American Blog

Written by Michael Vass

Recently I have been discussing the Health Care Reform Bill that is before Congress and heavily promoted by the White House. To that end, in an effort to resolve some of the most important and critical questions I have heard, read, and considered I sent emails and physical letters to Sen. Schumer, Sen. Gillibrand, Representative Hinchey, and President Obama. To date I have only received an automated response of receipt of my email from Sen. Schumer.

But like many that have been called Nazis, fanatics, and schills for corporations because they oppose or question the Health Care Reform Bill, and/or other Obama Administration policies, I too have been attacked and challenged. Many of these challenges or attacks have come personally to me in person or via email.

One point that I thought was quite interesting was a challenge to address a statement I have made multiple times over the past 3 – 6 months. That 70% or more of the promises by the Obama Administration have been broken. I was challenged to prove this statement.

Thus I can say without any reservation that I was wrong. Of the 515 campaign promises recorded by Politifact, an organization I have no connection to but have used as a source on multiple posts especially during the 2008 election, only 7 promises qualify under their standards as having been broken.

To be explicitly clear, only 7% (34 of 515) of promises made by President Obama have been kept to date. 73% (374 of 515) of all promises made by President Obama have been completely ignored. And to be fair, some 77 promises are or have been compromised to varying degrees to date. Several campaign promises that are under way are connected to the Health Care Reform.

Of course all promises made by President Obama are not equal. Included in the 7% are promises like getting a dog for his children, and appointing a Republican to his Cabinet. The last being an item I dispute as President Obama did not appoint any NEW Republicans, nor has he ADDED any. He in fact just kept Gates in his role with Defense, and is the only Republican. That to me is not an Obama action but a Bush action. I would count that as a broken promise.

Additionally there are 12 items that have completely stalled. These are promises like those pertaining to Gitmo and the detainees held there, the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell program, the Windfall tax on oil companies, and the Pay-As-You-Go budget. Again I find his actions in regard to the budget to be a complete failure from what was promised. But I did not count that in any of the figures stated above.

Nor do I find the question of going “line by line” over earmarks to prevent wasteful spending to be a questionable promise. With earmarks in the Stimulus package (no matter how few or relatively small compared to the $787 billion spent) and another 9,000 in the $410 billion Government Spending Omnibus (keeps the Gov’t operating) and not a single complaint or attempt to remove them, I find this to be another Obama broken promise.

But of the promises made that there is no question have been broken I think it is a glaring statement that transparency has been the hardest hit. President Obama campaigned on promises of change, of getting the public involved, or cutting the size of Government and reducing waste and spending.

President Obama promised to provide 5 days of public comment before signing any Bill. Not only has he not done that repeatedly, the White House website is designed to make finding legislation and/or commenting about legislation that is found, extremely difficult to do. Thus eliminating transparency and ignoring public concerns.

Which is not unlike what is happening with the Health Care Reform now. Top Democrats are calling dissenters and those with questions about the 1000+ page Bill in Congress radical mobs and un-American. This is happening while EVERY poll in America states that at least 50% of the public oppose the current Bill. And it is also going hand in hand with another campaign promise that was blatantly broken. President Obama promised to negotiate health care reform in public sessions broadcast on C-SPAN for the entire nation to behold.

So all in all I am wrong. President Obama has not broken explicitly 70% of his campaign promises. He has ignored, broken, compromised and left in the dust 93% of every campaign promise he has made. Which says nothing of what has happened with the promises he has kept

“…20 in some way grow or expand the federal government. Just six make the government smaller, more transparent, or more accountable.

…campaign promises PolitiFact says Obama has unquestionably broken, five would have limited his own power, provided tax breaks, or provided more accountability and transparency to the federal government… So far, he hasn’t broken a single promise that would grow or expand the government, though he has compromised on a few, and many have been stalled.”

I do think I have addressed the challenge place before me. I fail to see the improvement in what the Obama Administration has done. I honestly believe that supporters of Democrats and President Obama were better off not having the facts brought to light. My impression of 70% wrong and blatant lying is far better than the 93% fact that he has failed to live up to on campaign promises that caused him to be elected.

Lastly, I will whole-heartedly agree with one campaign promise that President Obama made repeatedly and has kept. Change. America is in the throes of change all right. Though only the most Liberal, and the majority of the major media, find these changes to be positive for the nation.