Steele demands apology, delay on health care
The Republican Party's national chairman repeated his demand today that the top Senate Democrat apologize for comparing those obstructing health care reform to those who counseled a go-slow approach on freeing the slaves and giving women the right to vote.
But then again, GOP Chairman Michael Steele also sent a letter directly to President Obama urging him to put off the health care overhaul and focus on jobs and the economy.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid chided Republicans in a Senate floor speech on Monday. "Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all Republicans have come up with is this slow down, stop everything, let's start over," he said, then citing those who advised patience on emancipation and women's suffrage.
On CBS's "The Early Show" today, Steele called the remarks "an ignorant moment for Harry Reid" and said that when Democrats get in trouble, "they play that race card, that slavery card, that civil rights card."
UPDATE: Reid stood by his comments, telling reporters today, "Anyone who willingly distorts my comments is only proving my point."
Steele, the Republican National Committee's first black chairman, has been among the loudest voices calling for a go-slow approach on health care, which Reid is trying to push through the Senate before the holiday break.
Steele echoed his call in the letter today to the president.
"Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, all of us can agree on this: In this uncertain economy, growth and jobs have to be our priorities," Steele wrote. "The American people think of little else. Common sense tells us this is the worst possible moment for Congress to risk spending another trillion dollars we don't have.
"This is not the time to gamble a trillion dollars on a 2,000 page health care experiment Congress is stitching together by the seat of its pants," he added. "Washington's rescue efforts have already burdened our economy with the costs of huge bailouts and government takeovers. When Americans look for relief, they see record debt and deficits. If Americans are still looking for full-time work and employers are still shutting their doors next spring, Democrats and Republicans are going to wish they had that trillion dollars back to create jobs."
(The full letter is below.)
UPDATE: Brad Woodhouse, Democratic National Committee communications director, slapped back at Steele.
"Michael Steele and the GOP know full well that health care delayed is health care denied for the millions of Americans who lack insurance and live every day in fear of accident or illness. But, it’s also jobs denied for the millions of Americans who work for businesses, small and large, who have been forced to make cut backs or who have collapsed altogether under the burden of sky-rocketing insurance costs. It’s lost wages for the millions of American workers whose employers have to choose between providing health care or offering a raise. And, it’s money out of the pocket of every American family faced with rising co-pays and prescription drug costs," Woodhouse said in a statement.
"It doesn’t take an economics degree to understand that reforming our broken health insurance system is inextricability linked to our nation’s fiscal health and jobs - though most economists have said just that. Michael Steele and the Party of NO have been rooting for health reform to fail for months now. By ignoring all that American businesses stand to gain from health insurance reform, the Republicans are now rooting for our economy to fail. What will they do next?"
STEELE'S LETTER
December 8, 2009
President Barack Obama
The President
The White House
Dear Mr. President:
Last Friday, new job numbers confirmed our unemployment rate remains in double digits. Jobs are still being lost every month. Banks are still failing and companies are going bankrupt, leading to more job losses. A commercial real estate crisis is looming. Deficits are threatening the onset of inflation and weakening the dollar. At home, we may face a double-dip recession. The unexpected economic meltdown in Dubai tells us we don't know the full extent of the global financial crisis.
Americans and their employers are uncertain about their future. We don't know how many Americans are going to be employed or still looking for work in 2010. We don't know if the Democrat-run Congress's record setting spending spree will bring back Jimmy Carter style inflation. We don't know if a devalued and weakening dollar will again push gas prices out of reach.
Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, all of us can agree on this: In this uncertain economy, growth and jobs have to be our priorities. The American people think of little else. Common sense tells us this is the worst possible moment for Congress to risk spending another trillion dollars we don't have. This is not the time to gamble a trillion dollars on a 2,000 page health care experiment Congress is stitching together by the seat of its pants. Washington's rescue efforts have already burdened our economy with the costs of huge bailouts and government takeovers. When Americans look for relief, they see record debt and deficits. If Americans are still looking for full-time work and employers are still shutting their doors next spring, Democrats and Republicans are going to wish they had that trillion dollars back to create jobs.
You wouldn't advise any American to bet the rent check now if they didn't know whether they would have a job next spring. You certainly wouldn't advise them to borrow money to put at risk, if they had no clue if they would be employed. Much the same, Congress can't afford to throw the American people further in debt now and splurge on a risky health care bill when we may need all the resources at our disposal next year to rebuild a sagging economy.
Mr. President, this is why we are asking you to delay your efforts to push your health care bill through Congress by the end of the year. Until we are sure job creation has begun in earnest, we should put aside our differences on health care. We should watch our spending. We've got an economy to rebuild and restore.
We can still take immediate action to control the rising cost of health care. We urge you to consider common-sense incremental reforms we can all agree on, such as letting American buy insurance across state lines, allowing small businesses and self-employed Americans to group together to purchase health insurance, and making insurance affordable by providing tax incentives for health savings accounts. There are reforms that won't add to the deficit and Congress can pass them by Christmas with bi-partisan support.
Mr. President, health care reform has spiraled out of control. It spends too much, cuts Medicare too much, raises premiums too much and taxes too much. If you signaled that we should delay this trillion dollar gamble on health reform and focus on economic recovery, Americans would listen. Congress would listen.
Democrats and Republicans would stand with you and proudly so.
Sincerely,
Michael Steele
Chairman of the Republican National Committee
About Political Intelligence
Glen Johnson is Politics Editor at boston.com and lead blogger for "Political Intelligence." He moved to Massachusetts in the fourth grade, and has covered local, state, and national politics for over 25 years. E-mail him at johnson@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globeglen. |
