The Majority Address:  A Response to President Obama’s Joint Congressional and National Address

 

 

Ordinarily the minority political party delivers a minority response after the president speaks.  This evening that is not necessary, nor is it possible.  It is not necessary to wait to hear the president’s words because we already know what he will say.  More importantly it is not possible to speak in opposition to the president on healthcare as the minority response because an overwhelming majority of Americans fundamentally oppose the president’s plans.  Americans are not willing to surrender 1/5^th of our economy and control of our medical care to politicians with no healthcare experience.  When it comes to decisions of life and death, moral life decisions should not be influenced or dictated by government. 

 

Although healthcare costs grow more expensive, we cannot rashly adopt an untested overhaul of our entire healthcare system.  Reform must be measured, tested, and led by experienced individuals with proven success.  America cannot adopt an untested system at the risk of national failure. 

 

When the president speaks to congress tonight, it is important to remember three key things:

1. President Obama has no plan for health insurance.
2. President Obama and his congress have no experience with healthcare, and he has no credibility on healthcare reform. 
3. President Obama and his congress have been extremely successful passing stimulus bailouts that are colossal failures. 

 

These are key.  When the president speaks, remember the president has no plan of his own, this president has no experience with healthcare reform, and this president and congress’s stimulus bailouts are colossal failures by their measures. 

 

Tonight the president will address both chambers of congress and the nation about his plan to provide universal health insurance for anyone in America.  He will talk about a “public plan”.  It is a government plan for the general public, not a public plan.  President Obama and his congress will be exempt from any government plan they pass.  They will remain free to choose any health insurance.  Remember President Obama has no plan of his own for universal coverage.  He has a wonderful vision of sunshine, rainbows and lollipops:  improved medical care that is cheaper for everyone.  But President Obama has no plan.  Mr. Obama has not produced a detailed document outlining specifics of his plan.  Mr. Obama has never introduced a health insurance bill to congress.  In fact, Mr. Obama has never even drafted or suggested a single amendment to any health bill as president or when he was a senator. 

 

Mr. Obama, let us read your health insurance plan.  Mr. Obama, publish and release into the public record your complete health reform legislation proposal. 

 

President Obama has a wonderful dream where everything can be made better and it will not cost anything.  A seven year old child has that same dream.  And just like the seven year old, President Obama has no plan either.  Mr. Obama will sign the legislation Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid send him.  Even a seven year old child would not do that to us. 

 

President Obama has no plan of his own. 

 

 

Tonight when the president speaks, remember President Obama and his congress have no experience with healthcare, and he has no credibility on healthcare reform. 

 

President Obama is a young, incredibly fit man.  He is blessed with exceptional health.  President Obama never had to deal with the healthcare industry because he is healthy.  He was an attorney while he organized communities.  President Obama never worked in the healthcare field.  He has little experience with the good and bad of our system.  President Obama has no experience with the healthcare industry. 

 

The medical field represents 1/5^th of our economy.  Now Mr. Obama asks us to support his vision to reform 20% of our entire economy.  Mr. Obama promised us our government could provide health insurance without increasing government spending.  How?  And why should we believe him?  The Congressional Budget Office said it is not possible.  What does Mr. Obama, a man with no experience with the healthcare industry, know that we do not know? 

 

Mr. Obama has no experience reforming healthcare, not as a senator, nor as an attorney.  President Obama claims the government can insure all uninsured without spending more money.  The president said he would eliminate billions and billions of dollars of fraud and wasteful Medicare and Medicaid spending. 

 

Mr. Obama, three months ago you said you could save hundreds of billions in fraud and wasteful spending.  Mr. Obama, to date how many tens of billions of dollars have you saved?  How much fraud have you eliminated?  How much wasteful spending have you cut?  As president you have the executive authority to do so. 

 

Mr. Obama has no experience reforming the medical field.  After months in office Mr. Obama has not eliminated any fraud in our government healthcare spending.  Mr. Obama has not cut any wasteful government healthcare spending.  President Obama claimed he would reduce fraud, but he has done nothing. 

 

President Obama has no credibility on healthcare reform. 

 

 

Finally, tonight when the president speaks, remember President Obama and his congress successfully passed bailout “stimulus” plans, but those plans are colossal failures.  Mr. Obama and his congress spent $787 billion to “stimulate” our economy.  Mr. Obama promised pass their bill and unemployment would not exceed 8.5%.  Unemployment rapidly skyrocketed past 9%.  Mr. Obama promised pass their bill and 3 to 4 million jobs would be created.  That many jobs have been lost since they passed their plan, and over 500,000 more Americans continue to lose their jobs every month.  We cannot risk our health on their record. 

 

Yesterday President Obama addressed schoolchildren learning to read.  Tonight Mr. Obama addresses a joint session of congress that refuses to read the bills they pass.  Mr. Obama offered “hope and change” and promised new transparency and oversight.  Yet Mr. Obama’s congress voted for that $787 billion “stimulus” spending bill without having 24 hours to read the legislation over 1000 pages.  So much for transparency.  Mr. Obama succeeded in passing over one-hundred billion dollars in pork that even Joe Biden cannot find.  So much for oversight.  The money in that bill could have created 4 million jobs paying $50,000 for four years.  But the plan Mr. Obama passed spent the money and lost that many jobs in half a year.  President Obama told schoolchildren to study their textbooks.  Hopefully he and congress study proposed legislation this time.  Mr. Obama and his congress have successfully implemented their plans; their plans are colossal failures. 

 

Remember when President Obama speaks:  1.) President Obama has no specific plan for health reform; 2.) President Obama has no credibility on health reform; and 3.) President Obama and his congress’ plans are colossal failures. 

 

 

Tonight as in the past President Obama will speak in broad generalities about reforming healthcare as he explains a wonderful non-plan to reform 1/5^th of the entire economy to provide universal health insurance. 

 

Any plan to reform a system should be led by experienced people with proven success.  Before such a massive widespread plan is implemented it should be tested.  One major objective of healthcare reform is to reduce costs.  The most obvious and proven methods should already be in place.  President Obama should have begun eliminating fraud and waste.  He should follow the lead of governors who have already begun this work.  Many states have also reduced costs through tort reform and cutting frivolous and excessive lawsuits.  A tried and true way to reduce costs is by encouraging competition.  The federal government should bring competition to the health insurance industry.  Health insurance providers should be free to compete and offer health insurance in any state.  If more health insurance options are available, citizens will get a lower price and better service.  Yet one more way to reduce costs is to provide more doctors.  It has been decades since the US has seen a new medical school opened.  As our population continues to grow so should the number of doctors.  Without an increase in our capacity to produce doctors, our doctors will continue to be stretched thin.  Congress must investigate ways to encourage competition and ways for the free market to lower costs. 

 

Mr. Obama’s joint congressional address on healthcare should not initiate a non-transparent legislative rush to pass a bill without providing time for the public or congress to read and critique legislation.  Passing one massive bill lumping many reform ideas together is a colossal mistake.  The state of Massachusetts implemented a state-wide health reform plan that failed.  Americans cannot afford such an untested system at the risk of national failure.  The United States is exactly that, a union of 50 states.  Each state is an independent laboratory where civil servants experiment with their economies and regulations, including the healthcare industry.  Tonight should begin a long period of brainstorming sessions, investigative research, public congressional committee meetings, thorough debate and hard work drafting and amending many pieces of legislation.  Eventually congress should find what has worked best and gradually implement ideas that have already succeeded in our United States. 

 

America provides the world’s best medical care.  We must not trade the world’s best medical treatment for government health insurance that cannot get us any medical care. 

May God continue to bless these United States of America.

 

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