CNN CAFFERTY: How dare they- President Obama, Democratic leaders have decided to bypass a formal House and Senate conference committee, in order to reconcile those two health care bills. Instead, White House and Democratic leaders will hold informal- thatâs another word for secret - negotiations, meant to shut Republicans and the public out of the process. What a far cry from the election, when then-candidate Obama pledged to- quote, âbroadcast health care negotiations on C-SPAN, so that the American people can see what the choices are,â unquote. President Obama hasnât even made a token effort to keep his campaign promises of more openness and transparency in government. It was all just another lie that was told in order to get elected.
The head of C-SPAN wrote a letter, asked Congress to- quote, âopen all the important negotiations, including any conference committee meetings, to electronic media coverage,â unquote. When White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was asked whether the administration would support televising the negotiations, he refused to answer, instead mumbling something about âI havenât seen the letter.â That wasnât the question, Mr. Gibbs. You either support openness or you donât.
The Democrats insist this is all on the up-and-up, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying- quote, âThere has never been a more open process for any legislation,â unquote. Oh, really? This is the same Nancy Pelosi who, you may recall, after becoming speaker in 2006, promised the Democrats would have- quote, âthe most honest, most open and most ethical Congress in history,â unquote. Hereâs hoping the voters remember some of this crap when the midterm elections roll around later this year.
