Last night, President Obama showed the nation that his plan to reform health care is already on life support. The theme of his speech can be summed in that the details, as the President said, still need to be "ironed out." Tonight at 8:30 pm ET, FRC Action will have its ironing boards out as our live webcast of "A National Townhall on Health Care Reform" examines the moral, ethical, and financial dangers of President Obama's health care plan. Join our stellar lineup of Congressional leaders and policy experts as they dissect the dangers inherent in the President's proposed plan, and we'll answer your questions on the President's plan and some alternative approaches.
Guests include:
Tony Perkins, President, FRC Action
Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.)
House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio)
Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.)
Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.)
Ken Blackwell, former Ohio Secretary of State
Doug Johnson, National Right to Life Committee
Bishop Harry Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Wesley J. Smith, renowned ethicist
Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel
Mark Kellen, M.D., President, Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
Kathryn Serkes, Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
Dr. David Prentice, FRC Senior Fellow for Life Sciences, FRC
David Christensen, Senior Director for Congressional Affairs, FRC
Tom McClusky, Senior Vice President, FRC Action
Go to www.frcaction.org/webcast to register to watch tonight's event and send us your questions by email for consideration by tonight's guests.
Liar Liar
While the outburst last night calling the President a liar was unfortunate and inappropriate I am sympathetic to the frustration on the part of many in Congress. The President's speech to a joint session of Congress was unprecedented in how many times the President referred to those who disagree with him as being untruthful, yet he himself was misleading on a number of factors. The speech was not one of a leader looking to unite, but of a campaigner looking to further divide this necessary debate on health care. The President threatened those who oppose him that "[i]f you misrepresent what's in the plan, we will call you out."
So in that vein, let us look at the President's speech with the same microscope he would apply to those he perceives as "partisan bickerers." On the issue of abortion, even the New York Times called the president on his assertion that "under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions, and federal conscience laws will remain in place." The liberal media mainstay joins FactCheck.org, reporters and columnists at the Associated Press, Time Magazine, and The Washington Post, politicians from both parties and the Rev. Jim Wallis in agreeing that the current health care plans includes abortion coverage with federal dollars.
The Times also called "falsehood" on the President's assertions that you would be able to keep your doctor and that Medicare would not be affected. In addition, President Obama made the unprecedented and un-presidential move of calling former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin a liar for insisting that the President's health care bill would lead to bureaucrats rationing care.
The President needs to reread his bill, H.R. 3200, Section 1401 which establishes the Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research. This Center is set up to decide based on effectiveness and cost. One thing is clear from the President's speech last night- he has now claimed full ownership of the Democratic bills under consideration in Congress right now. What he still needs to learn is that with ownership comes responsibility.
