Opinion Forum

Summit? What Summit?

February 10th, 2010

The President’s invitation to the Republicans for a health care summit is, I suppose, an attempt at humor. The idea that a thirty-minute spot on television is enough to gain acceptance of the health care fiasco is ridiculous. After a year of shutting out the opposition, the President proposes a thirty-minute fixer-upper.

I hope that House Minority Leader John Boehner keeps his people away. The Republicans have more than ample reasons to avoid this “will you walk into my parlor?” invitation. The recent momentum picked up from Scott Brown’s win in Massachusetts and the influence of the still-growing Tea Party movement are reasons enough to just stay home.

The President and liberal Democrats have created a real dilemma for themselves. The voters are better served to just let these people cook in their own stew. The loss of the Massachusetts Senate seat to Brown ended the so-called super-majority. The super-majority could have been used to push health care reform into law in spite of the Republican opposition. The President and his Party had the votes to do about anything they pleased. What they lack is the backbone to take full responsibility for the consequences should their favorite projects end in failure.

If past meetings between the President and the Republicans are any indication, it will be an Obama photo-op and little else.

The President and his staff are intent on badgering the Republicans into submission. This grandiose attempt to sell Obama-style bipartisanship is, unlike his other endeavors, very transparent. Obama and company have not shown enough respect for the American people. With each passing day more people are losing faith in the President, and it doesn’t help when the Democrat-dominated House and Senate are mistrusted even more than the President himself.

Now is the perfect time for the Republicans to hold out on the Administration. There is a great anger in this nation toward Washington politics. If, as it has been to date, the majority refuses to allow the minority to participate in the political process, then let the majority take credit or blame. The Republican leadership should distance itself from anything that allows the Democrats to shift blame for the present political debacle. Wait for the mid-term elections and see if the voters are really fed up with this Administration.

Articles written by Larry Ennis
Tags: Congress, Democrats, health care, Obama, polls, Republicans, summit
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