Your Conversation with Congressman Baird
Bullet Points:
- I have no idea how many attended, over 500 I would guess
- I estimate 65% – 70% were against ObamaCare, an easy majority
- The questions were civil, pointed and well thought-out
- I did not get to ask my question
- I knew over 30 people there and only one person I knew got to ask a question (great question Dave)
I have now personally heard Baird speak to the Health Care bill 3 times and here is what I have learned
He agrees that tort reform and background checks should be part of any health care reform out of congress, but he will support the bill even if neither are included. To him the importance of getting a bill done takes precedence over these desires.
Baird also says that he will not support a bill that is not revenue neutral, forces citizens into the government option and must be firewalled from “alternate” federal revenue.
The obvious problem with this statement is that the CBO states clearly that HR 3200 will not be revenue neutral and will in-fact add $239 billion to the deficit. It also states that the bill will force citizens out of private insurance and into the government “option”. He dismisses the CBO numbers.
Baird is very well spoken and will answers questions politely and attentively often beginning the answer with “good points” and “I agree with x”. He is very good at speaking to the other side of the critics point, he does not however complete the linear logic of questions, follow-up is necessary.
Make no mistake, despite his INCESSANT use of “center-right” buzz words, Baird is in favor of and wants to pass health care reform that guarantees insurance to all Americans, regardless of desire, income or need. He does want to pay for it (how???) and does want some freedom in the market, but dismisses the eventual outcome the American people are very aware of.
He dismisses any problems with the government option (like subsidization, rationing, forced participation) with the quip that all those problems exist in the current system and 45 million are uninsured.
He also dismisses the argument that government does a poor job of managing and delivering services, claiming that Medicare does a good job, as does other agencies like the CDC. Beside, the private sector does a poor job as well, just look at AIG and GM!
Baird only claims the “Commerce Clause” (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3) as the power necessary for congress to regulate all health care and provide a tax subsidized government option, the same power that allows congress to manage and fund SS, Medicare and VA care.
I believe Baird has blurred the lines of logic and common sense that the average American sees clearly. While not as bad as other members of Congress, Baird has lost touch with his constituents.
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August 20th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
May I add that I did not feel that he was being honest. I also felt that he already had made up his mind on how he would vote and he was there to convince us, instead of hearing from the PEOPLE.
I was extrememly disturbed when he was asked if he would vote the way of the “majority” of his constituents and he something about the majority does not matter sometimes…. I wish I could remember his exact words.
Anyway, I wanted to stand up and ask him if he thought that the majority of votes he got when he was elected to be the Congressman was not really important? IF the majority mattered when he was elected, it should be REALLY MATTER what the Majority wants when he is representing us. He is not the Congressman of the Liberals only, he is the Congressman of ALL of us and he should be respecting that, in ALL of his decisions.
It is one thing when he does not know what we want, but “WE THE PEOPLE” are telling him clearly what we want and it seems that he is only giving us lip service.
He also denied that the polls are correct, so I have to agree, that he is REALLY out of touch.
He decided to end the meeting a half hour early which is to his discredit. Since there were obviously MANY more questions in the tumbler he should have at least given the people the time promised to them regardless that some were leaving. There were many more still sitting there, than those leaving….. oh yeah, I forgot, the majority does not count sometimes.
August 29th, 2009 at 11:09 am
I was at the meeting and feel you’re right on with how the meeting went. I thought Don from the ProShop did a great job, too.
Baird is trying to justify his support of the bill, infering that he knows best vs the will of the people. He doesn’t seem so sure that there is an overwhelming percentage against the healthcare bills (“depending on which poll you look at”). IF it were 51% vs 49%, then he may not go with the majority…
That’s just wrong… you can always find one poll to lean the way you want it to and I’m sure the spread is a lot wider than that!
“Brian Baird has voted with a majority of his Democratic colleagues 96.4% of the time during the current Congress. This percentage does not include votes in which Baird did not vote.” (from the WAPost Votes Database)
The progressive movement that is happening right now is very scary and completely out of touch with “WE the people.” I would like to know how much input the Apollo Group has had in writing these bills. It’s frightening to look at what many of the “czars” (who have the president’s ear and a hand in putting these plans together) have done in the recent past. Many have truly radical ideas and backgrounds… but then our president comes from the Chicago political scene so what can we expect.
Are there any local events happening during the TeaParty Express or on 911? Thanks!
April 2nd, 2010 at 2:27 pm
Hey whats up?. I stumbled across your web site while I was looking for something completely unrelated. While I do not agree with everything you say we do have similar thoughts by and large. I’ve bookmarked your blog and will visit again in the near future to see what you’re blogging about in 2010!