Editorials Across the Nation Question the President's Latest Health Care Plan

From Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence:

Editorials Across the Nation Question the President's Latest Health Care Plan

“Democrats have decided to give the voters what they don't want anyway”
Washington Post Editorial: “President Obama's 'opening bid' on health reform is not designed to entice Republicans to join the game. ... Overall, though, the president has proposed a plan whose uncertain savings are made even less certain, and whose known costs are increased…. And what credit or credibility is due a president who endorses a tax but leaves to his successor the unpleasant task of collecting it?” (February 23, 2010)

Wall Street Journal Editorial: “[A]fter election defeats in Virginia, New Jersey and even Massachusetts, and amid overwhelming public opposition, Democrats have decided to give the voters what they don't want anyway… [T]hey're going to play by Chicago Rules and try to dragoon it into law on a narrow partisan vote ... If you want to know why Democratic Washington is 'ungovernable,' this is it.” (February 23, 2010)

Detroit News Editorial: “Obama's compromise health care proposal looks too much like the old plan. … The White House is calling this a "jumping off point" for forging a compromise when Democrats and Republicans sit down before television cameras at the health care summit. But in reality, it's a recasting of the existing Democratic health care plan at an even higher cost. If the president's intent is to staple onto it a couple of Republican ideas and call it a bipartisan bill, then he is betraying the spirit of the summit and, in all likelihood, will end up with a package that can't pass Congress. …In structure, the new plan is a lot like the old plan, with a few tweaks to appease various Democratic interest groups. This is not what Americans are looking for.” (February 23, 2010)

San Francisco Examiner Editorial: “Republicans publicly wondered if Obama’s proposal represented a refreshing new attempt by the chief executive to display genuine bipartisanship and whether they should trust him to come to the summit with a truly open mind. We now know the answer to both questions is a resounding “no.” On Monday, Obama unveiled a “new” health care proposal. It costs an eye-popping $950 billion (that’s the White House’s rosy estimate) and represents nothing more than a warmed-over version of the 2,500-plus page Obamacare proposals passed last year by the Senate and House. …The president talks bipartisanship, but his proposal and his actions this week make clear that he and congressional Democrats are running a Washington, D.C., con game and hoping the American people won’t figure out they’re the mark, yet again, until it’s too late.” (February 23, 2010)

Christian Science Monitor Editorial: “Obama can’t very well negotiate a compromise with Republicans at Thursday’s healthcare “summit,” or later, if no one knows the details of his ideas. And details matter, not just because of healthcare’s complexity but also because Obama keeps changing his tune on healthcare. …He once favored a federal takeover of healthcare insurance (or “single payer” system) before he agreed to keep the employer-based insurance system. He once opposed the idea that every American now without insurance be required to buy it – until he favored this “mandate.” He once wanted a government-run health insurance entity (the “public option”), until he said it wasn’t necessary.” (February 23, 2010)

The Los Angeles Times Editorial: “…Obama hasn't convinced the public that the problems in the system justify such a costly overhaul.” (February 23, 2010)

The Chicago Tribune Editorial: “Obama wants Republicans to approach the summit in a spirit of compromise. Too bad he's not leading by example.” (February 22, 2010)

The Pittsburgh Post Tribune Editorial: “What's painfully transparent is Team Obama's purely political agenda that's sorely out of touch with Americans' priorities.” (February 23, 2010)

The Pittsburgh Post Tribune Editorial: “Oh, what populist pap. But we all should have seen this coming. The same government that seeks to pervert the "risk pool" concept that is the backbone of "insurance" -- by forcing pre-existing conditions to be covered -- now seeks to prevent insurers from recouping the costs of that higher risk. Simply put, the federal government continues to seek to nationalize the health insurance industry.” (February 23, 2010)