[StBernard] Melancon Enabling Health Care Reconciliation

[Westley Annis]

As Democrats in Washington plan to ram through their reckless government takeover of health care using a parliamentary procedure known as reconciliation, the real reason Charlie Melancon quit the House Budget Committee is becoming clear.

The main responsibility of serving on the House Budget Committee is to vote on budgetary issues that affect Louisiana and our nation.  Resigning from a committee that rarely holds hearings because one can’t work it into their schedule seems fishy. Resigning for political positioning rather, is exactly what Melancon has done.

Before San Francisco Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her liberal allies in the House can use their controversial method to pass government-run health care on the floor, it very well could have to first get through the Budget Committee.  If Melancon still sat on that committee he could show the bipartisanship he claims to espouse by standing up to Pelosi and Obama and voting against sending the bill to the floor.  Instead, Melancon’s mysterious departure allows Pelosi to replace him with another automatic “yes” vote for a bill that Louisiana voters overwhelming reject.

The plan would almost seem brilliant, but for the fact it is so transparent.  It is yet another attempt by Melancon to try and cast himself as a conservative Democrat while allowing the liberal agenda in Washington to advance.  Faced with the choice of ruining his political future by continuing to walk hand-in-hand with Nancy Pelosi or standing up for Louisiana voters, Melancon chose neither.  He quit and got out of the way.

Melancon’s maneuver is selling Louisiana short as his resignation effectively results in another “yes” vote for increased government control, increased taxes, increased fees on medicine and medical devices, massive cuts in Medicare, and an expansion in Medicaid that will cost Louisiana more than $300 million per year in increased taxes or reduced services.

Melancon will be “busy” traveling the state this year saying he opposed this legislation, but if he truly opposed this bill he would have made every effort to stay on the Budget Committee and fight for the people of Louisiana.  He should have stayed on the committee to vote against sending the bill to the floor, vote against this unprecedented mechanism for a government takeover of health care, and speak out publicly against the bill.

Instead, he took the easy way out.  He quit.  He got out of the way and handed his friends Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama another “yes” vote towards reconciliation.  He should be ashamed of himself for lacking the backbone to stand up to the liberal agenda.  If he’s going to quit when it matters most, he ought to free up some more time in his calendar by resigning from Congress all together.

There are plenty of Louisianians capable and willing to stand up to this Administration’s massive expansion in the size and scope of government.  Clearly, Charlie Melancon is not one of them.


Sincerely,
 
Roger F. Villere, Jr., Chairman
Republican Party of Louisiana