Okay, folks, you have to sit down for this one. President Obama just did an interview with Bloomberg BusinessWeek that was astonishing for its sheer audacity. He actually claimed that his administration has promoted a “fundamentally business-friendly agenda” and he said that he and his top officials are “fierce advocates” of free enterprise. No, this isn’t an early April Fool’s joke.

The president went on to say, “You would be hard pressed to identify a piece of legislation that we have proposed out there that, net, is not good for businesses.” Really? Not even one? I’ll take that challenge.

• How about promising to let the Bush tax cuts expire? I know Obama thinks this only hits the “rich,” but according to one report, Congress’ “Joint Committee on Taxation expects half of the revenue raised by the tax increase to fall on businesses that are taxed as individuals.”
• How about the government takeover of healthcare? House Democrats passed a socialized medicine bill that costs more than $1 trillion. It was paid for with a big tax hike that would negatively affect 60% of small businesses.
• How about cap and trade? The Obama Administration admits that this is a huge tax increase on families that would kill jobsbecause businesses would also face much higher electricity and transportation costs.
• How about his constant bashing of businesses? The CEO of Loews Corporation, which owns hotels, said Obama’s anti-business rhetoric did “a good job of killing” the travel industry. He added, “The criticism that took place of group travel was really a death knell for the industry. It’s easy for the politician to get the sound bite. What they are doing with those sound bites is putting maids and bellmen out of work.” Not to mention workers in related industries like restaurants and airlines.

I could go on, but that wouldn’t be fair. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel.

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.

Dear Friends,

The Senate Finance Committee will vote TUESDAY and will likely pass its version of ObamaCare complete with the abortion mandate, massive tax increases and the wholesale government takeover of healthcare.

Just one problem…

There is NO real bill in the Finance Committee!

The Finance Committee is working off what is called the “Chairman’s Mark,” which is really just “plain language” notes about the bill! Committee staffers admit that the actual legislative text for the bill hasn’t been written (or at least it hasn’t been released to the public!).

Even worse…

Majority Leader Harry Reid ultimately controls the process in the Senate and our best sources tell us he will push his own version of ObamaCare directly to the floor for a vote!  Once again, we have no idea what that bill actually says. There have been no drafts and it will not be subjected to Committee scrutiny!

It is very likely that the actual text of the Reid bill — the final bill the Senate votes on — will remain hidden until the very last minute. Why?  It’s clear that he doesn’t want the American people to know what is in this healthcare bill!

+ + Tell the Senate: “Show Us The Bill!”

This is political chicanery at its very worst.  Harry Reid knows the American public is not in favor of ObamaCare and its abortion mandate, so he is resorting to HIDING the bill’s content and his plans from citizens like you and me!

And as we learned from his “attach it to an unrelated bill and call the vote at midnight” strategy to pass Hate Crimes legislation, Reid will stop at nothing to please the White House and pass this dangerous, cost-prohibitive bill no matter what Americans think!

I’m asking you to take a stand with me and demand that the Senate SHOW US THE BILL before any further votes on ObamaCare are taken! There are two important ways to take action.

FIRST, fax your Senators and other key Senators and say, ”Show Us The Bill!” Go here to schedule your faxes:

http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?U=22163&CID=297&RID=20868001

Of course, if you prefer to send your own faxes, please go here for fax numbers and sample texts for your faxes:

http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?U=22164&CID=297&RID=20868001

SECOND, call your two Senators and tell them that they should not vote on ANY health reform bill until they and the American public have had reasonable time to review the ACTUAL LEGISLATIVE TEXT.

Sen. Feinstein          202-224-3841
Sen. Boxer      202-224-3553

Again, we simply MUST see the actual bill, especially when every draft has included provisions that could greatly expand abortion coverage and force you and me to pay for abortions!

Thank you for telling your senators, “Show Us The Bill!”

God bless you,

Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel