Republican congressional leaders made it clear Monday they have serious questions about the value of President Barack Obama's planned Feb. 25 health care summit. Obama said Sunday he wants to engage lawmakers in a half-day, bipartisan, nationally televised discussion of ways to overhaul the health care system.

Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has said while he welcomes dialogue, Obama should start over, scrapping last year's Democratic-authored efforts. Monday night, House of Representatives Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio and Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia detailed their views in a letter to the White House.

Here is a text:

We welcome President Obama’s announcement of forthcoming bipartisan health care talks.  In fact, you may remember that last May, Republicans asked President Obama to hold bipartisan discussions on health care in an attempt to find common ground, but he declined and instead chose to work with only Democrats. 

Since then, the President has given dozens of speeches on health care reform, operating under the premise that the more the American people learn about his plan, the more they will come to like it.  Just the opposite has occurred: a majority of Americans oppose the House and Senate health care bills and want them scrapped so we can start over with a step-by-step approach focused on lowering costs for families and small businesses.  Just as important, scrapping the House and Senate health care bills would help end the uncertainty they are creating for workers and businesses and thus strengthen our shared commitment to focusing on creating jobs.

Assuming the President is sincere about moving forward on health care in a bipartisan way, does that mean he will agree to start over so that we can develop a bill that is truly worthy of the support and confidence of the American people?  Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said today that the President is “absolutely not” resetting the legislative process for health care.  If the starting point for this meeting is the job-killing bills the American people have already soundly rejected, Republicans would rightly be reluctant to participate.

Assuming the President is sincere about moving forward in a bipartisan way, does that mean he has taken off the table the idea of relying solely on Democratic votes and jamming through health care reform by way of reconciliation?  As the President has noted recently, Democrats continue to hold large majorities in the House and Senate, which means they can attempt to pass a health care bill at any time through the reconciliation process.  Eliminating the possibility of reconciliation would represent an important show of good faith to Republicans and the American people.

If the President intends to present any kind of legislative proposal at this discussion, will he make it available to members of Congress and the American people at least 72 hours beforehand?  Our ability to move forward in a bipartisan way through this discussion rests on openness and transparency. 

Will the President include in this discussion congressional Democrats who have opposed the House and Senate health care bills?  This bipartisan discussion should reflect the bipartisan opposition to both the House bill and the kickbacks and sweetheart deals in the Senate bill.

Will the President be inviting officials and lawmakers from the states to participate in this discussion?  As you may know, legislation has been introduced in at least 36 state legislatures, similar to the proposal just passed by the Democratic-controlled Virginia State Senate, providing that no individual may be compelled to purchase health insurance.  Additionally, governors of both parties have raised concerns about the additional costs that will be passed along to states under both the House and Senate bills.

The President has also mentioned his commitment to have “experts” participate in health care discussions.  Will the Feb. 25 discussion involve such “experts?”  Will those experts include the actuaries at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), who have determined that the both the House and Senate health care bill raise costs – just the opposite of their intended effect – and jeopardize seniors’ access to high-quality care by imposing massive Medicare cuts?  Will those experts include the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, which has stated that the GOP alternative would reduce premiums by up to 10 percent?  Also, will Republicans be permitted to invite health care experts to participate? 

Finally, as you know, this is the first televised White House health care meeting involving the President since last March.  Many health care meetings of the closed-door variety have been held at the White House since then, including one last month where a sweetheart deal was worked out with union leaders.  Will the special interest groups that the Obama Administration has cut deals with be included in this televised discussion?

Of course, Americans have been dismayed by the fact that the President has broken his own pledge to hold televised health care talks.  We can only hope this televised discussion is the beginning, not the end, of attempting to correct that mistake.  Will the President require that any and all future health care discussions, including those held on Capitol Hill, meet this common-sense standard of openness and transparency?

Your answers to these critical questions will help determine whether this will be a truly open, bipartisan discussion or merely an intramural exercise before Democrats attempt to jam through a job-killing health care bill that the American people can’t afford and don’t support.  ‘Bipartisanship’ is not writing proposals of your own behind closed doors, then unveiling them and demanding Republican support.  Bipartisan ends require bipartisan means.

These questions are also designed to try and make sense of the widening gap between the President’s rhetoric on bipartisanship and the reality.  We cannot help but notice that each of the President’s recent bipartisan overtures has been coupled with harsh, misleading partisan attacks. 

For instance, the President decries Republican ‘obstruction’ when it was Republicans who first proposed bipartisan health care talks last May.  The President says Republicans are ‘sitting on the sidelines’ just days after holding up our health care alternative and reading from it word for word.  The President has every right to use his bully pulpit as he sees fit, but this is the kind of credibility gap that has the American people so fed up with business as usual in Washington.

We look forward to receiving your answers and continuing to discuss ways we can move forward in a bipartisan manner to address the challenges facing the American people.

Sincerely,

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH)
House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA)

Republicans want you to know that, in their view, President Barack Obama's not a doctor, but he plays one on TV.

The House GOP Monday unveiled a new video juxtaposing some recent Obama comments with an old 1980s footage from the ad where an actor explained how he was a doctor on TV only.

House Republican Leader John Boehner drove home the point in a statement:"  This is a lighthearted video, but it underscores a serious point that Congressional Democrats are going to hear throughout August as they travel outside of Washington: Americans want lower health care costs – not a trillion-dollar government takeover of health care that increases costs and lets Washington bureaucrats make decisions that should be made by doctors and patients.”

To see the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egcIKZoNGd8

The congressional Republican leadership hyperbole-fest continued Thursday, with House GOP leader John Boehner saying his voting card was "the most dangerous credit card in the history of the world."

Republicans have ratcheted up the rhetoric lately, calling the Democratic-authored 2010 budget "the most harmful in American history," and comparing their legislative tactics to those of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Thursday, Boehner was talking about how much Democrats have hurt the nation this year.

"I've often called this the most dangerous credit card in the history the world: the voting card for a member of Congress," he said, referring to the card members used to cast votes. "And Democrats have proven over the last 100 days this is the most dangerous credit card in the history of the world."

Here's why, he explained: "Their record on spending and debt is staggering, but our economy is growing weaker, and it's not going to get any better by growing the size of the government here in Washington."

Read more about GOP rhetoric.

Republicans are offering their own take on President Barack Obama's first hundred days, claiming it is marked by an unprecedented spending spree.

"This weekend, countless American families will take their children to the park, soccer practice, or other family outings," House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio said Wednesday.

"As you spend these moments with your children, think about what else this weekend marks: A time when the federal government plunges those same children deeper and deeper into debt."

Since Obama took office in January, the Democratic-controlled Congress has approved a $787 billion economic stimulus plan. Annual deficits are reaching record levels, though Obama vows to cut current deficits in half within a few years.

Not good enough, Boehner said.

Sunday, he said, "marks a day that is symbolic not only of our government’s arrogant culture of spending – but of this Administration’s borrowing binge as well. It’s called 'Debt Day.'

"Many workers have become familiar with a concept known as 'Tax Freedom Day,' which is the day on which Americans begin working for themselves each year, after having covered Uncle Sam’s tax bill for the year. Debt Day is very similar. It is the day of the Fiscal Year – beginning on October 1 of the previous calendar year – on which total government spending exceeds total federal revenues. And in our current Fiscal Year, that falls on April 26 – this Sunday, just days before the Administration’s 100th day milestone. In short, about halfway through Fiscal Year 2009, Washington has run out of money."

Read Boehner's comments.

People are warming up to Congress, but not to its leaders.

A Financial Dynamics Diageo/Hotline national survey of 800 registered voters March 26 to 29 found that 48 percent approved of the job Congressional Democrats were doing.

But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California was viewed favorably by only 32 percent, and unfavorably by 42 percent. Ten percent hadn't heard of her, and the rest had no opinion.

In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada was viewed favorably by 14 percent and unfavorably by 26 percent. Some 38 percent had not heard of the veteran senator.

Republicans fared worse. Thirty percent approved of the job congressional GOP members are doing, while 57 percent disapproved. Forty-three percent disapproved of the Democrats' performance.

The poll did not survey attitudes about GOP leaders, but recent surveys have shown they are virtually anonymous to most people.

A Newsweek/Princeton Survey Research Associates poll taken March 4 and 5 found 21 percent viewed House GOP leader John Boehner of Ohio favorably, while 23 percent saw Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell favorably. Unfavorable numbers were 17 percent for Boehner, 16 percent for McConnell. Forty-one percent had never heard of McConnell; 44 percent were unaware of Boehner. Some 1,203 adults were surveyed nationwide.

Read the latest poll.