Quotes of the day

“President Obama and his congressional allies systematically excluded every major proposal to empower consumers to control costs. From beginning to end, they insisted on a government-run system. That’s why compromise was never possible…

“Republicans have a job to do. They must make it clear to the American people that this is only the beginning of the debate. There will be two congressional elections and a presidential election before the government takeover is implemented in 2014.

“I believe that Republicans should take the unequivocal position that if they are given a majority in Congress in November, they will stop the implementation of the government takeover. And if a Republican is elected president in 2012, they will do with Mr. Obama’s health-care bill what the American voters will have done to the Democrats: throw it out. If the voters demand change in November, even the Democrats who remain in Congress will help give it to them.”

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“3) It will be hard to take things away. Probably so. But the reality is that growth of federal entitlements is strangling the economic engine of our country. Someone has to draw the line somewhere. Do we want to go the way of Western Europe? If not, we better get moving in the other direction immediately.

“4) There are parts of the bill the public will like. No doubt about it. There are parts I like—though I have yet to read the fine print—such as allowing parents to keep kids on their policies until they are 26-years-old. And there’s bound to be more good policy in there: 2,409 pages can’t be all bad. But the overall direction of the bill is to empower government, not patients.

“5) We don’t want to be labeled the party of “no.” As it pertains to this bill, how about ‘hell no’? Newt Gingrich is saying we should ‘repeal and replace.’ That works.”

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“It’s discouraging that all of this could have been avoided. Congress could have done what Republicans should suggest now: Shift to a system that allows individuals—not businesses—to buy health insurance tax free. They could also create tax credits for buying health insurance based on income and health status to guarantee everyone coverage and encourage medical care and insurance competition. Republicans should push to lower barriers for buying insurance across state lines, create incentives for states to repeal mandates, and limit frivolous lawsuits that increase the price of insurance.

“But for the moment, our federal overlords have ruled. We better start adjusting to our new status as good Europeans.”