A Culture of Deception and Hiddenness

We almost have a Health Care Reform Bill - a massive missive of almost 2000 indecipherable pages that few of our elected officials will even read.

Regardless of opinions of the role of the federal government, aren't the following facts disturbing?

The bill will not be posted in sufficient time for public review before a vote.

The "opt out" option for states is unclear and expensive.

Private citizens will face coercive economic pressure to join in.

The details are vague enough so that proponents can call opponents "paranoid."

The cure seems worse than the disease - another federal program with more jobs for bureaucrats.

The Obama Administration promised an open, non-partisan (even "post-partisan") culture of honesty and transparency. What they are delivering is Chicago street-politics that disregard and discard all opposition and entrench their cronies in positions of power.

Consider the concerns of conservatives - labeled "crackpots" by the smirking commentators on shows with low ratings - real people with real values who want to help people:

Why are their so many radicals in positions of power with social ideas way to the left of the campaign slogans?

Why has Obama spent nearly $2M to keep all his formative records sealed - from birth all the way through graduate school?

Why did Obama vote, "present" more than any leader in history when he was a Senator, both in Illinois and Washington, D.C.?

Why are the deficits out of control, despite promises to "watch every line" of the budgets?

Why can't we have the government help with health care subsidies so that uninsured and under insured can afford care provided by current private and public entities?

Why is the government providing billions to agencies and companies that will never create a single job?

Our current crises are NOT the fault of the Democrats alone. They are the result of more than 40 years of bad leadership and mismanagement from both parties.

Eisenhower was prophetic when he warned about the power of "the military-industrial complex."

Kennedy was handsome, but his foreign policies were often disastrous and he is to blame for the Vietnam debacle.

Johnson was foolish to think that we could have all the butter and guns we want with no consequences.

Nixon played the "China card" - and we are experiencing the effects today.

Carter was a poor leader and naive to think that lowering standards on mortgages would be helpful long-term.

Reagan won the Cold War but lost the domestic battle for a balanced budget.

Bush I and II failed to complete legitimate but limited military goals and, like all predecessors, failed to stem the red ink.

Bill Clinton succeeded more than most in achieving domestic compromises and progress, but set the bar even lower for character.

We need honest and open debate, not polemic name-calling. I do not want to be one more conservative bashing the current Administration, but I am not being shown any reasons to support current policies.

My progressive colleagues have told me to "shut up - you lost, so deal with it." Wow - this sure sounds post-partisan, eh?

On the other side, conservatives are not helped by pundits who just spout platitudes about values but offer no realistic solutions for the crises we face.

We have a short time to reign in spending, find solutions that bring our troops home, and create an atmosphere of cooperative engagement. I hope we will find the courage to forge new directions in discourse and policy before it is too late for our civilization.