[StBernard] BREAKING 2 PROMISES IN 1 MEETING

[Westley Annis]

BREAKING 2 PROMISES IN 1 MEETING
Obama Holding Closed Door Meeting With Unions On Taxing Health Benefits,
Because He Owes Them 
 
View This Research Briefing At GOP.com
<http://link.sc.states.gop.com?164-1261-1511-25548-7226> 
 
RNC CHAIRMAN MICHAEL STEELE: "Today, in a closed door meeting with labor
union bosses at the White House, President Obama will break two campaign
promises in one meeting.  By demanding, behind closed doors, that union
bosses abandon the best interest of the workers they claim to represent and
support his plan to tax health care benefits, Obama will break first his
pledge to broadcast all health care negotiations on C-SPAN and second his
pledge not to increase taxes on the middle class. The President knows that
he owes union bosses a minute of his time for all of the money they spent
electing him. But he need not worry about being rebuffed on taxing health
care benefits because he also knows that these union bosses care more about
reaping the benefits from his government-takeover, binge-spending agenda
than protecting the interests of the workers and families they represent."
 
TODAY, OBAMA WILL KILL TWO PROMISES WITH ONE MEETING
 
PROMISE #1: Candidate Obama Pledged All Health Care Negotiations Would Be
Televised On C-SPAN. "I'm going to have all the negotiations around a big
table. We'll have doctors and nurses and hospital administrators. Insurance
companies, drug companies -- they'll get a seat at the table ... But what we
will do is, we'll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people
can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are
making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance
companies." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks During Town Hall Meeting
<http://link.sc.states.gop.com?164-1261-1511-25548-7233> , Chester, VA,
8/21/08)
 

*	But Today's Meeting With Union Bosses Just Latest In Back Room
Meetings That Even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Admits Violates Obama's
Pledge. "Referring explicitly to one of Obama's campaign pledges, a reporter
asked Pelosi whether C-SPAN cameras would be allowed to film the
House-Senate negotiations. 'There are a number of things he was for on the
campaign trail,' she said, without addressing the question." (Brian Beutler,
"Oh SNAP! Pelosi On Obama: 'There Were A Number Of Things He Was For On The
Campaign Trail,'" Talking Points Memo
<http://link.sc.states.gop.com?164-1261-1511-25548-7229> , 1/5/10)

 
PROMISE #2: Candidate Obama Made "A Firm Pledge ... No Family Making Less
Than $250,000 A Year Will See Any Form Of Tax Increase. Not Your Income Tax,
Not Your Payroll Tax, Not Your Capital Gains Taxes, Not Any Of Your Taxes."
(Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks In Dover, NH
<http://link.sc.states.gop.com?164-1261-1511-25548-7231> , 9/12/08)
 

*	But Despite Opposition From Unions, Obama Pushing House Dems To
Accept Senate Dems' Tax On Health Benefits. "Obama told top Democratic House
members ... that he favored a tax on insurance companies offering more
expensive healthcare plans ... Powerful labor unions at the core of the
Democratic base are opposed to the Cadillac tax ... Obama's preference may
put pressure on the House to adopt the Senate tax as part of a compromise
between the two bodies." (Peter Nicholas, "Obama Favors 'Cadillac Tax' For
Healthcare," The Los Angeles Times
<http://link.sc.states.gop.com?164-1261-1511-25548-7224> , 1/7/10)

 

*	And Pelosi Believes Obama's Pledge To Not Tax Middle Class Broken By
His Support Of Taxing Health Benefits. "Senior House Democratic leadership
aides say Pelosi was pointedly referring to Obama's '08 pledge not to raise
taxes on the middle class, which she interprets to include a tax on
so-called Cadillac health care plans ..." (Patrick O'Connor And Glenn
Thrush, "Nancy Pelosi Takes Swipe At President Obama's Campaign Promises,"
Politico <http://link.sc.states.gop.com?164-1261-1511-25548-7230> , 1/5/09)

 
WHY IS OBAMA MEETING WITH UNIONS JUST TO BREAK HIS WORD? BECAUSE HE OWES
THEM.
 
AFL-CIO Ran Tough Ads Against Tax On Health Benefits."We're continuing our
campaign for real health care reform with a new AFL-CIO TV ad that sends a
clear message: 'Pass Health Care. Don't Tax Health Benefits.' The ad ...
emphasizes that taxing benefits will lead companies to cut benefits and will
shift cost burdens to families that can't afford it. It urges Congress to
pass health care reform all Americans can afford." (Seth Michaels, "Fix
Health Care Right--Don't Tax Benefits," AFL-CIO Blog
<http://link.sc.states.gop.com?164-1261-1511-25548-7235> , 12/7/09)
 

*	And Communications Workers Of America President Larry Cohen Says
Senate Dems' Tax On Health Benefits Will Hurt Middle Class Families And "Is
The Opposite Of Reform." "This new data demonstrates irrefutably that the
excise tax - which will result in reduced coverage and increased costs for
our middle class families - is the opposite of reform." (Ben Smith, "CWA
Pushes Back On White House Excise Tax Claim," Politico's "Ben Smith" Blog
<http://link.sc.states.gop.com?164-1261-1511-25548-7234> , 12/17/09)

 
But Vice President Biden Said To Labor Unions: "[W]e Owe You."(Michael
O'Brien, "Biden To Labor Group: We Owe You," The Hill
<http://link.sc.states.gop.com?164-1261-1511-25548-7232> , 5/12/09)
 

*	SEIU President: "We Spent A Fortune To Elect Barack Obama -- $60.7
Million To Be Exact -- And We're Proud Of It." (Michael Mishak, "Unplugged:
The SEIU Chief On The Labor Movement And The Card Check," The Las Vegas Sun,
5/10/09) <http://link.sc.states.gop.com?164-1261-1511-25548-7223> 

 

*	Over His Political Career, President Obama Has Received At Least
$829,839 From Labor. (The Center For Responsive Politics Website,
www.opensecrets.org, Accessed 1/8/10)
<http://link.sc.states.gop.com?164-1261-1511-25548-7238> 

 

*	Several Unions Part Of "Health Care For America Now," A Group
Supporting Obama's Plans For Government-Run Health Care. ("Who We Are,"
Health Care For America NOW!
<http://link.sc.states.gop.com?164-1261-1511-25548-7228> , Accessed 1/8/10)

 

*	SEIU Packed Town Hall Meetings With Supporters This Summer. "This
summer, as high-decibel opponents have crowded into town hall meetings to
denounce Mr. Obama's reform effort, Mr. Rivera, working with other unions,
has sent hundreds of labor activists to such meetings to counter opponents.
'We're running this campaign like this was a presidential campaign, and our
candidate is health care reform." (Steven Greenhouse, "Dennis Rivera Leads
Labor Charge For Health Reform," The New York Times, 8/26/09)
<http://link.sc.states.gop.com?164-1261-1511-25548-7236> 

 
BUT UNIONS DON'T REALLY CARE ABOUT OBAMA TAXING HEALTH BENEFITS
BECAUSE THEY'LL GET THEIR MONEY'S WORTH ON THE REST OF OBAMA'S AGENDA
 
Obama's Government-Run Health Care Experiment "Is A Trojan Horse For More
Forced Unionization." "In the heated debates on health-care reform, not
enough attention is being paid to the huge financial windfalls ObamaCare
will dole out to unions--or to the provisions in the various bills in
Congress that will help bring about the forced unionization of the
health-care industry ... ObamaCare is a Trojan Horse for more forced
unionization" (Mark Mix, National R ight To Work Committee President, Op-Ed,
"Read The Health Care Union Label,' The Wall Street Journal
<http://link.sc.states.gop.com?164-1261-1511-25548-7219> , 9/10/09)
 
Obama Takeover Of Auto Industry Made UAW "Big Winner." "The United Auto
Workers union would appear to be the big winner in the Chrysler bankruptcy
saga, having exercised its considerable political muscle to win a 55% stake
in [Chrysler]." (Tom Krisher and Dave Carpenter, "UAW Wins Big Chrysler
Stake But Can't Run Company," The Associated Press, 5/2/09)
 
Obama Supports Employee Free Choice Act, Claims It Will "Level The Playing
Field." "That's why I support EFCA -- to level the playing field so it's
easier for employees who want a union to form a union." (President Barack
Obama, Remarks At AFL-CIO Labor Day Picnic
<http://link.sc.states.gop.com?164-1261-1511-25548-7220> , Cincinnati, OH,
9/7/09)
 
Unions Exploit Obama's So-Called "Green Energy" Agenda To Increase
Membership. "The confluence of lightning-rod issues highlights an alliance
between unions and environmental activists to promote green jobs as a
solution to both declining union membership and global warming." (Lisa
Lerer, "Labor, Greens Team Up," Politico
<http://link.sc.states.gop.com?164-1261-1511-25548-7221> , 4/14/09)
 
Money From Obama's Stimulus Must Comply With Rules Where Washington
Bureaucrats And Union Bosses Set Wages. "'This is huge,' said Ross
Eisenbray, vice president of the Economic Policy Institute, a pro-labor
think tank in Washington ... Davis-Bacon relies on government-issued tables
that tells employers in each of the 50 states, plus Washington, exactly what
they must pay workers  ;in four categories of federally funded construction
... The standards also include benefits in its definition of 'prevailing
wages,' giving local unions indirect influence over non-union pay."
(Jefferson Morley, "Labor Wins 'Prevailing Wages' In Stimulus," The
Washington Independent
<http://link.sc.states.gop.com?164-1261-1511-25548-7227> , 3/31/09)
 
Obama Killed Successful DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, At Union Behest.
"Deep in the folds of the thousand-page 2010 spending bill, which wraps
together six bills, is language that (thankfully) would continue funding for
students currently in the program but close it down for new students... If
Congress, no doubt egged on by its allies in the teachers unions, i s so
intent on killing this program, it should be upfront in accepting the
responsibility." (Editorial, "D.C. Vouchers On Life Support," The Washington
Post <http://link.sc.states.gop.com?164-1261-1511-25548-7225> , 12/14/09)