Let's Be Honest

I'm watching "Face the Nation" this morning. On the first segment we have Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Congressman Charlie Rangel (D-NY) discussing the ongoing struggle with health care in this country.

At least twice, as the camera cuts back to Orrin Hatch following Charlie Rangel's comments, Senator Hatch's first sentence is, "Let's be honest."



How offensive. Is he suggesting that Congressman Rangel is not being honest? Is he suggesting, perhaps, that he's the only one who can be "honest" on this subject matter?

Have you noticed how often, when someone says, "let's be honest", what it really means is "now listen to me, even though I have nothing substantive to say because I want to discredit what the other person just said by being evasive". It seldom has little to do with being honest. In this case, when Orrin Hatch continues to suggest that any change in health care will put small businesses out of business via health care penalties, it has NOTHING to do with honesty. It's an outright lie.

Reminds me of the old Indian quote: "How smooth must be the language of the whites, when they can make right look like wrong, and wrong like right."



So, Senator Hatch, how about an HONEST conversation regarding health care in this country. How about BEING honest. How about letting us hear a suggestion from a Republican rather than solely criticism? Come up with an idea! You didn't do it with a stimulus plan and you're not doing it with health care. Where is your plan? Status quo? The old Republican mantra: "Status quo status quo status quo"?

Go ahead. Let's be honest.