Last night, after the President’s speech to Congress on healthcare reform, I asked, “Did He Lie?” Then, I shared with you a number of misrepresentations he made. Today, more of his inaccuracies are being exposed. Here are some more.Gary Bauer, former Presidential candidate and the President of the Campaign for Working Families, in an article entitled “Obama’s Fairy Tale” writes this:

The president must have thought he was still speaking to second graders during last night’s speech to the American people and a joint session of Congress. How else can one explain the untruths, misrepresentations and contradictions that were centerpieces of the speech?

He described a fantasyland where everyone gets more benefits, nobody loses anything and the deficit magically doesn’t increase. I will point out a few of the distortions below.

But first I want to point out what most of Big Media is ignoring this morning. Republicans are being bashed for inappropriate partisanship because there was a sprinkling of boos and a frustrated Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina accused the president of lying.

Big Media is in shock about that outburst, but it appears to have forgotten that President Bush was booed in 2005, and that Harry Reid called President Bush “a loser” and “a liar.” In addition, many are ignoring the bitter partisan tone of the president’s speech.

He accused talk radio (Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, etc.), cable news (Fox News) and Republican leaders (Sarah Palin) of lying.

He attacked the Bush Administration – AGAIN.

And he said nothing about the “attack dogs” of the Left, including members of Congress who have labeled those of us who disagree with socialized medicine as “un-American” and “evil mongers.”

How partisan was his speech?

Senator Lindsey Graham, who goes out of his way (too far in my opinion) to “make nice” with liberals in Congress, had this to say: “I was incredibly disappointed in the tone of his speech.  …I found his tone to be overly combative and believe he behaved in a manner beneath the dignity of the office. I fear his speech tonight has made it more difficult — not less — to find common ground.” Even Larry Sabato, a liberal political analyst, called Obama’s remarks, “…a tough, partisan speech.”

They are right. The speech sounded like something a community organizer would deliver – not a president.

Now, let’s look at specifics. I’ll quote the president and then give you the facts.

• Obama’s fantasy: “I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits either now or in the future — period.”
• The Truth: Not even one Democrat version of the legislation is deficit neutral. The House version, according to the Congressional Budget Office, adds $220 billion to the deficit over the next decade. The Senate bill is changing by the hour, so it is harder to estimate costs, but common sense tells you it is nearly impossible to cover 30 million more people, not cut any services and do it all without more deficit spending.

• Obama’s Claim: “Don’t pay attention to those scary stories about how your benefits will be cut … That will never happen on my watch.”
• The Truth: His plan proposes $500 billion in “savings” in Medicare by cutting “waste, fraud and abuse.” This is a sleight of hand as old as Washington, D.C., and it is one reason why our deficit is out of control. There is no budget line for “waste, fraud and abuse.” If there are $500 billion that can be saved, prove it now. Cut that “waste, fraud and abuse” now, and save the money now!

• Obama’s Deception: “… the reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.”
• The Reality: Is there an American alive who doesn’t know the fiasco of our immigration policies? Countless benefits go to illegal immigrants for one simple reason: There are no strong verification systems to prevent it. Illegals can’t vote, but we know some are voting because liberals oppose photo IDs and proof of citizenship on Election Day. Conservatives in Congress have repeatedly tried to add citizenship verification provisions to the socialized medicine bill, and Obama’s allies have voted them down every time. Voting down citizenship verification is how Obama’s allies ensure that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and groups like La Raza support the legislation. A recent Rasmussen poll found that 83% of Americans say people should be required to prove their citizenship before receiving government healthcare benefits. But the Congressional Research Service admits that there is no verification mechanism in the bill. No wonder Rep. Joe Wilson yelled, “You lie!” at this point in the speech. And don’t forget: Obama intends to provide an amnesty to illegals anyway, making them eligible for all federal programs. By the way, I insist that President Obama call Rush Limbaugh, Fox News and Sarah Palin and apologize for calling them liars.

• Obama’s Deceit: “… under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions …”
• The Facts: Every attempt by pro-life congressmen to add specific language ensuring that your tax dollars won’t be used to subsidize abortions has been defeated by pro-abortion liberals in committee. The legislation requires that everyone receiving a federal subsidy (your tax money) under the proposed law be able to buy insurance that covers abortion. Even the Associated Press and Time Magazine admit that. And did you notice that when President Obama said it wouldn’t cover abortion there were no cries of outrage from the dozens of pro-abortion extremists in Congress? They know the fix is in and that abortion coverage will be included.

• Obama’s Sleight of Hand: Last night, Obama told Americans who already have insurance that they have nothing to worry about. He said: “Let me repeat this: nothing in our plan requires you to change what you have.”
• The Facts: But this statement is different from what he has said in previous speeches on healthcare. Previously, he claimed: “If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan, period.” Details are important. Why did Obama go from saying “you’ll be able to keep your health care plan, period” to “nothing in our plan requires you to change what you have”? The answer is simple. Most Americans get their health insurance from their employer and they generally like it. But once a government-run health insurance company (the public option) is established, many businesses, no one knows how many, will opt to pay a fine and stop providing coverage if the government is going to assume that responsibility. Millions of Americans will lose the coverage they have and like, even though the legislation doesn’t “require” it. But the legislation just makes that outcome very predictable.

• Obama’s False Promise: “Now is when we must bring the best ideas of both parties together …”
• The Reality: Conservatives have introduced 40 pieces of legislation to reform healthcare. None have been let out of committee by the Democrat majority. In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi hasn’t included Republicans in negotiations for months. Obama has “locked” the White House doors since April – not inviting the congressional minority even once since then to negotiate. When Obama says he wants bi-partisanship, he means conservatives have to embrace his unacceptable Big Government, high cost, deficit-inducing ideas.

I could write a dozen pages, but you get my drift. It was a partisan speech long on distortions and short on facts. One more observation to close: President Obama expressed the same disdain for dissent and energetic debate that is quickly becoming a leftwing theme. He referred to the lively debate this summer at the grassroots as a “spectacle” and “bickering,” and added, “The time for games has passed.”
This is no game. Your freedom is at stake. If this bill passes, Congress will be creating another huge entitlement program. Big Government will be taking on an even bigger responsibility for your welfare and with that a greater demand on your income and standard of living.
But the president needs to be reminded that in America, in contrast to Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela and Ahmadinejad’s Iran, vocal, robust dissent is not only our right, it is our obligation when government and politicians go too far. Brave men and women have died for our right to speak-up and no one, including the president, gets to decide when the debate is over.
Here are more of my blogs on Health Myths:

• Health Myth #1: “The U.S. has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the developed world.”
• Health Myth #2: “About 46 million Americans lack access to health insurance.”
• New Analysis of the Myth: “46 Million Americans Without Health Insurance”
• Health Myth #3: “The uninsured can’t afford to buy coverage.”
• Health Myth #4: “Most of the uninsured do not have health insurance because they are not working and so don’t have access to health benefits through an employer.”
• Health Myth #5: “The estimated 45 million people without health insurance lacked health insurance for every day of the year.”
• Health Myth #6: “Government-run universal health care would increase the international competitiveness of U.S. companies.”
• Health Myth #7: “The cost of uncompensated care for the uninsured significantly increases hospital costs.”
• Health Myth #8: “Nationalized health care would not impact patient waiting times.”
• Health Myth #9: “Insurers cover less today than they did in the past.”
• Health Myth #10: “Preventive Medicine Saves Money”