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The Obama Watch
A Thousand Points of Blight
ObamaCare waivers top 1,000 as White House stonewalls congressional inquiry.
In a 2006 speech to the National Press Club about lobbying reform, Illinois Senator Barack Obama waxed eloquent about the malevolent influence of special interests on Beltway politics: “The American people are tired of a Washington that’s only open to those with the most cash and the right connections. They’re tired of a political process where the vote you cast isn9;t as important as the favors you can do.” And, alluding to that infamous hive of scum and villainy, the Bush administration, he added: “When big oil companies are invited into the White House for secret energy meetings, it’s no wonder they end up with billions in tax breaks while Americans still struggle to fill up their gas tanks and heat their homes.” It appears, however, that talk is a good deal cheaper than political influence.
Four years later, Obama had long since moved to Pennsylvania Avenue and was receiving frequent visits from people with more than a passing resemblance to the iniquitous special interests whose influence had once filled him with righteous indignation. Not only did he conduct intimate tête-à-têtes with energy executives, meetings that outraged more than a few progressive advocacy groups, he was receiving a steady stream of visitors with much at stake in the health care reform legislation that was being hotly debated in Congress and in the public square. Many conservatives and libertarians worried that secret deals were being cut, and this anxiety was by no means ameliorated when we learned Richard Trumka was getting more face time with the President than was Mrs. Obama.
Then the other shoe dropped. Last October, it came out that the Obama administration had been issuing ObamaCare waivers to a list of unions and corporations that correlated rather suspiciously to the donor rolls of the Democratic National Committee. The indignation caused by this news increased proportionally as the total number of special dispensations grew to 111 by November and to twice that amount in December. And there was general outrage when an additional 507 new waivers were posted to the approval list the day after Obama’s State of the Union Address. The list now includes more than 1,000 unions and other entities. Thus, several Republican committee chairmen in the House are interested in all of those visits the President received during the run-up to the final ObamaCare vote.
Fred Upton (R-MI), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, sent a letter to Nancy-Ann DeParle, who until recently ran the White House Office for Health Reform (WHOHR), requesting records of those meetings: “We are troubled by the secret negotiations which apparently took place between the WHOHR and outside interest groups, especially given the specific promises of transparency regarding health care reform.… We write to you today in the hope that the Administration will belatedly uphold the President’s promise of transparency.” However, despite the President’s frequently repeated promise to run “the most open and transparent administration in history,” the White House has refused to release any documentation beyond the meager snippets already sent to a few Democrats last year.
What could possibly justify this latest broken promise? According to Bob Bauer, who ironically needed a waiver from the President’s famous “ethics pledge” in order to qualify for the post of White House Counsel, complying with congressional oversight just involves far too much work: “To provide all possible information encompassed by your request… would constitute a vast and expensive undertaking.” The letter also contained this familiar-sounding passage: “To the extent you are also seeking documents reflecting internal deliberations and communications; it also would implicate longstanding Executive Branch confidentiality interests.” Why does this sound familiar? It is how the Bush White House responded to initial questions from Congress about Vice President Cheney’s “secret meetings” with those evil oil industry executives.
In addition to their requests for information about Obama’s closed-door health care meetings, Chairman Upton has also shown an interest in the rules and procedures governing the issuance of the ObamaCare waivers. Upton and Cliff Stearns, chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, have sent a missive to the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO), the bureaucracy charged with actually issuing the waivers: “Your office has approved waivers from [ObamaCare’s] annual limits requirements for 222 applicants. In a Nov. 30, 2010 meeting with Ranking Minority Member Michael Burgess, you stated that your office had also denied waiver requests. We would appreciate if your office would explain how a decision is made on whether compliance… is necessary.”
In the same spirit of “transparency” that animated the White House response to Upton’s document request, the former Democrat chairman of Energy & Commerce howled with indignation at the CCIIO information request. Henry Waxman (D-CA) hilariously claimed that it would be “disruptive” to the normal operations of the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to provide the requested data. Upton’s reply was characteristically ironic: “Last year the Democratic majority opted to place HHS in charge of the health care of every single American. If the HHS bureaucracy can handle monitoring every doctor and patient relationship in the United States, it can handle a simple request for documents from an American public hungering to finally know the details about the administration’s health care takeover.”
To date, however, the Obama administration and its health care bureaucrats have resisted disclosing any information it can possibly keep from the public eye. The information extracted from John Larson, Deputy Administrator and Director of CCIIO, at a late February hearing of Energy & Commerce was studiously vague about the criteria used to determine the winners and losers of the waiver lottery. And despite the President’s ostensible concern about how tired the electorate is “of a political process where the vote you cast isn’t as important as the favors you can do,” it would appear that Chairman Upton will have to issue subpoenas to the White House to discover if the special dispensations from ObamaCare’s provisions are connected with secret deals struck behind closed doors with the President or his minions.
As then Senator Obama so eloquently phrased it in 2006, the voters are indeed “tired of a Washington that’s only open to those with the most cash and the right connections.” Unfortunately the blight of backroom deals, bribes and old-fashioned obstructionism has metastasized exponentially since he became President. The only cure is to repeal and replace ObamaCare as well as the man who signed it into law.
About the Author
David Catron is a health care revenue cycle expert who has spent more than twenty years working for and consulting with hospitals and medical practices. He has an MBA from the University of Georgia and blogs at Health Care BS.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (57) | Leave a comment
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Alex P. Keaton| 3.10.11 @ 6:53AM
WHOHR? That aptly describes, oh never mind.
Sam Levi| 3.10.11 @ 12:17PM
Is that pronoounced "whore"
Mitch Angoop| 3.10.11 @ 12:37PM
The correct spelling, at least as it pertains to barry the thug, is: IMPEACH.
NJK| 3.10.11 @ 9:42PM
I would like to suggest ARREST!
saleboter| 3.10.11 @ 7:17AM
First lets drop Obamacare and use the correct term CRAPCARE
Second supena now!
Deborah D | 3.10.11 @ 7:26AM
Let's see, the Left is all apoplectic about Rep. Michelle Bachman calling this administration "gangster government," a term coined by Michael Barone as I recall. But, they are just fine with waivers for Obamacare and don't want to know anything about how those decisions are made. This defines gangster government, and it shines a bright light on gangster journalism (aka the MSM) who, as they close their eyes to corruption, become part of the corruption themselves.
Redstateboy| 3.10.11 @ 11:40AM
Well played..
SpiralArchitect| 3.11.11 @ 1:02AM
The only thing transparent with the Community Organizer is his hatred for this great nation and personal mandate to force his Marxists ways upon the masses.
Intelligent Design| 3.10.11 @ 8:10AM
When the king and his cronies decide who must obey the law, and who does not, then there is no need for a legislature, or voters, or a judiciary, or a Constitution. Obamacare is unconstitutional for the reasons cited by Judge Vinson. In addition, it is another example of Congress delegating to the federal bureaucracy so much power that the unelected bureaucrats are deciding the substance of the law.
LiveFreeOrDie| 3.10.11 @ 3:04PM
An equal protection argument should be brought forth, in my opinion.
Hillel| 3.10.11 @ 8:22AM
I am on the board of a quasi-public-private enterprise.We are always negotiating with the relevent govt. agencies. It's not that they're unfair,they're not. It's that we have no rights. Everything is subject to negotiations. This is the frightening future. NO RIGHTS Kafka thou should be living now!
Mitch Angoop| 3.10.11 @ 12:43PM
Our only hope is that the continued stink of political and financial corruption constantly spewing from this fetid administration will SO disgust the electorate that barry and his disgusting party will be crushed and forced into the wilderness for 50 years. It will take that long for our Country to recover from this criminal administration, if at all.
The obama administration will be recognized as the worst assemblage of thugs, liars, thieves, and con-men since the forgettable days of James Buchannan, and even worse than the carter gang. His evil so so monstrous that it is difficult to even conceive of a punishment suitable for barry and his gang of trolls. OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!
JimH| 3.10.11 @ 8:31AM
And just what is the going price of the donation to the DNC for a waiver these days?
East Texas Rancher| 3.10.11 @ 8:36AM
I just love the acronym for the group Nancy Parle belonged to...WHOHR describes it precisely.
B. Gunn
The East Texas Rancher
InLineFour| 3.10.11 @ 11:50AM
"WHOHRing around.." with special interests in those secret backroom meetings.
JimH| 3.10.11 @ 1:14PM
This term demeans whores, who at least provide a service for the money. These waivers are more in the way of extortion or protection money.
Jobe| 3.10.11 @ 8:58AM
Isn't it ironic that the guy who railed against "special interests" in politics is the guy who has taken more money from them than any other politician in History? obama could be the most hypocritical office holder in the history of the Republic. Certainly he is the worst president in our existance, and his only mitigating factor is how much better he has made Jimmy Carter look. Both found themselves so far out of their depths, that they literally becams caracatures of themselves.
Clint| 3.10.11 @ 9:02AM
Obama is A Banana Republic Ruler Type, heading to being purged in 2012.
The Tea Party Rebellion Escalates.
Carpe Diem.
hunter| 3.10.11 @ 9:15AM
Yes Clint, But in the final month of his administration he will make his birth certificate available for all to see. Then everyone will know he was indeed born in the USA. So then it will be clear he didn't lie about everything. NOT!
Pete| 3.10.11 @ 9:53AM
And shortly after he is out of office, the tour for his new book "The World Wasn't Ready for how Great I Am" will begin.
Al Adab| 3.10.11 @ 12:15PM
Out of office?
Election?
My what faith you have.
Mayan Man| 3.11.11 @ 1:06AM
The 21st day of the 12th month of the year 2012 will be the day O'Bomber presses the 'button' to end the world.
Rmm| 3.10.11 @ 9:10AM
Thank-you, Mr. Catron for more ammo against our punk president. These actions should surprise no one. After all, Obama is an expert at gaming the system and toying with people.
WRTolkas| 3.10.11 @ 9:29AM
I keep writing weekly to Senator stabenow for my obamacare waver. After no reply for over a month, I last wrote asking who do I need to bribe like the unions did. Still, I have not received a reply. So, I'll keep writing and waiting. And, come November 2012, my friends and I will be voting.
Have a safe weekend,
WRTolkas
Dan Hirsch| 3.10.11 @ 9:30AM
Oh no! Don't tell me that Barack is just another Democrat projecting his nefarious beliefs and practices onto his opponents in his hapless effort to disgrace them!!!
How does he shave without mirrors?
Oh yeah, we pay for his daily shave delivered by the barber in the White House basement. Where did they find a barber with so little common sense that the Secret Service could trust him to shave the First Face?
Rule: To learn what your political opponent is up to, just write down his every accusation of your misdeeds. Voila!
Unless, of course, you are a shnook!
Al Adab| 3.10.11 @ 10:35AM
Any program that requires over a thousand exemptions in order to get enough votes to implement it needs to experience a quick death. Obviously this administration is so self-centered and arrogant it believes the voting public has no choice but to swallow the snake oil they are selling. Is this what our nation has become? Are we now a collection of special interests living off the work and dollars of others? If they are right this is the ultimate decision point in our national life. The choices we make and the actions we take this year and next will determine the fate of self-government for a thousand years to come. Will thos future generations curse our name for failing or will they laud us for our dedication to their Liberty?
SpiralArchitect| 3.11.11 @ 1:11AM
The President has yet to be rejected for his complacency with ignoring his oath of office.
This seems to bother nearly no one.
This is incredible that this man continues to keep an elected position, to the highest office or local sheriff, when he operates as if there never was any such oath nor obligation of duties toward the nation and it's populace.
David W| 3.10.11 @ 11:14AM
I hope that any possible Republican candidate is taking notes. If he/she can avoid a "mccain" and actually go after Obama (assuming he runs for reelection) on his record or lack thereof then Obama should be a one-term president.
In addition, the House Republicans should introduce a bill that until further notice "ALL" groups/organizations/entities that would fall under the new Health Care Law are granted an indefinite waiver (you know that those who have temporary waivers will be able to have Obama extend them ad infinitum). If everyone is then able to opt out guess what.... it dies (though it still needs to be repealed).
SpiralArchitect| 3.11.11 @ 1:13AM
Not so fast, ACORN still has the ability to direct is very strong and numerous base of dead voters wherever needed.
Oldefarte| 3.10.11 @ 11:19AM
HE/THEY [as declared/shouted by a congressman at a previous SOTU presidential address] ......LIE!!!!!!
ABNCP| 3.10.11 @ 11:37AM
Obama and his administration are consistent on one thing. Everytime he/they speak on any thing of national importance you can bet that what comes out of their mouths is, disinformatin, half truths or dammed lies. One can only hope and pray there are enough adults still left in this country to vote him and his flunkies out of office in 2012.
Redstateboy| 3.10.11 @ 11:59AM
what - from what I'm hearing the Slave Party (aka Democrats) screaming about comes down to is...
"do as I say, not as I do" The Gall and arrogance of screaming that WS. rammed something down their throats is hysterical!! Rammed down THEIR throats?!!?!!! The Stimulus Bill? ObamaCare?? Are they kidding?
davelnaf| 3.10.11 @ 12:11PM
By now everyone, except libs of course, knows that Obama is giving the country bad economic management. The only question remaining is whether he and his minions are doing it to reshape the US into something that Obama's soulmates overseas can at least tolerate or is he doing it for a VAT? Even if it is one or the other his mismanagement is so grievously awful it puts him in a category of president in which he will be the only member for a very long time, if not forever. Obama’s legacy is going to end up in the back of the bus; if it isn’t there already.
Mitch Angoop| 3.10.11 @ 12:55PM
The only way we will be ridded of obama and his criminal cabal is if the GOP gets over their quivering terror of being accused of racism. Frankly, the only way that thug stole his way into the White House was by making sure that EVERYBODY in America knew they were racists if they voted against barry, or even had the temerity to criticize him. The Republicans have to desensitize themselves to the insults and lies and come out after barry and the dems with every weapon blazing. They cannot be insulted or threatened into being cowed. The 2012 election is a war over the very continued existence of our nation. Get used to it and do not flinch.
The Bruce| 3.11.11 @ 12:46AM
I think they're already desensitized to the "racist" idiocy coming from the left. Thank God for that.
However, the disease that the Republicans suffer from is merely a slightly different strain than the Democrats -- special interests. That's my diagnosis for about 80% of both parties.
Let's be intellectually honest, here. Both parties are certainly beholden to their own special interests, and it's showing during the current budget fight.
Republicans are fighting for deeper cuts, yes, but they're simultaneously circling the wagons around their own pet projects. Democrats are arguing for minor cuts, but still circling the wagons around their own interests (Harry Reid: Cowboy Poetry???).
I think it'll take a couple more election cycles before we, the voters, can honestly begin to purge this fiscal nightmare out of the government.
I suppose the first real indicator will be the budget the House produces for FY 2012.
I await in suspended disbelief until Boehner proves me wrong.
Erik Osbun| 3.10.11 @ 1:07PM
The final sentence of the commentator is the only correct solution to the problem. Vote the Muslim Marxist and his Czars out of office.
Al Adab| 3.10.11 @ 2:25PM
Why, we should ask, is not defunding the Czars and their agencies the top priority?
SpiralArchitect| 3.11.11 @ 1:17AM
Hanged for treason - that is the obvious solution, the subversive bastard.
Traitor, well, he has been a citizen for a couple decades...
Jack| 3.10.11 @ 1:39PM
Since the race card is played by the Dems every chance they get it would seem that a great way to defuse that would be to get behind a Herman Cain for president. He is an accomplished business man and a no BS kind of guy. He would be everything that BO should have been and people would soon see the difference. It may come down to every last single vote we can get...that is if they are still being counted by the Soros Sec. of State. Oregon comes to mind.
Aisling| 3.10.11 @ 2:21PM
Lazy reporting -- Steve Larsen, not John Larson, runs CCIIO and testified at the Upton hearing. This article is clearly pulled from the Heritage Foundation blog post that makes the same mistake.
These types of mistakes sure do cast doubts about the verifiability of these articles.
Purple Lips| 3.10.11 @ 4:16PM
I suspect that the Gang of 1000 (Waiver recipeints) will somehow manage to make legal (albeit immoral) donations to the Re-Elect our Kenyan President campaign coffers. If the paper trail can be sifted and analyzed, a sharp amitious prosecutor could probably prove there was a classic quid pro quo involved.
But of course the Anointed One isn't that foolish, is he? Even if a prosecutor couldn't produce enough evidience for impeachment I would think the public knowledge of this would be devastating.
Louis Jenkins| 3.10.11 @ 4:28PM
Illegal donations? The money is flying around the Oval Office like flies drawn to a dead carcass. 1,027 exemptions from what I'm hearing. That's going to be a lot of dough in the next election for Obama to play with. There's so many exemptions now I doubt there are any businesses or organizations left. That boils down to you and me-stuck with bill, as though there was going to be a difference.
Occam's Tool| 3.10.11 @ 8:06PM
Defund the Czars. Reduce the Cabinet Departments to: State, Treasury, Defense, Interior. Cut all Federal funding of NEA, NEH, PBS,NPR. If Egypt violates Camp David, cut them off. (They will). That'll save a lot of money right there.
Occam's Tool| 3.10.11 @ 8:10PM
In addition, close down US bases in Germany and the UK---no Soviets, no need. That will free up a lot of troops for rotation to finish off the scum in Afghanistan and then leave, if possible. Western Europe is no longer the flash point. Put those savings into more stealth fighters which we made need against the Chinese.
All Federal Funding MUST pass PJ O'Rourke's Grandmother test.
Nite| 3.10.11 @ 9:35PM
Obama is used to Chicago politics. He needs to remember that he is the President and conduct himself accordingly.
AnyoneButNewt| 3.11.11 @ 6:59AM
Remember Andrea Mitchell in tears saying "You've GOT to pass this for him.",,,THAT'S a WHOHR.
Creative Recreation | 8.11.11 @ 1:59AM
is good