{"id":260,"date":"2010-02-26T12:19:51","date_gmt":"2010-02-26T12:19:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lynnvsekulow\/2010\/02\/summit-reveals-real-goal-in-he.html"},"modified":"2010-02-26T12:19:51","modified_gmt":"2010-02-26T12:19:51","slug":"summit-reveals-real-goal-in-he","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2010\/02\/summit-reveals-real-goal-in-he.html","title":{"rendered":"Summit Reveals Real Goal in Health Care Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

 <\/p>\n

It was almost too much to watch.  <\/span>Not that it was compelling television – it wasn’t.  <\/span>Just the sheer amount of time (nearly eight hours) devoted to what amounted to nothing more than a photo-op for President Obama and the Congressional Democrats to tout their health care plan.  <\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There wasn’t much bipartisanship exhibited here, but what did become apparent is that the real goal of the summit was to clear the way for the Democrats to go-it-alone and force their health care plan on the American people using ‘reconciliation<\/a>.’ <\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That’s really too bad.  <\/span>The fact is that ‘reconciliation’ should not be used to pass health care reform.  <\/span>It’s a partisan, legislative maneuver and is usually reserved for minor budgetary issues – not massive policy reform.  <\/span>Sure, Republicans have used reconciliation in the past – but never to revamp one-fifth of our economy.<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

After repeatedly dismissing pleas from Republicans to scrap the existing health care bills that most Americans have already said they don’t want, Sen. Harry Reid <\/a>actually sat there and denied that this legislative scheme is even in the mix.  <\/font><\/font><\/font>This from the Senate’s top Democrat who has repeatedly joined with House Speaker Pelosi in acknowledging that this tactic <\/a>is an option to pass health care.  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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

<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font>Well, the summit proved one thing – it’s much more than an option now.  <\/span>It’s the game plan<\/a>.  <\/span>President Obama said as much when he proclaimed that Democrats are ready to move forward – with or without Republican support.  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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

<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font>And, now there are reports about a fast-track timeline <\/a>– a plan to use this ploy in the next four weeks – before Easter break.  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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

<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font>The goal seems clear: push a health care plan through Congress in a partisan manner that limits debate.  <\/span>And, pass a health care plan using a method that most Americans oppose<\/a>. <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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

<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font>And, there’s something else that most Americans don’t want <\/a>– a health care plan that permits federal funds to be used to pay for abortion.  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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

<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font>Of course this issue wasn’t even on the agenda.  <\/span>Why didn’t President Obama invite fellow Democrat Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan who spearheaded language in the House bill that prohibited using federal taxpayer funds for abortion?  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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

<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font>The Democrats didn’t want to focus on this issue – not with the American people watching.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

House Minority Leader John Boehner did bring it up, though, and tried to express his concern to the President over the fact that the Senate-passed bill, which President Obama <\/a>has embraced, clears the way for taxpayer funding for abortion. <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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

<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font>But President Obama sidestepped the issue – even chastised Boehner calling his concerns political talking points<\/a>.   <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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

<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font>It’s clear what’s going on – the Democrats are moving full speed ahead – trying to push through a faulty, pro-abortion plan.  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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

<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font>Senator Reid says “we are going to do this” and Speaker Pelosi adds “we’re going to move forward<\/a>.”   <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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

<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font>It really doesn’t matter <\/a>what the American people want.  <\/font>It really doesn’t matter that there’s no Republican support for this.  <\/span>Just ram in through.  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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

<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font>By the way, it should come as no surprise that President Obama and the Democrats monopolized<\/a> most of the summit – taking more than twice the time afforded to Republicans. <\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

No matter how much the President and Congressional Democrats talk, it won’t change the fact: this health care package is not what the nation needs or deserves.<\/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

<\/font> <\/p>\n

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

Barry,   It was almost too much to watch.  Not that it was compelling television – it wasn’t.  Just the sheer amount of time (nearly eight hours) devoted to what amounted to nothing more than a photo-op for President Obama and the Congressional Democrats to tout their health care plan.    There wasn’t much bipartisanship…<\/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-260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-congress","category-health-care","category-president-barack-obama"],"yoast_head":"\nSummit Reveals Real Goal in Health Care Debate - Lynn v. 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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\/260","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=260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}