Perhaps they'll hear us come November

Turns out, yes he can. President Obama has shown the country that, yes, he can do the secret backroom deals and kickbacks that he promised to eschew. That yes, he can confuse and complicate a process and fog it over with last-minute "emotional pleas." Yes, he can force Americans to buy a product. And yes, he can orchestrate a government takeover of one-sixth of the American economy.

While President Obama once campaigned on transparency and bi-partisan cooperation, he and Nancy Pelosi have shown us that not only is it politics as usual with them, but on a bigger, more jaded and oppositional level than we've ever seen. Instead of working with Republicans to work on a deal that could've resulted in something the overtaxed and weary American people supported, and instead of bringing a bill that would unite the country, Obama used totalitarian tactics to ram through a bill that has bi-partisan opposition, that we can't pay for, that no one understands and that grows the government in baffling ways.

We needed health-care reform. But the cost of this reform is something none of us should have to pay. Four new government agencies will be created to oversee it - $569 billion in job-killing tax hikes, $1.2 Trillion in new government spending.

Throughout this year-long debate, the American people supported common-sense health- care reforms aimed at lowering health-care costs. This bill lacks common sense. The health-care plan that passed does not allow individuals to buy health care across state lines, it does not allow small businesses to pool together to purchase plans at lower costs, and it does not deter junk lawsuits from being brought forth.

Our president and members of Congress failed to hear the voices of the majority of the American people. Perhaps they'll hear us clearer in November.

Rafael Rivadeneira

Elmhurst