies - and suddenly the whole agenda is "insurance reform" not health care reform. I have said that from the beginning. Insurance needs reform. Our health care system is the finest in the world. Everyone acknowledges that. Well, except for some malcontents who would bash our country for anything that comes up. Ron Reagan - prime example - of talking while stupid. He spouts the standard negative "ranking" systems of the international community. Never mind that those are skewed for countries much smaller and less insured or covered. And, our country has a huge population of undocumented workers who are treated.

So, here we are. Congress is sent home with absolutely no idea of the details of a bill that is more than 1,000 pages and some are even saying it will be impossible to be read before a vote is taken. Just like the stimulus bill that hasn't worked. With only 10% of that money distributed, we could cancel the rest of the distribution and put it towards helping those in need. The recession is seeing a natural cyclical bottoming out. That is how economics works. Just like Mother Nature. Cycles.

The rush is for President Obama to force this through before any more dissent brings down his polling numbers further. He is on a downward slide and he knows it. He knows all of his social engineering agenda must be done now or he will have to make concessions and allow Republican input. The man who campaigned on a post partisan country didn't really mean any of that rhetoric. You didn't believe that, did you? Many are now coming out of their slumber.

Attention Mr. President, Robert Gibbs (who compares protesters to his 6 year old son), and members of Congress: Americans are watching. We are not "angry mobs" and we will not be stopped by union (SEIC) thugs. The violence didn't begin until you dispensed them to intimidate ordinary Americans.

How very Chicago of you.

2 comments:

namaste said...

this president really needs to take a step back. we are careening towards chaos, americans against each other. and all because of him and his thugs.

great post. very informative.

btw, i like the phrase "talking while stupid." i may have to borrow that one. ;)

The WordSmith from Nantucket said...

I wonder if the Dems in Congress honestly believe the talking points they are espousing and the (mis)characterization of those Americans opposed to their brand of shovel-it-through without sunlight before signing healthcare reform. Do they honestly believe all the outrage and emotion is staged and feigned by the vast rightwing conspiracy? And how can they be so dismissive of having an honest debate rather than claiming the citizens just don't understand the healthcare bill and are being fed lies and misinformation?