Waxman melts

Right after the passage of Obamacare, a number of large companies announced that they would suffer substantial losses this quarter due to the new law. The removal of the tax credit for certain coverage provided to retirees required the companies to announce losses as these credits were removed from their financial data. The total loss to US businesses is estimated at 14 billion dollars. Almost immediately, Congressman Henry Waxman sprang into action to counter this bad news coming from the companies. His course -- hee attacked the companies head on. Waxman, chairman of a powerful House committee, ordered hearings in late April on these purported losses and the timing of their announcement. Waxman demanded that the CEO's of companies like Verizon and AT&T come to testify before the committee to explain why they were suddenly announcing losses and to provide the committee with all sorts of documents that would back up the supposed losses. Waxman publicized these demands in the media and clearly was trying to force the companies to recant and to prevent other companies from following suit. After all, it is more than slightly embarrassing for the Democrats to pass Obamacare only to be met by a sudden 14 billion dollar loss for US companies at a time when such losses only mean fewer jobs and less hiring.

Now, a few weeks later, Waxman has just cancelled the hearings. None of the media has covered the cancellation. Nor have I seen any articles in the mainstream media reporting on the report from the committee staff to Waxman which informed Waxman that not only were the announcements of losses by the companies correct, but they were required to be made by the securities laws. In other words, Obamacare passes and causes these companies to lose 14 billion dollars, they announce the loss as required by law, Waxman attacks the companies with great public fanfare making them out to be doing this for anti-Obama political reasons, Waxman drops the whole thing since he was clearly wrong, and no one in the mainstream press reports about this. Once again, the Democrats propaganda machine puts out a phony message and its allies in the media push the story. the American people are not told the truth, however, when the lie is put to the Democrats message.

It reminds me of the narrative of Tea party people calling congressmen names (untrue), Democrats being threatened for their healthcare votes (the only physical attack was on a Republican by the left), Goldman Sachs gets sued for civil fraud when the facts seems at first glance to show the complaint to be without merit, and many other things. wouldn't it be nice if the Democrats could just for once tell the truth about their positions and let them stand or fall on the merits of those positions? Don't hold your breath!