Factoid of the Day: The Pelosi government run health care plan creates a new 2.5% tax on all medical devices not sold through a retail establishment. That means a new 2.5% tax on everything from wheelchairs and hospital gowns, to artificial organs. And that lowers health care costs how?
Tea Party: Yesterday on Capitol Hill, we Republicans held a press conference on the west front of the Capitol to oppose the Pelosi Health Plan. The “Tea Party” people seized on this as an opportunity to express the grass roots opposition to what the Wall Street Journal has called the worst bill since World War II. They started sending their e-mails just a few days ago.
And boy did they deliver. I would estimate that there were 25,000 people in the crowd all chanting “kill the bill; kill the bill.” There are those on the left who would dismiss this movement as a bunch of kooks and fringe players. They do so at their peril. I talked to corporate CEOs, Doctors, an investment banker with an MBA, and many other educated people of accomplishment. I would not they say they are angry, but rather, they are filled with resolve. No one paid them to be here, and it should be noted that this event was at 12:00 noon on a Thursday. They just do not want this country to follow the path of collectivism that Pelosi and Obama espouse. They know it doesn’t work, and I agree with them.
Another interesting thing to note, is that there is no office for the ‘Tea Party.’ In fact, there is no centralization at all. It is completely organic, spontaneous, and organized only through the Internet. It is just individuals making an individual decision to fight for freedom without any central direction or control, which I might add, is exactly the opposite of how Obama and Pelosi think health care (and many other things) should work. This movement really is emblematic of the power and dignity of the individual over the power and control of the collective. 
And it is that individual choice and right that we are fighting for. Here is a picture I took of the crowd from my vantage point on the steps of the Capitol. If you would like to see more photos, log onto my facebook page by clicking here . The crowd was stretched out over such a wide area that I could not even begin to capture it all without a fish-eye lens, which I don’t have. But hopefully you will get the flavor.
As of this moment, the Democratic leadership still does not have enough votes to pass the bill. Tomorrow, the President will travel to Capitol Hill to meet with Democrats and try to talk enough of them into voting for it. They have scheduled a vote for Saturday, after the President works it some more.
As I write you this from my office in the Longworth Building, I can hear thousands of people outside chanting “kill the bill; kill the bill.” I know that my Democratic colleagues can hear them too. Let’s hope they listen.