Wrong about Barack Obama

[Confess]

I Was Wrong About Barack Obama

By Doug Patton

July 20, 2009

I have a confession to make. I was wrong about our president. He has been telling us that he is a uniter, not a divider, and I doubted him. I thought he would divide this country like no one who has ever held the office. Well, I was wrong, and I want to publicly apologize.

I thought Mr. Obama's call for a cap and trade policy to combat "global warming," with its provisions for tax increases and higher energy prices, would surely drive a wedge between us, but I was wrong.

I was sure that President Obama's push for "the Employee Free Choice Act," which opponents now have dubbed "the Employee Forced Choice Act," would segregate labor against management like nothing we have seen in a generation, but I was wrong.

I could not imagine that the president's insistence on a government-controlled universal health care scheme would not divide us one from another over an issue that is so crucial to our future, but I was wrong.

I predicted that what I perceived as cowardice in our president's foreign policy would split this nation down the middle and create an intolerable divide between Americans, but I was wrong.

I was convinced that Barack Obama's extreme views on the sanctity of human life would cause a tear in the fabric of society like no other issue since the Civil War, but I was wrong.

I had little doubt that what I saw as Obama's hostility to the Second Amendment would create tremendous division over the issue, but I was wrong.

I just knew that this president's penchant for "redistributing wealth" would cause a separation between rich, middle class and poor, but again, I was wrong.

And finally, I had always believed that when this president nominated judges who shared his radical philosophy of government, those nominations would divide the country.

Was I ever wrong! About all of it.

Barack Obama, just seven months into his only term as president, is beginning to bring this country together like no one since Jimmy Carter, the most incompetent president of the 20th Century.

People frown at the idea of raising taxes and energy costs in the middle of a recession with double-digit unemployment. Far from dividing Americans, Obama has created a rallying point on an issue all of us can understand.

On big labor, our fellow citizens could hardly be more united. When properly explained (a practice Obama detests, as evidenced by the fact that he insists Congress rush through legislation without even reading it), the American people hate the idea of depriving workers of their right to secret ballots in determining whether they become part of a union.

On issues of race, foreign policy, traditional marriage, the sanctity of innocent human life, the Second Amendment, property rights and so much more, poll after poll now shows that Barack Obama is uniting the American people against his radical, anti-American agenda.

But perhaps the area where this president is doing the best job of bringing people together is on the issue of universal health care. Americans instinctively know their country is not Europe, and they have no desire to become France. They understand that somehow someone is going to have to pay for all this "free" health care Obama keeps promising. They know that Obama-Care, like Hillary-Care before it, will do less, cost more and provide fewer choices. They grasp the idea that you cannot serve more people with fewer doctors and provide better care for less money. And they know that trying to jam all this through Congress in two weeks is the last refuge of a panicked administration losing its mesmerizing grip on the people.

So, thank you, Mr. President, for bringing us together. I never believed you could do it and certainly not this soon. In less than a year and a half, you can unite us in a mid-term repudiation of your policies, and in three years and five months you can unite us all behind whomever your successor will be.

Doug Patton is a freelance columnist who has served as a speech writer and public policy advisor for conservative candidates and elected officials. Since 2001, his work has appeared in newspapers across the country and on various Internet web sites. Readers can access the entire archives of Doug's columns at GOPUSA.com, where he serves as a senior writer and state editor. His e-mail address is dougpatton@cox.net.

Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.

[creatureofthenyte]

I'm not sure how to interpret that letter. It seems that it is either laden with sarcasm, or Mr. Patton is drinkin the Kool-aid by the keg.

[Enishi]

Moves to a distant mountain with meditating hermits where politics doesn't exist. Ahhhh....

[the eternal]

I'm not sure how to interpret that letter. It seems that it is either laden with sarcasm, or Mr. Patton is drinkin the Kool-aid by the keg.

Really?

Then let me summarize.

GOP conservative flack predicts the knee-jerk doomsday scenario with Obama getting into office.

Now that some of Obama's initiatives are stalling, said flack claims that America has united in one conservative rallying cry and risen up against Obama and everything he stands for.

It's really tiring.

If the election of Bush and then Obama has taught us anything, it is that we are truly a purple nation.

Not red.

Not blue.

Purple.

There was an interesting poll that just came out.

Americans approval of Obama and his health care and economic policies are the lowest since he took office.

In the same poll, they said that the GOP had no answers and would probably mess it up even more.

Americans want jobs.

If it means lowering taxes, great!

If it means increasing spending, great!

We are hardworking people in this country.

Most of us don't give a shit about the theater that is the Democratic or Republican parties.

We are open to radical ideas, whether they be the ideas of Reagan or Roosevelt.

We just want stable jobs, and affordable health care so we can focus on our lives.

And the white noise by the party flacks like him are doing nothing to solve our problems.

[pomba gira]

We are open to radical ideas, whether they be the ideas of Reagan or Roosevelt.

We just want stable jobs, and affordable health care so we can focus on our lives.

And the white noise by the party flacks like him are doing nothing to solve our problems.

That's the thing that offends me so much about this sort of thing... none of the naysayers seem to have any better ideas, besides "keep doing the stuff that got us to this fucked up point, only more". If any of these people have any workable ideas, let's hear them. Otherwise they need to shut the fuck up and let the rest of us get busy fixing things.

[n0Mad]

@ Eternal

[Confess]

I found the entire thing hilariously funny. Which is why I shared.

I'm frustrated with politics in general, and I'm concerned about the direction our country has been going over the last 5 presidential terms, ever since I was old enough to 'sorta' get it.

Maybe I'll have to switch to political science for my masters degree and run for office.

Only way to change it is to be it maybe?

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

Maybe I missed something... When exactly did we have a Bush vs. Obama election? I remember a Bush vs Gore and I remember a Bush vs. Kerry...

Some please fill me in how I missed a whole election.

Also, "If any of these people have any workable ideas, let's hear them". fine, talk to Pelosi and Reed who will not even let the Republicans bring alternative idies to the floor to be heard.

Edited August 3, 2009 by Gaf The Horse With Tears

[candyman]

Health care that we can afford? HA! By afford do people mean free, kinda cheap, or co-pay shit?

Seriously, the same amount of money will be taken from us no matter which option we pick, it will just be taken in different ways to "look better" than it did before. Those medical people still need to get paid and they are not taking lower pay as an option.

Our only hope for better healthcare rates is to stop suing the doctors and to kill the lawyers that encourage people to sue the medical industry. Do mistakes happen? Yes. Do these mistake happen during the process of finding new and better ways to help people? Yes. People need to learn that shit happens, we are mortal, and that every time you sue the cost of treatment goes up...if they have the balls to treat people anymore...I'm supprised the medical industry even tried to help people anymore the way that people bitch.

If you want healthcare that you can afford, well, either get a robot body or find the fountain of youth...

[n0Mad]

I've been reading how many problems the GI health care system has been having. If the government can't even manage health care for our soldiers and their families, what makes the government think they can manage health care for all the civilians? Hell, they can't even handle Social Security. No thanks.

[Rev.Reverence]

I found the entire thing hilariously funny. Which is why I shared.

I'm frustrated with politics in general, and I'm concerned about the direction our country has been going over the last 5 presidential terms, ever since I was old enough to 'sorta' get it.

Maybe I'll have to switch to political science for my masters degree and run for office.

Only way to change it is to be it maybe?

...I'll write you a REALLY nice campaign song, & be one of those peoples on the big stage patting your back...you NEED those...I have it in good authority, I could pull a BIG PART of the 'friek-vote' for you...'cause, I have the SAME complaint...they were arguing & being dinks BEFORE I could even understand that there were only 2 parties...

...& I gave e a +1...'cause he's almost always right on the pulse with these things...

[the eternal]

In response to Gaf:

I said in the election of Bush and then Obama.

In other words, many of the same people that voted for Bush in 2004 ALSO voted for Obama in 2008.

They are not as dogmatic as many of us on the board. They are simply looking for sound solutions to the problems that ail us.

BTW, great to see you back!

Candyman--

I'm sorry but tort reform is a red herring the conservative movement has propped up as the solution to everything.

Are there a few frivolous lawsuits? sure. But not to the extent that it would solve anything if they went away.

What is a bigger problem is that hospitals are money machines that over test and overbill.

The one exception is the Mayo clinic which has a better record of quick recoveries and some of the lowest billing charges in the nation.

I know the Obama administration is looking into that.

Convincing doctors from doing countless unnecessary tests may be tough though.

We'll see.

Spook---You make a very sound point. The VA system does suck, and if they are going to try to tackle the uS, they are going to have to present a better plan than what they've done for our fine men and women of the armed forces.

[Rev.Reverence]

I'm sorry but tort reform is a red herring the conservative movement has propped up as the solution to everything.

What's a 'tort reform"? I missed that day

Are there a few frivolous lawsuits? sure. But not to the extent that it would solve anything if they went away.

There are MANY frivolous Lawsuits...you will see, if you look into this matter, that the cost of lawsuits is not necessarily in the payouts, (you have to WIN a court case for that to happen), but the cost of the court cases in general (a point I am sure you understand all to well already)...there are mistakes, THEN, there is doing something WRONG...Americans (I have seen) are generally without large sums of cash, & so they will try to take it from whom/where ever they can. They are not happy, & they think they can be happy with a stack of money. That's the problem here. Some peoples, they start thinking, "whom can I sue", when ever something bad happens to them..before they think, 'was that an accident, or gross negligence'...they WANT it to be negligence......luckily, I am not that kind of person, so, I have NO QUALMS calling the sin out.

What is a bigger problem is that hospitals are money machines that over test and overbill.

That, is because (partly) they have been sued so many times for NOT running those tests... ...& they wants a new car(s)...

The one exception is the Mayo clinic which has a better record of quick recoveries and some of the lowest billing charges in the nation.

I know the Obama administration is looking into that.

Convincing doctors from doing countless unnecessary tests may be tough though.

We'll see.

Spook---You make a very sound point. The VA system does suck, and if they are going to try to tackle the uS, they are going to have to present a better plan than what they've done for our fine men and women of the armed forces.

The VA has to deal with DOUBLE {or TRIPLE, maybe even QUADRUPLE} BUREAUCRACY...that is, the Hospital, Provider, Armed Force the vet is a vet of, to get a procedure done.

The problems seem to be, greed & bureaucracy...

...well, that's how I see it.

[TitsMcGee]

I've been reading how many problems the GI health care system has been having. If the government can't even manage health care for our soldiers and their families, what makes the government think they can manage health care for all the civilians? Hell, they can't even handle Social Security. No thanks.

+1

[candyman]

For a person to sue is one thing...and it is a big thing. However, I didn't mention all the free crap that hospitals give away. Seriously, we bitch about having to pay tons of money for health care when all we have to do is lack the proper documentation for something and refuse to answere phone calls or the door. Hospitals all over the country are losing thousands, or up to a few million a year, do to these conditions. They are held to their oath which makes them a prime target for those that want everything free if they can get their grubby hands on it. Now, factor this shit in with the "I'm gonna sue you" crap and you have your reasons why hospitals are not cheap, friendly, or trusting.

Even though it sucks to pay the hospitals I have done it MANY times over the years...the ER knows me by name...and I have yet to have problems making payments. No I am not rich...but these people have jobs and skills that not many people can't handle and they are using them to help ME when they could just as well turn me away for fear of me suing them...I will pay the price.

If our hospitals go the way of the ones in Canada, well then I don't know where the Canadians will go for their healthcare...and I will have to buy a gel pad for my ass while I wait in line to get a little physical...and I don't know what the hell the transplant lists are gonna look like but most people on them will probably say "screw this" and go with the heavy drinking option.

[the eternal]

To candyman and Rev. :

I'll try to find the study that shows the total effect that lawsuits have, but they found that it simply does not have the effect that Rev claims.

As for why hospitals do more tests instead of giving good care advice, there was a panel of medical experts that talked NOT about fear of lawsuit, but that they were pressured by the hospitals to do extraneous things because it paid the bills, and LOTS of them.

Now, candyman, you can argue that it is because of the free services hospitals provide, however there is not a straight line to what Canada does and what we do here.

1. What Obama has proposed is not the same as the single-payer plan in Canada. He has largely backed away from that and is now leaning toward a hybrid that involves private insurance and a public option.

2. Even if he WAS, we are a larger country with more resources, and an administration that is looking more comprehensively at the different ways to cut costs and yet provide more care.

I sometimes wonder if it's too comprehensive.

I don't know exactly what his plan is since it keeps changing.

Not huge changes, but it seems like he's trying to appease everyone, and when you try to do that, no one ends up being happy.

I'm also concerned that the latest incarnation I read about puts an unfair burden on small businesses, which is the backbone of this country.

So, I have my doubts, but tens of millions being uninsured, and tens of millions more being underinsured is not the solution either.

I'm going to wait and see how this shakes out.

If it turns out bad for the American people, there'll be a new President in a few years and then we all deal with whatever baggage s/he has.

[Confess]

I'm sorry but tort reform is a red herring the conservative movement has propped up as the solution to everything.

Are there a few frivolous lawsuits? sure. But not to the extent that it would solve anything if they went away.

I think I would have to disagree with you on the frivolous lawsuit thing. I will use Texas as an example. ( I think this is a good example because I believe that healthcare reform belongs in the laps of the states and not the fed. )

They instituted their own brand of tort reform and Medical costs and premiums went down and the number of doctors went dramatically up since 2005.

Easiest resource I could find.

An older more in depth look.

link no.2

Tort reform is a serious issue and I don't think it's fair to call it a conservative red herring. It isn't the ultimate solution but it would make a good start and is definitely preferable to a socialistic system where the responsibility of the taxpayer will be spread across even more zero liability voters.

Single payer healthcare will just add even more incentive to join the welfare state.

Edited August 3, 2009 by Confess

[the eternal]

Tort reform is a serious issue and I don't think it's fair to call it a conservative red herring. it isn't the ultimate solution but it would make a good start and is definitely preferable to a socialistic system where the responsibility of the taxpayer will be spread across even more zero liability voters.

Single payer healthcare will just add even more incentive to join the welfare state.

Point well taken, however it's important to note that THE #1 REASON FOR FILING BANKRUPTCY IS ---- MEDICAL BILLS

Now, let's look at what happens when individuals file Chap. 7 bankruptcy

---They tell all their creditors to go to hell, because they're broke

---Businesses suffer

---Courts that we pay for are tied up

---The same citizens can't contribute to the economy with house and car loans because their credit is shot.

Bankruptcy is a necessary evil, but an evil nonetheless that is draining the economy, in part because of medical bills.

Many would argue the Big 3 would be in better shape, if they didn't have to pay out medical coverage to their employees.

You could attack that by attacking unions if you'd like, but that doesn't account for the millions of uninsured filing BKs because of their needs.

ONE MORE THING TO CHEW ON

As reported today, In 2007, the top TWO, not ten, not twenty, TWO earners in the insuring business, the CEO of Aetna and the CEO of Cigna earned a combined income of $74 million

THAT'S OVER $202,000 A DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

They made in a day, what most Americans make in a DECADE!

That's only two fucking people!

This is where that whole laissez-faire, "they run the company, they deserve whatever compensation they're given," horse manure falls WAYYY short.

If we we're going to throw darts at the excess of the healthcare system, we better get a pretty damn big dartboard.

[creatureofthenyte]

Bankruptcy is a necessary evil, but an evil nonetheless that is draining the economy, in part because of medical bills.

Many would argue the Big 3 would be in better shape, if they didn't have to pay out medical coverage to their employees.

ONE MORE THING TO CHEW ON

As reported today, In 2007, the top TWO, not ten, not twenty, TWO earners in the insuring business, the CEO of Aetna and the CEO of Cigna earned a combined income of $74 million

THAT'S OVER $202,000 A DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

They made in a day, what most Americans make in a DECADE!

That's only two fucking people!

This is where that whole laissez-faire, "they run the company, they deserve whatever compensation they're given," horse manure falls WAYYY short.

Each company should set pay structure and or limits, so that stuff doesn't happen.

If we we're going to throw darts at the excess of the healthcare system, we better get a pretty damn big dartboard.

We have the best healthcare system in the world. That's why thousands come Here from Canada and other places. Quality costs money. People say, oh well Canada has universal healthcare, and their costs are far less....but the citizens get Less coverage....you get what you pay for.

I bet if the Congress would ever come to their senses, and get rid of all the BS pork barrel spending, I bet they would have NO problem funding their healthcare reform.

We do NOT want government controlled healthcare, if they control that, they will then control EVERY aspect of our lives as it relates to the cost of keeping us healthy.

The Big 3 would be in better shape if they were Managed better; Look at Ford in comparison to the other 2.

Companies' boards of director and or stockholders, should vote in pay scale regulation, the government shouldn't have to do it for them.

Bankruptcy is a neccesary evil, that is draining the economy, but Not nearly as much as paying for all the stuff that Obama wants to do. Obama's programs, combined with Congress's pork-barrel spending, is not sustainable, and will bankrupt our Country, if we don't wake up and stop them.

Taxing and spending is not the way to stimulate the economy.

Lowering taxes on businesses, so they have more money for payroll, so MORE people can have JOBS, so They have money they can go out and spend, That is the way to stimulate the economy.

Edited August 4, 2009 by creatureofthenyte

[candyman]

Yes quality does cost money...ever looked at two-ply and single-ply before? Wiping my ass with the good stuff costs me more but its worth it to keep my fingers from poking through.

The sad fact is that some people are going to get left behind...this world isn't perfect and it should be up to EACH INDIVIDUAL PERSON to decide how much of their money will be given to others who may or may not need it and may or may not use it for the right things. We do not have the means to keep everyone held up on our coat tails...if we put enough there to help then we will lose alot in other areas. I would love to help them but I simple can't and neither can many others. If I had the means I would but I can't. If people who need help want help they have many options. First, there are ways to pay your medical bills without a huge bank account. Second, they can get a job or insurance if it is possible for them to do so. Third, well they can hear what I have been told time and time again..."Grow up and man up because shit is fucked up...crying about it only gets more shit in your mouth."

A little harsh but things are tough everywhere. Everything has to be made to keep everyone happy and that doesn't work well. Maybe this new healthcare system would work in a perfect world...but it won't work in this one. It is one more step closer to telling those that work hard that nobody cares how hard they work and that this much of their income is going to other people.

I agree with COTN...they need to stop choking businesses...jobs keep going down at an alarming rate and I don't believe that is a good thing...especially if people need to earn money to spend it on, oh, maybe healthcare.

[Raev]

Source, CIA website

This puts the united states at #50 for life expectancy in the world. Bosnia has a higher life expectancy.

World Health Organizations website

This puts the United States at #37 when last ranking health systems.

NationMasters listing of expenditure per person for health care

This database lists the United States as spending the most.

So, for the most money spent we are #50 in longest living and #37 for health care systems?

Creatureofthenyte, your statement that

We have the best healthcare system in the world.

is far from the truth.

We should be ashamed of ourselves as a country.

[ttogreh]

COTN, you get what you pay for. "We", as in American society pays for a failing system that boots 14,000 people off of insurance every day, with fifty million people uninsured.

Whenever one of those people gets hit by a bus, we don't check their insurance. We patch them together with the best health care technology in the world, and then pass the cost to everyone else that is insured. Which is dropping by 14,000 people every day.

Canada does not have universal health care. It has ten provincial health systems with a single payer system. For instance, in Ontario (Windsor), anyone that makes less than $20,000 CAN pays nothing for health insurance, and anyone making more than $200,000 CAN pays $75 CAN a month or $900 dollars a year in premiums. If you make more than 20,000 but less than 200,000, you pay a smaller premium.

However, there are only so many doctors in the Ontarian system, with only so much money to pay for care. Still, since the single payer system is the only game in town (private insurance is not illegal, but doctors can either have private insurance patients or public patients. Never both. And anyone with a private plan pays for the public plan any way), costs are contained. People also have to wait for non-critical care sometimes, as well.

Doctors in Canada aren't swapping out Mercedes every year, but they aren't starving either. Moreover, wait time has consistently been dropping for years.

[Shade Everdark]

We have the best healthcare system in the world. That's why thousands come Here from Canada and other places. Quality costs money. People say, oh well Canada has universal healthcare, and their costs are far less....but the citizens get Less coverage....you get what you pay for.

As Raev already posted, this is demonstrably false. Canadians who can afford to pay out of pocketcome here to have cosmetic or non-critical procedures done, so they don't have to wait, at all. Which I find amusing, because I had to wait a month for my knee surgery.

I bet if the Congress would ever come to their senses, and get rid of all the BS pork barrel spending, I bet they would have NO problem funding their healthcare reform.

It's not so much the pork barrel, it's the inefficient use of funds that we do allocate. Oh, and military spending, considering we outlay more for military budget than the following biggest 15 spenders. That includes China, Russia, Germany, France--hell, we spend twice as much as the entire EU, combined.

Military Expenditures by country

Companies' boards of director and or stockholders, should vote in pay scale regulation, the government shouldn't have to do it for them.

Perhaps we shouldn't. But it's clear that the stockholders are not doing it. As for the Boards of Directors, they actively promote it, because it's an entirely incestuous relationship. CEOs will be on the boards of other companies, and will happily collude to offer bonuses to the CEOs of those other companies, with the sly expectation of reciprocity. In the absence of self-regulation, we only have the government to implement it. As far as I'm concerned, I'm pretty happy with the first round of corporation-busting, perhaps we need to look to the lessons of old Theodore.

Taxing and spending is not the way to stimulate the economy.

Lowering taxes on businesses, so they have more money for payroll, so MORE people can have JOBS, so They have money they can go out and spend, That is the way to stimulate the economy.

As a matter of fact, the Keynesian economic model is the only one that is proven to work, to turn around a depression. Friedman economics does. not. work. And you can see that in 1970s Latin America, 1970s and early 1980s Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe during the fall of communism.

[n0Mad]

As a matter of fact, the Keynesian economic model is the only one that is proven to work, to turn around a depression. Friedman economics does. not. work. And you can see that in 1970s Latin America, 1970s and early 1980s Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe during the fall of communism.

Can you give me the "... For Dummies" explanation of what you just said? I probably should have learned that stuff in my master's level economics class but I've never really had the brain for that subject and barely squeaked by with a C.

[Shade Everdark]

Can you give me the "... For Dummies" explanation of what you just said? I probably should have learned that stuff in my master's level economics class but I've never really had the brain for that subject and barely squeaked by with a C.

Um, short version is: cutting spending/taxes to the bone (Friedman model) makes the recession/depression worse, because it cuts services and lowers confidence. Spending more (including deficit spending), i.e. Keynesian model, stimulates the economy and increases consumer confidence.