Blogs > It's Time To Take A Stand

Being a business theatre producer has allowed Brian the opportunity to meet and work with some very fascinating people from a variety of backgrounds which, in turn, has helped shape his knowledge and his opinions. His blog will not always be political, it will be about a lifetime of subjects, and nothing is off limits. “Few people have original thoughts, we are shaped by the people we know and meet” he says.



Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Health Care Showdown Partisanship Continues

With the Obama White House Health Care seminar coming to a screen near you, the degree of misinformation is elevated to proportions of astonishing heights.

The Democrats claim it is going to be an open ended discussion with the opportunity to have Republican input. Republicans claim it is a closed ended game of political positioning by the Democrats because they have already finalized the bill without any input from them.

The only thing upon which both parties agree is that Health Care needs reform. That is where it begins and that is where it stops. Neither party is willing to give an inch of their territory. Neither party is really willing to negotiate or compromise. Neither party is willing to listen to the other side.

To be fair the Republicans have been barred from many closed door meetings by the Democrats. The Democrats had enough votes to pass the bill but failed because they don't have the courage of their convictions. They don't want to take the blame for the fiasco the bill claims to fix. They don't want to be held responsible for their own voting record.

The Republicans, on the other hand, claim they were shut out of the Democratic process by the Democrats. They claim that none of their ideas are included in the bill. They can't even get a vote on their ideas or suggestions.

I ask you what would the difference be if the Republicans were the majority power? Would they have the courage to tackle the Health Care mess? Would they shut the Democrats out? Would they mirror the Democrats actions?

They did in the previous decade when they had the majority control. What makes us think they will be different this time? Should they become the majority party after the November elections we will have to wait and see.

They now know that the public is looking for major reform on Health Care, on entitlements, on illegal immigration, on government deficit spending, on balancing the budget, among the many other actions required to numerous to list here.

They may get their chance but I guarantee it will be their last chance to get it right before a viable third party arises from the ashes of government to challenge both parties.

Many Americans don't like the way government is being run and want to see someone take the lead, but neither Republicans nor Democrats have any real leaders. As Lee Iaccoca said in his book, "Where have all the leaders gone?" We have nothing but bullys and tacticians in government and no one has any experience in the real world of business.

That is my take of the current situation, what is yours?

9 Comments:

Anonymous William said...

Brian,

I think you hit it right on the head. Neither Party wants to have to take sole credit for this, even though both of them have a history of growing government involvement in the HC industry.

In my opinion the large majority held by the Dems actually hurts them because they need the appearance of bi-partisanship. If 2010 gives us a bare Dem majority or even a bare Dem minority I think we'll see movement on HC because they can ally with GOP moderates and have the appearance of bi-partisanship that they both want and need.

February 24, 2010 at 1:27 PM 
Blogger Brian J Perks said...

Sad but true. Politicians are afraid to lead because it may have consequences and requires character, something that is sorely missing in Washington.

February 24, 2010 at 5:51 PM 
Blogger Bruce Fealk said...

Brian, you have completely misunderstood the mood of the country from your myopic view. The American people want solutions, not bipartisanship.

Republicans have NO solutions. All they have is partisan attacks. I hope President Obama goes on offense in today's health care summit and shows up the Republicans for the obstructionists they really are.

It's time to solve the health care crisis and do it without Republicans and use reconciliation if necessary, the same way George W. Bush did to get his massive tax cuts for the wealthy through.

February 25, 2010 at 5:22 AM 
Blogger Brian J Perks said...

Give me a break, Bruce! I agree that the American people want solutions, it is the Democrats that want bipartisanship because they are afraid to lead without the support of the Republicans. The just want to cover their collective butts, to be able to say it is a bipartisan Health Care bill. They have the courage of cowards.

Mind you, I don't think the Republicans have much more courage either. But I have the courage to at least admit it. This shouldn't be a Republican or a Democrat issue but your blind devotion to only Democrats is typical of the problems we are faced with Washington.

February 25, 2010 at 8:38 AM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

All the left has done is compromise. If we didn't do any compromising, we'd be talking about single payer right now.

Everything the Republicans want in the bill is in the bill. Now they need to pass it along with the Democrats.

February 25, 2010 at 12:25 PM 
Blogger Bruce Fealk said...

Republicans need to quit their whining. The American people are unhappy because there hasn't been any action on health care. The Republicans wouldn't touch health care when they had power during the Bush years.

This is a crisis of monumental proportions. If Republicans were truly pro life, they'd get behind health care reform. 45,000 people a year die from lack of health care.

Democrats compromised with Republicans to get their votes. They didn't get any Republican votes. Now it's time to pass health care without Republicans and conservative Democrats.

February 26, 2010 at 6:29 AM 
Blogger Brian J Perks said...

I guess we will have to wait to see what level of courage and commitment our young President has? Whether he will pass a Health Care bill through reconciliation.

Remember the penalty of leadership is that you have to lead with actions, not just words.

February 26, 2010 at 8:45 AM 
Anonymous William said...

Brian, forgive me for this post. I wouldn't ordinarily comment on another post but I couldn't let this slide. If you see fit to delete this I understand.

"Republicans need to quit their whining"
-No, they don't. As much as you may hate this fact, they are a major political party who represent a valid viewpoint.
"The American people are unhappy because there hasn't been any action on healthcare"
-How nice of you to speak for the American people. Polls say that most people are covered and are happy with their coverage, and do not want it messed with. Some tweaking is fine, but that's not what we're talking about, is it?
"The Republicans wouldn't touch health care when they had power during the Bush years"
-Really? Just because they didn't institute a full federal takeover doesn't mean that they did nothing. Federal involvement in the HC industry increased quite a bit during the GOP majority Congresses, and some of the American people that you claim to speak for have a problem with that. I in particular have a serious problem with SCHIP. In fact, McCain's support of SCHIP is one of the reasons I didn't vote for him.
"This is a crisis of monumental proportion"
-I would think that if this claim were made then at the very least a sizable minority of people would be dropping dead in the streets. Not the case, nice try though.
"If Republicans were truly pro life, they'd get behind Health care reform"
-Are you seriously trying to compare a fetus to a fully functioning adult? Oh my God!
"45,000 people a year die from lack of healthcare"
-Probably so, and that's a problem which must be dealt with but let's not use a bazooka to kill a mosquito.
"Democrats compromised with Republicans to get their votes. They didn't get any Republican votes"
-In other words, the Democrats don't have the votes to pass this. That should tell you something.
"Now it's time to pass healthcare without Republicans and conservative Democrats"
-Honesty. An acknowledgement that the Democrat leadership doesn't even represent their own Party. I hope they do try to use reconciliation, because it's political suicide.

February 26, 2010 at 12:22 PM 
Blogger Brian J Perks said...

William...Feel free to comment on anyone's opinion, especially Bruce's, our follow blindly Liberal. I appreciate all comments and value them. I would never delete a post because I agree or disagree with it.

Bruce, William's comments are meant for you to consider.

By the way, William, I agree with 99% of what you say but I also know that some degree of Health Care reform needs to happen. Things like opening up the market to purchase across state lines, more competition is better. Some sort of tort reform is needed and some kind of measure to avoid pre-existing condition elimination needs to happen at the least. Also fraud of Medicare and Medicaid needs to be addressed along with massive government waste and corruption.

Last summer, President Obama defended the Canadian system as one that "works for Canada."

If the Canadian system is so good, why did the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador(that is like the Governor of a state)Danny Williams come to the U.S. to have heart surgery? Probably because he didn't like his choices (sorry the choices made for him) in Canada.

Being a former Canadian, I like Canada. Maybe we should send Michael Moore to Canada for his health care in the future.

February 26, 2010 at 1:19 PM 

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