First Conservative Blog

Jump the Shark episode of the Obama Show – Obama in Reruns

In a highly anticipated speech on health care reform, the President addressed a joint session of the US Congress last evening to say – well – not much new.  Although he threw a bone to conservatives about being open to Tort Reform, most other content was already delivered.  And it was delivered in 23 previous installments of the same Obama show.

Other things went according to expectation as well.  Senior White House advisor David Axelrod spent most of his evening demonizing those who opposed the President’s takeover plan – especially Karl Rove and other Republicans.  This was certainly the sort of bipartisanship that the President espouses.  But…Axelrod was only following the President’s lead in demonizing adversaries. 

The only GOPer to “call the President out” was South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson who reacted to an obvious mis-statement by the President that the proposed Health Care legislation was not intended to provide coverage to illegal aliens.  “You Lie!” was Wilson’s honest appraisal – delivered loudly on national television.  It seems that the President conveniently neglected to note that all language Republicans proposed to prevent illegal aliens from claiming health care coverage at taxpayer expense has been stripped out of all bills by the Democrat majority.  The Democrat’s obvious intent is to cover illegal aliens with taxpayer funded health insurance while at the same time encouraging them to violate federal law and vote in the next election.    In any event, despite the outburst, Wilson and the Republicans were far better behaved than Democrats watching a State of the Union speech by George W. Bush. 

The fact remains though, that there were few facts to go with this speech.  Americans have heard it all before.  It will be curious as to whether voters like the Obamacare plan any more after the speech than they did before.  As Democrats learned the hard way in August, details matter.  When Obama says that there will be no rationing of health care, reasonable people (anyone who read the bills) look at the legislation and conclude otherwise.  For the Prez to once again come out and say that there will be no rationing of care, service to illegal aliens (a fact so eloquently noted by Congressman Wilson) will not be provided and that the thing can be paid for mostly with Medicare savings, His credibility slides.  And although He gave his usual great theatrical performance, it is time to put this show into syndication for late nights on the TVLand channel.  The thrill is gone.

Obama has given 23 speeches on Health Care – each essentially the same.  Why did He think this one would produce a different result?  So just like Gilligan’s Island, Happy Days, Seinfeld and Cheers, the Obama show has lost its ability to attract new viewers.  Obama has in effect – “Jumped the Shark.”  In a painful reference to an awful episode of Happy Days where Fonzi jumped over a pool of sharks on water skis – signaling the end of anything new and interesting on the program, it is time for Team Obama to pull the plug on the speeches, substance-free theatrics and childish attempts to appear friendly to conservatives.  The jig is up and it is time for the Prez to get the hook. 

So in the interest of better entertainment, here is a look at the top issues of which the country has heard enough.

Medicare Savings – Government simply NEVER finds efficiencies or savings.  Period.  Governmental officers that promise such savings usually wind up finding none and add to the problem by adding in their salaries.   When Jerry Seinfeld set out to create a show about ‘nothing,’ he succeeded.  Unfortunately, Mr. Obama is going to find ‘nothing’ in Medicare savings because the program is essentially bankrupt right now!  Guess who would get the bill?

Illegal Aliens – Recalling the Gilligan’s Island episode where stunt flyer Wrong Way Riteman (or whatever his name was) landed on the island in his plane and promised to get the castaways off without actually intending to,  Obama should acknowledge that He has no intent to work with any conservative ideas.  Should all the illegal aliens start to claim health insurance under His proposal, they would receive it.  Obama would just say that He is following the law – the law which stripped out any enforcement measures to ensure that illegal aliens were not provided free services at taxpayer expense.   Wrong Way Obama has promised to get the taxpayers off this island, but He has little intent of following through.

Death Panels – Demonizing Sarah Palin for this will of course backfire.  There are in fact rationing boards in the Obama plan that will decide under what circumstances certain procedures will be allowed.  These are the actual death panels which will remove ‘freedom of choice’ from each Senior citizen’s set of options as she/he nears end of life.  If a government panel decrees that certain treatments are outside the approved protocol, the patient will not receive it.  This has been the case for EVERY nation that has national health care.  This one is too serious to make fun of.

Cost – In a famous episode of Happy Days (prior to Jumping the Shark), Richie drinks too much beer at a party and tries to take his pants off without removing his shoes.  Mr. Cunningham tells Richie that when he was a boy, they took their shoes off first before removing the pants.  Richie responds that “Oh Dad!  Things are different today!”  Obama Cunningham believes that things are indeed different today and that somehow the laws of economics – proven through the decades – don’t apply to Him or His policies.  Perhaps the Prez needs to take off his shoes like everyone else.  There cannot possibly be any cost savings from Medicare – a program which is now essentially broke and needs significant taxpayer subsidies already to meet its commitments.

Keep your Doctor – Who in their right mind would practice medicine and endure constant threats from ambulance chasing (Democrat supporting) lawyers – only to be supervised by a government bureaucrat?  Cheers featured a cast of folks whose career was serving beer to semi-over imbibed patrons.  These are the folks that would become doctors under the Obamacare plan.  Obama can’t seem to understand that His plan will drive private insurance out of business – or – that is His intent and He is simply being untruthful about his position.  During the speech, Obama noted that businesses failing to provide health insurance would be required to “chip in” to cover the cost of providing workers with health coverage in the national plan.  This “chip in” scheme is priced at 8% of payroll costs.  Most companies already pay upwards of 15%, so all the math wiz kids out there in Democrat land have concluded that companies will dump private coverage at 15% in favor of an 8% cost.  In addition to that, companies would save huge amounts in administrative overhead by dumping their workers onto the public plan.  Be clear… you will almost certainly NOT be able to keep your doctor or your insurance plan.  They won’t survive Obamacare.

In all, the Obama speech was uniquely unpersuasive and it was just plain boring – and old – and tiresome – and whining – and repetitive.  These are all indications that the Obama Show has indeed “Jumped the Shark.”  The great speech giver has worn out his teleprompter and has worn out the interest level of most viewers.  After ‘Jumping the Shark,” most programs never recover the level of interest required to be a continuing success.  Obama may go on to star in reruns, but only committed Democrats will watch.

Failing Econ 101 – Top Ten Economic Reasons Obamacare will Fail

Democrats in general and President Obama in particular know little of how an economy works.  An economy is typically looked at as a societal way of providing and acquiring goods and services.  The Soviet Union tried a different method of managing their ‘official’ economy, but only drove the free market underground.  If you were a resident of St. Petersburg back in the 70s and didn’t want to eat lard for dinner, you bought your food from someone in the back-alley who carried it in from the country.

Every economy  is market driven.  That is to say those individuals will seek to maximize the value they receive in exchange for a portion of their hard-earned income.  Individuals also act in their own self interest nearly 100% of the time.  It is this last point that has the Obama administration flummoxed.  The President thought that people would be happy to reduce their level of health care service in exchange for… well… in exchange for providing a bunch of folks who can already afford insurance as well as a couple million illegal aliens some form of health service.  Obama’s core problem is that voters actually read the House bills.

The wealthy don’t have nearly the concerns that the middle classes do for acquiring goods and services.  The Wealthy therefore do not need to keep the free market as open and as efficient as possible as they have their long term interests already secured.  The wealthy are also surprisingly more apt in the current political climate, to be represented by Democrats.  In fact, of the 25 wealthiest Congressional districts in the US, 14 are now represented by Democrats.

Democrats consider themselves the upper crust and elite of American society although few will admit to it.  The moral superiority that comes with saying “I am successful and I am a Democrat” is losing its luster now though as real live voters are asking if any Congressional Democrat has read the health care bills.   The problems always start when the limousine liberals begin to make policy.  As fits their role in society, they are the philosopher-kings of modern America and as such they decree what is law.  If they say there will be no Health Care rationing, then that should be good enough for the common folk.  It really doesn’t matter how the bill is written or what it will really do.

Democrats have themselves in such a box now over their health care failures.  They really, REALLY counted on the voters ignoring the debate and trusting their representatives to do what is best for them.  After all, that is what Democrats do – decide things for others.  Unfortunately, Democrats and those on the left have no inkling of what makes an economy successful and what makes the economy in the United States the best and most productive in the world.  It is these failings of understanding that will undo the Democrat’s takeover of health care.  Here are the top ten Econ Laws that the lefties don’t seem to understand.  Fortunately, the average voter understands. 

10.  Granny is a protester – And she isn’t afraid of Keith Olbermann.  Take away her right to chose (her own life) and Granny will be busting down the door to the town hall with a shotgun.    When the lefties removed personal choice in favor of government mandated treatment standards, Grandma will have to follow the rules and go without the treatments that might help extend her life.  Unfortunately for the limo lefties – she doesn’t want to.   Econ Law violated:  People always act in their best self interest.

9.  Reducing while increasing costs – The lefties have positioned the argument that costs will be reduced for most health care services.  Unfortunately, most adults understand that to reduce health care costs somewhere, someone has to pay or the taxpayer gets cheated.  Under this legislation, Doctors are facing huge decreases in their reimbursements for services provided to senior citizens.   If people are forced by government to earn less, fewer of them will remain in practice.  This leaves fewer medical practitioners to serve potentially millions of illegal aliens as well as those Americans currently uninsured.    It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine what happens to actual medical costs at that point.   Econ Law Violated:  Scarcity of services drives costs up (not down).  Obama can’t possibly deliver reduced costs under this system.

8.  There is no ‘free lunch’ – Senior Citizens also understand that the discount received at Sunday brunch has to be made up somewhere else.  Usually, having the family join Grandma and Grandpa at Denny’s balances out things for the restaurant – Grandma and Grandpa get a discount, the rest of the family makes up for it.  Government cannot possibly provide the same medical services that Grandma and Grandpa receive now at a reduced cost without taxpayers footing the huge bill.  Econ Law Violated:  People want the value that they pay for – and don’t want that value going to benefit someone else.

7. When Democrats say “We” they typically mean ‘You.”  Democrats operate by different rules than the rest of us.  Now that voters have had a chance to read the proposed health care legislation – although though many of their representatives haven’t – even the lunatics at MSNBC can’t turn back the wave of anger.  Most Democrats in Congress have shown that they won’t enroll their own families in the public plan.  Voters understand that if the health care public option is a good plan, people will be anxious to sign up.  If the people that wrote the legislation aren’t willing to participate, why should anyone else?  Econ Law Violated:  A product has to be good enough for the creators to buy before consumers will consider it.

6. Democrats ran hard last fall on the illusion of a middle class tax cut.  Now that the CBO (the only people in Washington who can operate a calculator) have made the case that the proposed versions will only escalate costs and not reduce them, the middle classes are seeing themselves in the cross-hairs of Obama’s tax target finder. Econ Law Violated:  ‘Bait and Switch’ only works once – if that.

5.  Government workers that are expected to run the massive federal infrastructure necessary to oversee the new health care system will probably expect to be paid. The Congressional Budget Office at least took this into consideration when preparing their estimate of the ultimate impact should the health care legislation be enacted.   The cost of administering this system – much less providing the benefits – is overwhelming.  Adults who vote understand this.  Econ Law Violated:  Regulation and Bureaucracy Never Save Money – so who gets the bill?

4. “You can keep your current health care plan if you choose” admonishes the President.  Even He understands that statement is contingent on the employer choosing to offer the same plan next year.  Careful reading of the legislation reveals that employers will be financially penalized if they do not turn their workers over to the government option.  Obama’s House allies conveniently noted that most employers pay upwards of 11% on employee salaries to provide health care.  Should companies choose not to provide health care and effectively turn workers over to the government, they will pay an 8% penalty on salaries.  Dumping private insurance then cuts operating costs by 3% of salaries.  Companies in competitive businesses will be compelled to drop private coverage to keep up with competitors’ cost structures.  So that plan you like right now just won’t be there.  Econ Law Violated:  Companies are inanimate organizations – they will ALWAYS do what is financially best for the organization. 

3.  Leftists – including the Golden Tongued President, build their empires on the belief that voters will support them if they provide benefits at someone else’s expense.  This is why a balanced budget amendment is needed.  The failure in the health care debate is that the ‘benefits’ have turned out to be quite a bit less than the health care citizens currently enjoy.  And on top of that, the thing has a huge price tag.  Team Obama has floated the idea that “the wealthy” can be made to pay for it, but the size of the bill makes this silly.  Econ Law Violated:  Government has no money that it doesn’t first extort through taxation.  And taking money from ‘the wealthy’ kills jobs. (Proven, historical fact)

2.  Democrats just can’t seem to figure out how to repeal the Law of Supply and Demand.  The Soviets tried this for decates without success.  The number of general practicing physicians is declining, which in the best of circumstances will only create greater scarcity of medical service.  With Doctors set to become essentially federal employees, many of these will instead choose other occupations which of course exacerbates the scarcity.  When the federal government sets prices at rates below the current rate for services to seniors, the government has effectively set a price for service that ensures there will be no services available – just like the Soviets setting food prices below the cost of production, which led to nothing but fried lard for dinner.  Econ Law Violated:  Nothing on earth overrules the Law of Supply and Demand.

1.  Team Obama is run by a bone head.  This should be a ‘no brainer.’  Folks expect to pay good money for good products and services.  When those services increase in cost, the market expects that quality and quantity of service will improve or remain relatively constant.   The Chosen One so arrogantly believed in his persuasive skills (or believed in the utter stupidity of the American voters) that He could persuade people to accept an incredible decrease in service – even bordering on withholding services at the end of life to save money – and at the same according to the CBO, absorb a huge cost increase.  People aren’t above paying a premium for the best health care in the world.  Raising taxes while cutting health services to provide care to those that either won’t buy their own insurance or for illegal aliens isn’t acceptable.  Arlen Specter found that out the hard way.  Specter’s bigger lesson will take place in 2010.   Econ Law Violated:  People expect direct benefits proportional to what they pay.

President Obama retired to a posh vacation home on Martha’s Vineyard this past Friday leaving His effort to take over American health care somewhat in doubt. He left His spokespersons to carry on the battle in the face of an unusually united Republican opposition.  This opposition is supported by all voters with brain matter. And while He vacations when many Americans can no longer afford to go camping for the weekend; the various spokespersons are taking the healthcare battle forward.

For several weeks, Obama aides have concluded that the President Himself is the best salesman for healthcare reform. Unfortunately, whenever Mr. Obama presents His case, support for the enterprise drops. So… the vacation seemed to be a good excuse to throw in some second team players to see if they can move the ball. The resulting fumbles only fuel doubt that anyone in government can make something like a government run health insurance program work.

Democrats believe that they – as the ruling class – are to set the agenda and make the rules. Other, lesser, working people are to figure out how to make their decrees, laws and initiatives work. When Obama says that healthcare reform will not result in rationing of health services, He genuinely believes it. After all, His role is setting the rules. Others have to make it work. If He says that there will be no rationing, then there will be no rationing. It is just that simple. What more do people need to know?

The trouble with healthcare reform really began when lefties in the House had to commit their plans to paper. Democrats didn’t count on people actually reading the resulting bills. And when constituents got wind of what was being considered, they began to crash the congressional town hall love fests. The Obama campaign for health care reform then re-engaged in the debate to state and restate that all the bad things – like increased costs, decreased access and care rationing – are just not going to happen. Repeating the same mantra without addressing the details within the proposed legislation makes the President appear childish – and now His poll numbers reflect it.

So it is off to the Vineyard with the fam this week to let some second stringers take a shot. And after the Sunday shows this weekend, none of the Presidents scrubs are faring any better than the big guy. So here is the top ten list of worst spokespersons for health care reform:

10. MSNBC – Yelping lunatics on the air have not been able to convince folks that health care reform as proposed won’t pull the plug on Granny’s respirator. Olberman isn’t exactly the picture of fairness or credibility on any issue, so the Obama administration would do well to discourage their allies in the peacock newsroom to clam up. They would get more viewers on Rachel Maddow if they went back to talking about Che Guevara.

9. CNN – Wolf Blitzer actually tried to answer some viewer’s questions about health care reform on the Situation Room last week, but the questions they chose to answer all produced the response “we don’t know” or “we will have to wait and see.” That is surely helpful to the cause. Before ruining one sixth of the American economy, most sane people – including our Senior Citizens – don’t accept the “don’t know” answer. Someone with some facts and logic has got to explain the details within the House bills before the idea will get any support. Unfortunately, only Republicans and commentators have attempted to read the thousands of pages that were produced in only a few days.

8. Senators Max Baucus , Kent Conrad, Byron Dorgan - Could Democrats have possibly found any more boring US Senators to speak for healthcare? Well, no. These guys all look essentially the same, speak as if they just woke up from a nap and come from fundamentally red states. Baucus – by virtue of his chairmanship of the Senate Finance Committee has to give interviews on health care reform, but networks hate talking with him lest they lose audience share to nap time. Even Olberman has to slow down his pace when conversing with Montana Max.

7. Senator Harry Reid –A horrible spokesperson for anything except his retirement, the good Senator from Nevada is now in fact contemplating just such a future. Any Republican candidate – from a basketball coaches’ son to someone else no one has really heard of – would beat ‘ol Harry in a walk if the election were held now. And unfortunately for Reid, Team Obama couldn’t care less whether Searchlight Harry gets re-elected or not. The administration will continue to pressure Reid to comply. Voters – whom Reid works for – will continue to pressure him to resist. Just like a bad sit-com, the drama will take place late next year when Nevada voters finally fire this loon.

6. Congressperson Barney Frank – One wonders how Frank will achieve re-election after comparing one of his constituents to a dining room table. A dining room table just might possess more intellect than the good Congressman and at least the conversation would be quieter. It should be noted that the Massachusetts windbag enjoys the support of AIG and other Wall Street bigwigs, so he will always be tough to beat. However, the administration should avoid letting Barney talk out loud as he –like the President- refuses to actually answer any questions and isn’t above abusing constituents.

5. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer – the anti-Pelosi – Hoyer seems to be the one chosen to lull those that object to health care reform into feeling that they might be getting their message to Washington. Late last week, Congressman Hoyer stated publicly that the public option might have to be eliminated for a bill to gain passage in the House. It seems that Hoyer answers his phone when fellow Congressfolks phone in from their town hall meetings.

4.House Speaker Fancy Nancy Pelosi –the anti Hoyer – (Notice how Team Obama has put the kibosh on letting Pelosi do too much in the way of public speaking on health care? ) After comparing normal voters to Nazis, Pelosi stated late last week that no bill could pass the House without inclusion of the public option. She and Hoyer are scheduled for coffee on Monday morning.

3.HHS Secretary Kathleen of Sebelius – This isn’t Kansas anymore. Originally brought in as a symbol of Obama’s benevolence to states that usually vote red, Sebelius ignited a firestorm among the lunatic fringe of the Democrat party when she noted that the public option wasn’t necessarily a key part to the President’s health care agenda. The administration then spent most of last week cooling tempers on the left and giving the wink and a nod that the public option will absolutely be included in the legislation. She then stated that the media had created the misunderstanding. At least she has learned that it is plausible to blame the media for getting out the wrong message.

2. Senator (currently) Arlen Specter – Arlen Specter figured out that he would lose a GOP primary race to Pat Toomey. So rather than just voting with the Democrats, Specter then decided to become one – clearing the way for Toomey to roll into next fall’s election without engaging in a tough primary fight. Meanwhile, Specter is left running his town hall meetings in the face of angry opposition and trying to convince the Democrat party that he can indeed beat Toomey in the general election. Like a man at the center of a circular firing squad, turncoat Arlen stutters though the town hall meetings looking dazed and confused.

1. Robert “Family Guy” Gibbs – Number one in the trust-building business, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs’ job is to make the President look good. Following on the heels of a campaign where the President was treated like a saint, Gibbs thought he had the easiest job in the world. Unfortunately, making members of the press look foolish – even CNN reporters will get angry and start asking real questions. The platitudes that used to produce such adoration in the press aren’t working anymore so Gibbs has been punching up his resume.

Honorable mention goes to Joe Biden – who also has been restricted to that previously undisclosed secret location lest he lend his ‘wordsmithing’ skill to Obamacare. With Obamacare on the ropes, the Dems want him exiled as far away as possible – to someplace like the Congo.

Honorable mention also goes to Hillary – who actually was exiled to the Congo.