I want to first and foremost thank you for taking the time to talk with me this morning regarding Vanderbilt University’s public show of support for the Health Care Bill that was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives 219-216 last night.
I received both my undergraduate and graduate degree (B.A. ’01 and M.B.A. ’07) from Vanderbilt and was a member of the Vanderbilt baseball team from 1998-2001.
I currently live and work in Nashville and will more likely live out my life right here in Music City.
With Vanderbilt’s public show of support for the largest expansion of the federal government in United States history, I am unfortunately withdrawing any current or future support for Vanderbilt University.
I cannot really fathom why anyone at Vanderbilt thought it was a good idea to support a bill that has been rammed down the throat of the American people in the most controversial and crooked way possible.
I worked in Washington, D.C. for both a U.S. Senator and U.S. Congressman from 2001 – 2005 and saw some pretty unethical behavior from both sides of the aisle. It was not until I saw how President Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress passed this Health Care Bill that I realized just how corrupt our elected officials and legislative process has become.
From my time in D.C. and from reading the Constitution, it is my understanding that the passing of a bill is supposed to go something like this:
Bill introduced in House: Passes with majority vote.
Bill introduced in Senate: Passes with majority vote.
If Bills are different, Bill goes to committee consisting of both House and Senate members from both parties until a deal is reached. If a deal is reached and the Bill comes out of committee, the Bill then is voted on again in both the House and Senate. If the Bill passes both the House and Senate, the Bill is sent to the President for his signature and becomes law if signed.
Now, given how a Bill is supposes to pass, let’s now consider how this Bill was actually passed.
Bill introduced in House: Passes with majority vote (only bipartisanship in the bill came from the opposition to it)
Bill introduced in Senate: Passes with majority vote (only bipartisanship in the bill came from the opposition to it)
Public outrage follows passage of bills, and Congress comes to the realization that no compromise will be reached.
Final nail appears to be put in the coffin of the Health Care Bill when Scott Brown, a Republican who campaigned heavily against the Health Care Bill, in one of the most historic political defeats in the history of our country is elected to replace Ted Kennedy in a special election in Massachusetts. Is it just a coincidence that a state with direct experience with socialized medicine (RomneyCare) violently rejects the idea of taking the socialized medicine nationwide?
Bill appears to be dead, until President Obama and Democrats decide to use Reconciliation, a budgetary gimmick arising out of the 1974 Budget act that has been used and abused by both Democrats and Republicans alike, to jam the Bill through the Senate. With Scott Brown’s historic election, Republicans could have filibustered a legitimate up or down vote on the bill.
House tries to use an extremely controversial and more than likely unconstitutional gimmick known as “deem and pass” to jam the Bill down our throat without ever even voting on the Bill.
Public outrage follows across the entire United States with over 100,000 calls to Congressional switchboard per hour, so Congress drops the idea and starts doing what it does best: Lie, Cheat, and Steal.
Votes are bought with promises of federal appointments, appropriations for individual members, and who knows what else.
President Obama even gets involved in the act when he promises Bart Stupak and the other Pro-Life Democrats who were threatening to vote no on the bill because of the public funding it makes available for abortions that he will issue an Executive Order stating that the Bill will not use public funds to fund abortions. Never mind the fact that Executive Orders are never mentioned in the U.S. Constitution and have never been used in our nation’s history to drastically impact major pieces of federal legislation or to buy the vote on the largest and most expensive bills in history.
House decides to pass the Senate Reconciliation Bill that has some slight changes to the Senate Bill with a vote of 224-211 (only bipartisanship in the bill came from the opposition to it)
House then votes to pass the original Senate Bill by a vote of 219-216 (only bipartisanship in the bill came from the opposition to it).
So, the House voted against the Bill before they voted for the Bill.
Lawsuits are already set to be filed against this Bill, and I would not be surprised to see the largest political swing in U.S. history this November solely because of this Bill and how it was handled by President Obama and Congress.
One of the latest polls from CNN (not really a bastion of Republican support) had 75% of Americans in favor of scrapping the current bills and starting over.
So, given all of this, what does Vanderbilt decide to do two days before the Bill gets jammed down the throats of the American people in one of the most controversial ways in recent memory?
They decide to publicly support the Bill and throw in some flowery rhetoric about doing the “right” thing for our uninsured about the "mission" of the University.
If I really wanted to get nasty, I would hint that the timing of Vanderbilt University coming out in support of this Bill two days before passage when the Bill has been discussed in detail since last August is a little coincidental given the vote buying and deal making that has occurred over the last 48 hours. Since I don't like to be nasty, I will see this as a sheer coincidence and not think the worst.
Given that this country is currently being strangled by the debt burden associated with unfunded liabilities like Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security, I find it amazing that Vanderbilt University thinks it’s a great idea and the "right" thing to do to pass yet another massive expansion of the Federal Government that without a doubt will make the budget holes Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security have made over the years (currently around $60 trillion), look like mere puddles.
You made your statement on this bill, and I would now like to make my own statement.
I would like be removed from any mailing list from Vanderbilt University. I do not want to receive any requests for donations or receive any more phone calls asking me for money. I don’t want to receive the Vanderbilt magazine or any other publication from Vanderbilt. I don’t want to receive any emails either. I am also going to recommend this course of action to my fellow alumni.
I am certainly very proud of my Vanderbilt degrees and was more than happy for me and my family to contribute nearly $500,000 in tuition dollars to Vanderbilt University since 1997.
I am now more than happy to not give Vanderbilt University a dime of financial support or a nickel of my sweat effort.
Any organization that can support the mockery that was this Health Care Bill and the way it was passed is not an organization I can support.
Any organization that can support the corruption surrounding this Bill and the complete and total disregard for the will of the American people is not an organization I can support.
On a final note, I also think it’s time we hired a new football coach.
I am trying to figure out which made me sicker: reading Chancellor Zeppos’ statement on the health care bill or watching our football team go 2-10 for the fourth time in eight years.
James, I thank you again for your willingness to talk with me, and please have a great rest of the day and week.
Best,
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