Why Repealing ObamaCare is Unlikely

At least, not directly. So what CAN be done? Take a look:

What Republicans can — and can’t — do about ObamaCare

[...] The new Republican House majority will undoubtedly schedule a quick vote on repealing the health care law, perhaps as early as January. It will pass the House quite easily; not only will every Republican vote for repeal, but there are still a dozen Democrats in the House who voted no last March.

But that is as far as repeal is likely to go. The Democrats remain in control of the Senate, and Harry Reid, returning in triumph, is unlikely to even schedule a vote.

Repealing ObamaCare is just not going to happen while Obama is in office.

Some Republicans may be willing to take their symbolic victory in the House and call it a day. They shouldn’t. There are many things they can do short of repeal that can begin the step-by-step dismantling of ObamaCare.

At the low end of the scale, Republicans should use their new investigatory powers to hold hearings and force officials like HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to testify about the law. For example, since the law passed we have learned that health care spending will go up, not down as promised, and that millions of Americans will not be able to keep the insurance they have today. What does Sebelius think of that? [...]

The second half of the article goes into what could happen, and what is likely to happen, and why.

Thankfully, much of the worst aspects of Obamacare can be dismantled. Other aspects can be modified. The Republicans may now get a chance to give many of the GOP's good ideas a fair hearing.

Eventually, some sort of bipartisan solution will be hammered together. That is what should have happened in the first place. This long slog ahead of us to sort it all out, has been unnecessary and an incredible waste of time and resources. The uncertainty it has created for potential employers has been devastating to job creation and the economy. I think most of the voters resent it. I know I do.
     

What next? The "Public Option", of course.

It was never really off the table, it was just removed to get the bill passed.

TODAY ... THE SIGNATURE. TOMORROW ??????

First ... hopefully most of the people who regularly read Nealz Nuze know this already ... This was never about health care. It was about dependency. Then the issue became saving Barack Obama's presidency. We now have the most expansive entitlement and wealth redistribution program in the history of our nation pushed into law by one political party to save a president's political skin. There's your change.

Today Barack Obama signs his healthcare legislation into law. Make no mistake, this is not a victory for America .. this is a victory for Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, the moocher class and the politicians who pander to them. Barack Obama has solidified his place in history; Nancy Pelosi gets crowned as perhaps the most powerful woman in 100 years; and the moochers get even more free government services so that they will be at liberty to spend their hard-earned (yeah, right) dollars on cell phones and flat-screen televisions.

Didn't we tell you that Nancy Pelosi said that ObamaCare would only "kick open the door?" So what's next after the door is kicked open? Today we're told that House Democrats are introducing legislation to revive the public option. Rep. Lynn Woolsey of the Congressional Progressive Caucus will unveil legislation today to add the government-run option to the national healthcare exchange that is created by Obamacare.

Does it have legs? Not immediately. But will it happen? Absolutely. It will happen if these Statists are left in power in Washington. Day after day they will work steadily and without pause to increase the power of the Imperial Federal Government. The government option has always been their goal because the government option is the key to the destruction of the private health insurance market. The Democrats know that this is the inevitable result of their bill. As I explained yesterday, the result of Obamacare will cripple the private health insurance market and it will then be the government that swoops in to "save" our healthcare system.

Are you wondering why these socialist (progressive) Democrats originally did not support ObamaCare because it didn't include the public option; but they ended up voting for it anyway? This one is easy. First ... they're not going to vote against a bill that expands government. They know that they can take this legislation and build on it. Perhaps they've already negotiated the backroom deals they need for their government option. Don't put any contrivance past these Statist goons.

Many of the good-sounding stuff in this bill will kick in soon. The Democrats are going to sell it hard during the coming months leading up to the November elections. The long-term effects of the bill won't be felt till later, when it's deficiencies start to create crisis after crisis, which the Democrats will then exploit to expand their powers even further.

NOW THE REPUBLICANS HAVE THEIR PLATFORM

Forget a resurrection of the 1994 Contract With America. Forget the latest "Contract From America" version. The Republicans need only make one promise for the 2010 elections ... Repeal ObamaCare. The survival of our country as we have know it is Barack Obama said that he wanted to "fundamentally transform" the United States of America. Now we know that by "fundamentally transform" he meant that he wanted to plunge America so deep into debt that all private sector growth will come to a complete halt. Obama's "transformation" is one from a private sector economy to an economy that is centrally planned by government bureaucrats and politicians.

This is the Cloward-Piven strategy at work in an economic sense. Obama considers the private sector to be "the enemy." Those are his words. Read his books. What do you do to your enemy? You destroy it. ObamaCare will destroy our economy. The taxes, the wealth seizure and redistribution, the destruction of the private jobs market, the deficits and the debt future generations will never be able to repay. When Obama's anti-capitalist policies work their magic - when our economy seems beyond repair - Obama will be ready to move in with even more of the magic of government. His Pay Czar will be put in charge of all private-sector pay scales. The government will decide where the job growth will occur and where jobs will be abandoned. Every economic move you make will be dictated by government policy. Your pension plans and retirement savings will be confiscated to "shore-up" Social Security.

The Republican party has it's work cut out for it. Worrying about who is a RINO should be the least of their worries right now.
     

Dems want to kill consumer-driven health care

The End of HSAs

About the best that can be said about the Senate health-care bill that Harry Reid revealed this week is that it's marginally less destructive than the House monster. By a hair. Its $1.2 trillion cost (more like $2.5 trillion if you discount the accounting gimmicks), multiple and damaging new taxes, and new regulations will make health insurance more expensive for most Americans while reducing the quality of medical care.

We'll dissect the damage in the days to come. But for today let's focus on the damage the bill would do to consumer-driven health plans—the kind that give individuals more control over their health dollars and insurance choices. The 2,074-page bill crushes them with malice-aforethought. [...]

It goes into detail. I have an HSA, and it's wonderful. It allows me to buy insurance with a high deductible. I can then use the HSA to pay for uncovered costs, and to choose the kind of health care I want.

As the article clearly points out, the Democrats want to eliminate our choices, and force us to take what they choose for us, on their terms, not ours. Congress of course, will have their own insurance, and won't be forced to use what they force on us.

It's time for a revolution, time to get rid of the dictators.

     

PelosiCare and the Amercian Constitution

What Constitution?

[...] The linked editorial touches on the legal argument with respect to the mandated purchase of insurance. I can’t fully comprehend the the gory details (I’m not a lawyer), but you see the unprecedented nature of the intrusion. Under what other circumstances do you become a criminal just for existing and failing to purchase a mandated item? By way of example, you’re compelled (by your state) to buy car insurance… but you made the choice to buy a car. Obviously you’re compelled to pay taxes…but then, this isn’t a tax; Obama promised not to tax you, so it can’t be a tax.

[...]

My main objection to health control is fear of the life-and-death power that government will ultimately hold over individual citizens, as well as looming national bankruptcy. Our Constitution was designed to protect us from such government overreach and centralization of power.

Precisely. PelosiCare is unconstitutional, AND unsustainable. What is the point, unless you want to ruin out current system of government and economics, and replace them with... something else?

SO ... SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS ABOUT PELOSICARE

[...] Pelosi's bill contains $250 billion dollars in deficit spending ... oh, but wait. They're voting on that separately so that you can't say the deficit spending is part of Pelosi's bill. Are you following this?

You do know that you'll start paying the taxes immediately --- but that you won't start reaping the benefits for another four years or so, don't you? Quite the con there. They say that PelosiCare will only cost $850+ trillion dollars over the first ten years ... but don't tell you will only receive benefits for six out of those ten years. Wait till the next 10 years hits you in the can.

Thus far nobody has explained where in our Constitution it gives the Imperial Federal Government the power to jail someone for a period of five years for failing to purchase a health insurance policy. But what the hell does Nancy Pelosi care about our Constitution, anyway? [...]

Is there hope, as this bill moves to the Senate? I think so. Consider:

Mutiny in Scrutiny?

[...] Greater scrutiny will not help the Democrats' efforts. In truth, their hopes for passage largely hinge on successfully hiding two plain facts from the voters: One, the House Republicans and the Congressional Budget Office have now shown that a bill costing $61 billion can lower Americans' insurance premiums, while bills costing $1.7 trillion cannot (and instead would raise them substantially). Two, the Democrats' plans would be paid for only if they follow through on plans to siphon hundreds of billions of dollars out of already-barely-solvent Medicare, and to do so just in time for the baby boomers' retirement.

Given the magnitude of the challenge of continuing to hide these plain facts from an increasingly attentive citizenry, the Democratic health-care train has a very bumpy ride ahead — as it rolls into the chamber that the American Founders thought from the beginning would ultimately decide our fate: the Senate.

61 billion and lower premiums, versus 1.7 TRILLION and higher premiums? Which one do you think the majority of Americans would prefer?

I live in hope. And intend to do what I can to insure that saner minds in the Senate prevail.

     

The "Public Option"; what it really means

The Public Option Deception

[...] more than one critic has wondered aloud why Democrats don’t just give up on the public option – which is opposed by every Republican – in order to reach a more bipartisan outcome. What exactly is so important about the public option anyway? And why do Democrats in particular seem so wedded to the idea?

There is a simple answer to these questions, but it’s an answer you’ve likely not heard from any institution in the mainstream media. The truth is that the public plan is a carefully devised scheme, a sneaky strategy, to deceive American voters. It’s a political marketing ploy designed to move the nation to a single-payer system – like the one in Canada – over the next decade. The public option is the Trojan horse. On the outside it’s all about “choice and competition”, but once it has been dragged within the walls of American medicine it’s true nature will become evident. By that time, it’ll be too late.

You want proof? We’ve got plenty. [...]

And there is plenty of proof. But what good is it, if people don't hear about it?

The latest strategy the Dems are considering, to push it through, is to change the name, to Medicare for everyone, because "Medicare" is a familiar word that doesn't scare people. The Dems don't care what the name of their Trojan Horse is, as long as they can sneak it in.

     

Can you agree with Obama on some things, yet still think the President is over-reaching?

Sure you can. Here is an interesting example from Maynard at TammyBruce.com:

Obama Agrees with Me on Health Care…and That’s Frightening!
Maynard explains why being right isn’t the point

Maynard starts out talking about difficult moral issues with health care, including people he knows and even Obama with his own grandmother. It would be easy to agree with Obama on some things. But the president's opinions on these often deeply personal issues have the power of law if they become policy in government run healthcare. Is that the government's, or the President's, proper place in our lives?

[...] Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m cold and inhuman. But my words do not carry the weight of authority, other than with respect to my own body. I have nothing to offer but thoughts; take them or leave them.

The terrifying thing about what our government is trying to do is that, if Obama got his way (his stated goal is a single-payer system with the phasing out of private insurance), his thoughts would have the force of law. These are deeply personal questions being contemplated; questions to be pondered with family and spiritual advisors and God. The problem with Mr. Obama isn’t that he’s necessarily wrong; it’s that he has no damn business in this arena. He’s not just pontificating here; he’s forming public policy. The man has no sense of boundaries.

[...]

I’m not rich, not a member of a “protected class”, not associated with any group that has political “pull”. Certainly not an ally of the people who are crafting these rules, and thus not to be looked upon with favor in the new day. I’m confounded by bureaucracies and intimidated by crowds. In the current system, I’ve got a fighting chance. But the new order will put me last on line.

Nancy Pelosi says I carry a swastika; Harry Reid today described me as “evil-monger”. That’s the word, not from a few fanatics, but from the top party leadership. And now you begin to see why I’m afraid. Tell me honestly: If you controlled the distribution of health care, would you give as much care to the “evil” people as the “good” ones? I certainly wouldn’t! I’d kill the evil people! Am I displaying a horrible character flaw in admitting this? Before you call me names, again remember that I have no power, nor do I aspire to power. I control no resources, save for limited control over my own environment and my own body. That’s all I have, and it’s all I want.

Whether you stand with the left or with the right, you can co-exist with me. We can live with each other, not because I’m right or wrong, but because I’m powerless. It doesn’t matter what I say or do, because it doesn’t affect your life. I may think you’re a fool, but this doesn’t mean I have to be your enemy.

By bullying his way into our lives and declaring dissenters to be enemies, Obama has divided America. It’s ironic that, having condemned the incursion into Iraq as a “war of choice”, Mr. Obama has decided to launch his own war of choice against America and against me. I could have lived with Obama, but Obama cannot live with me. And so we go to war with each other, and that’s a damn shame. [...]

It's the lack of tolerance for dissent by this administration that I find especially disturbing. There were signs that it would be this way, even before the election. Now it's coming to pass. It needs to be resisted and opposed. Ideally that would be done respectfully, but respect has to be a two way street. From Neal Boortz:

NOT ONE CALL TO MAKE THE CASE

In spite of the name-calling from the looters and moochers, I have no desire to drown out the voices in support of government-run healthcare. I truly believe that those who support what I see as a Democrat effort to secure control of vast numbers of Americans by controlling their health care need to be heard. Our ability to fight this seizure of power is only enhanced by listening respectfully to what the proponents have to say and formulating a logical and reasoned response. In the talk radio station where I began my career as a big mouth there was a sign: "You have not converted a man because you have silenced him." You can see the poster here. The words are from an English member of parliament named John Viscount Morley. It is absolutely the best possible poster you could find to hang in a talk radio studio. Wish I could find one.

Anyway ... there most certainly have been instances where opponents of ObamaCare have shouted down proponents in town hall meetings. This needs to stop. Our recent history has been one of liberal crowds shouting down conservative speakers on college campuses. Somehow the media and Democrat politicians never seemed to notice. Ditto for the crowds of protesters who would continually shout down President Bush and administration officials over the Iraq war. Again, the media didn't seem to notice. Now, however, things are different. We have a president who was essentially installed in office by a fawning media. He is there creation, and their creation must be protected if for no reason other than to assuage their shame at what was an obvious mistake. OK ... let them play their game. We're on to them ... we know the score. What is good for liberals protesting evil conservatives is not necessarily good for conservatives protesting the actions of well-meaning, compassionate, genuine, loving liberals. [...]

I agree with Neal, both sides need to listen, despite media bias. Yet people sometimes have to shout when their questions are ignored, because sometimes it's the only way to get the attention of the powerful people who are ignoring you. Respect needs to be a two way street, or it will be unbalanced and not work for us. It's a fine line to draw sometimes.
     

Big Business and Democrats unite for a very profitable Socialist Power-Grab

Pat has already beat me to the things I wanted to post about, so I refer you to his links:

Why Big Pharma and Big Insurance want Obama-style health-care reform:
"No one hates capitalism more than capitalists"

How the Democrats have been steering us towards this for decades:
The Plantation Party has been planning socialized healthcare for over 60 years

More "staged" Town Hall events, with pre-arranged questioners planted in the audience:
Obamugabe's Potemkin townhall

I would love to see the revolt of 1816 repeat itself:
Townhall protesters are not "unAmerican"

The protesters are scoring points, because many people agree with their concerns:
Krauthammer is wrong about the townhall protesters
     

Our Congress on Government Run Healthcare: "Do as I say, not as I do."

Congress want's to exempt itself from the government health plan that they are trying to force on the rest of us:

Rep. Tsongas tries to explain why Congress is exempt from Obamacare. Fails.

It's worth reading the whole thing, but this was especially noteworthy:

[...] More than 150,000 have signed GOP Rep. John Fleming’s petition telling Congress to live under the health care mandates it forces on the rest of the country. [...]

It's an outrage that we should even have to be put in the position of doing this.