The Fallacy of Burger King ObamaCare

Watching today's "health summit," I keep thinking of Burger King.

Why Burger King? Because Obama keeps claiming that he's trying to find common ground - in essence, saying that he's willing to let everyone have it their way so long as everyone agrees to eat the sandwich he's serving.

Here's the problem: The meat is spoiled, and there's nothing that can be done to change that very basic fact.

The American public has taken a look at the way ObamaCare has gotten to this point and many of the specifics within it, and they've decided that they're not going to swallow it. So now Obama and his Democratic allies are desperately searching for something, anything, which they can do to change their minds.

So their solution is to go through this Kabuki dance of asking Republicans whether they'd like tomato, ketchup and/or pickles on their sandwich, or if it might be more appealing if they photographed it from a different angle. They fail to show even an iota of recognition that, no matter how many condiments you toss on top of it, the meat went bad months ago.

Once that happened, everything else became completely irrelevant. You can change the bread it's served on. You can pile condiments sky-high. None of it matters. The meat is still rotten.

Until Democrats experience that reality check, this debate is going nowhere.

Obama at the House Republican Retreat

One of my favorite bloggers, Ann Althouse, put up a post on yesterday's interaction between Obama and the House Republicans at their retreat. I'm reposting here my intial comments which I originally left at her site:

I agree with the general assertion that Obama didn't really say much yesterday that he didn't say in his SOTU speech. Nor was his tone any better. He repeatedly blamed the Republicans for his and his own party's inability to move his agenda forward. Shocker! Then he ludicrously repeated over and over again that it was the responsibility of Republicans to come to his side of the aisle.

The biggest takeaway in terms of actual news - rather than just spin - is that Obama was forced to admit repeatedly that the Democratic talking point of Republicans having "no ideas" or being the "Party of No" is, and always has been, a big fat lie. Republicans got him on the record about him having received copies of their legislation over the past year. "I've read that...", "I've seen that...", etc.

Since at least half of the Democratic electoral strategy going into the fall was attempting to paint Republicans as nothing more than obstructionists with no ideas of their own, Obama absolutely shattered his own party's plans for what he thinks was a short-term political gain. Yet another example of getting outmaneuvered in the long run.

There is a huge difference between "you haven't proposed any ideas," and "you've proposed lots of things with which I don't agree." To that end, Republicans wound up getting the better end of that argument as well. Obama was forced to swallow all his own talking points about Republicans. Go back and review Obama's many speeches about how we should pass his agenda because, hey, it's the only option available to fix a broken system. Turns out, he's been lying all along and yesterday he was forced to admit that too.

He backed Pelosi and Hoyer into a corner in the way they manage debates in the House. Every time Pelosi/Hoyer shuts Republicans out of the debate, Republicans will be able to march up to the cameras and point out how they're not living up to the bipartisanship House Republicans have with Obama. That sets up a very nasty inter-necine fight between the House leadership and Obama going forward.

Obama seems to forget he's not the entirety of the Democratic Party. He needs Pelosi/Hoyer to move his agenda. While he didn't explicitly throw them under the bus yesterday, he might as well have. He set himself up as the good guy, and the Republican caucus got to look like good guys for inviting him to their retreat and broadcasting their interactions. Guess who was missing? Guess who the Republicans immediately issued invitations to have the same kind of conversatino with? That's right. Pelosi and Hoyer. Now guess who will never show up to do that.

Now who looks like the ones who are getting in the way of accomplishing things on a bipartisan basis? That's right. Obama just set up the dynamic to make the Democratic House the bad guys...How many additional seats do you think this costs them in the fall?

Cap-and-Trade Follow-Up: Democratic Senators Want to Wait

Last night I blogged about the failure of the Australian Senate to pass a cap-and-trade system and predicted that it would spell trouble for senators looking to pass a similar system here. So what headline are we seeing from Bloomberg this morning?

"Climate Change Measure Should Be Set Aside, U.S. Senators Say"
Go figure. Also note the bias in the headline which refers to "U.S. Senators" when the article specifically talks about Democratic senators who are the ones pushing for the delay. Republican senators want it killed completely. See the huge difference there?

The Democratic senators want to push it off because they're concerned that passing cap-and-trade so close to the 2010 elections will hurt their re-election chances, but rest assured that once they have safely won another six years in office they will return once again to their ruinous plans to institute some sort of carbon trading scheme. The only way to actually defeat it, rather than just delay it, is to vote the Democrats out of office completely. They only understand the language of the ballot box, and we should never stop reminding them that we speak it fluently.

2010 Elections, Cap and Trade, Democrats, Congress

What TEA Partiers and Sarah Palin Have In Common

Republicans were sensing momentum earlier in the summer, but events of
the August recess -- specifically, the town hall meetings in which
opponents of the Democratic health care reform plan have turned out in
force -- have changed their view. "This month has opened our eyes,"
says one plugged-in House aide. "We're seeing real people who are fired
up who weren't engaged before -- the first time we've had a popular
movement that could really benefit us electorally."

That's the take this morning from Republican House members talking about their prospects in the upcoming 2010 elections. Both Democratic and Republican insiders are talking about the effect of the TEA Party movement, and there's widespread agreement that it's generally bad news for congressional Democrats.

"I think what's going to happen is Obama's going to be fine, and the
Democrats in Congress are going to get their asses kicked in 2010,"
says one Democratic strategist who prefers not to be named.

It's only the middle of August and the TEA Party movement is already making itself felt deep inside the halls of Congress. That's why you're seeing people like Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi ratcheting up their rhetoric against the grassroots who are spontaneously rising up across the country. They're genuinely scared. (They're whistling past the graveyard with regard to the potential impact on Obama, but that's a discussion for another day.)

In mid-term elections, the president's party generally loses seats in Congress as there is generally some pushback against the agenda of an incoming president - no matter what his party is. But this year has been exceptional in that conservatives have taken to the streets, a virtually unheard of phenomenon, early and loudly within months of him taking office. Reid and Pelosi may publicly be dismissing TEA Partiers as "rent-a-mobs" carrying swastikas who only show up at the behest of insurance companies, but privately they understand its true grassroots nature.

This is the second time in less than a year that genuine grassroots enthusiasm from the other side of the aisle has thrown Democrats for a loop, and they are returning to the only thing they really understand: demonizing the opposition. The first instance was the vice presidential nomination of Sarah Palin, and I don't think I need to remind anyone how the Left continues to hound her even today. The fire she lit under the conservative base briefly pushed McCain over Obama in the polls and struck fear into the hearts of Democrats. So they responded with the most vicious smearing of a politician in recent memory, with the active assistance of the mainstream media which has since admitted that they took sides against her.

Even in the last few days, Palin has had an impact on the ObamaCare discussion by forcing the Senate to drop the end-of-life counseling from its version. A recent headline proclaimed that "Sarah Palin Defines the Health Care Debate." When was the last time that the vice presidential candidate on a losing ticket was able to make her voice heard a year later with nothing more than writing a few paragraphs on her Facebook account?

TEA Partiers should look forward to more hate-filled diatribes to be directed their way from both Democratic officeholders and the mainstream media. Like Palin, they will be dismissed as stupid and ill-informed. They will be accused of being tools of nefarious corporate interests and hating poor people. Can you remember an effective opponent of Leftist ideology who they didn't say these exact same things about? There hasn't been an original thought in the Leftist playbook for decades: they go after all their opponents the same way.

But TEA Partiers should take every sling and arrow which is thrown at them with pride. They should recognize that the greater the insults being hurled at them, the closer they are to the mark. There's another saying from the bomber corps that TEA Partiers should keep in mind:

You only take flak when you're over the target.

Sarah Palin, TEA Parties, Democrats, Leftists, 2010 Elections, Congress, Nancy Pelosi

Is There Anybody NOT Connected to Obama In Favor of ObamaCare?

Yet another townhall meeting. Yet another phony "random audience member."

I'm not even keeping up with all the planted questioners at all the townhalls that Democrats are holding across the country, yet my blogging seems to be becoming one long string of revealing plant after plant at these meetings.

This time it's Sheila Jackson Lee with a student at the university where her husband works who also just happened to have been a Texas delegate for Obama. What are the odds that so many people with ties to Obama's 2008 campaign just happened to be called upon at the townhall meetings and manage to get coverage from the mainstream media?

I'm really beginning to believe that there isn't a single soul who isn't connected to Obama that actually supports his plan for socialized medicine. If there's such a demand for his plan, then why do the Democrats have to keep stacking the audiences with members of his campaign and union thugs?

The Democratic flop sweat is really beginning to show. They're losing ground so quickly that they're getting desperate and sloppy. Keep it up America, they're on the run.

Barack Obama, AstroTurfing, ObamCare, Democrats, Congress

What's Up With Mel?

Cassy's post reminded me about an odd piece of news out of Florida the other day: namely that Mel Martinez wouldn't be returning to his seat in the Senate after the August recess. While she, and others, are rightfully thinking about the implications for Charlie Crist who is the current governor and has already stated his intention to run for the Senate seat, I'm simply struck by the oddity of the announcement itself.

While some people may immediately draw a parallel to Sarah Palin, I fail to see any similarity other than the obvious one that they both resigned their offices after announcing that they would not seek another term. Palin was being subjected to an abuse of the ethics complaint process and had much brighter prospects outside the governor's office anyway. Martinez, on the other hand, has no such prospects and has not been the subject of anything other than the normal level of abuse one would expect as a national officeholder.

It does beg the question: why? I have to believe that he did so for family reasons of one type or another. Whether it was due to the threat of an affair being revealed, an illness or other personal problems, it would be pure speculation to hazard a guess. No matter the reason, he decided that he could no longer do the job that he was elected to do and stepped down. Too bad more politicians don't have the decency to do the same.

Republicans, 2010 Election, Congress

AstroTurfing Accusations Just Make People Angrier

As soon as Nancy Pelosi and her minions started rolling out the latest Democratic talking points about how the TEA Partiers were AstroTurfed crowds who only showed up at the behest of the Republican Party and insurance companies, I knew that it was bound to backfire. Instead of intimidating people into staying away from townhall meetings, such accusations are only redoubling their determination.

Because Leftists are only capable of producing crowds at protests by paying them to attend, they are incapable of understanding that it is possible for a true grassroots effort to exist without corporate and political sponsorship. Having attended a TEA Party myself, I can tell you that not one of those in attendance was paid to be there, they are better informed on the issues than the congressmen they are confronting, and that they are genuinely angry about where Barack Obama and his Democratic allies are taking this country. Just listen to Leah from New Hampshire who called into C-SPAN:

The Democratic arrogance and dismissive attitude toward to their constituents has opened Pandora's Box. And like Pandora, they are going to be extremely sorry they did.

(H/T Smitty @ The Other McCain)

Nancy Pelosi, AstroTurfing, TEA Parties, Democrats, Congress

Illegal Immigration Still Illegal...For Now

Good news on the amnesty front: illegal immigration is still going to be illegal at least through the end of the year.

Barack Obama admitted today that his attempt to grant amnesty is going to have to wait. With Cap-and-Tax still up in the air (and likely dead) and ObamaCare in doubt, he's decided that it would be too much to try to move his amnesty bill this year.

Given the reality of election years, this may kill any attempt to grant amnesty to illegal aliens outright. It's highly unlikely that Obama's Democratic allies are going to be eager to cast yet another risky vote that may wind up costing them their seat in Congress. House Democrats are already on the hook for their vote on Cap-and-Tax, and it remains to be seen if they're going to be willing to walk the plank yet again to vote for ObamaCare. I have no doubt that Obama's been told behind closed doors that no-way, no-how are House Democrats going to be willing to go 0-for-3 after the Senate has already hung them out to dry twice.

Illegal Immigration, Barack Obama, Democrats, Congress

Dissent Is Now Officially Un-American

The Botox Queen, Nancy Pelosi, and her court jester, Steny Hoyer, have spoken.

If you're angry that Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress are trying to ram through a government takeover of your healthcare in less time than it took for him to pick out a family dog, then you're un-American.

If you're unwilling to be told what to think by people who are blatantly lying to your face, then you're un-American.

If you're not willing to be beaten into submission, then you're un-American.

I guess that makes me about as un-American as it gets. And you probably are too.

TEA Parties, Democrats, ObamaCare, Nancy Pelosi

Help Wanted: New Congressmen

It seems that some Congressmen still aren't getting the message that people are fed up with government waste, fraud and abuse.

10 members of Congress decided that, in the middle of one of the most contentious public debates in years, they should skip town with their spouses to go on a "global warming fact finding mission" rather than go home and meet with their constituents.

1) If you still believe that man-made global warming is anything other than Leftist snake oil, you have no business representing anyone in Congress.
2) If you believe that the taxpayers should be footing the bill to drag your husband/wife along on a "fact-finding mission," you have no business representing anyone in Congress.
3) If you believe you need to spend half-a-million taxpayer dollars for a glorified sight-seeing tour, you have no business representing anyone in Congress.

Perhaps I'm too idealistic in thinking that we should expect our public servants to be wise stewards of our money, but idealistic or not it doesn't mean that I'm wrong. Just keep this trip in mind when you go to the polls next year to decide who should - and should not - be left in charge of representing you.

Congress, Government Waste, Global Warming