Boehner on Sunday

“Obviously, I am pleased that the White House finally seems interested in a real, bipartisan conversation on health care,”

Source Politico: ‘White House announces televised health meet’

Boehner On Tuesday

“It’s going to be very difficult to have bipartisan conversations with regard to a 2,700 page health care bill that the Democrat majority in the House and the Democrat majority in the Senate can’t pass,”

Source foxnews.com: Boehner to White House: “Why Are We Going to Talk About a Bill That Can’t Pass?”

When America was winding down from the Superbowl, and Bourbon Alley partied on, Solid Principles asked this question about the Obama Health Care summit with the GOP leaders on this article ‘Malicious Transparency?‘

Let me be the first to speculate, I don’t think he told any of the Republican congressional leaders about this plan. If am I right, then this tactic is not transparency, this is ‘Malicious Transparency’.

How does forcing the agenda upon the Republican Party, picking the setting, and televising it ever got to be considered transparency? It is far closer to a show trial or a court involving a hopping marsupial from Australia. CRAIG EDWARDS

If Boehner was playing chess with Obama, he lost on his first move.  By not calling the Obama announcement ‘a stunt’, nor pointing out the multiple flaws of the plan (only dragging his feet after Talk Show pundits screamed it was an ambush), Boehner’s delay in responding means the GOP cannot fight the summit invite.   It shows the GOP learnt nothing from the House Republicans retreat in Maryland when Obama scored a victory during the Q&A, which Obama had televised at the last moment with Republican approval.

I will say it again, this is the biggest game changer The White House has undertaken in 2010. Obama has discovered a way to force the Republicans to defend GOP opposition to Obama’s version of Heath Care Reform. The Democrats on the other hand have placed Health Care Reform, or the right to Health Care on their party agenda for decades.  This forum will force the Republicans to open their play-book on their version of Health Care reform, a topic that is not in their cannon.  And best of all, it will be televised!

If you thought watching Palin speeches was awkward, wait till February 25th rolls round.

UPDATE:  MARCH 2010:  OK, in retrospect, it was all much do about nothing, there was no trap.  I still consider the opening statements made by Boehner as poor openers.

Craig Edwards