« BACK  |  PRINT

RS

FRONT PAGE CONTRIBUTOR

Please read bills before you defend them, Mr. President.

By: Moe Lane (Diary)  |  September 21st, 2009 at 11:05 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

If this is a problem, don’t go on national television and give exclusive interviews.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You were against the individual mandate…

OBAMA: Yes.

STEPHANOPOULOS: …during the campaign. Under this mandate, the government is forcing people to spend money, fining you if you don’t

How is that not a tax?

[snip of semantic-free commentary by the President]

STEPHANOPOULOS: That may be, but it’s still a tax increase.

OBAMA: No. That’s not true, George. The — for us to say that you’ve got to take a responsibility to get health insurance is absolutely not a tax increase.

Via Jazz Shaw, the relevant passage:

Excise Tax. The consequence for not maintaining insurance would be an excise tax. If a taxpayer’s MAGI is between 100-300 percent of FPL, the excise tax for failing to obtain coverage for an individual in a taxpayer unit (either as a taxpayer or an individual claimed as a dependent) is $750 per year. However, the minimum penalty for the taxpayer unit is $1,500. If a taxpayer’s MAGI is above 300 percent of FPL the penalty for failing to obtain coverage for an individual in a taxpayer unit (either as a taxpayer or as an individual claimed as a dependent) is $950 year. However, the maximum penalty amount a family above 300 percent of FPL would pay is $3,800.

Please note for the record that the transcripts show that they were talking about Baucus’ tax bill. Points to George for pressing the point – and bringing in the dictionary definition, which the President responded to with all the – but points taking away for not demolishing the President on the spot with that one. Ach, well.

Video making this point after the fold.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to Moe Lane.

Tags: , ,
Get Alerts

COMMENTS

POSTING RULES  |  LOGIN TO COMMENT  |  REGISTER TODAY
  • bk

    If the people who (allegedly) write the bills don’t read them before passing them, it doesn’t seem fair to ask the person who signs them to read them, does it?

    Obama should have said, “It depends on what the meaning of ‘tax’ is.”

  • archer52

    I miss Bill. At least he wasn’t the threat to the republic as he was more interested in chasing skirts. His approach to the Presidency was more along the line of a Saturday night in Dixie. “Hold my beer and watch this!”

    It was HRC that was the committed leftist. Bill was just surprised he won and thought it was kinda cool, with all the perks, the neat plane and the chicks and stuff.

    That said, like Obama, Clinton was a lawyer by training, which means the best way to tell if he is lying is to look at his lips. If they are moving, he’s lying.

  • izoneguy

    in chasing hot chicks? Send in some Washington Redskins cheerleaders when Michelle goes out of town? Anything to distract his mind as he drives the country across the white lines into the left ditch. Just hopes he does not have a headon when he veers to the left.

  • AngryMatt

    .. if Obama says it’s not. And it’s proof positive that Georgie was “stretching” when he busted out the, you know, actual definition of a tax.

    Facts and reality mean nothing when you deal with the Almighty Obama, for He has the power to change that reality.

  • johnt

    and the destruction of language. Meaning becomes whatever you want it to be, always a handy tool in the bag of the predatory, collectivist gangster. Of whom Obama has already established himself as a classic example. The guy does move fast on somethings.

    If definitions mean nothing who’s to say you not right?

  • http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

    let’s not forget this one: “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax”

    Based on that, Obama actually got ONE right ;-) lol

  • http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit
  • http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

    Like I said back in August: More Townhall hi-jinks as Liberals shift the sham/scam – Hint: Still depends on ?Definition of ?is? (Rationing, Euthanasia, Death Panel, etc.) is?

    HC Townhall Lies – Townhall HC distortions/propaganda
    +More Townhall Hi-jinks – More Townhall hi-jinks as Liberals shift the sham/scam – Hint: Still depends on ?Definition of ?is? (Rationing, Euthanasia, Death Panel, etc.) is?
    +Townhalls 3 – HC Townhall: Like Hollywood, Democrats used new Actors to replay the same Script.
    +Townhalls 4 – HC Townhalls: Steny Hoyer (D-MD) edition.

  • Duke

    …before Pinochio Obama’s nose will be as long as his ears!

  • http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

    From the old Joke: A young man walks into a Pharmacy and looks over the Condoms and asks the Pharmacist “How much is this?” (while holding one up he had taken from the display). The Pharmacist says: “$1.” The young man says okay, I’ll take it. The Pharmacist replies: “That’ll be a Dollar Five.” The young man says, “But, I thought you said it was a Dollar?” and gets response “That’s a Dollar for the Condom and Five Cents for the Tax!” Young man, with blank stare, “I thought they rolled on?”

    rim-shot….. er…. should say… drum-bump ;-) lol

    Sorry, couldn’t resist!

    More Townhall hi-jinks as Liberals shift the sham/scam – Hint: Still depends on ?Definition of ?is? (Rationing, Euthanasia, Death Panel, etc.) is?

  • EDGIBBON

    STEPHANOPOULOS: I — I don’t think I’m making it up. Merriam Webster’s Dictionary: Tax — “a charge, usually of money, imposed by authority on persons or property for public purposes.”
    OBAMA: George, the fact that you looked up Merriam’s Dictionary, the definition of tax increase, indicates to me that you’re stretching a little bit right now. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have gone to the dictionary to check on the definition. I mean what…

    His argument (Obama) is completely nonsensical and Stephanopolous gave him a free pass. It would have been much better for Steph to have said “with all due respect Mr. President I defined the word – which is in the text of the bill – so that we wouldn’t get into parsing and semantics….”

  • http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

    Dear Friend,

    Four minutes ? that?s all you need to learn just what you get from health insurance reform. Take the few minutes and watch now:

    [has embed - portion of Obama's Lies... er... speech.... to Congress. No, not available currently on the WH:RealityCheck site right now.]

    The details the President outlines in this video are those that every American needs to know. No matter your political party or whether or not you have insurance, his plan for health care security and stability matters to all of us.

    Millions of American citizens cannot get health insurance ? and 14,000 are losing their insurance every day. If we do nothing, half of Americans under the age of 65 will lose their health insurance at some point in the next ten years.

    That?s not right. Plain and simple. For Americans with insurance as well as those without it, inaction is not an option. In America, no one should go broke because they get sick.

    Bottom line ? health insurance reform will provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance, coverage for those who don?t, and will lower the cost of health care for our families, our businesses, and our government.

    As the President says, now is the time to deliver the change we need on health care. Forward this email and make sure your family, friends and social networks take four minutes and watch this video.

    Thank you,
    David

    David Axelrod
    Senior Adviser to the President

  • WarEagle01

    was probably worthwhile politically. Lets the Hispanics know he still cares about them. But, otherwise this full-Ginsburg was a dud at best. Nothing new. Just more media overexposure and idiotic gaffs like this one. Keep up the good work Rahm, Valerie, and David.

  • JoeG

    Do you remember this exchange last fall?

    SEN. OBAMA: And what was the first thing the McCain campaign went out and did? They said, look, these liberal blogs that support Obama are out there attacking Governor Palin. Let’s not play games. What I was suggesting you’re absolutely right that John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith…

    MR. STEPHANOPOULOS (interrupting): Your Christian faith.

    Stephanopoulos is no longer covering for the one. It would appear he’s losing some of the media. To lose Stephanopoulos is pretty big, because even in the media’s political spectrum, Stephanopoulos is pretty far left.

  • smitty

    I thought he was going through the budget “line by line” to look for ways to save money. If he had done that surely he would know exactly how much ACORN was getting.

  • yoyo

    …also apply to the Amish [and other similar ethnic/religious groups] as well?

    To me, it seems that they would be more nefarious in the minds of Obam-ites because they will not be “contributing” to the other “Not-a-Tax” Crap & Trade legislation. Also, they do not partake in other Revenue Generating schemes, er, activities: commercial alcohol, unionized labor, commercial tobacco, “sugary” sodas & juices, electricity, public works, speeding tickets, fuel taxes, and they keep ALL of their corn for FOOD! Those EVIL do-gooders!

    A Mandate is a Mandate, yes?

  • antisocial

    means you are stretching (smearing)….

    I say the mandates and fines are not taxes. No matter what your dictionary says.

    I hope one day all these channels will refuse these crappy propaganda meeting.

  • Xasteius

    to Brazil. Or have we forgotten the “Second Stimulus Package”?

  • http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

    obvious example, White House Reality Check BS. As I point out here, people forget Snuffleupagus is one of those “Secret” WH Conversations participant and IMO Obama knew the question/challenge was coming and was well prepared to DEFLECT/DISMISS him on it and the Liberals just ate it up.

    It was nothing more than theater…. George got to PRETEND to be a Journalist and Obama got to walk away having DISMISSED him and the Tax notion because (at least, still most of) the people that were dumb enough to vote for Obama in the first place are going to be more than happy to buy whatever he wants to tell them as long as it means a HANDOUT to/for them!!!