The Doctor won’t see you now

Washington D.C.—The House of Representatives passed Obamacare by a vote of 219 to 212, but here are some other numbers that were tallied before the vote:

• According to Rasmussen Reports, likely voters oppose HCR 54 to 41 percent
• Also according to Rasmussen, 53 percent of likely voters disapprove of the president’s job approval, with 47 percent approving (down from 70 percent approval)
• In a Real Clear Politics average of six polls, only 19 approve of Congress’ job, while 78.5 disapprove
• The latest right-track/wrong track taken in mid March shows another Real Clear Politics average 33.8 to 60.5 percent respectively

Yet HCR passed 219 to 212. Amazing? Not really.

Since President Obama began stumping for health care reform last March, he has given nearly 60 speeches and 2 addresses to Congress. The result each time was further decline in public polling. Truly a man of convictions, even his most ardent opponents must concede. Which makes one wonder something else—is he as serious about other his agenda items? Time will tell, but Obama certainly didn’t put this much political capital behind closing GITMO and actually seeing it through, nor has he put up much a fight to keep KSM in civilian court, and cap-and-trade remains languishing in Congress. Lastly is the economy; not one significant move outside the stimulus package he signed early last year.

The majority of Americans are certainly against HCR, but would they have been if the unemployment rate was below 6 percent? Is Nancy Pelosi in danger of losing the Speaker’s seat? Will Harry Reid be tossed out of office come November; for that matter, will the democrat majority? Will Americans sour more when HCR actually goes into effect after nearly four years of paying without benefits?

November is a political light year away. I only ask these questions because they seem to be the conventional wisdom of the time; it is up to you to draw your own conclusions.

-- Owen E. Richason IV

Chief Editor, Killswitch Politick

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The Dem’s Toyota Legislation

Washington DC—Health care reform is again on the congressional docket. The president is on the HCR campaign trail. But this is not how it was supposed to happen.

Recently, radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh postulated that after HCR is passed in the House and signed by Obama, the issue will be left alone as a stop-loss for the coming November election. Interesting point, but I believe Mr. Limbaugh has not taken the theory far enough.

Think back to Mr. Obama’s first act as president; he signed an order to close GITMO. That was it. Nothing more was really said about it. After which, the stimulus bill was passed, making key parts of the private sector dependent on the government. Next was the Iraq drawdown and new Afghanistan strategy. The latter played in the media as a front-page above-the-fold issue for months; meanwhile, HCR was being fashioned along with cap and trade. And now, there is news the administration is considering immigration reform and the take-over of Sallie Mae. Neither issue is getting much attention, but they are quietly being moved.

And here is where Mr. Limbaugh’s theory can be taken a step further. I submit the democrat majority and the White House embarked on a strategy since the inauguration. I would venture to call it Toyota legislation, that is, incremental legislation that is passed without much hullabaloo under the democrat majority, designed to accelerate wildly out of control of future congresses.

All of the above mentioned initiatives are part of the groundwork to put in place the transformation of America into a western European socialist democracy. And that is why HCR was supposed to pass last summer. Once the legislation is passed, like a Toyota accelerating without warning, the congress and administration could go full speed ahead and no one could stop them.


-- Owen E. Richason IV
Chief Editor, Killswitch Politick


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HCR, the devil is in the details

Washington DC—Representative Bart Stupak (D-MI) has sent a warning to the Upper Chamber and to the White House, health care will not pass in the House of Representatives. Mr. Stupak’s objections are two-fold, the first is the Senate bill contains provisions for federally funded abortion; the second is the Lower Chamber’s reluctance to yield to the Senate. But there is something more than just pride and principle at work here: House Representatives know what lies ahead in November and again in 2012.

Last night on the O’Reilly Factor, guest Caroline Heldman, Ph.D., was asked by Bill O’Reilly to name three positive items in Obamacare. Professor Heldman obliged, listing three items she believed to be the most positive. After each pick, Ms. Heldman was asked by O’Reilly to define or at least summarize how those provisions would be enforced. One by one, the good professor could not give any particulars, instead she said she would, “Hope [they] listen to the experts.”

Therein lies just why the American people are rejecting Obamacare—there are no hard numbers to back the panacea claims. The CATO Institute has scored the projections, and instead of finding an $81 billion budget deficit reduction over the next decade, the actual cost will increase to more than $600 billion over ten years. Regardless of which plan is passed (be it House or Senate), CATO has determined the budget deficit will skyrocket.

CATO reinforces with hard numbers what Americans feel by gut instinct, adding millions to a government run healthcare system will only add billions more to future deficits and take away millions in competent care.

-- Owen E. Richason IV

Chief Editor, Killswitch Politick

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