Healthcare Summit

This morning, I decided to start off my day right!  Naturally, I popped on the news and tuned in for the week’s best dose of political theater – the “bipartisan” healthcare summit.

As curious about the event as I am passionate about healthcare, I listened intently as our country’s least popular politicians grandstanded to their hearts’ content.

Before long, however (slightly over an hour), I gave in to the urge I felt after little more than a minute in, and turned off the tv.  There’s only so much spin a guy can endure.  Let me take a moment to offer my perspective on this hour.

The show started off with the president striding into the meeting room at Blair House and going around the perimeter of the squared set of tables, each complete with microphones.  He looked each person eye, shook their hand, shot off a cheeky grin, and provided two prompt pats on the back.

He then sat down and delivered a very well rehearsed opening statement – and I don’t mean that condescendingly, it was clear his team had worked meticulously on calculating just the right type of body language and, in my opinion, it came out well. 

Senator Alexander then gave an adequate opening statement on behalf of the Republicans.  The kicker, however, came at the end of his talk.  After stating the desire of the Republicans to work toward a bipartisan healthcare reform bill, he began citing Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and a younger Senator Obama in their principled opposition to the Republican use of Budget Reconciliation to pass Bush’s Presidential nominees through the Senate process.  One Senator Reid had even said, only a few years ago, that a ‘majoritarian system of governance in the Senate would mean the end of the United States Senate as an institution’ (please note that this is not the exact quote, but rather my best attempt at recalling it).  Alexander then asked that it be immediately agreed upon that the use of budget reconciliation would not be used to force through healthcare.

After Pelosi and Reid concluded their statements, which could generously be called objectionable, Obama offered a response.  After several minutes, however, he had succeeded in saying nothing at all.  I didn’t even know it was possible to speak for so long and have it mean nothing!  The absence of an answer was all the answer the American people needed to hear.  It was made abundantly clear that if Obama, Pelosi, and Reid don’t get everything they want, they will ignore the will of the American people, as illustrated through grassroots protests, elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, as well as now ubiquitous polls.

Interestingly, any point after which Democrats concluded objectionable remarks, to which Republicans seemed eager to respond, Obama used his power as emcee to control the floor and filibuster a Republican rebuttal.  Only after enough time had passed for anyone to recall the points of contention, he would hand over the mic.

From the hour that I observed, the Republicans should have spoken up (doing so respectfully of course), and not merely rolled over when Obama persistently cut them off.

Overall, I got the impression that while Republicans should be criticized for their own political theater, the Democratic leadership took it to a whole new level.  The show Obama, Pelosi, and Reid put on had more choreography than Broadway musical and more weaving [to say nothing of the dodging] than a sweater.  Only a few minutes in, it was abundantly clear that the organizers of this summit had only one thing on their minds: ramming this bill through, regardless of the consequences or the will of the American people.

No wonder only 10 percent of Americans think Congress is doing a good job.  We need better in Washington and it’s not going to come unless we make it happen ourselves.  Onward to November!

Paid for by Will Gregory for Congress
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