Obama: Playing Semantic Games on Abortion and ObamaCare
CNSNews.com reports:
Rep. Bart Stupak (D.-Mich.) told CNSNews.com that President Barack Obama told him in a telephone conversation that when he said in his Sept. 9 speech to a joint session of Congress that “under our plan no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions” he was not talking about the actual bill drafted in the House but about the president’s own health care plan—which has never been written.
“I don’t know if it is a game of semantics or what,” Stupak said of Obama’s nationally televised declaration to Congress that the health-care plan will not allow federal funding of abortion.
Both the House and Senate versions of the health-care bill permit federal funds to pay for insurance plans that cover abortions.
The article quotes Obama’s speech from the transcript: “And one more misunderstanding I want to clear up: Under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions.” Also, everyone will receive free pixie dust and chocolate pie. It’s right there in the unwritten language.
It’s worth noting that, even if Obama was playing a little game and giving a speech about a mythical unwritten plan (and the words of his speech arguably support that notion), he also falsely denied that the House bill would fund abortion:
We’ve heard that this is all designed to provide health insurance to illegal aliens. That’s not true. There’s a specific provision in the bill that does not provide health insurance for those individuals. You’ve heard that there’s a government takeover of health care. That’s not true. You’ve heard that this is all going to mean government funding of abortion. Not true. This is all, these are all fabrications that have been put out there . . .
But as FactCheck.org said in August:
[A]s for the House bill as it stands now, it’s a matter of fact that it would allow both a “public plan” and newly subsidized private plans to cover all abortions.
You can’t simply trust FactCheck.org, of course, but their analysis appears sound in this instance.
So now the Dems’ leader is lying to them? If that perception takes hold in Congress, then he’s a dead duck, period. Once Carter was perceived to be a complete loser, his own party rolled him on every piece of legislation he attempted to pass, in order to save their electoral skins. He was made into a virtual eunuch overnight.
Every time this guy states “as I’ve always said…” you already know he’s full of it.
Dmac (5ddc52) — 10/27/2009 @ 6:39 pmStupak is calling out Obama for Obama’s direct dishonesty to him? Hmmmm, Obama is wearin out his welcome quickly, is he not?
SPQR (26be8b) — 10/27/2009 @ 6:43 pmStupak, one of the reported 40 Democrats who are concerned about abortion, reports Speaker Pelosi is “not happy” with his attempts to prohibit abortion coverage in the health care bill.
DRJ (dff2ca) — 10/27/2009 @ 7:16 pmYou can’t call it lying. He was crossing his fingers when he said all that – one of the time-honored exemptions to complete truthfulness.
Anon Y. Mous (ebb7f8) — 10/27/2009 @ 8:22 pmHe attacking a straw man with respect to illegal aliens too. There is no — or not much — allegation that the bills are “designed” to insure illegal aliens. The claim is that the bills will do so, whether by design or due to lack of safeguards.
roy (d6fc79) — 10/27/2009 @ 8:23 pmroy – Those are not “illegal aliens,” they are “undocumented Democrats.” Get with the program. It’s not a strawman when any amendments to add enforcement mechanisms to the bill are voted down in flames.
daleyrocks (718861) — 10/27/2009 @ 9:01 pmStupak again proves that there are no moderate or conservative Democrats. He’s says he’s just dying to vote for Castro-care but he knows that would suicide in his district unless a distraction is provided. Stupak may be against abortion but it’s not all that important to him. Reelection, however, that is IMPORTANT!
Pelosi knows she needs Stupak for final passage and they both know that if Castro-care passes abortion will be included either in conference committee ( where procedural safeguards can be ignored ), or by the courts. So we have this little kabuki that has no purpose other than to protect Stupak in a district he has no business representing. Political theater at its finest.
Ken Hahn (2d8b4f) — 10/27/2009 @ 10:06 pmWhen he says “our plan”, is not the Chimpanzee-in-Feces referring to himself AND his fellow Dimwitcrats?
Face it: he’s simply flat-out lying, thinking that he can get away with it.
Icy Texan (f3a492) — 10/27/2009 @ 10:16 pm#8, Icy, it’s not actually “lying lying.” The Koran doesn’t require the faithful to be truthful with infidels. In fact it relives them of all sorts of responsibilities that decent people expect from one another.
ropelight (fbbed1) — 10/28/2009 @ 12:42 pm