Yesterday House Republican leaders responded to President Obama’s call for a healthcare summit. In a letter to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, House Republican Leader John Boehner and Republican Whip Eric Cantor laid down some ground rules and asked some very pointed questions. Here’s an excerpt:

“Assuming the President is sincere about moving forward on health care in a bipartisan way, does that mean he will agree to start over so that we can develop a bill that is truly worthy of the support and confidence of the American people? …If the starting point for this meeting is the job-killing bills the American people have already soundly rejected, Republicans would rightly be reluctant to participate.

“Assuming the President is sincere about moving forward in a bipartisan way, does that mean he has taken off the table the idea of relying solely on Democratic votes and jamming through health care reform by way of reconciliation? …

“Will the President include in this discussion congressional Democrats who have opposed the House and Senate health care bills? This bipartisan discussion should reflect the bipartisan opposition to both the House bill and the kickbacks and sweetheart deals in the Senate bill. …

“Your answers to these critical questions will help determine whether this will be a truly open, bipartisan discussion or merely an intramural exercise before Democrats attempt to jam through a job-killing health care bill that the American people can’t afford and don’t support. ‘Bipartisanship’ is not writing proposals of your own behind closed doors, then unveiling them and demanding Republican support….”

I doubt you’ll hear about this letter on the evening news, but the issue is too important to be determined by liberal demagoguery. Unfortunately, the White House quickly rejected calls to start over, which just indicates that the president is not giving up on his socialized medicine scheme and that this summit is really just for show.