During the one-sided health care “debate” Nancy Pelosi found an interesting source for funding the program- cuts in Medicare.
(CNSNews.com) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said today that Congress will pay for half of the $1 trillion health care reform bill that President Obama wants enacted by “squeezing” Medicare and Medicaid to wring out what she called “waste, fraud, abuse, redundancy, obsolescence and whatever it is.”
Pelosi was asked at her weekly press briefing if she agreed with President Obama that much of the health care reform plan can be paid for by cutting Medicare and Medicaid.
“Half the bill will be paid for by squeezing excesses out of the [Medicare and Medicaid] system, and there is $500 billion dollars to do that and we’re looking for more,” Pelosi said. “That can be achieved–waste, fraud, abuse, redundancy, obsolescence, whatever it is. Squeeze it out of the system; and that means out of the providers and the rest as well.”
Of course, Pelosi had two full years to find and eliminate that waste without any interference from Republicans.
Fail.
Fast forward to April, 2011. About those cuts? That waste? That fraud? That redundancy? That obsolescence?
(CNSNews.com) – House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) sent a message to House Republicans about their proposed 2012 budget that would reform entitlement spending, stating on Friday: “Hands off our Medicare.”
At a press conference with Democratic leaders outside the U.S. Capitol building, Pelosi said, “This budget, we’ve always said we will judge every initiative that comes before us as to whether it creates jobs, as it reduces the deficit, strengthens the middle class and continues the economic growth of our economy. This budget does none of the above as it ends Medicare. Hands off our Medicare! Hands off our Medicare!”
How about June?
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Sunday described negotiations to raise the debt limit as “civil and constructive,” but reiterated that any Republican proposal that cuts Medicare benefits for seniors is a “nonstarter.”
“There is a bipartisan discussion going on that is civil and constructive, and that they’ve come to some areas where they can possibly reach agreement. But nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to,” the California Democrat said.
“But I welcome this line of questioning because this is a place where we’re looking how we go forward with a sound fiscal policy to reduce the deficit,” she added, “and I could never support any arrangement that reduce benefits for Medicare.”
Democrat cuts to Medicare= Good
Republican cuts to Medicare= Bad
On July 5, Obama sought his inner Gandhi:
“I believe that right now we’ve got a unique opportunity to do something big, to tackle our deficit in a way that forces our government to live within its means, that puts our economy on a stronger footing for the future and still allows us to invest in that future,” Obama said.
So what happened to his first budget this year? Was it something big? Was it something to tackle our deficit? Was it something that would put us on stronger footing for the future? Or was it something blasted 97-0 by the Senate? So when did Obama have this epiphany? I’d say it was April 4, 2011.
Obama had this wisdom to offer:
“It’s my hope that everybody’s going to leave their ultimatums at the door, that we’ll all leave our political rhetoric at the door, and that we’re going to do what’s best for our economy and do what’s best for our people.”
Leave the political rhetoric at the door? You mean like this?
During a news conference at the White House, Obama expressed impatience with lawmakers, saying that they’re not working as hard as he does — or even as hard as his young daughters do to get their homework done.
“They don’t wait until the night before. They’re not pulling all-nighters,” Obama said at his first full-fledged question-and-answer session since March. “Congress can do the same thing. … If you know you’re going to do something, just do it.”
And more of that “leaving the political rhetoric at the door” thing:
“If everyone else is willing to take on their sacred cows and do tough things in order to achieve the goal of real deficit reduction, I think it will be hard for Republicans to stand there and say a tax break for corporate jets is sufficiently important that we’re not willing to come to the table and get a deal done,” Obama said.
It was so partisan, so crass that Mark Halperin called Obama a “dick.”
Evan Thomas had his own religious experience. Thomas’ epiphany saw him convert from referring to Obama as “sort of a god” to a “God D*mn democrat.”
For the first time in a very long time, Thomas got it right.
“Yeah, because it’s happened before – Obama has got to be President of the United States,” Thomas said. “He has to be two things. He has to make a public case of how bad is this, because he is not doing that. He’s not being honest about just how bad this is going to be — no, he was partisan. He was God [bleep] Democrat! He was just, you know – being a party guy. I applaud the energy but it wasn’t getting me anywhere. He has got to rise above that and then in private, in private – he’s got to make a deal.”
Obama said one thing well:
“A lot of people say a lot of things to satisfy their base or to get on cable news,” Obama said. “Hopefully, leaders at a certain point rise to the occasion and do the right thing for the American people. That’s what I expect to happen this time. Call me naive, but my expectation is leaders are going to lead.”
They are going to lead. They are not going to whine. They are not going to be bloody hypocrites. They are not going to play golf and then claim to do nothing but work. They are not going to campaign for re-election and claim not to leave town.
democrats are so full of crap.
UPDATE: Let’s revisit this for a second:
“It’s my hope that everybody’s going to leave their ultimatums at the door, that we’ll all leave our political rhetoric at the door…”
And no sooner had the internet ink on that dried, when
President Barack Obama says the debt ceiling should not “be used as a gun against the heads” of Americans to retain breaks for corporate jet owners or oil and gas companies.
“Gun against the head”
You just can’t make this stuff up. Which is more of why you’re an idiot to believe anything Obama says.
DrJohn has been a health care professional for more than 30 years. In addition to clinical practice he has done extensive research and has published widely with over 70 original articles and abstracts in the peer-reviewed literature. DrJohn is well known in his field and has lectured on every continent except for Antarctica. He has been married to the same wonderful lady for over 30 years and has three kids- two sons, both of whom are attorneys and one daughter on her way into the field of education.
DrJohn was brought up with the concept that one can do well if one is prepared to work hard but nothing in life is guaranteed.
Except for liberals being foolish.
