Since the Democrats in Congress are refusing to read the entire health care bill, Virginia Republicans have decided to go around the clock to read the 2,400 page monstrosity. Pat Mullins, Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia decided to do this after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent appearance on Fox News to discuss the health care bill. You would think that she would encourage her party to read the bill before forcing a vote. You can listen to the live stream of the reading here.

“On Fox News this past Sunday President Obama’s Press Secretary stated that by next week ‘we will be talking about healthcare not as a presidential proposal but I think as the law of the land.’ The health care proposal that President Obama and Speaker Pelosi have crafted would have a dramatic impact on the lives of every Virginian,” Mullins said. “Not only would it forever alter the world’s best healthcare system, it will negatively impact 16% of our economy. Make no mistake about it. This is a federal takeover of our entire healthcare system and a large portion of our economy.”

“Democrats have packed a great deal of mischief into these 2,400 pages. The Cornhusker Kickback? It’s still there, along with the Louisiana Purchase.” Mullins said.

“Democrats all over the place are talking about how this is just temporary and a ‘fix’ is coming just as soon as the original bill passes,” Mullins said. “That’s not true. Make no mistake: once the House approves it, and President Obama signs it, it’s the law of the land. Period.”

“The law will be higher income taxes for those who don’t want government-approved health insurance. The law will strip the Virginia General Assembly of its power to set standards for health insurance plans and give it to unelected bureaucrats at the Department of Health and Human Services,” he said.

“With more and more members learning just what’s in this bill, Nancy Pelosi is even prepared to bypass the democratic process to get her law passed,” he said. “Democrats are working up what has been called the ‘Slaughter Solution,’ by which they’ll just ‘deem’ the bill to have passed… without actually having an up or down vote. First they were too busy to read the bill. Then Speaker Pelosi said that we had to pass it to learn what is in it. Now they’re too scared to give it an up or down vote… and who can blame the Democrats? This is just an awful bill and they know they can’t get the votes to pass it without coming up with some slick procedural vote that undercuts the core principles of our Democracy. All across the country, and especially here in Virginia, President Obama and Speaker Pelosi know that anyone who votes ‘Yes’ on final passage of this bill will most certainly be defeated this fall by the voters.”

“Friends, there is just too much at stake this week to allow this monstrous bill to pass and I believe that if folks in Virginia heard what was really in it, they would speak even louder in opposition to it,” he added.

“That’s why on Wednesday at 8 a.m. folks from all across Virginia will start to read all 2,400 pages of this healthcare takeover bill. Volunteers will read each and every page and will read in 30 minute shifts. Any Virginian who really wants to know what’s in this healthcare bill and learn why it is a bad deal for our state is invited to listen in. We will be streaming the volunteer reading of the bill live on our website at: www.RPV.org/ReadTheBill. We would also encourage Congressmen Nye, Perriello, Connolly, and Boucher to listen themselves and learn why this bill is bad medicine for their constituents.

Mullins said he anticpates the reading will take upwards of 40 straight hours and will be conducted around the clock starting at 8am on Wednesday and sometime late Thursday evening. “That’s a pretty good illustration of just how massive this government health care takeover is,” he said.

“We encourage everyone to listen to what’s in the bill, then call the handful of Virginia Democrats who have said they are undecided on this bill, and let them know why this bill is bad medicine for Virginia,” Mullins concluded. “Once people find out what’s actually in here, we’re fairly certain they won’t like it and what it will mean for the longterm health of our country.”