Shutdown Week in Review:

I almost believed Hell had frozen over this week when I heard Senator Harry Reid actually admit the truth about his philosophy of government.  However, there are no reports of any cold front moving through Hell so Harry Reid must have had a momentary lapse of remembering to spin his comments before speaking.  He also, in a Freudian slip, let us know which of his constituents he values the most and which ones are expendable. 

For a week when the government experienced a partial shutdown, it sure has been a busy week.  The good news is that even though the government did shutdown, the sun still rises, we can still breathe, and I have even been able to eat, probably more than I should.  That is because God is still in control and for those of us who have chosen to place our trust in Him, life goes on with our Heavenly Father providing for our needs. 

In a speech this week before the Senate, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told fellow senators to forget their constituents for they serve the government not them.  (1)  The voters in Nevada that voted for Senator Reid believing he had their best interests in mind might want to rethink things the next time Senator Reid runs for reelection.  Of course, conservatives in the Senate that have had to work with Senator Reid have long understood his disregard for his constituents and the citizens of this country.

However, Senator Reid usually spins his comments to hide his true agenda and tries to come off as someone with compassion.  Perhaps the stress of the shutdown is causing him to be careless when it comes to spinning his comments. 

However, this was not the end of Senator Reid’s Freudian slips this week revealing his true agenda.  In a press briefing on Wednesday October 2, 2013, a reporter asked Harry Reid about agreeing to fund the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to allow children with cancer to receive treatment.  In his comment he said, “Why would we want to do that?  I have 1100 people at Nellis Air Force Base sitting home.  They have problems of their own.”  (2) 

Then there is the issue of the World War II veterans wanting to visit the World War II Memorial in Washington DC.  President Clinton signed the bill authorizing the construction of the memorial on May 25, 1993.  (3)  After securing a site and raising private funding, construction on the memorial began in September 2001 and the memorial opened to the public on May 29, 2004.  (3)  The memorial became part of the National Park System on November 1, 2004.  (3) 

World War II ended on August 14, 1945 (4) so these veterans, many of whom are in their 80’s and 90’s with only a few years or months left in their lives, saw this as possibly their last chance to visit the memorial honoring their service to our country.  They waited 59 years to have their memorial completed and now when they have an opportunity to visit it, The Park Service tells them that they cannot go in due to the government shutdown. 

There have been other government shutdowns in our history and the government kept the memorials open to visitors.  During the 1995 shutdown, the Lincoln Memorial was open to visitors and the government only closed the information booth because they furloughed the people that would have run it.  There is no reason why these veterans, many of whom stormed the beaches of Normandy, needed the services of the information booth for they probably knew more about the history of World War 2 then the people that would have been working the information booth.  So why would Obama order the memorials closed?  The answer is simple, he wants to cause as much chaos and panic as he can. 

President Obama, this shutdown belongs to you and Harry Reid.  We have an impasse that is similar, in your own words, to a strike between a union and management.  (5)  When a strike occurs between labor and management, the first thing both sides do is go to the bargaining table.  Both sides present everything they want and then both sides begin making concessions until they reach an agreement ending the strike. 

The Republicans have made many concessions already in this issue.  They began with calling for a total defunding of Obamacare.  They then called for a 1-year delay in implementation of Obamacare.  They then went further to call for stopping exemptions to Obamacare for members of Congress and others that received such exemptions.  It is your side Mr. President that has come to the bargaining table and stubbornly decided not to make any concessions.  Is it any wonder House Speaker Boehner walked out of the recent meeting in the Oval Office and told the press you would not negotiate?  The Republicans should refuse to make any more concessions until your side Mr. President is willing to come to the bargaining table and make some concessions.

This week was also the rollout of the health insurance exchanges and it was a disaster.  Here are some of the headlines from October 1

CNNMoney: "Obamacare enrollment stymied by exchange glitches"

Washington Post: "Signing up for ObamaCare: 'This Was Totally Disappointing"

The Hill: "Technical Problems Plague Launch of ObamaCare"

Washington Examiner: "The Glitchy, Error-Filled Misadventures of Creating an Account on HealthCare.gov"

Superior Telegram: "Navigators Not Ready for Health Care Rollout."

WBS Radio, Atlanta, GA: "Healthcare exchange websites fail security tests"

Forbes Magazine: "Healthcare.gov Crashes During First Day, Why Massachusetts Never Had This Problem"  (6)

In addition, many complained on the Obamacare Facebook page, complaining about the cost.  One woman commented, “I am so disappointed, these prices are outrageous and there are huge deductibles.  No one can afford this!”  Her comment received 169 likes.  (7)  It appears many others had a similar experience.  The government will be taking down the application part of the website this weekend but I do not think this will correct the complaints about the high cost.  (8)

This is puzzling to me since Obama told us premiums would go down if we passed Obamacare.  (9)  Mr. President I understand that you have never worked in the private sector so let me tell you what would happen if a project bombed in the private sector as badly as this one did.  We would immediately stop the project and access what went wrong.  We would fire incompetent personnel or companies hired to implement the project and hire other people to assess if the project could be made to work.  In other words, when a project fails, its implementation is delayed and if there is no way to fix it, the project is dumped. 

Therefore, in light of what has occurred this week with the implementation of the Obamacare Exchanges, I believe the Congress’ idea of a delay is in order.  We can then take time to assess the exchanges and make the necessary changes or if nothing can be done to fix the project, end it.  I understand this means possibly having to abandon the key issue you ran for election on but you also have to consider having the legacy of being the President that subjected Americans to substandard health care. 

1. Riehl, Dan. Harry Reid: Forget Constituents, We Serve the Government. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, October 1, 2013. [Cited: October 3, 2013.] http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/10/01/Harry-Reid-Forget-Constituents-We-Serve-the-Government.

2. Nolte, John. REID ON SAVING ONE CHILD THROUGH FUNDING COMPROMISE: 'WHY WOULD WE WANT TO DO THAT?'. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, October 2, 2013. [Cited: October 4, 2013.] http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2013/10/02/harry-reid-why-would-we-want-to-save-kids-from-cancer.

3. National WWII Memorial. www.wwiimemorial.com. WWII Memorial Facts. [Online] [Cited: October 4, 2013.] http://www.wwiimemorial.com/default.asp?page=facts.asp.

4. Ask.com. What Date Did World War 2 End. www.ask.com. [Online] [Cited: October 4, 2013.] http://www.ask.com/question/what-date-did-world-war-2-end.

5. Shapiro, Ben. GAFFE: OBAMA CONDEMNS LABOR STRIKES WITH SHUTDOWN ANALOGY. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, October 3, 2013. [Cited: October 4, 2013.] http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/10/03/Obama-union-workers.

6. Huston, Warner Todd. OBAMACARE DOWN: NATIONAL HEADLINES DOCUMENT INSURANCE EXCHANGE FAILURES. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, October 1, 2013. [Cited: October 4, 2013.] http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2013/10/01/Massive-Failure-The-Obamacare-Insurance-Exchanges-Headlines-That-Obama-Doesn-t-Want.

7. Weasel Zippers. Obamacare Facebook Page Filled With Angry Citizens Complaints Over Premium Increases. weaselzippers.us. [Online] Weasel Zippers, October 4, 2013. [Cited: October 4, 2013.] http://weaselzippers.us/2013/10/04/obamacare-facebook-page-filled-with-angry-citizens-complaints-over-premium-increases/.

8. Shapiro, Ben. OBAMACARE WEBSITE CLOSED FOR REPAIRS THIS WEEKEND. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, October 4, 2013. [Cited: October 5, 2013.] http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/10/04/Obama-website-called-repairs.

9. Kessler, Glenn. President Obama’s claim that insurance premiums ‘will go down’. www.washingtonpost.com. [Online] The Washington Post, August 10, 2012. [Cited: October 4, 2013.] http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/president-obamas-claim-that-insurance-premiums-will-go-down/2012/08/09/424048f2-e245-11e1-a25e-15067bb31849_blog.html.