(PHOTO CREDIT: AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

How dare they.

President Obama and Democratic leaders have decided to bypass a formal House and Senate conference to reconcile the two health care bills. Instead - White House and Democratic leaders will hold informal - another word for secret - negotiations... meant to shut Republicans and the public out of the process.

What a far cry from the election when then-candidate Obama pledged to quote "broadcast health care negotiations on C-Span so that the American people can see what the choices are."

President Obama hasn't even made a token effort to keep his campaign promises of more openness and transparency in government. It was all just another lie told for political expediency.

The head of C-Span wrote a letter asking Congress to "open all important negotiations, including any conference committee meetings, to electronic media coverage."

When White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was asked whether the administration would support televising the negotiations, he refused to answer, mumbling something about "I haven't seen the letter." That wasn't the question. You either support openess or you don't.

The Democrats insist this is all on the up-and-up... with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying "there has never been a more open process for any legislation." Really?

This is the same Nancy Pelosi who, after becoming Speaker in 2006, promised the Democrats would have "the most honest, most open and most ethical Congress in history." Let's hope the voters remember some of this crap when the midterm elections roll around later this year.

Here’s my question to you: Should secret negotiations be used to reconcile the two health care bills?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

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An activist participates in a vigil to support public option in health care (PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

President Obama says the federal government "will go bankrupt" if Congress doesn't pass health care reform.

In an interview with ABC News - The president warns that without new health care legislation - people's premiums will go up and employers will add on more costs. Also - he says it's possible employers will start dropping coverage all together - because they just can't afford the increase in costs, somewhere to the tune of 25 to 30 percent a year.

Mr. Obama adds that the costs of Medicare and Medicaid are headed in an "unsustainable" direction... and threaten to bankrupt the government if nothing is done. The president says anyone who's worried about rising deficits or future tax increases has to support the bill - because otherwise, health care costs will just eat up the budget.

But not everyone is buying what the president is selling. Polls suggest Americans are increasingly skeptical - with support for health care reform falling... while the opposition grows stronger. One new survey shows that for the first time more people say they would prefer Congress do nothing on health care than those who want reform.

It's unclear if the Senate will be able to pass its bill by the president's deadline of Christmas. Among other things, moderate Democratic Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska - a key holdout - says the question of abortion funding still hasn't been answered to his liking.

Here’s my question to you: Can the U.S. survive without health care reform?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

The Senate has voted to cut almost $500 billion from Medicare as a way to help pay for health care reform. Is that an oxymoron?
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/12/04/art.medicare.gi.jpg caption="Health care reform supporters participate in a sit-in inside the lobby of a Manhattan building."]
Republicans tried to stop it - but failed. The esteemed senators apparently think they can cut that much from Medicare without hurting seniors. They better hope the seniors agree with them. They insist Medicare is already in trouble and needs to be fixed, "not raided to create another new government program."

Senator John McCain is recording a phone message meant for voters - urging against the proposed cuts in Medicare.

But Democrats say the Republicans are making false claims about the $460 billion in cuts and they insist there's a lot of waste, fraud and abuse that can be cut from Medicare. Keep in mind - they also need to find a way to pay for the nearly $1 trillion health care plan.

The Democrats say the bill won't reduce guaranteed Medicare benefits for seniors, and that it would extend Medicare solvency for another five years.

The AARP supports the proposed Medicare cuts over 10 years - thus giving the Democrats political cover in their push to cut back subsidies to private Medicare plans along with payments to hospitals, hospices, home health agencies and other providers.

Medicare is an extremely popular program among seniors. For some it's the only healthcare they have. Is it really a good idea to cut all this money out of a government-run health program that actually works?

Here’s my question to you: Should Medicare cuts be part of health care reform?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

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(PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

The battle lines are drawn - when it comes to health care reform. Senate Democrats now say the debate has practically stalled; and they're blaming Republicans for blocking votes. The Republicans deny it.

At issue: The 10-year, nearly $1 trillion bill that would require most Americans to carry insurance, expand Medicaid and require insurers to cover people regardless of their medical history.

That's what we do know about this bill... but buried in the thousands of pages of legislation are other things that people might not know about.

For starters - under the Senate's plan, the Secretary of Health and Human Services would be granted broad new powers - including the authority to decide what procedures insurers should cover and who should get them. I don't know about you, but that idea creeps me out.

Also - Critics say that despite President Obama's promise that illegal aliens won't get health coverage - hundreds of thousands of people here illegally could get just that under this legislation. That's because while the bills making their way through Congress either mandate or encourage businesses to cover all employees - there are no exemptions to screen out illegals, who usually get jobs by using fake identities.

Meanwhile a new USA Today/Gallup poll suggests that despite all the efforts of the president and Democrats to get this legislation passed, Americans are leaning against it - with 49-percent saying they would tell their member of Congress to vote against a bill - just 44-percent say they would want them to support it.

Here’s my question to you: Has your support for health care reform increased or decreased in the past 6 months?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

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[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/24/flushot.jpg
caption="Do you really want the federal government more involved in health care?"]

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

With more Americans now saying that health care is not the government's responsibility, it's not difficult to see why some may feel that way.

All you have to do is look at the track record of government-run programs.

Here we go:

-Social Security was created in 1935. It will be paying out more money than it receives by 2016. And unless changes are made, it will be gone in 2037.

-The Medicare and Medicaid programs were signed into law in 1965. Medicare will run completely out of money by 2017. The situation for Medicaid is even worse.

-Spending on Social Security and Medicare totaled more than $1 trillion last year - or more than one-third of the federal budget.

-The U.S. Postal Service was created in 1775. It’s broke. It posted a $3.8 billion loss for this year. That's $1 billion more than it lost in 2008 - despite $6 billion in cost-cutting moves in the past year.

-How about Fannie Mae, in operation since 1938; and Freddie Mac, established in 1970? Both broke. The two home loan agencies were seized by federal regulators 14 months ago. Fannie Mae is now asking the government for another $15 billion, which would bring the tab for rescuing both companies to about $111 billion.

-And don't forget the hundreds of billions of dollars in the first round of TARP money that went virtually unaccounted for.

And now the government wants about another trillion dollars to reform health care. A trillion dollars we don't have.

Here’s my question to you: Do you really want the federal government more involved in health care?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?
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[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/20/botox.jpg
caption="Senate Democrats are proposing a 5% excise tax on elective cosmetic procedures."]

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty

Something called "Botax" might help pay for health care reform. The name derives from a tax on Botox... which in the case of some Hollywood types could raise millions.

Senate Democrats are proposing a 5% excise tax on elective cosmetic procedures... that includes things like Botox injections, breast implants, tummy tucks, face lifts, liposuction, teeth whitening, eyelid repairs, etc.

The tax would bring in an estimated $6 billion over 10 years and wouldn't apply to cosmetic surgery meant to fix a deformity or injury.

Drug makers and plastic surgeons think this is a terrible idea. The company that makes Botox calls it an "easy target" and says the tax is "unnecessarily punitive".

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons says it will hurt countless American women of every income level - that it's not just a tax on "wealthy, suburban Republican women."

They claim the tax would come at a particularly difficult economic time - when many women are trying to spruce up their looks as they search for jobs. I would offer that if you're out of work you probably wouldn't be getting Botox injections... but hey, what do I know?

It could have been worse. Lobbyists apparently succeeded in persuading lawmakers to reduce the tax from 10%, which would have brought in $11 billion over a decade.

Over the summer, many thought that Democrats weren't serious about the cosmetic surgery tax... but Harry Reid and Co. brought it back because they "needed money to make the bill work"."

SO HERE'S MY QUESTION TO YOU: Should the government tax cosmetic procedures like Botox, tummy tucks and liposuction to help pay for health care reform?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

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