Prop one: Harry Reid, who in announcing what Senate Democrats will attend the bipartisan health care summit at the White House this Thursday, said "The President's health reform proposal brings together the best of the Senate bill and the best of the House bill in a fiscally responsible way."
Fact: No one knows exactly how fiscally responsible the plan is yet because the Congressional Budget Office has stated, on their website, they haven't had a chance to analyze the figures yet and will not have those costs analyzed by Thursday's "summit".
This morning the Obama Administration released a description of its health care proposal, and CBO has already received several requests to provide a cost estimate for that proposal. We had not previously received the proposal, and we have just begun the process of reviewing it—a process that will take some time, given the complexity of the issues involved. Although the proposal reflects many elements that were included in the health care bills passed by the House and the Senate last year, it modifies many of those elements and also includes new ones. Moreover, preparing a cost estimate requires very detailed specifications of numerous provisions, and the materials that were released this morning do not provide sufficient detail on all of the provisions. Therefore, CBO cannot provide a cost estimate for the proposal without additional detail, and, even if such detail were provided, analyzing the proposal would be a time-consuming process that could not be completed this week.
Prop Two: White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, tells the White House press corps that he hopes the Republicans post their plans online.
Fact: What Gibb's obviously didn't know is that the Republicans proposals have been live, online, since October 2009 and has a link at the White House's very own website, which leads directly to GOP.gov. (Via The Politico)
Gibbs may need to read the White House website more closely
Turns out the House Republicans' plan has been online since October and already has its own link on the White House website. The White House encourages readers to "read more about House and Senate ideas from both parties on their websites." The link sends readers to a House GOP website that includes a one-page summary sheet and the legislative text of their proposals.
The week is young, more props to be staged and the majority of the American public is still opposed to Obama and Democrats' Health Care Plan.
Polls (January and February):
Newsweek: 49 percent opposed with 40 percent in favor of Obamacare.
Rasmussen Reports: 58 percent opposed with 39 percent in favor of Obamacare.
Pew Research: 50 percent opposed with 38 percent in favor of Obamacare.
ABC News/Wash Post: 49 percent opposed with 46 percent in favor of Obamacare.
Quinnipiac: 54 percent opposed with 35 percent in favor of Obamacare.
Ipsos/McClatchy: 51 percent opposed with 37 percent in favor of Obamacare.
NBC News/Wall St. Jrnl: 46 percent opposed with 31 percent in favor of Obamacare.
CNN/Opinion Research: 58 percent opposed with 38 percent in favor of Obamacare.
NPR - POS/GQR: 55 percent opposed with 39 percent in favor of Obamacare.
USA Today/Gallup: 55 percent opposed with 39 percent in favor of Obamacare.
The grand average from all those polls shows that the majority, with 52.5 percent, of Americans are opposed to Obama and Democrats' Health Care Plan.
Yet Obama and Reid have both now expressed a willingness to jam through Obama's latest plan, with no cost estimate as of yet from the CBO, using reconciliation, totally ignoring what the majority wants or is expressing.
Is it any wonder congressional disapproval has risen to 73.4 percent?
The electorate will have it's chance to replace them come November and it looks like they plan to do just that.
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