Democrats, The Media, and The Health Care Debate

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President Obama and his fellow Democrat leaders, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, et al are quick to declare that the Republican Party are absent in the health care reform debate. According to them, they are the "party of no" or they bring no ideas to the table. The mainstream news media, which can no longer be referred to as "journalists," continue to sound forth the propaganda.

This morning, on my commute into the office, RNC Chairman Michael Steele was on the Grandy and Andy show on WMAL radio. Chairman Steele pointed out that Republicans had proposed some 800 amendments to the various bills working their way through the House and Senate. Not one has come close to being approved, including my personal favorite proposal that would require any member of the House or Senate to go on the government run health plan if it was part of the bill.

In addition to the proposed ammendments, there have been at least three Republican bills that have been presented. In May, a group of House and Senate Republicans presented the "Patients Choice Act of 2009. Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina presented the Health Care Freedom Plan in June. Lastly, Representative Tom Price of Georgia proposed the Empowering Patients First Act in July. Price just happens to also be a practicing physician, so he actually has some experience in the arena.

Among the various provisions in these proposals are investing in preventative care, reducing fraud in Medicare and Medicaid, tax credits for purchasing private insurance, and tort reform. Yet the Democrats say there are no ideas on the Republican side. The problem isn't a lack of ideas from the GOP, but the fact that they aren't the ideas the Democrats want. The other problem is that the media no longer reports the facts, but pushes the liberal agenda.

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