To quote Michelle Malkin paraphrasing Ronald Reagan, "Distrust & Verify."
When taking a good hard look at H.R. 3200, the Obamacare Bill, you should keep this in foremost in your mind.
Don't trust "the Authorities," and never take anything for granted.
The straight & simple on this ginormous House Bill is that nothing about it is straight & simple.
The Bill is full of exceptions, if's, and's or buts, and reads like the Ultimate Poison Pill for the Private Health Insurance Industry.
As it stands, there's nothing final about this Bill, because as the professional activists in attendance were quick to note, "it can be fixed in Conference," referring to the yet to be finalized five-fold Senate Bill.
This, supposedly, is meant to mollify and reassure us that somehow, if we don't like some part of what 'They' are crafting, that 'They' will listen and "fix" it before inflicting it upon the Citizenry.
Immediately following this statement, the activist in question echoed Pres. Obama with a pithy comment of "... those who created the mess should get out of the way, so we can clean up the mess."
If I remember correctly, the Party (and ideological mindset) that's foisting this Crock 'o Bill on the American People is the same Party that brought us Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid ... and, through the Community Reinvestment Act, the lovely "sub-prime mortgage debacle" we're now weathering. It's also the same Party that opposed integration so strongly, but has tried to claim the opposite ever since.
From the point of view of a guy who's spent most of his life avoiding all but the most minimal contact with the Gov't, the entire tack of the Ruling Party seems like it's aimed right between my eyes.
And be assured, their 'gun' is loaded for bear.
The morning began for me with the too early alarm, and moved to driving to the forum as the sun peeked over the crest of the Sierra Madre. For my still weary eyes, it was truly the dawning of a good day.
Upon arriving and locating the Media Center at Clovis East High School, I was welcomed as a member of the press, a nice way for a self described "rank amateur blogger" to be treated. Rep. Nunes's staff folks were kind enough to let me share a few moments of his time with another attending Conservative.
As the starting time for the forum approached, the Congressman explained that this meeting had originally been intended as simply an "informational gathering for Health professionals." But the swirling controversy surrounding the increasingly unpopular bill, H.R. 3200, made clear the need for a more public forum. Seeing Rep. Costa's forum abruptly canceled, Rep. Nunes sought to expand the scope of today's forum.
Initially inclined toward avoiding a possibly contentious situation, the Clovis School folks acceded to the Congressman's request and graciously provided the auditorium at the Media Center, which proved an excellent fit for the forum. I, for one, send them my thanks.
The auditorium filled rapidly when the doors were opened, with a calm mix of Health professionals and concerned Citizens. Several professional activists were present, as were a good number of Union members.
The Union line was definitely blurred in this crowd, with rank & file members unconvinced as to the sensibility of committing to Health Reform that might well turn out to restrict their fellow citizens choices and accelerate the rising costs of Health Care.
When the Congressman began his presentation, the frustration of the gathered Citizens soon became evident. Opinion, as expressed both in questions and comments, was divided. As expected, the Conservative viewpoint far outweighed the Progressives, with the sharpest divide apparent in the Health Care profession. The "on-the-floor" professionals and rural Health Care professionals were far more supportive of the Conservative views espoused by the Congressman and his assistants. In contrast, the Administrative professionals for the larger, urban facilities tended toward comments that were more in line with Democrat viewpoints.
There were, however, some surprises. An administrator with Madera Community, who also ranches horses, cautioned of a Governmental "herd mentality" toward health care that the present House Bill clearly espoused. Her concern was clear, and clearly understandable to anyone conversant in animal husbandry. In her own words, as a rancher, she had to make decisions about the herd that judged some as "... culls, to be sent to slaughter." At this, a visible shiver ran through the assembled crowd, followed by uneasy applause.
In my turn, I voiced concern at whether my personal choice to live a responsible and healthy life, and my personal spiritual objections to the overuse of modern style health care would cause the Government to force me to buy health insurance, or face a fine or fee.
The answer; maybe.
H.R. 3200 would leave what is now my choice in the hands of a bureaucrat 3,000 miles away.
More to come tomorrow, but here are some of slides from the Congressman's presentation, in order of appearance:
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