Video: Keet criticizes Beebe for Not Standing Up to the Health Care Bill
Republican candidate for Governor Jim Keet held a press conference today at the state capitol to express concern for the health care reform proposal being debating in Washington right now and to call on Gov. Mike Beebe to speak out against it.
“President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Senator Reed simply don’t get it,” said Keet. “The vast majority of Americans and the vast majority of Arkansas have rejected this proposal. Yet the Democratic leadership continues to try to pass it through a variety of parliamentary and procedural acts.”
“Gov. Beebe is quoted as simply expressing his concern about the potential of the $205 million Medicare budget shortfall that would result from this bill,” continued Keet. “Other governors, like Bob McDonnell of Virginia are taking aggressive steps to voice their opposition to this health care reform debacle.”
“If I were governor, I tell you want I would do,” said Keet. “I would apply as much pressure both privately and publicly to persuade the Senators and Representatives to vote against this legislation for the good of Arkansas. The problems we are facing are simply too important to remain silent on.”
When questioned by reporters, went on to say that if he was governor he would call a special session to pass measures to nullify the state mandates for Arkansas, similar to the legislation passed in Virginia. He also took an interesting stance that the health care proposal would actually result in an increase in the number of uninsured as business would be have to lay people off due to the increased cost.
Inside baseball side note – I notice that Bryan Sanders, with the Dresner-Wickers consulting firm’s Little Rock office was at the press conference. He confirmed that Keet is one of their clients so it appears that Clint Reed – who advised Keet on his short lived exploratory committee for Lieutenant Governor and who has contributed to Gov. Beebe - is no longer Keet’s consultant.
Tags: 2010 Candidates
March 15th, 2010 at 3:05 pm
You’re so in the tank for Keet.
March 15th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
Beebe doesn’t have the spine to speak out against the HC bill. It will force the states to pay millions of dollars they do NOT have to cover more under Medicaid and it will also cut half a trillion dollars from Medicare. So no Democrat governor, Beebe included, has the spine to speak out against THEIR president and this socialized health care bill.
March 16th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
“Beebe doesn’t have the spine to speak out against the HC bill.”
actually, he does, and he has. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/33317.html
Q: Do you have concerns about pushing through health care reform through reconciliation?
A: I have concerns, but mine are not so much political concerns….We’ve got a problem in health care. I’m not one of those folks that believes, notwithstanding what polls say, that our health care is just fine, leave it alone. Having said that, with all due respect, I don’t think they really attacked the major problem, which is cost containment. The paradigm has to be shifted on the way we pay for the delivery of health care. And talking about public options and all that stuff really I think begs the question of the escalating cost of the delivery of health care…
I’m not being critical of the Congress, of the administration in terms of their heart and their motive. They’re trying to do something that they think is a problem, that there’s no question that there is a problem. I merely differ on the first step.
Q: So what would you do differently?
A: Fee for service, in my opinion, is not sustainable…And it’s not conducive to encouraging both quality and economy.
Q: But you don’t think it should be pushed through with reconciliation?
A: Politically, I’m not sure that’s very smart…You’re talking about even with or without pushing it through with reconciliation, if all they’re going to do is continue to do what they’ve been talking about without attacking the basic core problem of cost containment, then I’m not sure you get anything other than continued growth in the percent of our disposable income that has to go to health care. And that’s not solving the problem, in my opinion.
March 16th, 2010 at 9:47 pm
Late last month, the President of Panama visited Fayetteville, and specifically, his alma mater, the University of Arkansas. Here is a link for readers to peruse the story on his visit: http://news.arkansasalumni.org/panamanian-president-today-razorback-for-life.php
The President of Panama, Ricardo Martinelli, is a great personal story. President Martinelli is a real capitalist and entrepreneur. At the link I provided above, there is a terrific video showing his visit. What really struck me in the video, and disgusted me to be quite honest, was the fact that a current head of state — a strategic American ally and trading partner (they now own the Panama Canal after all!) — visited Arkansas and was not met personally by the Governor. To me, that’s not only outrageous, that’s downright rude and bad manners!
At a time when there is high unemployment in Arkansas and the main election issue is jobs, jobs, jobs, Governor Beebe was no where to be found. Governor Beebe needs to be out there busting his rear end and building any and all relationships that might lead to new jobs in Arkansas. Governor Beebe’s absence in hosting someone of influence and distinction like the President of Panama is disturbing in what it says about the Governor’s priorities. Moreover, it’s not like the President of Panama “just happened” to be passing through the State and had no significant connections. President Martinelli is a proud alum of the State’s flagship university, a university that has served as the “front door” of our State (primarily through the success of Razorback Athletics) for decades and provided the State with more positive publicity than just about anything else in Arkansas.
Governor Beebe needs to be hit hard (my humble opinion) about his lack of contact during the President of Panama’s visit to Arkansas.
March 17th, 2010 at 11:04 am
fireblanchelincoln.com: I’m not defending Beebe for the absence you described above, I just want to take the opportunity to remind you and anyone else who doesn’t like Mike Beebe that you are woefully out of touch with Arkansans, given his incredibly high approval ratings that, by some accounts, make him the most popular governor in the counrty.