Thursday, February 25, 2010

Political Grandstanding

I really have paid little attention to the hype leading up to the President's health care "summit" today. We've all come to expect that anything the left offers as a "bi-partisan" effort is nothing more than an opportunity to get face time in front of the camera.

Listening to the President give his opening remarks sounded like just another campaign speech, only there were many ummm's and uhhh's, giving the impression that he'd left his teleprompter behind this time.
The Washington Post reported this morning that Democrats expect "Thursday's session will amount to little more than political theater" and that plans have already been made to focus instead on "intra-party negotiations" to advance the President's agenda.

Of course they have.

The president has touted this circus as an opportunity for Republicans to be heard, but make no mistake about it, they don't intend to listen. Rude whispering and gestures are happening each time a Republican speaks, less time is being given to those on the right "because I thought since I'm the President I wouldn't count my time". Only, he's taken up a huge amount of time listening to himself talk...while we all wait for some actual ideas to emerge from the mouths of the Democrats. For all the accusations the left has made that Republicans have brought nothing to the table, the ideas I've heard this morning that made any sense have come primarily from the right side of the aisle. From the left, it's more of the same, with members like Senator Reid spouting facts that he's apparently pulled out of thin air, while
accusing Senator Alexander of "making up facts". When Sen. McCain suggested that the back room deals need to stop, the President interrupted him, clearly angered by the comment.

The President likes to say that perhaps he hasn't given enough speeches to adequately explain the health care legislation to the American people. He needs to 'dumb it down' for us.

I submit that perhaps the American people need to 'dumb it down' for the President and those on the left who have chosen to act like they haven't heard the millions of us who have spoken. The elections in VA, NJ, and MASS apparently aren't enough to convince them that we're serious. Perhaps construction paper and crayons should be used in our letters to our elected officials...wide ruled paper like we used in kindergarten might be useful. Write big and draw pictures.

All joking aside, what is it going to take?

More of the same.

The tea parties last summer were quite effective. Town hall meetings, which many members of Congress and the Senate now seem scared of holding, were incredibly useful in letting our representatives know how we felt.
Make your voice heard, through calls and letters to your representatives. Show up at Tea Parties in your area, educate yourself on accurate facts and then respectfully educate others. Most importantly, VOTE. If you already do, focus on helping with voter registration in your area. That seems to be a language they eventually understand, because they have to.

Harry Reid's wife would do well to begin preparing herself. After all, her husband will soon join the ranks of
unemployed abusive husbands. God help her.

Meanwhile, you can catch the second half of
riveting dialogue about the health care legislation on the GOP website, or tune in to cable news outlets when it resumes around 2:00 pm EST.

**Fact check today's summit here.

**this post can also be viewed at Smart Girl Nation.

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