The Last Straw by Ira Schwartz

This has been a rollercoaster of a year here in the United States. If it’s not some small North Korean with a Napoleon complex tossing around empty threats, it’s an ignorant Iranian President trying to pull a not very good sleight of hand with the world. Here at home, the missteps of OUR Government are beginning to add up and the patience of the people has now been stretched to its limit. How many straws will it take to break the camel’s back?

STRAW #1 - The continuing drone by the administrations attack dogs, Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid, regarding the Healthcare Reform Bill is mind numbing. Very few people actually believe their hysterical rhetoric anymore, including Democrats. They have embarrassed themselves and their party and still don’t realize that no one is listening anymore. 220 to 215 is not a “great” victory but an awakening call to all those that think they can vote against the peoples wishes and get away with it. 2010 will tell the tale.

STRAW #2 - Then there is Senator John Rockefeller’s Internet Bill S.773. Or as I like to call it “Now you have the internet, now you don’t” Bill. They tried to sneak this one through quietly and quickly, which should really be the watch word for this administration. This Bill would give our government the right, by law, to shut down the Internet whenever they felt it was threatened. The problem is, nowhere does the Bill define exactly what the threats would be or from who. If Fox news posts an article on their website criticizing the current administration would that constitute a threat? It could if this Bill were to pass. But the people found out about the bill and suddenly it disappeared. But don’t drop your guard because it swimming just below the surface waiting for just the right time to strike.

STRAW #3 - The war in Afghanistan rates a straw too. First we’re winning, now we’re not, but if we want to start winning again we need to send in more troops….forty thousand more troops. Weeks have passed without a decision from the Administration and Americans continue to die while the President makes up his mind. Now we hear we will be sending in four additional combat brigades. That’s pretty close to the number of men they said we needed to start winning again. So when are they to be deployed? I don’t know but the Administration said the plan will be transparent when it does happen. Well that would be a first for this Administration.

STRAW #4 - “Cash for Clunkers” Nuff said.

STRAW #5 - ACORN has also made the list. Almost every state is investigating some facet of this organization. Originally they were set up to help the residents of inner cities obtain needed housing and loans. But like a cancer, this organization has mutated and blossomed into a mob like syndicate allegedly involved in everything from ballot tampering to loan sharking. A vote on the hill removed their funding for the remainder of this year. Our esteemed California representatives, Maxine Waters, Diane Watson and Henry Waxman voted to continue the funding. I guess they’re okay with Acorn representatives teaching people how to set up prostitution rings and scam the government. 2010 is looking better and better.

Now ACORN is suing the Federal government to get the funding BACK. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. Only in America.

STRAW #6 - Barack Obama’s birth certificate. Give it a rest already. He was born here. If this is the best you can do to try and bring this man down then I suggest you get a day job. He was born in Hawaii, a place I wish I was now.

STRAW #7 - Fort Hood-Still an open wound in the side of this great country. Barely a day after the heroic victims of this terrorist attack had been laid to rest the FBI, CIA and Homeland Security began the “Blame Game”. They all knew of this man’s radical Islamic beliefs but deemed him NOT a threat. Guess they were wrong, AGAIN. And these are the people responsible for our protection. I have only three words for them, “Grow a pair”.

And to those of you out there that want to blame this on Barack Obama; remember it was on George W. Bush’s watch that America suffered its worst terrorist attack. There were signs then too but like today our great intelligent gathering organizations decided to look the other way.

STRAW #8 – North Korea. About 10 cruise missiles should do the job.

STRAW #9 – Iran. I say let Israel take out their nuclear reactor saving us all a lot of grief. With any luck they’ll take out Iran’s ignorant President too. If not….about 10 cruise missiles should do the job.

STRAW #10 – Our legislators. Since they think they know what’s best for us I think we need to return the favor. We need to cut their salaries; have them turn in their cars and gas cards; limit them to two business related trips a year, IN COACH; have them pay into Social Security and Medicare; make them pay the real cost of their Medical Insurance; remove their “golden parachute” pensions and last but certainly not least limit them to two consecutive terms. That should get their attention.

STRAW #11 – The Deficit – Can anyone even write down a number that big without running off the paper. Maybe we should just declare bankruptcy and start from scratch. That would really piss off China. The sad part is our grandchildren will still be paying this one off. Of course if we brought all our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan home we’d probably have it paid off in about 15 years. Then again we could always print more money……

STRAW #12 thru 19 - In a story released by CBS News on November 10th the U.S. Justice Department issued a Grand Jury subpoena demanding that Philadelphia based “Indymedia.us” website provide details of all reader visits on a certain day. Then they ordered them “not to disclose the existence of this request”. According to CBS News “Indymedia.us” is “a left-of-center amalgamation of journalists and advocates that – according to their principles of unity and mission statement – work toward "promoting social and economic justice" and "social change."

CBS News continued that “The subpoena from U.S. Attorney Tim Morrison demanded "all IP traffic to and from www.indymedia.us" on June 25, 2008. It instructed them to "include IP addresses, times, and any other identifying information," including e-mail addresses, physical addresses, registered accounts, and Indymedia readers' Social Security Numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, and so on.”

Once Indymedia’s attorney challenged the subpoena in writing and CBS got wind of the story the subpoena was withdrawn. The government’s response…”No comment”. The KGB would be proud of Tim Morrison.

STRAW #20 – Ex Governor Sarah Palin. She wrote a book and say’s its non-fiction. The link below disputes this.

http://www.knx1070.com/Sarah-Palin-s-Book--The-Fact-Check/5685429

The Democrats hope the Republicans are stupid enough to run this woman in 2012. It would almost guarantee Barack Obama a second term. Polls indicate she would get almost no Democratic and Independent votes and only about one third of the Republicans. For a struggling political party this is not the way to go. If she does run as the RNC’s candidate in 2012 it will probably lead to a major fracture of the party that would take decades to repair if at all. While I am not a Barack Obama fan any longer I would vote for him over Palin and I am not alone. That would be a very sad day for this country. Sorry Bruce.

Well that’s my short list. I know I have left things out so please feel free to add your own favorites. I bet we could get it to 100 if we really tried.

©2009 by Ira Schwartz. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Lucky Ties

Chris Christie was obviously wearing his; as was Robert McDonnell. The GOP is officially breathing again. It was a great day for Republicans yesterday. It happened exactly one year after we took our worst shellacking since the 1960’s. And, what did President Obama do while his party was getting whooped in two states which voted for him last year? He sat at home and watched a special on HBO about His election victory last year. The official statement from the White House is that he did not even bother to watch any of the results as “they just didn’t matter and didn’t reflect on him: They were locally driven.”

For the past year I have been saying the current President is one of the biggest megalomaniacs in history. And, last night, he just proved it again. While the state of New Jersey which is one of the bluest was falling and the State of Virginia was being swept by Republicans which has not happened since Reconstruction, the President was watching a TV show about His grandiose victory last year. His ego is completely out of control. I wonder if he was wearing his lucky tie last night.

However, we all know who definitely was not: Doug Hoffman. This is the man that ran on the Conservative ticket in NY-23 which is a district in Upstate New York that has been Republican since the Civil War. Well, in the immortal words of Jacques Clousseau, “Not Anymore!” Doug Hoffman was defeated yesterday garnering only 46% of the vote. The projected winner, the Democrat Bill Owens, garnered 49% and the liberal Republican who withdrew last week received 5%. She proved to be he spoiler.

I find this race in NY-23 to be very disturbing. It is a race that garnered national attention when Sarah Palin, the Queen of the Far Right, decided to support the Conservative Candidate and not the Republican. Before that, the race was hardly being looked at by anybody.

NY-23 is a district in Upstate New York which borders on Canada and Vermont. It is more than 90% white and skews Republican by a margin of more than five percentage points. The area has been Republican for as far as anyone can remember. But, last night, it elected a Democrat. Why?

The Republican Party nominated Dede Scozzafava to run in this district without a primary. Ms. Scozzafava is one of the most liberal Republicans in the history of the Party. She is not pro-life, supports same-sex marriage and has strong ties to Labor, positions which are opposed by the majority of the Party. She does support the Bush tax cuts and is against Cap-And-Trade. It was rumored during the election that she hinted she might caucus with the Democrats if elected.

Obviously the nomination of Ms. Scozzafava was a big mistake. By nominating her, the Party allowed a three way race to occur thereby guaranteeing a Democratic victory. Of course, it did not help, that upon quitting the race five days ago, Ms. Scozzafava gave her support, not to the Conservative Hoffman, but to the Democrat Owens. The Party should have run a primary before nominating Scozzafava or, at the least, seen the power of the Right movement and nominated someone more in line with the mainstream Republican platform.

But, that is not really what disturbs me about the race in NY-23. What disturbs me the most is the ramification of what happened there to the rest of the country and to the elections in 2010. The Republican Party seems to be splintering into two halves, the conservatives and the moderates. The Conservatives are being supported by Ms. Palin and a large group of Right Wing pundits. They are represented by the Tea Party Organizations and the States’ Rights Groups. I am probably one of them.

However, without the moderates; the center of the political spectrum, the Party will not regain control of the federal government. There is simply not enough of the Far Right to support a majority anywhere in the country. The moderates and independents win elections. And, boy was that clear last night.

All of the exit polling shows that McDonnell and Christie won because there was a major swing in the independent voter to the Republicans. These swing voters stated they were against the huge government spending, the failed stimulus package and were in fear for the future of their children. The majority of these independents voted for Obama in the last election.

We need them these independents. We must do whatever is necessary to maintain their support. We cannot swing to the far right and expect to do anything in 2010. If we do, there will be a lot of Democrats that will be wearing their lucky ties. If we continue to attract the moderates and independents as happened yesterday, it will be a large group of Republicans wearing theirs.

©2009 by Frank T. DeMartini

Nothing to Write Home About by Ira Schwartz

So the first year of Barack Obama’s shepherding of the White House is quickly drawing to a close. As the Presidents public and TV appearances grow fewer the grey hairs on his head and the bags under his eyes grow more numerous. That usually happens to a President during his first year in the big chair. Along with the realization that most of the promises made during the campaign and the inaugural speech will be much tougher to keep than originally thought. So how is President Obama doing? That all depends on who you ask.

If you ask Speaker Pelosi or House Majority Leader Harry Reed he’s doing just fine thank you. But their assessment of the situation is tainted by a condition called “Party Macular Degeneration”…they see only what the party tells them to see. Good for Party rallies and ranting to the Democratic controlled congress but not much good for anything else.

If you ask ex-governor Sarah Palin or Mitt Romney they will tell you President Obama is loved as much as John Adams and is as competent as Jimmy Carter. But they too suffer from a debilitating disease called “Post Traumatic “I can’t believe we lost the whole election” Amnesia”. They have forgotten everything that happened before Barack Obama won the presidency. So let’s see if we can figure this out for ourselves.

First he promised to close down Guantanamo Bay Prison by year’s end. The year isn’t quite over yet but it doesn’t appear he will be accomplishing this one. The funds needed to close the prison were denied the Obama Administration by the Senate last May. In an interview with “All Things Considered” Attorney General Eric Holder said that closing the prison by the January 22nd deadline will be “difficult to meet”. After all it takes time to find just the right locations of the “prisons to be named later”. Anyone have any complaints with the Arctic? Let’s put this one in the “wait and see” category.

Next we have the economy. Come on out there…let’s see a show of hands. Does anyone really believe the “recession” is over? The National jobless rate in October was 9.7%. That’s a tenth of a percent lower than September but 1.7% HIGHER than the government predicted it would top out at.

Michael Williams, CEO of Fannie Mae reports that foreclosures will still climb this year, “The patient is out of intensive care, but still has a very long road ahead to a clean bill of health.” According to “The Business Insider” Septembers new housing starts missed expectations, rising 0.5% to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of just 590,000 vs. an expected 610,000. Building permits fell 1.2% also.

“Cash for Clunkers”. You knew I’d get around to this one didn’t you. According to “The Wall Street Journal” U.S. automakers reported new car sales for September, the first month since the program expired, sank 25% from a year earlier. Sales at GM (Government Motors) and Chrysler fell by 45% and 42% respectively. Ford was down 5%. 700,000 new cars were purchased under the program, cars that probably would have been purchased anyway. So all the program seems to have done is steal those sales from the future. Exactly as critics predicted. The “Journal” goes on to say, Burton Abrams and George Parsons of the University of Delaware added up the total benefits from reduced gas consumption, environmental improvements and the benefit to car buyers and companies, minus the overall cost of cash for clunkers, and found a net cost of roughly $2,000 per vehicle. Rather than stimulating the economy, the program made the nation as a whole $1.4 billion poorer.

We need to give the President the benefit of the doubt on this one. No one really expected the economy to turn around so quickly. Let’s see what happens by the end of next year.

Healthcare Reform, Health Insurance Reform whatever the flavor of the week is, is still up for grabs. There is a good possibility some form of a Bill will be passed within the next 3 months what it will look like is anyone’s guess. Chances are it will be tied up in the courts for years only to be repealed by the next GOP president.

Afghanistan…First we were winning so we pulled troops from there to fight the evil doers in Iraq. Now we’re not winning so we are “Thinking” about sending more troops back in. Meanwhile US soldiers die every day while the administration sits on the fence whining “What should I do? What should I do?” Look for General McChrystal to either resign or be replaced if the administration decides more “Boots” on the ground is not the right course of action. Also the corrupt US backed Karzai government looks as if it has dodged yet another bullet after Abdullah Abdullah decided to drop out of the runoff election scheduled for this week. Karzai wins by default. It appears anyone with a semblance of intelligence in Afghanistan wants nothing to do with a US backed government.

The Middle East…different administration…same crap. Nothing new here. The Palestinians won’t come back to the peace talks until the Israeli’s stop building settlements. The Israeli’s said how about we build a few more and see what happens. The only movement of any kind in the area is Hillary Clinton moving closer to the portable defibrillator.

Iran and North Korea….both seem to think they’re untouchable. Iran continues to make a fool out of the administration by promising to schedule talks regarding their nuclear program then constantly changing the schedule. As we wait they continue to produce fissionable material at a rate that, according to the CIA, will give them enough material to make two bombs by February. The UN has asked the Ahmadinejad government to “Respond to the accusations, pretty please.” They are still waiting for the answer.

North Korea keeps calling everyone’s bluff by defying the UN ban on missile launches by firing seven missiles out over the ocean towards Japan on July 4th. Then on Monday October 26th the North Koreans issued a demand to the United States to begin bi-lateral talks with them or else. The US has yet to respond but maybe a couple of dozen cruise missiles will light North Korea’s mood.

So in summing it up:

Gitmo will still be there but its occupancy rate will be somewhat smaller and more manageable.

The economy is getting better but it will take a lot longer than the administration thought. Go figure.

Healthcare Reform is still being shaped by the Democrats into something a little more palatable so when they ram it down our throats we won’t choke too badly.

No one is talking in the Middle East or at least saying anything worth listening to.

Afghanistan is still up in the air.

Iran is still a threat as is North Korea.

So when all is said and done it looks, to me anyway, that after 9 months in office Barack Obama doesn’t really have very much to write home about. Of course there’s always the Nobel Prize.

© 2009 by Ira Schwartz. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.

“Die Quickly”

Representative Joe Wilson shouts in the House Chamber to President Obama during a speech on Health Care Reform, “You Lie,” and is forced to apologize to the President directly and compelled to apologize in the House where the incident occurred. He chooses only to apologize to the President. This did not make him many friends in the Democratic Caucus. They could not bully him into a formal apology in the Chamber. What happens next, the Democratic House votes to rebuke him in a meaningless resolution. Of course, the vote is along party lines.

A few weeks later, Representative Alay Grayson of Florida, who also happens to be a Democrat, says while debating Health Care Reform on the House Floor:

"If you get sick, America, the Republican health care plan is this: Die quickly. That's right. The Republicans want you to die quickly if you get sick."

And, what happens to Grayson: Nothing! The Democratic Congress does nothing. Speaker Pelosi says she will not force him to apologize or withdraw his statement. A resolution along the lines of the one rebuking Wilson is introduced in the House by the Republicans and fails. This is just another example of the Democratic double standard that exists in Congress.

But, the deeper question is this: has the debate over health care gotten to the point where the Democrats say that Republicans want Americans to die and Sarah Palin throws remarks out like “Death Squads.” Has it all come down to fear mongering and hatred on both sides? What happened to the intellectual form of debate, not only in Congress, but in the media as well?

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article for this column entitled, “Why We Can’t Sign onto the Democrats Health Care Reform?” In that article I attempted to give a carefully thought out argument relating to Conservative issues in the current Democratic proposal. I am not in Congress. Why can’t our elected leaders do the same? Why must they resort to fear and hatred? Is it because they have no faith in the American public to understand policy decisions? If that is the case, they are deadly wrong. We do understand and that is why President Obama and the Democratic Congress cannot get HR 3200 passed in its current form despite their overwhelming majority.

Senator Baucus of Montana, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee is fighting to get his proposed bill through the Committee. The bill has been in the mark-up phase for about two weeks. Numerous amendments have been added to it such that it has been reported to be now over 1,000 pages long. Here they go again.

And, now, Congress is debating whether this bill or HR 3200 will be available online for 72 hours before any vote on them. Why are they even debating this? Wasn’t that one of President Obama’s main campaign promises? Did he not promise more transparency in government? Didn’t he want to stimulate fair and open debate?

The very liberal Saturday Night Live ran a skit last week in which President Obama was parodied. The main point of the skit was not that the President is too liberal, but that the left should be just as mad as the right because after nine months in office, the President has done absolutely nothing. You can find the skit at: http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/clips/obama-address/1163263/. And, one of those nothings is more transparency.

Both the Congress and the President do not want America to see either proposal before they are passed. They do not want any more debate. They know that if intellectual debate continues, the current form of Health Care Reform will fail. At first Senator Baucus’ bill looked like it would work. It was just a bad enough proposal to get both sides a little angry. It smelled like an old fashioned form of bipartisan compromise.

However, to the dismay of the Democratic Leadership, it did not contain the required public option. The Democrats from the far left have sworn that a bill without the public option will not happen. The Republicans will not vote for any bill with a public option. The middle of the road Democrats, the Blue Dogs, are the key. So, maybe the plan is to just sneak the public option in at the last minute, create a sense of urgency and convince the Blue Dogs to vote for it. This is not transparency. This amounts to lies and deceit. Hey, maybe Wilson was right?

I have another question regarding this issue. Why will this miraculous form of Health Care Reform that is being proposed by the Democratic Leadership not take effect until 2013? Maybe, because the President and Congress both know what a disaster it will truly be and they want the President safely into his second term before the disaster strikes. Again, this seems deceitful. Hey, maybe Wilson was right?

President Obama says he wants the bill to be revenue neutral and will sign it in no other form. Yet, neither the President nor Congress has any plan on how to pay for it and keep it that way. Other than higher taxes that is. Oh, I’m sorry; the President and Congress are not calling them taxes. Remember, Obama promised that no one making less than $250,000 per year would have higher taxes. So, how is this bill being paid for: penalties. Sounds to me like taxes, after all if it smells like a duck . . . Again, maybe Wilson was right?

But, I digress. The point of this article is supposed to be about civilized debate. That is what we need. We need Health Care Reform. We all agree on that. Maybe Congress should stop trying to bite off more than it can chew and debate the real issues on Health Care Reform. Only, after real civilized debate will we be able to come up with a plan that actually works and makes both sides a little mad and both sides a little happy.

As I have stated before, the Republicans want the following issues addressed and debated. If the President wants this bill to be bipartisan and wants some Republican support, we need the following to be debated:

1. Coverage for Pre-existing Conditions;
2. Tort Reform;
3. Insurance availability across state borders;
4. No coverage for illegal aliens;
5. No coverage for elective abortions; and,
6. A means to pay for it that makes sense across the board and that will somewhat revenue neutral. (Anyone that thinks this is not going to cost some money is dreaming).

The Republican Party does not and has not ever wanted people to “die quickly.” It does not want people to die at all. But, it does want a carefully thought out plan that protects the people, the sovereignty of the states, and is fiscally sound. Representative Alan Grayson is definitely wrong and should apologize to the American people for his outlandish and hate filled statement.

© 2009 by Frank T. DeMartini. Permission to copy will be freely granted upon request.

Pawlenty preps 2012 campaign team - Jonathan Martin - POLITICO.com

I thought you might all like to see a little more in our "Finding Waldo," series. This is a good article about the strengths and weeknesses of Tim Pawlenty. Hopefully, both Ira and I will be able to spend a little time each week on the status and identity of the Republican newcomers. From this group, one leader definitely will emerge.



Pawlenty preps 2012 campaign team - Jonathan Martin - POLITICO.com

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Finding Waldo by Ira Schwartz

“YOU LIE!!” sliced through the Congress like a knife forcing everyone into stunned silence. “You lie”, two words that took Republican Joe Wilson less than two seconds to say but will haunt him for a lifetime. Two words that did more damage to a struggling Republican Party than Joshua’s trumpet did to the walls of Jericho. In those two seconds the Presidents Health Care Reform speech ceased to be the lead news story, now Joe Wilson was.

Republican John McCain on CNN’s Larry King Live said, “He (Wilson) was totally disrespectful for yelling out “You lie” and continued, “He must apologize for it immediately”. Shortly after the speech Wilson did just that and called the White House and apologized for his “inappropriate and regrettable comments”. The next day President Obama told the cabinet meeting he accepted the Congressman’s apology. End of story right? Well not quite.

Republicans and Democrats alike have said the apology by Wilson was not quite good enough. They wanted him to do it in the place where the crime occurred…Congress. Democrats delayed a House vote last Thursday so Wilson could issue his apology but none took place. No one in the Republican Party made Joe Wilson understand that his remark not only slighted the President but Congress and the Republican Party as well. The truth be told George W. Bush faired much worse than President Obama against his democratic opposition over the eight years of his term. But no one stood up before congress and the American people and insulted the president to his face. So my question is this….who’s running the Republican Party?

Margaret Thatcher said, “Consensus is the absence of leadership”. It appears today’s Republicans have taken that to heart. Since the election of Barack Obama to the presidency the Grand Old Party has become the Grand Invisible Party. Most of its members content at staying in the background and waiting for the Democrats to self destruct so they can fill the void. They hope the American people will have a very short memory; they hope the American people will forget the last eight years of Republican rule. They are making a serious error.

Lately GOP Chairman Michael Steele has stepped out of the shadows and into the light. His latest video, “Bill of Rights for Seniors” is aimed directly at the Democratic Healthcare Reform bill and has been getting a large number of hits on “YouTube”. This needs to continue…in spades. Though he is the party Chairman can he be considered the leader? Usually the party leader is the most viable candidate for the presidency. That being the case Mike Steele is out.

So let’s see if we can find Waldo in that consensus the honorable Margaret Thatcher was talking about. To start with there is Piyush “Bobby” Jindal, Republican Governor of Louisiana. Jindal was on the fast track to become the next golden boy of the Republican Party till his sad rebuttal to President Obama’s first speech to Congress was unilaterally panned by both Democrats and Republicans.

Next we have Ex vice Presidential Candidate and ex Governor Sarah Palin. Still in the news but the press she is gathering is more suitable to a game show host then any real viable candidate. He numbers have been dropping steadily. A CNN poll shows her popularity dropping from 46% to 39%. A new USA/GALLOP poll shows 19% of Americans would vote for her 41% would not. Among Republicans 35% said they would, 37% said “maybe”. Not good enough don’t ya’ know.

Third is Tim Pawlenty, current two term Governor of Minnesota. He managed to erase his state’s 4.3 billion dollar deficit without raising taxes in his first year. Since Governor Pawlenty has been in office Minnesota has ranked first in overall quality of life for its citizens, first in percentage of residents with a high school diploma, and first in residents over 25 with a bachelors degree. Minnesota is also ranked among the "Healthiest States in America." He was also in the running to be John McCain’s running mate in the ’08 elections.

Eric Cantor, a two term congressman from Virginia who was unanimously voted to the position of Republican Whip in 2008 is also on the short list. During his first term Cantor served as Chairman of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare. Later in his career he was a member of The House Financial Services Committee, the House International Relations Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee. Like Tim Pawlenty, Eric Cantor name was also tossed into the ring as a possible running mate for John McCain in ’08. Instead the Republicans picked Sarah Palin and lost the election.

But coming up fast on the outside is none other than Mike Huckabee, who managed to gather 29% of the votes in the latest straw poll taken this weekend. His closest competitors only managed a paltry 12%. At that same convention Mitt Romney had the quote of the week when he said, “I'll bet you never dreamed you'd look back at Jimmy Carter as the good old days." Sad but true.

At a time when the Republican Party is shrinking (AP polls indicate 42.6% of registered voters are Democrat, 32.5% are Republican and 24.8% are independent) someone needs to step forward and light a fire under the sleeping Republicans. Mike Steele is trying but he can’t do it alone. There needs to be one voice. A voice capable of silencing the shrill cries of Sarah Palin, a quitter and Joe Wilson, an embarrassed Congressman. If these are the true faces of the New Republican Party then I think most of us will continue to search for Waldo.

© 2009 By Ira Schwartz

The Measure of a Man by Ira Schwartz

“Doctor Death”, death panels, euthanasia of our seniors. Those 10 second sound bites have filled the media since the bomb that is HR 3200 was dropped. But let’s step back, back to how all of this started, back to ground zero, back to July 24th. On that day “The New York Post” printed an article by Betsy McCaughey titled “Deadly Doctors”. In this article McCaughey surgically slices and dices Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the president’s new Health Care advisor, on his published writings regarding patient care. I have listed a link to the article below so I won’t go into it too deeply. However I will say McCaughey paints Dr. Emanuel as the devil incarnate. Her only proof of this second coming of evil are the numerous quotes from and references to a number of Dr. Emanuel’s works. At least she properly listed her sources saving me hours of searching the internet for the material. After reviewing her references I discovered every single quote she used was grossly taken out of context. It was also painfully obvious Ms. McCaughey had never read any of Dr. Emanuel’s academic papers, especially the ones she quoted from. If she had she would have read Dr. Emanuel clearly stating in several of these papers, “I am not advocating this.” Can we say, “Yellow Journalism?” But this train wreck doesn’t stop here. Oh no, like a bad dream it gets worse.

On the floor of the House of Representatives Republican Michele Bachmann blatantly used the McCaughey article as gospel in her attack against the white house’s appointment of Dr. Emanuel to his new post. From her speech, which is available on “YouTube”, it is obvious that Bachmann, like McCaughey, failed to do her homework. But this gets better.

The ex republican vice presidential candidate and ex governor of Alaska (A lot of ex’s there don’t ya think) the “late but at least I arrived at the party”, Sarah Palin got her two cents in. And like all the rest before her, she boldly marched into the fray armed only with the facts as told by McCaughey. And I quote from her speech:

“Rep. Michele Bachmann highlighted the Orwellian thinking of the president’s health care advisor, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the brother of the White House chief of staff, in a floor speech to the House of Representatives. I commend her for being a voice for the most precious members of our society, our children and our seniors.

Of course, it’s not just this one provision that presents a problem. My original comments concerned statements made by Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a health policy advisor to President Obama and the brother of the President’s chief of staff. Dr. Emanuel has written that some medical services should not be guaranteed to those “who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens....An obvious example are not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia.” Dr. Emanuel has also advocated basing medical decisions on a system which “produces a priority curve on which individuals aged between roughly 15 and 40 years get the most chance, whereas the youngest and oldest people get chances that are attenuated.”

Actually Palin’s partial quote was from an article written by Dr. Emanuel for the “The Lancet”. He was discussing the merits of “The Complete Life System”. A system he did not create. The exact quote is:

“When implemented, The complete Life system produces a priority curve on which individuals aged between 15 and 40 years get the most substantial chance, whereas the youngest and oldest people get chances that are attenuated.”

It’s a little different once the quote is read in context isn’t it.

So who is Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel? Dr. Emanuel is an M.D. as well as holding a Ph.D.; Wikipedia lists him as an American NIH bioethicist (the study of ethical controversies brought about by advances in biology and medicine) and a fellow at the nonprofit bioethics research institute “The Hastings Center”. He is a leading opponent of euthanasia laws, sometimes called state-assisted suicide, and a proponent of a Guaranteed Healthcare Access Plan. He held the position of associate professor at Harvard Medical School in 1997 and now holds the position of Director of the Clinical Bioethics Department at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Dr. Emanuel is also the brother of Rahm Emanuel, the current White House Chief of Staff.

So what are we left with? No death panels, no Doctor Death no euthanasia’s only misquotes and misrepresentation and a compulsion of stating opinions and suppositions as facts.

Martin Luther King said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

Betsy McCaughey was nationally embarrassed by John Stewart on “The Daily Show” when she tried to defend her article. She later resigned from her position on the Cantel Medical board never apologizing for her misrepresentation of the facts. Republican Michele Bachmann remains silent on the issue as does “The New York Post”. Sarah Palin continues on her merry way, blindly rolling along telling everyone she said nothing wrong…again. Meanwhile every reputable medical journal, medical organization, newspaper (no not “The Post”) and magazine has come to the defense of Dr. Emanuel, the only person who seems to have stepped up to the plate. When asked about the rumors surrounding him Dr. Emanuel simply replied, “This is certainly untrue and a distortion of my record.” No biting retort, no complaints, no political rhetoric, not even a mention that his own sister suffers from Cerebral Palsy. He adds later, "We (the Emanuels) are pretty thick-skinned. I am not going to change my colors. I am not going to crawl under a rock."

If he did he would have to share it with the likes of Betsy McCaughey and Michele Bachmann.

After watching the widespread anger currently being aimed at the Democratic Party I would have expected better from the GOP. They need to understand that this tidal wave of dissent can as easily sweep Republicans away as Democrats. With Speaker Pelosi screaming at the top of her lungs how all those not in favor of Healthcare Reform are un-American the people need to see one party take the high road. The party that can achieve this will be the party the people follow.

Speaking of taking the high road I would like to add one final note. On July 25th at a Town Hall meeting in Sun City, Arizona Senator John McCain again showed the country and the world what a true American he really is. Below is a section taken from an article by Paul Lester published on “Deadline USA”.

“During the meeting in the retirement community of Sun City, Arizona, Obama's former rival defended the president after an attendee asked: "Doesn't he [Obama] know that we still live under a constitution?"

"I'm sure that he does," McCain said. After the crowd erupted into laughter, the Arizona senator said: "No, no. I am serious. I am sure that he does and I'm sure he respects the constitution."

"No!" the attendees shouted. McCain responded: "I am absolutely convinced of it. I just believe, my friends, that there is a fundamental difference in philosophy and about the role of government. That is why we have competition for public office and competition amongst parties, and competition about different ideas and vision for the future of America. I'm convinced the president is absolutely sincere in his beliefs."

McCain pleaded for a more civilized debate on healthcare: "He is sincere in his beliefs, we just happen to disagree. And he is the president. And let's be respectful.”

I wish more of our representatives on “The Hill” had the honor and courage Senator John McCain showed by crossing party lines to defend his ex rival and his president. He is the essence of what it means to be a true America.

As a footnote to all of this several senators have decided to exclude a provision on End-Of-Life care from the House version of the Healthcare Reform proposed bill. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement on August 13th that the provision had been dropped from consideration because it could be misinterpreted or implemented incorrectly. Someone is listening.

References:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07242009/postopinion/opedcolumnists/deadly_doctors_180941.htm
http://www.examiner.com/x-12837-US-Headlines-Examiner~y2009m8d15-Ezekiel-Emanuel-the-Deadly-Doctor-has-sister-with-Cerebral-Palsy-and-Sarah-Palin
http://www.scribd.com/doc/18280675/Principles-for-Allocation-of-Scarce-Medical-Interventions
http://www.thelancet.com/lancet-about
http://www.theodoresworld.net/archives/2009/08/rep_michele_bachmann_discusses.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betsy_McCaughey
http://www.fresh-thinking.org/publications/JAMA_perfect_storm.pdf
McCain video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2U4wQEF65w