Da Techguy's (no longer backup) Blog

President Obama speech was made for political reasons to help get some kind of bill passed that his name can be on. This is a short term strategy and it may pay short term dividends. It did however have a long term cost and that cost was to put himself in a box.

He put three things out there as Sine Qua Non.

It will not increase the deficit

It will not cover illegal immigrants

It will not cover abortion

Now if he had casually mentioned this in a town hall and then dropped it that would be one thing, but this was said to a joint session of congress broadcast to a national audience live.

These are markers that can be used against the bill and/or the president, and as Byron York already notes it has resulted in a change of language:

on August 10, at a town hall meeting, Obama referred to the “46, 47 million people without health insurance in our country…” And on July 23, he said, “This is not just about the 47 million Americans who don’t have any health insurance at all…”

What’s the difference? Obama appears to be choosing his words carefully. There is a difference between Americans who “cannot get coverage” and Americans who “don’t have any health insurance at all.” The interesting question is why Obama has chosen to downgrade the number from 47 million to 30 million. Look for Democrats to begin using the new figure in making the case for Obamacare.

Legal Insurrection is having none of it:

Technically, Obama was correct that his plan does not cover illegal aliens because Obama has no plan that has been released, only concepts. So if Obama says his plan doesn’t cover illegals, then by definition it does not cover illegals — at least until we see the language in his plan. Similarly, the Senate HELP Committee bill defines an “eligible individual” in numerous places throughout the bill to include only citizens and legal residents (including for the public option, at page 111 of the bill).

So using the two measures, the non-existent Obama bill and the draft Senate HELP Committee bill which was not a full Senate proposal, Obama was correct.

But if the standard is the full House Bill, HR3200, then it appears that Obama was incorrect. There is nothing in HR3200 that excludes illegal aliens from the various coverage provisions (with a few limited exceptions). The Congressional Research Service agrees with this assessment (full report embedded below).

Wilson may have apologized but he might have the last laugh, if the bill covers illegals, then that clip of “liar” will become prophetic.

On abortion If you don’t think that guys like the American Papist are going to all over him concerning then you are in a dream world, as Gateway Pundit has already reported the National Right to Life Committee has already called him on it.

As for the deficit even the AP isn’t buying that. Cripes even Lawrence O’Donnell didn’t buy it.

Believe me if a bill passes with any of these things the commercials for 2010 and 2012 are now made and ready.