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The event kicked off with an enlightening prayer – I didn’t realize that there is no security “without payments for chemotherapy.” I guess security never existed before the mid-20^th century when this treatment was developed. (Exactly how soon after modern science invents something does it become a basic human right?)

The president spouted his usual rhetoric, but what particularly struck me this time was that his style is creepily similar to, well, an insurance salesman. This was my favorite line: “Not only can we afford to do this, we can’t afford NOT to do it.” Classic.

Wednesday, Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) publicly announced that he will switch his vote on the Health care bill from “no” last time to “yes” this time. With Kucinich’s vote, now all of the most liberal Democrats in Congress are supporting the bill. 87 Democrats co-sponsored a bill to immediately have full blown socialized medicine like Canada or Britain. It appears now that all of those Democrats are supporting this bill that the President and Democratic leadership say is not government-run health care.

Hmmm. So if it’s not government run health care, how did you get 100% of the votes of those who publicly support government run health care and you are having trouble only with the moderates who oppose it?

Because, this bill is designed to get to European style government health care with rationing and so forth. Here’s how it does it: There will be a government agency that will determine the minimum benefits that must be included in all health insurance plans. It will mandate much more coverage which almost no insurance plan has today, which in turn will drive up the cost of insurance. However, the bill also allows the federal government to set the maximum rates that can be charged for health insurance. It is important to note that a “Cadillac plan” is defined in the bill not by what it covers, but by what the plan costs. So, the government can set rates that will make providing health insurance unprofitable and tax it as well, thereby completely burying the private market. Then, when no one can get insurance at all, the government will 'come to the rescue' of the problem it created and provide a government health plan which will then be the only one around. This strategy may result in something more like Britain’s system where if you are very wealthy you can buy your own private health care, but only for a high price and with high taxes, or you can leave the country and get good care elsewhere. But most people will be stuck with government health care and the “Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research” (I’m not making that up – it’s in the bill) decides whether you get pulled off the waiting list to get that cancer treatment or not.

Don’t let the Obama/Pelosi rhetoric fool you. They have all the votes of the far left because this plan appeals to the far left and will accomplish their goals, albeit over time.

There will be bipartisanship this week. There will be strong bipartisan opposition to this monstrosity. Hopefully, it will be enough.

Below is my Op-Ed in today's Orange County Register:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has indicated that she may be close to amassing enough votes to pass the Senate version of a health care overhaul bill in the House. The obtuse procedure called "reconciliation," which avoids the 60 vote threshold in the Senate, must begin in the House Budget Committee, which began debating a reconciliation bill Monday.

This health care bill is awful, but every poll shows that most of you already know that. The bill will effectively destroy the best parts of the world's finest health care and perpetuate those parts that don't work. According to the president's own actuary, it will increase costs for everyone whose insurance is not subsidized by the government. It is fiscally reckless, adding an enormous new entitlement when the nation is already approaching bankruptcy because of our inability to pay for the entitlements we already have. It increases taxes for 10 years and provides benefits for 6 years, creating an illusion that it balances the budget when, in fact, it will make our already unsustainable deficits substantially worse. Morally, it is reprehensible because it promises a lot of free stuff to people with no way to pay for it. It is a Ponzi scheme. This is a health care bill Bernie Madoff would be proud of.

But enough of what you already know. Here is a playbook of what to watch for in the next two weeks:

- The Senate parliamentarians have determined that it is not possible to use "reconciliation" to "reconcile" a law that doesn't exist. So, the House will have to pass the Senate bill, complete with the "Cornhusker Kickback," the "Louisiana Purchase," and the "Gator Aid." The president then must sign it into law, before they can change it through "reconciliation." So, whatever changes they promise, don't count on them.

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“Let me just make this point, John, because we’re not campaigning any more…the election’s over.” - President Obama to John McCain at the Health Care Summit.
 
“I am reminded of that every day” - Response from Senator John McCain (R-AZ)

“You're right, there was an imbalance on the opening statements; because I’m the President…I didn’t count my time in terms of dividing it evenly.” - President Obama on why there was not an equal distribution of time for remarks at the Health Care Summit.

I have said before that the Obama/Pelosi/Reid cabal is more about ruling than leading and that their plans entail an oppressive government that runs everything and tells us what we can and can't do. Here are just a few more pieces of evidence towards that point (in addition to the above quotes):

During the so-called Health Care Summit, The 17 Republicans in the room spoke for a total of 111 minutes. The 18 Democrats from Congress in the room spoke for a total of 135 minutes. But President Obama, all by himself, spoke for 122 minutes, more time than all the Republicans and nearly longer than all of the Democrats.  This speaks more about this President than his words ever could.

In the Budget Committee this week, Treasury Secretary Geithner made it clear that they (the administration) have no intention of proposing or supporting any legislation to replace or wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this year. Why is this important? Fannie and Freddie are now completely owned by the federal government, they are losing lots of money, and they now make about 95% of all home mortgages. This is so because no private entities can compete with the borrowing power of the feds. There are lots of ideas out there on what to replace them with including: a public utility type model, nothing at all, or something similar to what they were before. But there will be no movement on that. Why? Because this is probably what the statists in charge want. You can't get a home loan unless you get it from the government. Great! The legislation that is popping up now includes all kinds of things including requiring these loans to be based on meeting environmental or social goals. Whatever happened to loaning money only because you figured that the borrower could pay it back? The latest proposal would ban foreclosures anywhere without the approval of a government panel. President Obama wants government-run health care but he is having a hard time getting it to happen. He already has government run home loans. Why change it? Command and Control.

Not a single bill in this Congress has been brought to the floor under an "open rule." An "open rule" allows any Member of Congress to submit an amendment to the bill being considered and get an up or down vote on it if they want. This is the first Congress in the history of Congress in which not a single bill has been subject to an open rule for amendments. Ms. Pelosi knows what's good for you and the other 434 of us may not be allowed to interfere with that. Command and Control.

The latest proposal on the death tax is an idea to eliminate any deduction from estate taxes for money given to private charitable foundations. Such foundations run the gamut from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the many families involved with the Orange County Community Foundation. Couple this with the President's latest proposal to eliminate charitable deductions for families with incomes over $250,000 (By the way, this is the segment of the population which makes the majority of charitable donations in dollar terms) to partially pay for socialized medicine.  There seems to be a clear Democratic move here to eliminate any tax deductions for giving to charities. Why would they do that? Because charities are the method by which people help other people without anyone telling them what causes they should or should not be supporting. Without charities, only government is left to do that. Command and Control.

And finally, of course, health care. In spite of all the polls, and in spite of 3 resounding defeats at the ballot box, it is now clear that the Democrat leadership intends to press forward using reconciliation (which means they only need 50 votes in the Senate) to pass their socialized medicine bill. If they do this, it must start in the Budget Committee in the House, on which I serve. America is actuarially bankrupt. This is so because the legacies of the New Deal and the Great Society cannot be paid for in the future. What is astounding to me is that even if you believe that socialized medicine is a good idea, we cannot pay for it on top of the already bankrupt Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. If they move forward with this, it will hasten the time when either America cannot pay its debts or we inflate our way out of them, thereby destroying much of the wealth of the people. But the President and his minions are going to press ahead because they will command what we do and control it.

The Obama/Pelosi/Reid vision for America includes a government that is bankrupt and must confiscate most of your income; and a government that controls your medical care, home loan, and charitable efforts.  Resistance is futile and you must obey...............

No you don't. I'm not going to. The battle for America's future is still heating up. Don't let up.

As I mentioned yesterday, the President’s budget will increase spending, increase taxes, increase the deficit, and increase the debt; all in spite of the fiery rhetoric of President Obama’s State of the Union speech, which called for a decrease in each of the above areas.

Here is some information based on a top line analysis:

Debt: The President’s Budget doubles the debt in 5 years and triples it by FY 2019, from FY2008 levels.  It aims to push the debt to $9.3 trillion this year, or 63.6% of gross domestic product (GDP).  This would be the largest debt in history, and the largest debt as a share of our economy in 59 years. 

You may remember Congress passed a debt limit increase just prior to the holidays, but under this budget, that debt limit will again have to be increased before October 1, 2011.  The interest alone on this debt will reach $840 billion in 2020.

Deficits: This budget boosts the deficit to a record level this year, to $1.6 trillion or 10.6% of GDP.  To put this in context, this is the largest deficit as a share of the economy since the Second World War.

Taxes: By the White House’s own estimates, the budget increases taxes by more than $2 trillion over 10 years – this of course excludes the impact on revenue of the costly Cap-and –Trade proposals (which amounts to $834 billion by CBO’s estimate of the House version, in case you were wondering). 

Contrary to previous statements made by President Obama, he is indeed attempting to increase taxes on those earning less than $250,000 including the new cap-and-trade taxes, and a tax on those who do not purchase health insurance.

A lot is going in DC right now and a lot has gone on since I sent you my first missive of the year yesterday. Here is a quick rundown of my thoughts on a few of the goings and comings.

Because of their singular obsession with government-run health care, the Democrats punted a bunch of issues on deadline to the end of February. However, this new deadline is fast approaching. Among the issues that should have been taken up last year yet still remain unresolved include: new permanent death tax exemptions and rates; a 21% cut in the rates doctors are paid by Medicare; a proposed increase in the national debt limit of $1.6 trillion to cover the enormous deficits for one year; reauthorizations of the Department of Transportation and the FAA; and a host of other issues.

Tonight, the President apparently will call for a freeze in non-defense so-called discretionary spending. That is about 15% of the total federal budget. It also was increased by $140 billion last year. So he is freezing spending after he increased it by 25% in one year. It’s a little like the guy who robs your house and then returns your toaster-oven and expects you to be happy about it.  Interestingly, Democrats on the Appropriations committee are already criticizing the President’s freeze as “too tough.” This says that at least some Congressional Democrats still do not understand how severe our fiscal problems are, and that they no longer feel compelled to support their President on all of his policies. The honeymoon ended rather quickly.