You Lie!

I saw Obama's speech about health care and afterward I realized Obama's role in the far Left's scheme. He's the salesman, the closer. He's the guy with the slick-backed hair who comes into the room just as your getting ready to walk off the used car lot. He's the one they send in to close the deal. Whenever things are going bad, Obama goes out and gives a speech. It worked for him for a while, but I think Americans are growing tired of fancy speeches and puffy language. We are a meat-and-potatoes culture, and so far the results have been lacking.

The highlight was Joe Wilson of South Carolina calling out "You lie" as Obama stated that his plan would not cover illegal immigrants. It was the most honest moment of the night. While I agree that it is uncivil to interrupt the President during a Congressional address, I can't deny the truth behind what Wilson said. And let's be honest, there is nothing civil about Washington politics. Does anyone remember Bush's 2005 State of the Union address being interrupted by "boos" from the Dems? And I say, if you're going to spring to your feet in applause - interrupting the President at the end of every sentence - then it's hard to condemn someone who actually calls him on an obvious mistruth.

Indeed, Obama was lying, but not just about the illegal immigrants. Later that week, the Obama White House admitted that there was no clause that mandated the verification of citizenship in order to receive medical benefits. They have since changed that simple oversight, but it proves that Wilson was right. Obama also said Medicare would not be cut, yet his own website details hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to medicare. He said the bill would be budget neutral, yet the CBO has stated clearly that it will not. He said only 6 million people would sign up. ONLY 6 MILLION! There is no way anyone with rational thinking could possible believe this. If only 6 million people would enroll, then why on earth bother?

He said that people would not be forced into the public option. But look at the details. The plan mandates employers to cover all employees with health insurance or else pay the federal government a fine of 8% of their payroll taxes. Well, ask any business owner and they will tell you that their health insurance costs MUCH more than 8%, so most businesses will cancel their policies and, yes, therefore FORCE people into the public option.

Estimated cost is somewhere around $900 billion over 10 years, and Obama expects only 6 million people to enroll in the government option. Folks, do the math. That's a health care plan that costs $150,000 per person! Do you have any idea what kind of health insurance you could buy on the open market with even half that amount? And what if Obama is wrong and, say, 12 million sign up? Would that increase the cost to 1.8 trillion? And people STILL think this is a good idea?

Yet, Joe Wilson is called a racist. The old stand by. In today's political environment, if you disagree with the President then, by default, you are a racist. And this is the President who was supposed to transcend race.

I agree with Wilson. Obama was lying. He still is lying. At the very least, he's not telling the whole truth which is in my book a lie. He WILL cut medicare. He WILL force people into his government option. He WILL increase the deficit. He WILL ration care. It's simple math.

But Wilson's comment did manage to cement my lack of faith in the gutless GOP, whose leaders were quick to distance themselves from Wilson after the speech. They tssk-tssked the man. Shame on him. Only to find out that Wilson said out loud what many Americans were saying at home as Obama spoke. Grassroots Americans rallied around Wilson for speaking for the people. Suddenly the spineless GOP did an about face. Now they're "standing behind him". Spineless. Gutless. And they wonder how they lost control in Washington.

I'm still waiting for the grassroots candidates to emerge. Somewhere there are a group of people who will split from the two-party system and form a true party of the people. When they do, history will be made, and a third party will emerge as a political power. I think the time has come for the Democrats and the Republicans to go the way of the Whigs.