OBAMA BRIBES, THREATENS, AND REWARDS CONGRESS TO PASS HEALTH CARE
By Dick Morris & Eileen McGann
DickMorris.com
All aspects of President Obama's Chicago-style
tactics are on display as he cajoles, bullies, and bribes the House to pass his
health care proposals despite the overwhelming public rejection with which they
have been met.
To some, he
offers bribes. Congressman Jim Matheson, endangered species - a Utah
Democrat - succeeded in getting his brother Scott appointed to a federal
judgeship. Matheson voted against Obamacare when it first passed the
House. With his new-found winnings in his pocket, he now professes to be
undecided. He faces a clear conflict between his district and his
conscience on the one hand and the bribe to his brother on the other.
The conscience will probably lose.
Matheson supports his party 91% of the time according to the Washington Post
even though McCain got 58% of the vote in his district in 2008. But
Matheson got re-elected - by professing independence from the Democratic Party's
liberal line - with 63% of the vote, so he probably figures he can sneak in a
vote for health care and still con his district into re-electing him.
After all, he's not heavy. He's my brother.
Even
as Matheson basks in the glow of presidential bribery, Eric Massa, a renegade
Democrat from the Southern Tier of New York State faces his wrath. Massa's
sin was to vote against Obamacare. So Pelosi and the ethically-challenged
House Ethics Committee are investigating him for "verbally abusing" a male
member of his staff. In this age of more serious offenses, using "salty
language" to express his displeasure with staff work would not seem to rank high
on the list of indictable offenses. If it were, Lyndon Johnson would have
been impeached. But Massa is being hung out to dry as an example to other
would-be independent minded Democrats. The attacks on him have gotten so
bad that Massa has announced his retirement after only one term in office.
But
there is a reward waiting for House members who ignore the wishes and interests
of their constituents and vote for Obama's health care proposals. Alan
Mollohan has had a pesky FBI investigation hanging over his head for a few
years. Now, presto, right before the health care vote, it went away.
The Justice Department, headed by Attorney General Eric Holder, announced that
the FBI was closing the inquiry.
Mollohan's sin? He pushed for earmarks for nonprofit enterprises in his
district and then went into a real estate deal in Florida with the head of the
company under financial terms that were distinctly favorable to the Congressman.
But Mollohan toes the party line and is now getting his unjust reward.
With
health care reform coming up for a vote in the next few days, such tactics send
a message to the House where Pelosi is having trouble lining up her votes:
That Obama will do anything - anything at all - to pass this bill.
For those of us without
judgeships or the FBI at our disposal, we can only call and write the swing
Congressmen (go to DickMorris.com for a list and their phone numbers) or donate
to the League of American Voters to step up its fierce media offensive in their
districts to urge them to vote no.
GO
HERE to help.
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