Transparently Lying, Part 2

Not like this is any big shock, but it's still worth pointing out:

Politico's Carrie Budoff Brown reports:

Obama's 5 p.m. signing [of the children's health insurance bill] came barely three hours after the House approved the bill, breaching Obama's promise to have a five-day period of "sunlight before signing," as he detailed on the campaign trail and on his website.

Yesterday, the White House claimed that "Obama was committed to the pledge, and 'we will be implementing this policy in full soon.'"

Why do I have the feeling that the White House's pledge to implement the policy "soon" means "after we ram the trillion-dollar 'stimulus' bill through Congress"? Public opinion has now turned against the "stimulus" bill as it stands. Maybe Obama thinks the public will more easily swallow billions of dollars in pork and social welfare spending if they don't have a chance to look at the text of the bill online. But breaking a promise about transparency on a more controversial measure like the "stimulus" will surely create problems of its own.

Also, Americans for Tax Reform points out that during the campaign Obama pledged not to raise taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 per year.

"I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes" (Barack Obama, September 12, 2008, Dover, NH).

The children's health insurance bill is financed by a very regressive 61 cents per pack tax hike. Perhaps the Obama administration will provide a voucher to reimburse smokers making less than $250,000?

Two sets of rules, anyone?

I think it's safe to say that it should be commonly understood that when liberals make a promise, there is always -- ALWAYS -- an expiration date on that promise.  In the case of Barack Obama, almost all of his campaign promises expired the moment he took the oath of office (the second time).  More on that in a future post, after the Theft/Pork mess is over.  For now, we just need to realize that we can trust absolutely nothing that Obama says.  We must instead look at what he does and has done in the past.  Words are cheap and easily tossed around; actions are a bit more sticky.

The S-CHIP bill mentioned above, by the way, was signed into law yesterday, and is funded by a giant tax hike on cigarettes and cigars.  Ironically, this tax hike hits almost everyone who isn't considered 'rich' because it isn't the 'rich' who smoke:

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, 96% of America's 25 million smokers make less than $150,000 a year. The Tax Foundation estimates that 99% of the smokers who will pay the new tax make less than $250,000, which is the income below which President Obama promised would see no tax increase.

That's another promise that expired, apparently.  Two sets of rules...

There's my two cents.