Representative Charles Boustany (R-Louisiana) will deliver the Republican response to President Obama's address to Congress tonight. A cardiovascular surgeon first elected in 2004, Representative Boustany seems to be the perfect choice to offer the kind of sustentative information the American public needs on health care related issues and reform.

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In a written statement released Tuesday, Dr. Boustany said, "I know we must lower costs and improve care, which we can accomplish by focusing on strengthening the doctor-patient relationship and working in a bipartisan way...I believe we need an honest discussion about how we come together to fix what's broken, while building on what works. That's why I'm pleased the president will speak to Congress tomorrow night, and I look forward to presenting common sense reforms that Republicans and all Americans can stand behind." (source)

If, as expected, President Obama's speech is nothing more than a repackaging of the same empty promises and platitudes he's been spouting for months, Representative Boustany has a golden opportunity to show a national prime time audience that Republicans have real ideas that will lower costs and improve care without abdicating medical decisions to government bureaucrats and without bankrupting our country. Hopefully after these two speeches tonight, the American people will see that Obamacare was nothing more than a federal power grab and that Republican ideas for true reform would include common sense ideas like tort reform and changing the laws that prevent people from buying health insurance across state lines.

Much as the president and his cronies try to portray Republicans as heartless beasts who do not want to make any changes, we will continue to push for reforms that actually lower costs and truly help those who cannot afford and/or qualify for health insurance on their own. Representative Boustany has a real chance to get us closer to those goals tonight.