As I was watching the Super Bowl and saw the opening coin toss, I was reminded that conservatives had better be careful about the White House’s offensive game. This administration is constantly on the attack. It’s very good at manipulating events to its advantage and changing the rules mid-game.

For example, President Obama talked about healthcare reform during a pre-game interview with CBS’s Katie Couric. He said, “I want to … have a large meeting — Republicans and Democrats — to go through, systematically, all the best ideas that are out there and move it forward.” Yesterday, the White House announced plans for a “healthcare summit” on February 25th. According to various reports, the president has promised that this summit will be televised live, presumably on C-Span.

Last week I wrote that the administration and congressional Democrats had totally ignored any ideas conservatives put forward during last year’s healthcare debate. In his statement to Couric, Obama essentially admitted as much. If they had been receptive to conservative ideas and input all along, then they never would have attempted a Big Government takeover of the healthcare industry and this summit would not be necessary.

But when conservatives said they were willing to work with the president, they weren’t talking about TV shows. As we saw from last week’s televised Q&A between the president and House conservatives, the entire event was staged for Obama’s benefit. Conservative members of Congress were faceless, off-camera voices, while the president stood behind the podium like a smug college professor lecturing his pupils. He wasn’t there to negotiate in good faith; he was there to score points with his leftwing base and convince the public that he was “reaching out.”

When conservatives said they wanted discussions to be televised, they didn’t mean choreographed Obama campaign rallies. They meant, as Candidate Obama promised, all key meetings in which substantive decisions were being made.

Call me skeptical, but I expect this summit is just another sham attempt to give Obama the appearance of bi-partisanship. The media will sing his praises and give him as much cover as possible. But the differences between the two parties are tremendous and can’t be glossed over in one made-for-TV “summit.” I suspect the president knows that, and all this is just for show – a play fake that allows Obama to say “I tried” and sets the stage for liberals to “go nuclear,” ramming ObamaCare through using budget reconciliation rules.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell isn’t falling for it. In a statement this weekend, Sen. McConnell responded to the summit suggestion by saying, “If we are to reach a bipartisan consensus, the White House can start by shelving the current health spending bill, and with it their goal of slashing a half trillion dollars from Medicare and raising a half trillion in new taxes. The American people want lower costs, not Medicare cuts and tax increases. Setting these proposals aside would be a sign that the administration and Democrats in Congress are listening to the country and are truly interested in a bipartisan approach.” Stay tuned.

What Are They Hiding?

While Barack Obama is talking terrorism today, Democrat congressional leaders are huddling in secluded suites on Capitol Hill. Why? They are hammering out their differences on a socialized medicine scheme in secret, rather than in the usual conference committee process, which is held in public. Reports broke late yesterday that the liberals would try to bypass the normal legislative process and shut down further debate. Democrats said they didn’t want to give Republicans any more opportunities to slow down or stop the process.

Here’s the truth: Republicans voted unanimously in opposition to this bill, but Democrats control 60 votes – enough to shut down GOP filibusters, which is exactly what the Democrats did. This is entirely their bill. Every significant Republican amendment was defeated. Every GOP attempt to block the bill was shut down. The problem is not conservative opposition, but division within the Left.

So they are once again going behind closed doors as they attempt to socialize nearly 20% of our economy, pass massive new tax hikes, dramatically expand the government (including the IRS) and take away more of our freedom. It is disgusting and outrageous.

It’s also a blatant violation of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s 2006 pledge that her party would “lead the most honest, most open and most ethical congress in history.” And it also breaks candidate Obama’s promise that the legislation would not be negotiated behind closed doors but broadcast on C-SPAN. To its credit, C-SPAN is demanding that President Obama and congressional Democrats keep their word and “allow the public full access, through television, to legislation that will affect the lives of every single American.”

It does make one wonder: If passing this bill would be such a success, why all the secrecy? What are they hiding?