Louisiana Rep. John Fleming is also a practicing physician. He says President Obama’s offer to allow states to opt out of some provisions of the new health care laws is just proof that this major new entitlement program cannot sustain itself. Why does he say that? Why does he think Obama made this pitch now? What will states have to do to comply with the laws? What can House Republicans realistically do to remove funding for the plan? We discuss these and other questions with Rep. John Fleming.
Archives for February 28, 2011
Obamacare’s ‘Flexibility’ Charade
President Obama told the nation’s governors on Monday that he will allow states to opt out of some of the major provisions of the new health care laws in 2014 as long as they find ways to cover the same number of people. So is this a small or even a major concession? Or is Obama just trying to put a better face on a very unpopular plan? And is this move a sign that the administration knows that it is losing the public relations campaign over health care in a major way? We ask Grace-Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute.
Farewell to the Last Doughboy
On Sunday, Frank Buckles died at the age of 110. And his death breaks the final link America had with more than 4.7 million man and women who served the nation during World War I. In 2007, Greg Corombos interviewed Buckles and learned about his service in ‘the war to end all wars’, his brutal experience in World War II and how Buckles viewed his service 90 years after the fact. Here is our tribute to America’s last Doughboy, Frank Woodruff Buckles, and the many heroes of his generation.
Will Boehner Defend Marriage?
Now that President Obama and his Justice Department refuse to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in federal court, an expert on the legal fights to preserve traditional marriage says it’s up to Congress to pick up the baton and defend the law it passed 15 years ago. So will the GOP House do that? Why would Congress have a very good chance of winning in court if it did take up the defense of DOMA? What should we make of the executive branch simply deciding not to defend a law anymore? And how could Obama deciding to abandon DOMA actually be a good thing for traditional marriage? We ask Jim Campbell, litigation staff counsel at the Alliance Defense Fund.
Three Martini Lunch 2/28/11
Greg Corombos and National Review’s Jim Geraghty are actually encouraged by President Obama’s latest attack on those seeking to rein in public sector unions. We lament the ongoing chaos in Libya and the latest weak-kneed response from Obama and the United Nations. And we’re stunned that the head of the AFL-CIO can’t bring himself to say that Scott Walker is not like Hitler – as many protesters in Madison have suggested.