{"id":259,"date":"2010-02-22T17:10:03","date_gmt":"2010-02-22T17:10:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lynnvsekulow\/2010\/02\/a-photo-op-for-health-care.html"},"modified":"2010-02-22T17:10:03","modified_gmt":"2010-02-22T17:10:03","slug":"a-photo-op-for-health-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2010\/02\/a-photo-op-for-health-care.html","title":{"rendered":"A Photo-Op for Health Care?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barry, <\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Time to revisit health care reform and I am hopeful you will agree with me that this week’s Presidential Health Care Summit is shaping up to be nothing more than a photo opportunity for President Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sure, the President has invited a handful of Republicans to sit down to discuss health care reform.  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font> <\/p>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font>But, Barry, I ask you what is there to discuss?  <\/span>President Obama has unveiled his own health care plan – in advance of the so-called ‘summit<\/a>.’ <\/font><\/font><\/font> <\/span>The White House says<\/a> ‘we view this as the opening bid for the health meeting.’  <\/font><\/font><\/font>Does that mean President Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress is willing to wipe the slate clean and start over?  <\/span>I doubt it.<\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I think House Republican Leader John Boehner <\/a>is probably more on target when he says the President’s plan has “crippled the credibility” of the summit by “proposing the same massive government takeover of health care based on a partisan bill the American people have already rejected.”<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

Barry, in poll<\/a> <\/font>after poll<\/a>, <\/font>the American people simply don’t like what’s happening – they want to start over when it comes to health care reform.  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font> <\/p>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font>And, most Americans don’t want federal funds used to pay for abortions – something that we discussed before<\/a>. <\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

I was hoping to see some language in President Obama’s proposal that embraced the Stupak-Pitts Amendment approved by the House in its version of health care reform – language that prohibits using federal funds to pay for abortions.  <\/span>Don’t bother looking.  <\/span>That language is not there.  <\/span>What is there is the President signing off on the Senate-approved language on abortion funding <\/a>– language that does not adequately prevent federal funds from paying for abortions.   <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font> <\/p>\n

And, even before the summit occurs, more promises from the Democrat-controlled Congressional leadership to use a legislative scheme to push health care through – without meaningful input from Republicans – a tactic<\/a> that hardly reflects a bipartisan solution that Americans deserve.  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/p>\n

<\/span>The question now – Will President Obama’s health care ‘summit’ really mean anything?  <\/span>Is it a legitimate meeting of the minds or a just a high-profile photo-op?  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font> <\/p>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font>We’ll see.<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/font> <\/p>\n

To subscribe to “Lynn v. Sekulow” click <\/font>here<\/font><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/font><\/span>.<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/font> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Barry,   Time to revisit health care reform and I am hopeful you will agree with me that this week’s Presidential Health Care Summit is shaping up to be nothing more than a photo opportunity for President Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress.   Sure, the President has invited a handful of Republicans to sit down…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,217,123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-congress","category-health-care","category-president-barack-obama"],"yoast_head":"\nA Photo-Op for Health Care? - Lynn v. 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Jay Sekulow has also served as a faculty member for the Office of Legal Education at the United States Department of Justice.  As a member of the faculty he instructed Assistant United States Attorneys and investigators in the First Amendment issues associated with prosecution of obscenity. An accomplished and respected judicial advocate, Sekulow has presented oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in numerous cases in defense of constitutional freedoms. Several landmark cases argued by Sekulow before the U.S. Supreme Court have become part of the legal landscape in the area of religious liberty litigation.  In the Mergens case, Sekulow cleared the way for public school students to form Bible clubs and religious organizations on their school campuses.  In the Lamb's Chapel case, Sekulow defended the free speech rights of religious groups, ensuring that they be treated equally with respect to the use of public facilities.  And, most recently, in McConnell v. FEC, Sekulow ensured that the constitutional rights of young people remain protected with a unanimous decision by the high court guaranteeing that minors can participate in political campaigns. A nationally recognized and respected defender of religious freedom, Sekulow has assembled one of the most prestigious law firms in the nation.  Founded in 1990, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses in constitutional law.  The ACLJ, under Sekulow's direction, is involved in public interest and public policy issues working to protect religious and constitutional liberties. In 2007, the Chicago Tribune concluded that the ACLJ has \"led the way\" in Christian legal advocacy.  In 2005, TIME Magazine named Sekulow one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America and called the ACLJ \"a powerful counterweight\" to the ACLU.  Business Week said the ACLJ is \"the leading advocacy group for religious freedom.\"  Sekulow's work on the issue of judicial nominees - including possible vacancies at the Supreme Court - has received extensive news coverage including a front page story in The Wall Street Journal.  In addition, The National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \"100 Most Influential Lawyers\" in the United States (1994, 1997).  He is also among a distinguished group of attorneys known as \"The Public Sector 45\" named by The American Lawyer (January\/February 1997).  The magazine said the designation represents \"45 young lawyers outside the private sector whose vision and commitment are changing lives.\" Sekulow brings insight and education to listeners daily with his national call-in radio program, Jay Sekulow Live!, which is broadcast throughout the country on nearly 850 radio stations.  Sekulow also hosts a weekly television program, ACLJ This Week, which tackles the tough issues of the day and is broadcast on a number of networks nationwide including the Trinity Broadcasting Network and FamilyNet.  Sekulow is also a popular guest on nationally televised news programs on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, CNBC, and PBS.  He frequently contributes articles and commentary to national publications and is often quoted in the nation's leading newspapers including USA Today, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Washington Times. A graduate of Mercer University, Sekulow graduated cum laude receiving both a bachelor's degree and doctor of jurisprudence from Mercer University where he served on the Mercer Law Review as an editorial staff member.  Following graduation, Sekulow served as a tax trial attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service.  In that capacity, Sekulow prepared and brought to trial tax cases on behalf of the United States Department of Treasury in United States Tax Court. He also received a Ph.D. from Regent University, with a dissertation on American Legal History, and is the author of numerous publications and law articles. Sekulow serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, DC.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/author\/jsekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}