To achieve health care reform, "I'm going to have all the negotiations around a big table. We'll have doctors and nurses and hospital administrators. Insurance companies, drug companies -- they'll get a seat at the table, they just won't be able to buy every chair. But what we will do is, we'll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies. And so, that approach, I think is what is going to allow people to stay involved in this process."
Sources: Town hall meeting on Aug. 21, 2008, in Chester, Va.
C-Span is requesting coverage of the healthcare debate on Obamacare and negotiations on reconciling the Senate version of Obamacare with the House version.
Democratic leaders have reportedly decided to skip formal conference and instead talk behind closed doors to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate bills.
C-SPAN, which would normally televise a conference committee, especially on such a hot topic, wants the negotiations to be public.
"Now that the process moves to the critical stage of reconciliation between the Chambers, we respectfully request that you allow the public full access, through television, to legislation that will affect the lives of every single American," Brian Lamb, C-SPAN CEO, wrote in a letter to Congressional leaders.
Republicans have repeatedly called for Democrats to be transparent in their negotiations. Democrats have played their cards close to their vest, hoping not to disrupt the delicate nature of the talks.
Go read the full letter.
Anyone want to take bets on whether Pelosi and Reid will allow that type of true transparency?
My bet is HELL NO.
Polifact also shows how many times Obama made that promise.
Sources:
McClatchy Newspapers, Obama campaign vow of public debate on health care fading , July 9, 2009
New York Times, Health deals could harbor hidden costs , July 7, 2009
CNN.com, Democratic presidential debate , Jan. 31, 2008
CQ Transcriptions, Town hall with Barack Obama in Lancaster, Va., Aug. 21, 2008, accessed via Nexis
Federal News Service, Town hall with Barack Obama in Albuquerque, N.M., Aug. 18, 2008, accessed via Nexis
CQ Transcriptions, Town hall with Barack Obama in Lancaster, Pa., March 31, 2008, accessed via Nexis
CQ Transcriptions, Town hall with Barack Obama and Google employees in Mountain View, Calif., Nov. 14, 2007, accessed via Nexis
Rick Klein from The Note, twitters:
we can all have a laugh at how ridic it was to expect hcare talks to be on C-SPAN, but it was a promise that's been shattered
I am more amazed that anyone actually believed all those bullshit promises that Obama made.
AP mentions Obama's campaign promise on transparency.
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