PrintAugust 28, 2009
Democratic congressmen letting the cat out of the Obamacare bag
It appears that some Democratic congressmen care more about getting re-elected than lying for their Fearless Leader in the White House.
Obama has been running around the country telling everyone that his health care reform plan will not pay for abortions. He has also been reassuring seniors that they will not lose any benefits.
Both claims have been debunked by both opponents of reform and several mainstream media outlets. And now, two Congressmen have let the cat out of the bag and contradicted their leader by telling the truth about government-funded abortions and the elimination of the Medicare Advantage program.
First, John McCormack of the Weekly Standard blog has Bart Stupak's (D-MI) confession about abortion:
"It would be a dramatic shift," says Representative Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat who has vowed to oppose the bill because of how it would affect abortion. Stupak says dozens of House Democrats may join him in opposing a final health-care compromise unless the abortion language is changed, presenting a clear challenge to Democratic vote counters that could imperil a party-line vote. [...] "We are going to do everything we can to stop the rule, or the bill, from coming to the floor," [Democratic Congressman Bart] Stupak says, adding that as many as 39 Democratic members of Congress may join him in the effort. It remains unclear how the Senate will deal with the abortion issue. There is also no consensus within the Democratic Party about whether a public option should be included in final health-care-reform legislation.
In the meantime, Stupak says that Obama's statements during recent public events signal one of two things: either he does not fully understand the current House bill, which Stupak maintains has the effect of publicly funding abortion, or "if he is aware of it, and he is making these statements, then he is misleading people."
A Dem congressman accusing the president of lying? Perish the thought!
And then there's Betsy Markey (D-CO) who puts the kibosh on Obama's contention that seniors will see no benefit cuts under Obamacare. Mary Katherine Ham also writing at the WS Blog:
"There's going to be some people who are going to have to give up some things, honestly, for all of this to work," Markey said at a Congress on Your Corner event at CSU. "But we have to do this because we're Americans."
Nice try, Betsy. In fact, Obama has said he wants to eliminate "insurance subsidies" for Medicare which specifically targets all those supplemental plans. Getting rid of those will not bring down costs and will force seniors to pay more out of pocket for their health care.
In their eagerness to be truthful with their constituents, Democratic congressmen are making their president out to be a liar.
Hat Tip: Ed Lasky
