Politics and Insights from History

“A government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth.” Ronald Reagan said these words in his 1964 speech at the Republican National Convention.

Never before have these words been more true. Can anyone name a government program that was repealed? Probably not. But I am certain that you can name government programs that are still in effect and are bankrupting this nation. And yet, Congress continues to fund them and pass more.

For those of you who hate conservatives, have we ever been wrong concerning the growth of government? In a 1961 address, Ronald Reagan warned that medicine was a way for the government to inch its way into our lives. Ask yourself this: after the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, did the government ever stop meddling in medicine? Since 1965 Congress routinely passed amendments to Medicare and Medicaid, or established new programs altogether. Funding for both programs increases each year because as always happens, the government underestimated the cost. In 1965, when Medicare was signed into law, the public was promised that funding for Medicare would not reach $9 billion until 1990. In 1990, the U.S. government spent more than $66 billion on Medicare alone.

In 1997 SCHIP—health insurance for children—(also known as CHIP) was passed. In 2009 President Obama expanded the program. Those who stood against it were labeled as insensitive and uncaring. Isn’t it uncaring for a government to force people into dependency? No decent human being desires to harm children; that is why progressives use them as a means to expand their big government agenda. But why is the government needed to provide health insurance to children? What happened to the economy to make it where parents can no longer afford medical care for their kids? The answer is simple. The government overtaxes, overspends, and over regulates thus weakening the economy by destroying the value of the dollar, lessening consumer buying power, and destroying our liberty.

In March of 2010 Congress passed the Health Care reform Bill. President Obama giddily signed it into law.  Even now Congress is discussing amendments to this bill.  This bill was supposed to solve all of our woes concerning health care.  If that is the case, then why is Congress drafting amendments for it before it has even gone into effect?

Do not let the name of the bill fool you. This health care bill will do nothing to reform the health care industry, but it will destroy it by complicating it. This bill expanded government well beyond the confines of the constitution. For the first time Congress has mandated the purchase of a commodity. This bill introduces new taxes and regulations that will further limit the freedom of patients to choose their doctors and the care they receive. It also limits the freedom of doctors to choose their patients.

The bill sets the stage for a single payer system by mandating the purchase and provision of health insurance. The exchanges that the bill establishes will kill competition and force insurance companies out of business. The government sets the rules for these exchanges. Insurance companies are to provide the same benefits at roughly the same cost. People will end up with the same benefits packages regardless of their needs: whether sick or healthy, single or married, young or old, man or woman. Insurance companies will be banned from denying coverage and dropping coverage. Being forced to provide a set standard of benefits for everyone will result in higher costs. Insurance companies will be hard pressed to meet these costs forcing them to close their business. This will make it difficult for people to comply with the insurance mandate, thus leaving the door open for the government to step in as our “savior”. The federal government will do one of three things:

1. Bailing out insurance companies, thereby indirectly taking them over and giving us the illusion that they are still independent.

2. Step in with a Public Option and slowly choke out insurance companies.

3. Declaring a National Emergency where the government proclaims that they must take over health insurance companies for the public good.

Whatever course of action the federal government chooses will ultimately close insurance companies permanently leaving us with what Washington offers. After all, what business can compete with an entity that has the power to support itself with taxes?

Reagan warned of government’s slow encroachment upon our lives. The health care sector is just one area that the government has seized control. With the passage of the Recovery and Reinvestment Act the feds took over the auto industry and the banks. They even tried taking over the individual states with the bailouts that were listed in the bill. The Financial Reform Bill of 2010 allows the government to control the financial industry. This is all done for our protection, or so they claim. But who protects the people from a government that insists on owning everything within the economy? When will we the people stop listening to the politicians in Washington and starting listening to common sense?

It is time for us, the American people, to stop looking to the government for solutions to our problems. Government is never a solution. But it is always a problem. The Founders understood this. That is why they wrote the Constitution in a way that limits the federal government’s power. These “negative rights”, as President Obama put it, are to prevent the government from becoming tyrannical. But one thing is certain: the day we stopped abiding by the U.S. Constitution was the day we signed the death warrant for the Republic. When the American people allowed progressives to step in with government programs so as to “save” them, they were inviting government to run their lives.

With all of the information coming out about ACORN, SEIU, and the Apollo Alliance and their connections to President Obama, one has to wonder, how deep do these connections go?  Who is really in charge of the United States?  Who is behind recent legislation being pushed through Congress?  We all know that ACORN received money from Obama’s stimulus bill, though it is not the first time they received federal funds.  SEIU has a large stake in the Health Care Bill being rammed through.  And then there is Cap and Trade which is speaking through with little to no attention from the press.  How much you want to bet that the Apollo Alliance is going to receive a tidy sum from Uncle Sam?  They promote “green” jobs.  Isn’t that what Cap and Trade is supposed to do?

First let’s explore SEIU (Service Employee’s International Union).  Andy Stern is the president of SEIU.  He is a Marxist.  SEIU’s policies fall within Marxism. (Click on the link below to watch Bill Moyers’ interview with Andy Stern.)

Bill Moyers\’ Interview with Andy Stern June 15, 2007

Notice the similarities between what Andy Stern says and what Obama says.  He talks about making government work for the unions.  Oh he speaks about individuals, but if Stern had his way everyone would be part of the union.  Stern mentioned redistributing wealth and how it mustn’t be in the hands of a few people.  Obama mentions the sam when trying to answer Joe the Plumber\’s question. Which he failed to answer.  Andy Stern wants to use political power to change the behavior of corporations like Bank of America.  Obama is using political power to force people to buy into an insurance program they do not want; to force insurance companies to provide coverage that they do not wish to provide and may be unable to provide.  Of course, this will take care of the universal health care coverage that SEIU wants.

Andy Stern has had at least 22 visits to the White House where he has talked personally with Obama in the first 6 months since the inauguration.  He has had the most visits with the president than anyone else.  That is a lot of meetings between the president of a union and the President of the United States.  Didn’t Obama pledge to end special interests?  Apparently he only wishes to end the special interests of evil corporations and their profit making.  But Obama has no qualms about SEIU, a labor union, making a profit through taxpayer money.

Watch these three videos below.  (Click on the link to access the video.)  The first two are from an SEIU conference in October 2007.  The third from the SEIU convention of 2008.  In both video Obama is addressing SEIU.  Now listen to what he says.  Listen to what he promises SEIU member.

Obama\’s SEIU Agenda is my Agenda

Does Obama Represent the Country of SEIU?

Barak Obama Adresses SEIU\’s 2008 Convention

Here Obama admits to working with SEIU members during his days as a community organizer.  Did you notice the phrase, “get everybody organized”?  Does that mean we will all be forced into a union?  Is this the setup for his civilian task force which he mentioned in another speech?  Notice he said “Your agenda is my agenda.”  That is a very clear sign that SEIU is a special interest in the Obama Administration.  His agenda is their agenda!  In the third video Obama claims, “You and I together-together you and I, we are going to change this country and we are going to change the world.”  Sounds like SEIU and its president, Andy Stern, have authority over what happens in this country and influence over Obama.  Obama is admitting right here that they will work together to change America.

It is no secret that SEIU spent at least $60 million on Obama’s campaign for the presidency.  (Do you still believe that Barak Obama has no connections to this organization?)  Obama’s political director is Patrick Gaspard.

Gaspard is a former lobbyist for SEIU. [i] He first joined SEIU in 1999 to help organize the local 1199 “March For Justice”.[ii] He remained with SEIU promoting their agenda in Congress until 2008. He only quit that job to join Obama’s campaign. That is a good seven years with the union. The fact that he went straight from SEIU to Obama, who is also well connected with the union, shows that it is unlikely that Gaspard became disillusioned with the union and quit because of such sentiments. Especially since President Obama is promoting SEIU’s agenda. Gaspard also has known ties with ACORN. It is interesting how ACORN keeps popping up in Obama’s circle of friends.

It is well documented that Obama and SEIU are connected.  Very much so.  Obama himself said that SEIU’s agenda is his agenda.  He has a former SEIU lobbyist in his administration.  Lobbyists do not change.  Even though this evidence is circumstantial, the circumstances are suspicious.

7/26/2009

Dear Mr. President,

I want to thank you for doing in six months what many liberals failed to do in 70 years. You have successfully turned us into a socialist nation.   (note the sarcasm)

You rushed through the stimulus bill saying that it was imperative in order to stop the recession. You promised us jobs, a tax cut, and a decrease in the cost of living. You told us that the stimulus bill would do all these things. You told us that this bill would keep the unemployment rate from exceeding 8%. It now sits at 9.7% and is well on its way to being 10%. Where are all the jobs you promised us? And do not tell me about the teacher that was spared the pink slip or all of the state and federal jobs that exist to contend with the bureaucracy your bill created. Where are the jobs for the manual laborers? What about the small businesses that have closed their doors? Those are the jobs we need. It appears that the only people that have benefitted from this bill are state and federal employees. The number one beneficiary is the Federal Government.

You promised us fiscal responsibility. In the last six months where have you or your administration demonstrated fiscal responsibility? That Stimulus Bill cost $787 billion dollars. You had to borrow money from China to help pay for it. Clearly, the United States is bankrupt if you are borrowing money to pay for a bill that is supposed to stimulate the economy. How is that being fiscally responsible? What was in that 1,600 page bill? Did you even read it? I think not, considering you rushed it through during your first week as president. You promised no more pork, but how can a bill that it over a 1,000 pages long not have any pork?

In a recent address of yours, you said that the stimulus package was doing exactly what it was designed to do. I thought it was supposed to promote economic growth. Instead we are getting an economic collapse. So if your statement is true, then that means this bill was designed to destroy the economy, create unemployment, and bring fear to the American people.

And now you want us to accept your health care reform bill. You are adamant about getting it passed before the end of the year. Why the rush? What is in this bill that you do not want people to know about? Could it be that you know within a year’s time you will not have the majority you need to pass your agenda? This bill has the pungent smell of dead fish. It can’t be about reform. You are just expanding an already broken system and shoving everyone into it. We have already proven in this country that government run health care does not work. Medicare and Medicaid are two government run health care programs on a limited scale and they are both bankrupt. The people on these programs do not get the care they need because they have to wait for approval from the government.

Why are we following the model of Europe or even Canada when it comes to health care? Their government run systems are failing. People leave those countries and come to the United States for medical care. Are you so arrogant that you believe you can do it better? Are you so stupid that you refuse to learn from the mistakes of others? Do you truly care about the best interest of America, or are you only concerned about what helps Barack Obama? But most importantly, will be subject the very system that you want to put the American people on?

This health care reform bill is too conveniently timed. Most people without health insurance are unemployed. The unemployment rate is dangerously close to 10%. People are frightened that if something happened they won’t get to see a doctor much less be able to pay for it. And here you step in to save the day with another expansive government program. Very, very convenient.

And why so silent on Cap and Trade? I know the bill is being pushed through Congress. Please explain why we need to tax the hell out of businesses in order to offset global warming. The passage of this bill will prove disastrous for this country, especially since we are in a recession. Cap and Trade has never worked in the past in reducing carbon emissions. It did destroy businesses. You passed a stimulus bill to stimulate the economy. Now you want to pass Cap and Trade which is known for destroying the economy. Don’t the two cancel each other out?

Your foreign policy is no better than what you have done domestically. You routinely call America an arrogant nation. You insult your own country overseas mentioning it with disdain. Not once have you defended America. Do you hate your own country so much that you are incapable of talking about the very things that make America great? Not once have you mentioned what we have given the world. The United States feeds most of the world’s population. We are always there to help those that desire freedom from tyranny and oppression. We have defeated some of the worst tyrants in history for the sake of the world.

You are the President of the United States. It is your duty to protect and defend the American people. You have failed to perform such a task. When North Korea vowed to wipe the United States off the map, you said nothing. When Somali pirates took Americans hostage, you waited over a week to finally do something. It was only when people started asking questions that you finally sent in the Navy Seals to free the hostages. You won’t even address the atrocities that are happening in Iran. You have snubbed Israel, our only ally in the Middle East. Instead you shake hands and act all chummy with the likes of Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales, and Raul Castro. You derided the Honduran people for defending their country and constitution from a man who tried to declare himself a president for life. Why do you like dictators so much?

You promised us hope and change. Instead of change you brought us more of the same. Instead of hope we have despair. You lied to us, Mr. President. You sold us a bill of goods. You conned the American people into voting for you. You have demonstrated that you are unfit to be the President of the United States.

You are a sniveling little weasel. A man who slithered his way into the Oval Office on false promises and false hope. You have systematically taken over elements of this country that were once in the hands of the private sector, the people. You have systematically usurped the Constitution. You have betrayed the trust of the American people. You have betrayed the U.S. Constitution. You, Sir, are a traitor.

Signed,

Lady Liberty