Hello There, Guest! (LoginRegister)

Post Reply 
Health Care Summit
Author Message
ETSUfan1 Offline
SoCon / ETSU Mod
*

Posts: 12,623
Joined: Apr 2005
Reputation: 93
I Root For: ETSU Football
Location: Abingdon, VA

Donators
Post: #1
Health Care Summit
After reading the following blog, it appears to me the president is really trying to have a discussion about how to fix this thing but the idiots in the Senate are screwing it up with talking points. I'm sure I am wrong and you guys will tell me, so what are your opinions.





WASHINGTON (Feb. 25) -- Political theater doesn't get more dramatic than today's bipartisan summit on health care. But who has six hours on a weekday to tune in? AOL News does. Watch this space for a rundown of the very best -- and worst -- moments you won't want to miss as we watch the Blair House project so you don't have to.

HOUR 1) Reality Strikes Immediately President Obama kicked off the summit with a plea: "Make sure this is a discussion and not just us trading talking points." But they are pouring forth already:
Sen. Lamar Alexander's Republican opening statement provided just that: "We have to start by taking the current bill and putting it on the shelf and start with clean sheet," he said. As the Tennessee senator called the president's proposal "the mother of all unfunded mandates," a purse-lipped Obama scribbled notes as his fellow Democrats sat stock-still.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid repeated his own talking points, telling his "friend Lamar" that, "You're entitled your own opinion but not your own set of facts." Then, in the same breath he parried back that "no one has talked about reconciliation," he went on to say that the legislative maneuver requiring a simple majority in the Senate has been used 21 times - mostly by Republicans.
HOUR 2) Key Disagreement: Who Is in Charge? In the first section on health care costs, Democrats pursued a strategy of kumbaya, suggesting that there really wasn't much difference between the two sides. "We are on the verge, on the cusp of bridging a lot of gaps," argued Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus.

Minutes later, though, Obama disagreed, saying that the devil wasn't in the details at all. Instead, it is rather dramatic: Democrats and Republicans simply have different worldviews. "This is a philosophical debate," he said. But, "This is not a government takeover."

Republican Sen. Jon Kyl put it this way: "We do not agree on who should be in charge," adding later that there was "just a fundamental disagreement. Does Washington know best about what coverage you should have or do you?"

That didn't sit well with the president. "Anything phrased, 'Does Washington know better' is just tipping the scales because we know eveyone is angry at Washington," he said. "It's a good talking point but doesn't address the issue."

HOUR 3) Finally, a Few Flashpoints Sen. John McCain finally chimes in and he's all about process. Hearkening back to the campaign when they both "promised change in Washington," the one-time Republican standard bearer talked about how the House and Senate bills were "produced behind closed doors" where "unsavory deal-making" was the rule.

Obama tried to interrupt but, in a scene reminiscent of a presidential campaign debate, McCain insisted he be allowed to finish. "My constitutents overwhelmingly reject this proposal. They want us to go back to the beginning," he said. "Remove the special deals for special interests and the favored few. Treat all Americans the same."

The president replied in a stern tone: "We're not campaigning anymore. The election's over. We can spend the remainder of the time with our respective talking points (but) We were supposed to be talking about insurance." He then reiterated the "exhaustive process" that went into writing the bill and said if Republicans wanted to rehash that, "We're essentially on Fox News on the split screen just arguing back and forth. My hope would be that we focus on the issue of how we get the bill done."

The president's patience appeared to fray a bit when it was Rep. Eric Cantor's turn. "Lemme guess," the president said of the stack of paper in front of the Virginia Republican. "That's the 2,400 page health bill," he said with intended sarcasm. Later he scolded Republicans for using "props," saying, "These are the kinds of political things we do that prevent us from having a conversation."
02-25-2010 01:50 PM
Visit this user's website Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Advertisement


THE NC Herd Fan Offline
Hall of Famer
*

Posts: 16,168
Joined: Oct 2003
Reputation: 521
I Root For: Marshall
Location: Charlotte
Post: #2
RE: Health Care Summit
Paul Ryan Rocks!!!! 04-rock



Obama "There are some strong disagreements on the numbers and he doesn't want to get bogged down in them." That's because he doesn't want to admit his plan will either bankrupt the country or ruin healthcare.
(This post was last modified: 02-25-2010 07:09 PM by THE NC Herd Fan.)
02-25-2010 07:02 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Advertisement


smn1256 Offline
I miss Tripster
*

Posts: 28,878
Joined: Apr 2008
Reputation: 337
I Root For: Lower taxes
Location: North Mexico
Post: #3
RE: Health Care Summit
I couldn't believe I heard that Walmart's success was their ability to buy in bulk and that allows them to negotiate lower prices - for years the libs have hammered Walmart for a variety of reasons.

And Obama was a smug and arrogant prick.
02-25-2010 07:06 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
ETSUfan1 Offline
SoCon / ETSU Mod
*

Posts: 12,623
Joined: Apr 2005
Reputation: 93
I Root For: ETSU Football
Location: Abingdon, VA

Donators
Post: #4
RE: Health Care Summit
I thought Ryan made a great and level headed speech. If only there were more like him out there.
(This post was last modified: 02-25-2010 07:26 PM by ETSUfan1.)
02-25-2010 07:26 PM
Visit this user's website Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Post Reply 




User(s) browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)


Copyright © 2002-2024 Collegiate Sports Nation Bulletin Board System (CSNbbs), All Rights Reserved.
CSNbbs is an independent fan site and is in no way affiliated to the NCAA or any of the schools and conferences it represents.
This site monetizes links. FTC Disclosure.
We allow third-party companies to serve ads and/or collect certain anonymous information when you visit our web site. These companies may use non-personally identifiable information (e.g., click stream information, browser type, time and date, subject of advertisements clicked or scrolled over) during your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services likely to be of greater interest to you. These companies typically use a cookie or third party web beacon to collect this information. To learn more about this behavioral advertising practice or to opt-out of this type of advertising, you can visit http://www.networkadvertising.org.
Powered By MyBB, © 2002-2024 MyBB Group.