THE TYGRRRR EXPRESS

I had the privilege this week of participating in a conference call with House Minority Leader John Boehner.

http://johnboehner.house.gov/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Boehner

If we Republicans do our part, Mr. Boehner will be the next Speaker of the House in 2011, ending the reign of (t)error of the Pelosiraptor.

I initially met Congressman Boehner at a Commodity Futures conference in Palm Beach in 2005. I pointed out to him that if somebody were to break into my safe and steal stuff, that would be a crime, but yet every month money is taken out of my paycheck for a pyramid scheme known as Social Security against my will, and that was legal. I wanted to know why Congress didn’t just privatize Social Security, since I could get a better return than T-bills pay out.

His response was brutally honest.

“Privatizing Social Security requires courage. Members of Congress are not known for courage. Having to run for reelection every two years gets in the way of courage.”

With any luck, a Speaker of the House Boehner might provide the Republicans the toughness and grit to actually get things dnoe.

As for this conference call, in keeping with the long standing policy of my blog, certain events will have a majority of the commentary left off of the record as the situation dictates unless I am given express permission to place everything on the record. Therefore, this call will feature more generalities than specifics, without sacrificing the overall content of the call.

With that, I present some remarks from House Minority Leader John Boehner.

“Six months into the new administration, and there is already plenty to talk about.”

“America and Israel have been friends for a long time. The current way we are engaging Iran is not helping that relationship. Engaging Iran in this way is shortsighted, and our olive branch is seen by Iran as a sign of weakness.”

“The Republican Jewish Coalition helped to prevent Charles Freeman from becoming the head of the NIC, which would have been very bad for relations with Israel.”

“The Obama administration is currently courting regimes that are using Anti-American and Anti-Israel rhetoric.”

“I have been pushing Howard Berman (D-CA) on an Iran sanctions bill.”

(Also of importance is a resolution involving Gitmo, which was not discussed on the Conference Call.)

http://inhofe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Petitions.TerroristTransfer

“On Card Check, there is no compromise that works for employers.”

“Card Check allows for an ‘ambush election.’ Once 30% of workers sign on, an election has to be held within 10 days.”

“Andy Stern, head of the SIEU, is claiming that there will be a vote on Card Check before the August recess. That will not happen.”

“We will get rolled in the House big-time. The key play is in the Senate. The solution is no compromise, no bill. Business organizations are united on this as never before.”

“Regarding Nancy Pelosi’s energy tax, it cripples small businesses, and sends high paying jobs overseas to China and India. They don’t have 1/100 of the controls we have here.”

“On health care, there is a 1018 page bill. It creates a giant government bureaucracy, adds one trillion in tax increases, and lead sto the cutting of Medicare and Medicaid.”

“With regards to ERISA, there is a five year grace period, but then Health Care Options Czar approval is required on all plans.”

“House Democrats got their arms broken on Cap and Trade, so there are no more arms to break. The Blue Dogs are meeting with the Obama administration. He is going to yell at them, but that is probably not going to sway them.”

“Health care is doubtful before the August recess. The current bill should be scrapped, and we should create a bipartisan bill.”

“Unemployment is approaching 10%. People are asking, ‘Where are the jobs?’ There is mounting anger over government intrusion, and the subsidizing of irresponsible behavior. The mid-year deficit is expected to be two trillion dollars.”

“People are losing faith in government when they see all this spending. Americans know that small business and not government is the engine that drives us.”

“Freedom itself is under assault.”

Congress Boehner then took questions. The first questioner wanted to know why the health care debate is not being framed as 85% of people being covered, which is pretty good. Congressman Boehner expanded that notion even further.

“83% of Americans like their coverage. Yet 80% think that they pay too much. The issue is cost control.”

“Access is a second issue. Start with the 47 million uninsured that is always cited. Now take into account those under age 32 that choose not to get coverage because they are healthy and indestructible. Then there are 10 million more that get coverage from SCHIP and Medicaid. There are also at least 10 million illegal immigrants receiving health care. Realistically, there are about 10 million who are working poor, or have preexisting conditions, tha do not have health care.”

Another questioner asked about Howard Berman and an Iran sanctions bill.

“Congressman Berman said he would not advance a bill until President Obama moved things along. Congressman Berman is dragging his feet, to see if the Obama administration’s Iran engagement plan has any chance.”

“Nancy Pelosi refused to co-sponsor resolutions pressuring Iran, Palestinians, and Hezbollah. I co-sponsored the bills. Watch what politicians do, not what they say.”

Congressman Boehner then offered some final thoughts on various issues.

“Some politicians believe in what they say, that they can talk their way through anything, that they can talk their way through life. Hillary Clinton is in India talking to them about climate change. India is our ally, and they are refusing to go along.”

“There is a certain amount of arrogance in this administration. They think that the world loves them. President Obama in particular is still taking in the adoring crowds in Paris and Berlin. They are in for a rude awakening. Outreach to Iran is seen as weakness. Again, the term I use for this administration is arrogance.”

“Who can compete with government? There is zero cost of capital, which means that in health care, the public option is the only option. There is an employer mandate. Any business with more than a $250,000 payroll will face an 8% tax. They will just refuse to offer coverage and push more people into the public option. Getting rid of the public option is important. Yet that is just one big bad thing. Government bureaucrats will be looking at various cures for diseases, and they will decide what people go with. The bureaucrats will crowd out private sector plans.”

“The Democrats will have a hard time passing it. They will have to drag me off of the tracks.”

I would like to thank Congressman Boehner for his time, and his commitment to sensible principles. In 1993 it was Texas Senator Phil Gramm who said that Hillarycare would become law “over his cold, dead political body.” President Obama’s worst bills can be defeated, but only if congressional Republicans follow the example of Congressman Boehner, and replace jellied knees with steel spines.

For the good of America, let’s hope so.

eric

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 at 11:17 am and is filed under POLITICS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.