Good Enough For Thee But Not For Me

The Democrats have touted the health care reform as a panacea. It will cure all our ills. But if it is so wonderful and Barry Obama thinks it is the right thing to do, why is he exempt from it? Why is the leadership of the Congress exempt? Why are staffers of leadership exempt?

Rank-and-file House and Senate staffers will be forced out of the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP) and into the restricted federal health insurance exchanges, but not the leadership or committee congressional staff or the federal civil service bureaucrats who will be making your health care decisions for you.

“This is such an incredible affront to every principle of equality in this country that it demands an immediate apology to the nation by the President,” House Republican Conference Secretary John Carter (Texas) said. “That should be followed by a straight up-and-down vote in the House and Senate on a bill requiring every member and staff in both Houses and the administration be included in this new monstrosity, with no exceptions for leadership, committee staff, the President’s cabinet, or the President. If they think this crap is good enough for Joe the Plumber, then it should be good enough for Barack Obama, Rahm Emmanuel, and Tim Geithner.”

The bill was amended behind closed doors by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) back in December to exclude all congressional committee and leadership staff from the horrors of the health care “exchange.” The President, Vice-President, cabinet members, thousands of Obama administration staff and an unknown number of czars will all remain in the FEHBP.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-Okla.) attempted to offer a floor amendment in December that would have nullified Reid’s covert carve-out, but Reid blocked a vote on the amendment. Human Events

Fact Check claimed that it was not true and that members of Congress would have to be in the exchange. This is certainly not true for leadership and the bill says “Notwithstanding any other provision of law…” so they might be exempted under another provision of law. But no matter what, leadership, Obama, and certain staffers will be exempt as will many members of the administration.

The FEHB actually works fairly well because it allows competition among a number of companies in various geographic areas and the pool of employees is large. This is the free market working well.

If it is good enough for us it is good enough for them.

We need to make them pay at the polls.

Big Dog

Gunline

[tip]If you enjoy what you read consider signing up to receive email notification of new posts. There are several options in the sidebar and I am sure you can find one that suits you. If you prefer, consider adding this site to your favorite feed reader. If you receive emails and wish to stop them follow the instructions included in the email.[/tip]

It Is All About Control

I have told you time and again that the health care takeover is not about health and not about care. It is about control. It is about the government controlling our lives. The progressives have been very coy about this by veiling their arguments in faux compassion and concern for those who have no health care insurance. Everyone has access to health care, the question is, who will pay for it?

The fact that most people are happy with what they have is of no consequence to progressives and they ignored these people to revamp the entire system to “take care” of the small portion that cannot pay. There were plenty of ways to fix that problem without interfering with everyone else but those solutions would not allow the government to gain control and that is the only thing it wants.

According to Representative John Dingell:

“The harsh fact of the matter is when you’re going to pass legislation that will cover 300 [million] American people in different ways it takes a long time to do the necessary administrative steps that have to be taken to put the legislation together to control the people.” Breitbart [emphasis mine]

To control the people. This is what they want and now it has been verbalized by one of the enemy.

Make no mistake about it, the government wants to control each and every one of us and it has moved closer to that with this health care takeover.

If it were about a true concern for people it would take place sooner and well before Obama has to run for reelection. But until that time, the same number of people will be uncovered and will die each and every day. Of course the same number of people will die even after this is fully implemented.

Control. It is how the Marxists rule over the serfs.

Never surrender, never submit.
Big Dog

Gunline

[tip]If you enjoy what you read consider signing up to receive email notification of new posts. There are several options in the sidebar and I am sure you can find one that suits you. If you prefer, consider adding this site to your favorite feed reader. If you receive emails and wish to stop them follow the instructions included in the email.[/tip]

States Prepare To Sue Feds

Looks like some of the states of these United States have decided to sue the federal government over the recently passed health care takeover bill. Virginia, Florida and at least seven other states are preparing lawsuits challenging the Constitutionality of the insurance mandate the bill contains.

By the year 2014 the federal government will require all people here to buy health insurance. It will be the first time in history that an American has to purchase something to be a citizen in good standing.

The lawsuit from Virginia will contend that forcing people to buy health insurance is unconstitutional and is not regulated by the oft abused Commerce Clause. Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli put it very simply:

“If a person decides not to buy health insurance, that person by definition is not engaging in commerce,” Cuccinelli said in recorded comments. “If you are not engaging in commerce, how can the federal government regulate you?” al-Reuters

He is, of course, correct but whether the courts will see it that way is another thing all together. It is possible that the courts will say the government can require us to buy insurance to have good standing in this country even though this runs contrary to the freedoms our Founders fought so hard to obtain and preserve. Then again, freedom is always only one generation away from extinction and this generation, the Obama generation, is hell bent on taking freedom away.

The other issue is that Virginia passed a law that states its citizens cannot be compelled to buy health insurance. This directly contradicts the federal mandate and will lead to a Tenth Amendment battle. While federal law usually trumps state law the federal government’s law must be Constitutional.

Also, the Constitution specifically states [paraphrase] that the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited to it by the states are reserved to the states or to the people. The Constitution does not give the government power to force people to buy something. It regulates commerce but commerce involves voluntary buying something. As was stated, if you choose not to buy something then there is no commerce.

This is a key part of the legislation because the expected revenue from the mandate is designed to offset covering those with preexisting conditions.

The issue will be interesting because the federal government will claim it has the right to control the states insurance because insurance is commerce but the federal government regulates interstate commerce and insurance companies are prohibited from selling across state lines.

This will likely be an interesting legal challenge that will have an impact for a long time to come. If the court decides the federal government can force you to buy something what will they force us to buy next? Maybe they will say we have to buy GE solar panels before we can own a home. Maybe they will say we have to buy a GM if we want a car.

I can’t imagine the courts will allow this to stand but then again, the SCOTUS allowed private land to be taken for private industry gain which runs afoul of the Fifth Amendment which only allows private property to be taken for public use with just compensation.

I can’t wait to see how this all plays out.

No matter what, the debate over the health care issue will not be settled this week.

If this is allowed I can’t wait to see all the snot nosed kids who voted for Obama when they realize that the law they pushed so hard for does not provide free health care.

Big Dog

Gunline

[tip]If you enjoy what you read consider signing up to receive email notification of new posts. There are several options in the sidebar and I am sure you can find one that suits you. If you prefer, consider adding this site to your favorite feed reader. If you receive emails and wish to stop them follow the instructions included in the email.[/tip]

We Will Remember In November

Congress got the chance to vote last night and the Democrats went against the will of the people to pass a bill that most do not want. The need for reform exists but people do not want this bill as the reform because it is intrusive and contains at least one unconstitutional provision.

Democrats ignored their constituents and voted with the party to takeover and control our lives. The bill is bad which is why the Democrats are in damage control mode. The bill is bad which is why they had to bribe their own members. The bill is bad which is why most Americans oppose it.

But they voted for it anyway. OK, Democrats in Congress got their chance to vote last night and we will get our chance in November. We will make them pay, and pay dearly, for ignoring our will and imposing theirs. They know they are in trouble and only hope that they have enough time to change people’s minds. They will also push for the rest of their agenda (amnesty, cap and trade, etc.) to keep us occupied and to make us forget what they did.

They will not be successful. When election day gets here they will pay with their jobs. We will not forget what they did. We will not forget the process and the way they ignored our Republican form of government to play dictator. We will not forget.

Those in safe districts likely have little to worry about but they will be in the minority when the election rolls around. Nancy Pelosi will be relegated to the minority. If they are smart they will give her a job cleaning latrines. That is where she belongs.

Meanwhile, people will hold Barack Obama accountable. He said on at least twenty occasions that he will reduce premiums by about $2500. He had better come through on that or he will be bounced on his progressive ass in 2012. He is likely a one term occupant anyway but Bill Clinton was able to wrangle a second term. Obama, with a Republican majority, might be able to do the same. We have had enough of this communist and we need to get rid of him after one term before he does even more damage.

It might be worthwhile for conservatives to sell all stock in companies who supported this mess.

We lost a battle yesterday but we have not lost the war. We need to get into our full battle rattle and take back our country.

We can start in November by making every one of them pay for what they did.

Never surrender, never submit.
Big Dog

Gunline

[tip]If you enjoy what you read consider signing up to receive email notification of new posts. There are several options in the sidebar and I am sure you can find one that suits you. If you prefer, consider adding this site to your favorite feed reader. If you receive emails and wish to stop them follow the instructions included in the email.[/tip]

No True Pro-Life Democrats And None With Principles

Bart Stupak and his cohorts who claimed to be pro-life are nothing more than typical Democrats who put party before principle. Stupak pushed for anti abortion language in the original House bill and he vowed not to vote for the Senate Bill unless language was added that would take away the funding for abortion. By mid-afternoon today he had changed his mind and decided to vote yes.

Did he do it because language had been added to the “fix-it” bill? Did he do it because one of his eight proposals was adopted?

No, he did it because Barack Obama promised to sign an Executive Order spelling out what is and what is not allowed. Stupak gave his yes vote for a promise that Obama would sign a piece of paper that cannot change a law (if there is a court battle the law will win) and that can be rescinded at any time by Obama or future presidents. Stupak became a Dupe-Hack. And he demonstrated that there is no way for one to actually be pro-life and be a Democrat. When push came to shove the Democrat shined through and the so called principled position took a back seat. As Phyllis Schlafly wrote:

“It is naive for any elected official, especially one who describes himself as ‘pro-life,’ to expect that a promise to issue an Executive Order that reasserts the intentions of the Hyde Amendment will be fulfilled by the most pro-abortion president to ever sit in the White House. Perhaps Mr. Stupak and his fellow pro-life Democrats forget that President Obama’s first Executive Order was the repeal of the Mexico City Policy to allow for international funding of abortion.”

“Not only would an Executive Order be rendered meaningless in the face of Congress passing legislation which actively provides for the massive expansion and funding of abortion services, but anyone who doubts the abortion tsunami which awaits this bill becoming law lives in a fantasy world.”

~snip~

“Mr. Stupak and his Democrat followers have now clarified that you cannot be pro-life and be a Democrat. If abortion was truly their biggest issue, they wouldn’t willfully align themselves with the Party of Death.”

“This vote will expose the myth of the ‘pro-life Democrat.’ With this single vote, the Democratic Party will divide our nation into the Party of Death and the Party of Life, and future elections will never be the same.” Yahoo News

There is no doubt, barring a miracle like a sink hole swallowing the Capitol, that this will pass in the House. I have a feeling that the Senate version of the bill will not only be signed into law but will remain the law minus the so called “reconciliation fixes” because many items in the bill are not budget items and will be struck down. Democrats do not have the votes to over rule the motion to remove the items in question. In fact, the entire reconciliation bill might end up being tossed because it contains items dealing with Social Security and reconciliation bills cannot contain any SS items in them.

Republicans have been trying to discuss this with Senate Democrats but they are all out of reach. Republicans claim that the Senate Democrats are slow walking in order to have the House vote on the Senate bill first so that their bill will become the law of the land.

I do not like this entire mess and I know it will further divide our country while bankrupting us despite what liberals claim. They do not know what they are talking about and see things through the intoxication of Kool Aid and some really good weed.

I do think though, that it would be absolutely hysterical if the Senate bill passes and they cannot deliver on reconciliation like Reid promised. Many Democrats will be unhappy and left hanging in the wind.

Now that will be funny. At least we can all laugh while on the road to ruin.

Big Dog

Gunline

[tip]If you enjoy what you read consider signing up to receive email notification of new posts. There are several options in the sidebar and I am sure you can find one that suits you. If you prefer, consider adding this site to your favorite feed reader. If you receive emails and wish to stop them follow the instructions included in the email.[/tip]