Martha's Blog

Just Start Over

Americans have sent a very clear message on health care.  We’ve all seen what the Democrats are selling, and we’re just not interested in buying.  Still, despite Scott Brown’s overwhelming victory in Massachusetts and poll numbers indicating that a majority of Americans oppose the health care legislation in its current form, President Obama and the Democratic leadership in Congress continue to ram this legislation through. 

Yesterday’s “Health Care Summit” proves that President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Leader Reid are not interested in hearing or truly considering conservative, free-market approaches to reforming health care.  More than ever, it is abundantly clear that this health care reform legislation is not really about reforming health care in America—it is about increasing the size and scope of the federal government, increasing the amount of control the government has in our daily lives, and increasing our dependence on the government for our basic needs.  In fact, while the leadership trumpeted their “bipartisanship,” they were still conducting Democrats-only negotiations behind closed doors.  This is exactly why people are fed up with Washington.

The Obama Administration sold the Health Care Summit as a chance for both sides to have their voices heard, but at one point, Senator Mitch McConnell correctly noted that the Democrats in the room had been given nearly twice the amount of time to speak that the Republicans had.  Why are our conservative ideas and opinions not allowed to be represented at this meeting?

There are many major problems with President Obama’s proposal. The biggest of which are the criminal and financial penalties for individuals and families who either choose not to or cannot afford to purchase health insurance.  Simply put, I believe that this provision is unconstitutional, as well as an unprecedented use of power.  Never before has the federal government mandated to the millions of hard-working families that they must purchase a product or service from private industry. 

During Thursday’s meeting, Congressman Eric Cantor (R-VA) brought up the issue of cost.  “We just can’t afford this,” he told the room.  While President Obama acknowledged that the cost issue is legitimate, he again swept it under the rug and tried to pull focus back to all the different “reforms” that the plan would implement.  I understand that the President wants everyone to focus on all the things that his plan would do, but it is irresponsible government not to consider how much a proposal will cost. 

A majority of Americans believe that some version of health care reform is necessary, but bankrupting the federal government (and the taxpayers who fund it) is just not the answer.  Our representatives in Congress must be honest and realistic about how much their reforms will cost. 

Just like families across the country who look at their budgets, our government must weigh the costs and benefits of any reform plan.  If it costs too much and we can’t afford it, then we must look for other options.  As a nation, we cannot afford to borrow or spend any more money.  Let’s scrap the bill and start over.