The Bi-Partisan Healthcare Summit

(Yahoo) President Obama and a group of Democrats and Republicans met together at the Blair House, which is across from Pennsylvania Avenue, where the White House is located. They hosted the Bi-Partisan Healthcare Summit where both Democratic and Republican Party leaders rambled back and forth about the healthcare bill that was passed by both House and Senate last year. After a day of debate and disagreement, President Obama concluded Thursday's unprecedented live talkfest on healthcare with the blank assessment that a deal may not be reached between both parties. He rejected Republican preferences for seeking a step-by-step solution or simply starting over. Obama suggested that Democrats will try to pass a sweeping overhaul without GOP support, by using controversial Senate budget rules such as reconciliation that would disallow filibusters. After the end of a seven-and-a-half hour marathon policy session, Obama stated we couldn't have another yearlong debate on this usse. Neither side gave much ground, mostly using the same talking points as usual. Obama had urged the Republicans to do a little soul searching.

President Obama and his Democratic allies clashed with Congressional Republicans over the right prescription for the nation's broken healthcare system. There was much talk of agreement with each side holding onto long-trenched positions that left them far apart. "We have a difficult gap to bridge here," said Rep. Eric Cantor, the No. 2 House Republican. "We just can't afford this. That's the ultimate problem." Cantor sat in front of a giant stack of nearly 2400 pages of the bill. Obama and the other Democrats argued that a broad overhaul is imperative for the nation's future economic vitality. The president casted healthcare as "one of the biggest drags on the economy". He lamented partisan bickering that resulted in a stalemate. "Politics, I think ended up trumping practical common sense," he said. There were some issues that President Obama didn't think he could bridge the gap with the Republicans. The healthcare bill will extend coverage to the uninsured and prevent insurers from denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions. President Obama stated he was was willing to move on alone with his Democratic allies if nothing could be reached. The Democrat leaders were looking towards using the reconciliation option to pass healthcare.

GOP Senate Lamar Alexander asked Democrats to swear off the reconciliation option, which they weren't willing to do. A USA Today/Gallup Survey released Thursday found Americans tilting 49% - 42% against the Democrats forging ahead by themselves. American opposition was stronger to the idea of Senate Democrats using special budget rules such as reconciliation to pass healthcare. 52% of Americans opposed the idea with 39% of Americans in favor of it.

This healthcare bill will supposedly allow parents to keep their young adult children on their health plans into their 20's, "?cutting fraud?" and "?waste?" and ensuring that sick people aren't dropped by insurance companies. Senator Lamar Alexander proposed medical malpractice reform, high-risk insurance pools, and expansion of health savings accounts. Senator John McCain complained at length about what he said was a back door process to produce the original bill that resulted in favors for special interests and carve-outs for certain states. President Obama remarked the campaign was over with and McCain said he was reminded of that everyday. Nothing was accomplished between the two parties at the meeting. There were 40 senators, represenatives, and admnistration officials there. They were crowded shouldder-to-shoulder around a hollow square table.

The one issue that the Republicans should've argued when they spoke at this meeting was the unconstitutionality of this bill. They should've argued it's not the place of government to seize control of the healthcare industry. However, they didn't do that. The problem with the Republican Party is their hypocrisy. When they were in charge of Congress, they didn't abide by the conversative principles they claimed they upheld. Therefore, they've limited themselves on what they can say. Anytime they do complain about the healthcare bill, President Obama will ask them where were they for the last ten years? Sadly, he's right. The Republicans can't point their finger at the Democrats if they're going to promote the same kind of legislation as the Democrats do.