Today in Washington D. C. - June 3, 2009

President Obama is now in the Middle East trying to influence the various Muslim leaders to what ends is still confusing. While he has opposed the U.S. having nuclear power plants, he has now expressed that Iran has a right to pursue their "peaceful" nuclear interests. He said this in spite of the facts that Iran already has sufficient oil to power their energy needs and that Iran's intent to date has been to develop a nuclear weapon. Obama did expressed concern for the people who died in a plane crash in South America. However, he but again failed as Commander-in-Chief to express concern for the families of a murdered soldier and of a seriously wounded soldier both of whome were shot on Monday by an identified Muslim in Little Rock, Arkansas. It appears that the other in his administration including the Pentagon and Secretary of Defense have taken his lead to not express their concern. [More on this story]

Yesterday the Senate voted 84-11 to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 1256 and resumes consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 1256, a bill to allow the FDA to regulate tobacco. In our history, who would have every thought that tobacco could be regulated as a food or drug. Again, Federal intervention into the lives of America under the current Obama administration.

As the debate over health care reform begins in earnest in Washington this week, Americans watching the process might be wondering, “What are Democrats trying to hide about their health care plan?”

In a must-read editorial today, The Wall Street Journal asks, “Why the Health Care Rush?” The WSJ points out, “Democrats are trying to rush the largest entitlement expansion since LBJ into law with a truncated debate and as little public scrutiny as possible. At this point all they've released are the vaguest ‘policy options,’ not concrete specifics. Yet the Senate plans to begin marking up legislation next week, maybe hold a hearing or two, then have something to the floor by the end of the month, votes by the August recess and a bill to the Oval Office by Thanksgiving.”

The Journal also notes, “[President] Obama had 24 Senate Democrats over for a White House chat yesterday to drive the calendar ahead.” The White House even released a list of all the senators who came to talk health care, but, interestingly, not one Republican was on that list, even though Obama and Senate Democrats have declared their determination to have a bipartisan process on health care.

So what is it that has Democrats trying to rush through a bill to overhaul 18% of the U.S. economy and have major negotiations without Republicans? The Wall Street Journal editors answer the question: “The reality is that Democrats are contemplating the most sweeping restructuring of the health markets since Medicare in 1965, and they don't want to let the details slow them down. Or to be more precise, they don't want to let the details let others slow them down.”

Among those details: taxing employer-provided health care benefits, in a bid to find some way to pay for such a major expansion of government. According to The New York Times, “Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana and chairman of the Finance Committee, said Mr. Obama indicated that he ‘might consider’ the idea of taxing some employer-provided health benefits, a proposal favored by Mr. Baucus. ‘It’s on the table,’ Mr. Baucus said. ‘It’s an option.’”

The Washington Post reminded readers that this would be a significant about-face for Obama. “[T]he issue represents treacherous politics for Obama, given his attacks on Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who advocated a similar approach during the campaign. ‘For the first time in American history, he wants to tax your health benefits,’ Obama said in September. ‘Apparently, Senator McCain doesn't think it's enough that your health premiums have doubled. He thinks you should have to pay taxes on them, too.’”

President Obama and Democrats should be more up front with their plans for the U.S. health care system, and what expanded government involvement in health care would mean for consumers and businesses in terms of costs, bureaucracy, and access to care. Why aren't they? Because as s The Journal puts it, “Their health overhaul will run up a 13-figure price tag at a time when spending and deficits are already at epic levels and hook up the middle class to an intravenous drip of government health subsidies for generations to come. These are not realities that Democrats want the American people to mull over for very long.”

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