Pelosi and Hoyer Opine On Un-American Dissent To Health Care Steamroller?

So, USA Today published an op-ed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

That they published the op-ed isn't unusual.

What is unusual is what they said and claimed.

In the meantime, as members of Congress spend time at home during August, they are talking with their constituents about reform. The dialogue between elected representatives and constituents is at the heart of our democracy and plays an integral role in assuring that the legislation we write reflects the genuine needs and concerns of the people we represent.

However, it is now evident that an ugly campaign is underway not merely to misrepresent the health insurance reform legislation, but to disrupt public meetings and prevent members of Congress and constituents from conducting a civil dialogue. These tactics have included hanging in effigy one Democratic member of Congress in Maryland and protesters holding a sign displaying a tombstone with the name of another congressman in Texas, where protesters also shouted "Just say no!" drowning out those who wanted to hold a substantive discussion.

Let the facts be heard

These disruptions are occurring because opponents are afraid not just of differing views — but of the facts themselves. Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American. Drowning out the facts is how we failed at this task for decades.

Health care is complex. It touches every American life. It drives our economy. People must be allowed to learn the facts.

The first fact is that health insurance reform will mean more patient choice. It will allow every American who likes his or her current plan to keep it. And it will free doctors and patients to make the health decisions that make the most sense, not the most profits for insurance companies.

I will tackle this in turn.

First is the actual claim that opposing views are being drowned out. That has been witnessed on several videos from town hall meetings where Representatives have found crowds hostile to the evasive answers provided by said represenatives. They can't honestly answer basic questions about the health care plans being proffered, and some in those crowds have gotten heated.

Then, there's the astounding claim that such dissent is Un-American.

Really?

Would that be like the crazies in Code Pink who routinely sought to disrupt Republicans speaking in Congress or other leftists in and around the country seeking to do the same to President Bush? After all, current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton once opined that dissent is the highest form of patriotism and that they have the right to question the Administration.



I guess that now the Democrats are in charge, dissent from the left's positions aren't nearly as patriotic. How quaint.

None of the dissent and heated town hall meetings means that anyone on either side of the aisle has a right to engage in violence, or threaten to violence. There is a way to handle matters in a civil matter, but those boundaries are being pushed from all sides.

That's pushing the actual debate on the issues to the sidelines and allowing radicals to dictate what gets coverage, rather than showing the empty promises of the Administration's claims to savings as a result of imposing the health care plans.

Now, as to the claims that the opposition is somehow misrepresenting what is stated in the health care bill. It's quite easy for Pelosi and Hoyer to claim that things are misrepresented, but that misrepresentation includes the Administration and supporters of the bill. This massive legislation continues to undergo amendments, but key components should raise serious questions over core components of Obama's claims - namely that you'll be able to keep your existing health care plan. You might be able to keep your plan now, but what about next year (after your annual renewals?) What about companies that are exempt from ERISA?

More importantly, how is all of this going to be paid for when the CBO and other critics (nonpartisan and partisan) don't know how any of the numbers add up unless there are significant taxes imposed on the middle class (and surely below the threshold claimed by President Obama on the campaign trail).

No, Reps. Hoyer and Pelosi clearly want to undermine debate on the matter, and the Administration's attempts to rush through this legislation with a minimum of debate shows that there is a fundamental dishonesty by these leaders and an intent to deceive the American people about the true costs of the health care plans under consideration.

The fact is that most Americans are happy with their existing health insurance and health care plans. Access to health care is provided, but many question the cost. This health care bill intends to rework the entire system to promote "access" to a small portion of people in the US, and it is by no means clear that it will result in more accessibility to care, let alone maintain the existing level and quality of care.

Examples from overseas suggest that government mandated health care results in lower quality of care, and examples from US states' experiments in government health care has resulted in severely underestimating the costs, which must be made up through higher taxes or curtailing benefits.