If You Can't Beat 'Em, Buy 'Em!
Proving that the President "can buy me love," the blog of the Los Angeles Times has uncovered a web ad that shows how desperate the Left is for support. The Fund for the Public Interest is actually offering to pay "volunteers" to support the President's takeover. "Work to pass Obama's health care plan and get paid to do it! $10-15 hr!" The ad promises anywhere from $400-$600 a week to people who agree to rally on the administration's behalf, presumably at townhall meetings. Maybe the slogan should be "Work for change--and make some too!" Not everyone has pure motives, but it's somewhat ironic that the Left blames conservatives for "manufacturing" anger when their groups are hiring it! Of course, this strategy is bound to be more productive than the leadership's contribution, which has largely consisted of public name-calling. Just this week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) joined the messaging train wreck and called angry voters "evil-mongers." Yesterday he thought better of the term, telling reporters sheepishly, "I maybe could have been less descriptive. I doubt you'll hear it from me again."
Speaking of things that Americans are hoping not to hear more of, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley (R) confirmed today that his chamber's Finance Committee dropped the controversial "end-of-life provisions" from its bill "because of the way they could be misinterpreted and implemented incorrectly..."
In recent days, the issues of rationing and assisted suicide have heated up in the press and across the country--so much so that the U.S. House is having difficulty keeping up with voter emails. According to a report in the Associated Press, the congressional computers are overwhelmed with messages. Jeff Ventura with the House administrative office, said, "It is clearly health care reform. There's no doubt about it."
People have plenty of concerns, particularly as old quotes surface from the President's health care "czar," the brother of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. In the past, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel advocated a health care system in which services "should not be guaranteed" to anyone whose circumstances or conditions "[prevent them] from being or becoming participating citizens." (The Hastings Center Report, November-December 1996). He also said it should give priority to those who are "between roughly 15 and 40 years..." The question then becomes who--and what--defines a "participating citizen"? Would older or disabled Americans be excluded from care because they aren't perceived by Washington as contributing members to society? Emanuel also writes in the Journal of the American Medical Association (June 18, 2009) that "Doctors take the Hippocratic Oath too seriously...." When it comes to doing "no harm," this is one patient who's grateful they do!
Additional Resources Read Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel's report