Sep 17 2009
Single player health care
It is high time for the Democrats to realize that bipartisanship is dead. They could hand the Republicans a health care bill written entirely by the Republicans themselves and the Republicans would vote against it. Why? Because it was handed them by Democrats. These attempts by the Democrats to “bring the Republicans into the process” are nothing short of ridiculous. The Republicans do not want to be part of the process. Their leaders Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck have told them so. The sole purpose of the modern Republican party is opposition. Unless they are opposing whatever the Democrats (and most especially President Barack Obama) are proposing, they no longer have reason to draw breath.
David M. Herszenhorn hit the nail squarely on the head in yesterday’s New York Times…
Most Republicans have been deeply unhappy with the Democratic health care proposals so far, and Republicans on the Finance Committee were said to be bracing for two possibilities: a partisan proposal that they were going to oppose, or a bipartisan proposal that they were going to oppose.
Almost. He just needs to remove the word ‘most’ at the beginning of that paragraph and the words ‘on the Finance Committee’ from the middle. Then he needs to change to ‘unhappy’ to ‘opposed’ and… Well, here, let me rewrite it for him…
All Republicans are deeply opposed to the Democratic health care proposals and they are bracing for two possibilities: a partisan proposal that they are going to oppose or a bipartisan proposal that they are going to oppose.
There, that’s better.
The Democrats do not need the support of the Republicans to give Americans the health care reform that they so desperately need, and that is a good thing because they are not going to get it. Hopefully, the Democratic leadership (and President Obama) have by now come to that realization. It simply does not matter how many compromises they offer or on how many points they cave, the Democrats are not going to win one single Republican vote.
It is time for the Democrats to write the health care bill they want, pass it and have it signed into law by the duly elected President of the United States. They then need to move on and tend to other business. The Republicans have held the country back long enough. If our Republican friends want to act like petulant children, it is time to start treating like petulant children. Send them to their rooms while the adults take care of business.
9 Responses to “Single player health care”
I’ve been ranting about this for a while now, and you summed it up better in one sentence than I have in several posts. Makes me want to smack you upside the head.
Seriously, excellent post and I agree 100%.
president Obama came into office proclaiming a change.. I nearly voted for him believing that he would end the partisan battles and give the country back to the people..Take it away from big Government and Big Corporations.
He’s failed in his attempts at partisanship without trying..perhaps Joe was right..
His Partisan efforts have been to nominate Republican congressman in districts they see as vulnerable to Democratic win..
First – I would hope that any Republican that is supposed to be conservative would turn away any bill on healthcare. I would hope that any senator or congressman regardless of party wouldn’t even think about bring up such bill. They all took an oath to defend and protect the constitution of the United States.
Nowhere in the constitution does it allow Congress, The President, or The SCOTUS to use taxpayer money for charity. All entitlement programs are forced charity. They have no authority to take my hard earned money and redistribute it to those who don’t work. They have no authority to take my hard earned money and redistribute it to pay for somebody else’s insurance. They have no legal authority to take my hard earned money and give it to somebody who dropped out of high school and is now an addict and provide them a place to sleep.
Government has no authority to take our money and do any of this. We as a people are our brother’s keeper. It is our responsibility as individual Americans to help the down trodden – BY CHOICE – not BY FORCE at the end of a gun barrel held by the government.
I hope this gets shut down and I hope some real representatives get voted in 2010 that will actually uphold the constitution and start repealing all of these “moral issue” programs.
I agree with the way you have re-written Herzenhorn’s paragraph. There is SO much truth in that. I have no idea how the GOP expects to participate in governing the nation. The problem might be that they just don’t have any legitimate leadership.
@ The BoBo:
Section 8, Article I:
Exactly, Len – where, specifically, in there does it give them the authority to take our hard earned money and redistribute it?
“General welfare” does not apply to charity.
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/General+Welfare
“…does not grant Congress the power to legislate for the general welfare of the country; that is a power reserved to the states through the Tenth Amendment. Rather, it merely allows Congress to spend federal money for the general welfare. The principle underlying this distinction—the limitation of federal power…”
James Madison – one of the framers of the constitution – so you know it is not out of context – states thusly regarding that clause:
“According to James Madison, the clause authorized Congress to spend money, but only to carry out the powers and duties specifically enumerated in the subsequent clauses of Article I, Section 8, and elsewhere in the Constitution, not to meet the seemingly infinite needs of the general welfare”
So – if one of the original framers of the constitution states that general welfare does not mean charity and does not mean the federal government may take our money to give to others for their own personal welfare, you obviously have no ground to stand on.
Check out that link – there are other cases referenced that speak to the same thing. The problem is – we have had spineless elected officials for decades who let the constitution get trampled on and never challenged any of these moral social programs. They are unconstitutional and all it would take is a legal challenge to the SCOTUS to have them reversed based on precedent.
@ The BoBo:
Oh, goody! Another “discussion.” With linky links and everything!
I’ll explain the general welfare clause to you, BoBo, if you will explain to me how the Second Amendment
gives you the right to walk around in a well-populated city in the United States in 2009 with an AK-47 slung over your shoulder.
Also, please tell me where in the Constitution it gives anyone the right to drive a Cadillac Escalade or a Ford F-150 while holding a cell phone to their ear with one hand and a cup of coffee in the other hand.
I’m with you, though. I really am. I think we should regress everything back to the 18th century when the Constitution was written. All this 21st century crap is getting old.
(When you finish with that, you might try to bring these comments back in line with the topic of the post to which they are attached. We seem to have strayed a bit.)
Obama stated throughout his campaign that he would reach across the aisle in an attempt to have an inclusive government. He has done that and has had his hand slapped. The Right has no intention of helping to resolve this issue. They are bedeviled by people who cannot afford health insurance. I am surprised they do not come straight out and say, Let them die! The Republicans hold fast to self-serving lobbyists and to the almighty dollar. They have never been of a mind to care about those who have fallen on hard times, many due to the Bush administration’s egregious actions. I am fed up with them and say enough is enough. Get a HCR bill together and get it passed by Democrats.
Aetna rejects 40% of all claims each year. How’s that for a death panel?