Below is a must watch video of Congressman Mike Rogers' (Michigan) opening statement on Health Care reform in Washington D.C. in July:
Update 9/4/09: It appears the quote used in the video above wasn't really from Lincoln but appeared in the newspapers to honor Lincoln, just so we have this clear:
The "Ten Points" appear every February 12th in newspaper ads honoring Abraham Lincoln from the pen of Reverend William John Henry Boetcker (1873-1962).
* You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
* You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
* You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
* You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
* You cannot lift the wage-earner by pulling down the wage-payer.
* You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
* You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
* You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
* You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man's initiative and independence.
* You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.
Lincoln never said any such thing! Typical Republican deceit. Those words were written by a clergyman in 1916 and exposed as a fraud long ago. But St. Ronald Reagan continued to retail them and Republicans follow, preying on the ignorance of the American people and continuing to rabble-rouse. When Lincoln was elected, we were the only "civilized" nation not to outlaw slavery; today we are the only developed nation not to cover all its people with health care. Prejudice marches on -- it has only switched parties since 1859.
Posted by: R. Barbieri | September 02, 2009 at 08:54 PM
Even though the association of the quote with Lincoln is tangential, the main points being made by the Congressman remain foreboding since he was reading from and commenting about sections of the proposed U.S. healthcare bill and from documentation about cancer treatment problems in the British and Canadian healthcare systems.
Posted by: gschong | March 31, 2010 at 11:50 AM
I am denser than I thought! I love them and will approach the guild about buying them.
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Posted by: Billy | January 27, 2011 at 11:55 PM
I grew up with many of these notions, as expressed in the above "Ten Points", being told that these came from Abe Lincoln. This is waaay back when Mr. Reagan was plugging "20 Mule Team Borax". Many of us believed that was the case.
Though the quotes may be misattributed to Lincoln, the truth in them is unassailable. They are (dare I say it?) self-evident.
On a daily basis, these ideas are assailed, "By whom?" you might ask. Don't just believe me, go look at the writings of such sages as Obama, Pelosi, Reid, and, especially Van Jones. Go further for Noam Chomsky.
What a bunch of twits.
Posted by: Dave P | January 29, 2011 at 02:13 AM
The statists, whose social engineering programs keep minorities trapped in a culture of dependency on "Big Brother" government, are the real, patriarchal racists. They are especially dangerous because so many of them consider themselves innately, morally "superior" to all others, that they are myopic to their own foibles and limitations.
Posted by: gschong | May 21, 2011 at 12:54 AM