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What did obama say about the Health care debate/CSPAN

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama called for completely transparent health care deliberations and even promised to hold all negotiations on C-SPAN. Now, as the health care debate reaches its final stages, the nonprofit cable company is asking Washington leaders to follow through on that promise.

C-SPAN CEO Brian Lamb sent a letter to congressional leaders last week, asking that they "open all important negotiations, including any conference committee meetings, to electronic media coverage."

"Many of your rank-and-file members, and the nation's editorial pages have all talked about the value of transparent discussions on reforming the nation's health care system," , Lamb said in the letter, which was sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). "Now that the process moves to the critical stage of reconciliation between the Chambers, we respectfully request that you allow the public full access, through television, to legislation that will affect the lives of every single American."

As Lamb notes, "literall hundreds of hours" of committee hearings, debate and meetings have been broadcast on C-SPAN through the health care debate, allowing journalists, bloggers, watchdog groups and citizens to follow the process. Other significant parts of the health care debate, however, have remained behind closed doors, such as Mr. Obama's negotiations with the pharmaceutical industry which resulted in a deal committing the industry to a specific contribution to reform.

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/01/05/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry6058295.shtml
 

MoGal

Well-known member
don't you find it odd also, that no one is mentioning the microchipping on this health care bill - nothing is transparent to the American people. Keep telling a lie long enough until people finally perceive it to be the truth, that's our government motto (Hitler also said it).
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It consisted of 2,074 pages, and weighed 20.5 pounds. The bill contains the word "tax" 511 times and includes 18 tax hikes. The oppressive bill uses the word "require" more than 1,000 times and the word "shall" more than 3,500 times. It also talks about "required studies" 150 times. (16)

Also, buried deep within the pages in a "non-discussed" section of this infernal Health Care Bill, in subtitle C-11, section 2521, is the provision regarding implantable radio frequency identification devices. Unfortunately, the Health Care Bill passed in the Senate by a vote of 60-39. (17) The House and Senate versions are now being fine tuned for final approval and the signature of Barack Obama. Here let it be noted that one of the major points of contention in the final debating is the provision for total abortion coverage. Some senators made speeches opposing such free and open abortion coverage, but Senator Barbara Boxer made a combative speech in which she compared depriving women of abortion to restricting men's access to Viagra. (18)

There is no doubt that Obama will sign this communistic Health Care Bill because Obama is clearly a Communist. He is black and white and red all over. When Barack Obama visited Red China recently, the event was commemorated by Red Chinese people wearing T-shirts with a picture of Obama wearing the uniform of the Red Army with the words "Oba-Mao" underneath. The inference was that Obama and the late Chairman Mao were one. The Red Chinese Government banned the shirts eventually because they said they did not like Obama wearing their uniform. (19)

16. The Washington Times, Nov. 21, 2009, by Stephan Dinan, Washington, D.C.
17. Associated Press, Nov. 21, 2009, by David Espo, Washington, D.C.
18. The Mercury News, Dec. 8, 2009, by Mike Zapler, Washington, D.C.
19. Associated Press, Nov. 14, 2009, Beijing, China.
 

Steve

Well-known member
WASHINGTON, D.C. (YBH.ME) – During the 2008 Presidential campaign, then candidate, now President, Barack Obama promised 8 times to televise health care negotiations on C-Span.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) engaged in a testy exchange with reporters Tuesday — and even took a shot at President Barack Obama — as she defended the closed-door health care negotiations.

When asked about a letter from C-SPAN CEO Brian Lamb urging congressional leaders to open up the negotiations — a move that would make good on Obama's campaign promise — Pelosi shot back: "There are a number of things he was for on the campaign trail."

so either the swipe is at Obama's ability to lead,... his backtracking on promises.. or both..

a sad day for transparency in government ...
 

Tam

Well-known member
I asked What did Pelosi and Reid promise

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxUud3yOsSk

Looks like Pelosi could careless about what Obama Promised!!!! :wink:
 

Steve

Well-known member
Tam said:
I asked What did Pelosi and Reid promise

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxUud3yOsSk

Looks like Pelosi could careless about what Obama Promised!!!! :wink:

DEMOCRATIC PROMISE #85: Allow Open, Full & Fair Debate
Promise: “Bills should generally come to the floor under a procedure that allows open, full, and fair debate consisting of a full amendment process that grants the Minority the right to offer its alternatives, including a substitute.” – Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) “A New Direction For America,” Page 24

DEMOCRATIC PROMISE #92: Allow Committees to Work Their Will
Promise: “Bills should be developed following full hearings and open subcommittee markups, with appropriate referrals to other committees.” – Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) “A New Direction For America,” Page 24

DEMOCRATIC PROMISE #93: Allow 24 Hours to Review Bills
Promise: “Members should have at least 24 hours to examine bill and conference report text prior to floor consideration.” – Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) “A New Direction For America,” Page 24

DEMOCRATIC PROMISE #95: Allow Committees to Provide Full Input
Promise: “Pelosi and Hoyer pledged they will allow committees to do their work and be more open about allowing Republicans to offer amendments on the floor.” – “Pelosi Leads Dems to Early Victories,” San Francisco Chronicle, January 19, 2007
http://republicanleader.house.gov/brokenpromises/p_openhouse.html

well there are hundreds more.. but the fact is things have changed,, and it ain't what we hoped for....
 

MoGal

Well-known member
Well, according to an email I rec'd from humaneventsonline and this letter is by Newt Gingrich...... several states sold out........

Harry Reid's Corrupt Christmas Present


By Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich

The Democratic leaders of the House and the Senate reportedly are planning on finalizing their differing health care "reform" bills in secret.

That's right. They're kicking out the C-SPAN cameras and planning on huddling behind closed doors with a few Obama Administration power brokers to transform the American health care system.

Not that anyone should be surprised by this, of course. "Secret" and "corrupt" are the two words that best describe the process by which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid produced his trillion-dollar government takeover of our health care system.
A First Look At Harry Reid's Corrupt Christmas Present
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The American people didn't have much of a chance to get a good look at Senator Reid's corrupt Christmas present before it was passed. The legislation would dramatically expand the power and scope of the federal government – and fail to fix any of the problems we face.

That continues the course of action that Democrats have taken this entire year on health reform. Every bill that has been introduced, from the House Tri-Committee bill this summer to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee to Harry Reid's latest bill, the recipe is the same: More regulation, higher taxes, bigger government, less control for you.

Here are just a few of the Reid bill's details:

* 2,409 pages (by comparison, the legislation that created Social Security was just 82 pages long)

* $518 billion in tax increases (Joint Committee on Taxation and the Congressional Budget Office)

* $466 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid (CBO)

* Many costs of the legislation won't begin until 2014, but taxes will be imposed immediately (CBO)

* Federal outlays for health care would increase by about $200 billion between 2010-2019 (CBO)

* $26 billion of unfunded mandates to states over the next 10 years that will likely result in higher taxes (CBO)

* Would increase non-group premiums by $300 per individual and $2,100 per family (CBO)

* Up to 10 million people will lose their current health insurance coverage under the bill (CBO)

* Adds a 10% tax on indoor tanning services (Section 10907)

No Christmas Miracle, Just a Lot of Washington Payoffs
As I mentioned before, Harry Reid didn't need a Christmas miracle to pass this massive bill. Instead he used an approach more appropriate for The Sopranos than for the nation's capital: payoffs. There may not have been any smoke-filled rooms, but there were plenty of shady deals.

The most egregious were those for Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska. He was the final holdout. Without his support, the bill would have been stopped. But Ben buckled under the pressure.

He was particularly pliable on his demands that no federal funding go to cover abortions. Instead he accepted a watered down compromise that allows individual states to prohibit plans that cover abortion services—a compromise that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and numerous pro-life groups denounced as paving the way for federally funded abortions.
The Nebraska Exemption to Higher Medicaid Costs
But when Harry Reid needed his vote, Sen. Nelson took the money and ran -- $100 million to be exact. Nebraska will be the only state in the country where the full costs of Medicaid expansion will be covered by the federal government. Specialty hospitals in Nebraska will be exempted from new regulations. The state's largest insurers will be shielded from new regulations. Here are the details of the Nebraska Exemption:

* Federal government fully finances Medicaid expansion for two years and then increases its matching funds (known as FMAP) thereafter to 100% -- in perpetuity (Section 10201), totaling about $100 million

* Reid bill specifically identifies Nebraska for higher federal matching funds, fully funding its expansion for an additional year

* Carve outs for physician-owned hospitals in Nebraska

* Physician self-referral exemptions within Nebraska

* Nelson's abortion compromise: a state may elect to prohibit abortion coverage in qualified health plans offered through an exchange if the state enacts a law to prohibit it

* Shields two Nebraska insurers from taxes that other plans will pay: Mutual of Omaha and Blue Cross/Blue Shield (language crafted so it only affects these two in Nebraska)

The Roll Call of Shame:
Senator Nelson Wasn't the Only Senator Bought Off
But Sen. Nelson wasn't the only senator to be bought off by Majority Leader Reid. More than a dozen other states received special goodies, including:

* Louisiana
$300 million in additional Medicaid funding

* Vermont
2.2% FMAP increase for 6 years for Vermont Medicaid program
$600 million in additional Medicaid funding (CBO)

* Massachusetts
0.5% FMAP increase for 3 years for their entire program
$500 million in additional Medicaid funding (CBO)

* Hawaii
Restores DSH funding eliminated in the past to expand Medicaid eligibility

* Michigan
Adjusts payments to hospitals according to local wage levels, which when adjusted aids Michigan Exemption for non-profit insurers in the state from large excise tax

* Connecticut
$100 million earmark for construction of a University of Connecticut hospital

* Montana
Medicare coverage for individuals exposed to environmental health hazards in or around the geographic area of Libby, Mont., subject to an emergency declaration as of 6/17/09

* South Dakota , North Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana
Adds 1% hospital wage index
Adds 1% practice index for physicians to cover geographic cost differences

A Massive Bill, Compiled in Secret and Negotiated Through Corruption, Will Now Be Finalized in Secret
And so it has come to this: A massive bill, compiled in secret, negotiated through corruption, and passed by a party-line vote, will now be finalized in secret.

Americans deserved better for Christmas.

Reports are that House and Senate Democrats will go around the normal legislative process of a formal, transparent conference to iron out their differences. (This chart written by Democratic staffers provides a good summary of both bills, though it also includes a lot of spin.) But rather than a representative group of lawmakers from each chamber negotiating in good faith in the open, House Speaker Pelosi, Senate Leader Reid, and White House officials are planning to do the work themselves, locking out the vast majority of lawmakers—from both parties.

If these secret proceedings are not stopped, the American people, through our representatives in Congress, will be presented with a done deal. If 2009 is any guide, the final vote will then be called before many members of Congress or the public has a chance to read, understand, and debate the details of the final bill. And in the end, the American people will be left to speculate as to the corrupt bargains that were required to see this monstrosity through to final passage.
Turn on the C-SPAN cameras
But this does not have to be the outcome. Americans do not want our lawmaking to be done in secret. In 2008, then-candidate Obama condemned "negotiating behind closed doors" and instead called for "bringing all parties together, and broadcasting those negotiations on C-SPAN so that the American people can see what the choices are, because part of what we have to do is enlist the American people in this process."

In this spirit of candidate Obama, C-SPAN Chairman Brian Lamb asked congressional leaders this week to let the American people have a seat at the table where decisions affecting every single American will be made and to allow C-SPAN to cover the health care negotiations among Senate, House, and White House representatives.

President Obama was right in 2008 as a candidate. Brian Lamb is right today. These health care negotiations should be held in the open and C-SPAN should be allowed to provide coverage so that all Americans can see how health legislation will affect their lives.

Open, honest government should be an American birthright. Joining Brian Lamb in requesting our elected leaders to live up to a minimum standard of openness and honesty is one New Year's resolution that every American can agree on.
 

Twister Frost

Well-known member
Steve said:
WASHINGTON, D.C. (YBH.ME) – During the 2008 Presidential campaign, then candidate, now President, Barack Obama promised 8 times to televise health care negotiations on C-Span.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) engaged in a testy exchange with reporters Tuesday — and even took a shot at President Barack Obama — as she defended the closed-door health care negotiations.

When asked about a letter from C-SPAN CEO Brian Lamb urging congressional leaders to open up the negotiations — a move that would make good on Obama's campaign promise — Pelosi shot back: "There are a number of things he was for on the campaign trail."

so either the swipe is at Obama's ability to lead,... his backtracking on promises.. or both..

a sad day for transparency in government ...

Must be the English teacher in me that I pay close attention to word play. I noticed that one of Pelosi's pressmen said that her comment was a quip! Well, a quip is a witty remark (usually made in haste/impromptu/spur of the moment) or an unimportant, trivial difference. Considering the dire nature of the topic, I highly doubt it would be funny or joking. Although witty can also be clever, an adjective that does not fit Pelosi (unless we are talking about the ability to slither and get lower than a snake’s belly). Other than that, quip means to take a dig or crack at or answer angrily. I bet either you are right Steve, or she replied in anger on the spur of the moment!! If that is the best word her handlers could come up with, I suggest she start using a teleprompter to keep her from misspeaking and being misinterpreted!
Jingo is another interesting word----
 
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