First, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) was definitely out of line when he yelled “You lie!” at one point during the speech. That’s just unacceptable. This was a presidential address to Congress, not a town hall meeting. He’s since issued an apology and spoke with Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s now listed on the (non-existent) enemies list. Now he faces a tougher re-election battle as supporters of his opponent, Rob Miller, donated tens of thousands of dollars more in a short time span for a matchup in 2010.
President Obama is clearly a talented orator. The speech was written in a way to highlight that as well. He mentioned the late Sen. Ted Kennedy. He mentioned the illegal aliens. He mentioned the elderly and their Medicaid and Medicare. He also mentioned the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Let’s take a look:
We are the only democracy — the only advanced democracy on Earth — the only wealthy nation — that allows such hardship for millions of its people. There are now more than 30 million American citizens who cannot get coverage. In just a two-year period, one in every three Americans goes without health care coverage at some point. And every day, 14,000 Americans lose their coverage. In other words, it can happen to anyone.
But the problem that plagues the health care system is not just a problem for the uninsured. Those who do have insurance have never had less security and stability than they do today. More and more Americans worry that if you move, lose your job, or change your job, you’ll lose your health insurance too. More and more Americans pay their premiums, only to discover that their insurance company has dropped their coverage when they get sick, or won’t pay the full cost of care. It happens every day.
He neglected to mention that we are the only wealthy nation where patients of other wealthy nations with nationalized health care come to get better, quicker, and reasonably priced health care. American hospitals near the borders are receiving patients from Canada and the U.K. Both of these countries have government-run health care, yet many still decide to pay for a ticket to come here. Why?
Health care reform is needed, but let’s start with the basics. Open up the markets so that insurers can sell across state lines. Don’t allow companies to provide health care. Tort reform. These are simple steps toward a better health care system. The government should not be in the health care business and should not force anyone to obtain health care.
But you say, “States require drivers to get auto insurance!” True, but that’s liability insurance in case you hurt others in an accident. That’s comparing apples to oranges in the health care debate.
Finally, our health care system is placing an unsustainable burden on taxpayers. When health care costs grow at the rate they have, it puts greater pressure on programs like Medicare and Medicaid. If we do nothing to slow these skyrocketing costs, we will eventually be spending more on Medicare and Medicaid than every other government program combined. Put simply, our health care problem is our deficit problem. Nothing else even comes close. Nothing else.
And ObamaCare wouldn’t burden the taxpayers? $900 billion over 10 years! Yet the president said:
Now, add it all up, and the plan I’m proposing will cost around $900 billion over 10 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. (Applause.) Now, most of these costs will be paid for with money already being spent — but spent badly — in the existing health care system. The plan will not add to our deficit. The middle class will realize greater security, not higher taxes. And if we are able to slow the growth of health care costs by just one-tenth of 1 percent each year — one-tenth of 1 percent — it will actually reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over the long term.
Of course, what’s an Obama speech without blaming Bush, even if ever so indirectly? The Afghanistan and Iraq wars, the tax cuts for the wealthy, etc. What else is new? Throw in the memories of the War on Terror and fan the flames of wealth envy — standard Democrat operating procedures.
Everyone in this room knows what will happen if we do nothing. Our deficit will grow. More families will go bankrupt. More businesses will close. More Americans will lose their coverage when they are sick and need it the most. And more will die as a result. We know these things to be true.
It’s already too friggin’ late about the growing deficit and bankruptcy, sir. Thanks to your stimulus and bailouts. And yet you think the health care reform will somehow fix these? Earth to Obama, what’s your status…?
You see, our predecessors understood that government could not, and should not, solve every problem. They understood that there are instances when the gains in security from government action are not worth the added constraints on our freedom. But they also understood that the danger of too much government is matched by the perils of too little; that without the leavening hand of wise policy, markets can crash, monopolies can stifle competition, the vulnerable can be exploited. And they knew that when any government measure, no matter how carefully crafted or beneficial, is subject to scorn; when any efforts to help people in need are attacked as un-American; when facts and reason are thrown overboard and only timidity passes for wisdom, and we can no longer even engage in a civil conversation with each other over the things that truly matter — that at that point we don’t merely lose our capacity to solve big challenges. We lose something essential about ourselves.
Would these predecessors he mentioned be the Founding Fathers and Framers of our Constitution? I highly doubt it. Because it’s very clear that they did not think health care is a right, nor it’s the government’s role to dictate how a citizen should care for him or herself.
The only perils of too little government is President Obama and his liberal Democrats not keeping their jobs. And that sounds like a path worth pursuing.
