Yesterday, the House passed legislation completely repealing Obamacare with a vote of 245-189. Oh, and it was a bipartisan pass...every Republican and even a handful of Democrats voted in favor of it. Before we get to what happens next, let's review a few things first.
The Left is bonkers over this repeal, alternating between wails of chaos and destruction and belittling the effort as insignificant. Never mind the will of the people or the historical volume of the shouting from American citizens in the last election, of course. Pick up any major newspaper and you'll probably see predictions of millions of people dying because of the repeal, quickly followed by assurances that the GOP's push for repeal really doesn't mean anything because it would never pass the Senate and get signed by Obama, anyway. Kind of an interesting juxtaposition, don't you think?
It's very interesting to see what elected Democrats have done to try to stave off the repeal bill. They call Republicans Nazis for wanting repeal. They accuse anyone who wants repeal of being a racist on par with those who fought against civil rights back in the 1960s (ironically ignoring the fact that it was Democrats who fought against civil rights throughout American history). Or they blather on about how 129 million Americans have pre-existing conditions and will surely DIE if repeal passes...using bogus numbers that have been completely debunked and are ridiculous even at face value. But is anyone surprised? Those are the same scare tactics they used to shove the thing down Americans' throats in the first place, so why would they change methods now? I'm on the Obama administration's e-mail list (just for kicks), and here's how they framed it:
At 5:53 p.m. Eastern Time today, the House moved to repeal health insurance reform.
Every single Republican -- all 242 -- voted for repeal.
This is a vote for insurance companies. There is no other way to put it.
Because if the question is what is best for Americans, repeal would never come up: Health reform is already at work improving the lives of millions of people. Repeal will result in 32 million fewer Americans with health coverage -- and add $230 billion to the deficit over the next 10 years.
It's Big Insurance's fault (and never mind that only a few thousand people have so far taken advantage of that wonderful extra coverage). Hm. It's funny, they seem to have forgotten to mention that several Democrats supported repeal, too. Also, they seem to have forgotten that insurance companies are already being hammered by Obamacare, and it hasn't even been fully rolled out yet (and that the end game of Obamacare is designed to put insurance companies out of business in favor of government health care for everyone). They also seem to be relying on the cooked-books version of the CBO report when they trot out that deficit line. Observe:
If you're being honest about the numbers, Obamacare is a vast net loss of taxpayer money, not a net gain. To claim otherwise is an outright lie.
And what about the assertion that Obamacare will function like a jobs bill? Well, if it really was good for the country in terms of jobs, would hundreds of top economists -- including 2 former heads of the CBO -- be saying that Obamacare should be repealed and replaced? Not likely.
Incidentally, the list of states now suing the federal government on the grounds that Obamacare is unconstitutional has now grown to 27. That's right...more than half of all states are actively fighting Obamacare in the courts now. Thought you might be interested to know that, too.
Let's close the loop. Why is this such a critical vote? Because, as one pundit put it, Obamacare is ground zero in the fight for America's future. The essential question is: how much power does the government have over you? Most Americans feel the answer right now is too much, and that's why there's been huge and consistent support -- 75% of likely voters in January's survey -- for repealing and/or reforming Obamacare since the moment it passed. It's what Americans were telling Obama and the Democrats for two solid years before they passed it anyway, and it's what Americans have been telling Obama and Congress ever since. The Republicans have finally begun listening. It's the right thing to do. Do we need health care reforms? Without a doubt. Do we need government control of health care? Like a 64 ounce glass of battery acid.
So what happens next? Since the bill passed the House, it will now be thrown over the wall to the Senate. Majority Leader Harry Reid says he won't even bother with a vote on it because he knows it won't pass (and even if it did, Obama would veto it), but Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is still pledging to force a vote. I won't pretend to understand the arcane ways of the Senate, but apparently there are some tactics available to the Republicans to force a vote on it...if they choose to use them. I see two opportunities here. First, we'll get a measure of the Senate GOP - are they as attentive to the will of the American people as the House GOP, or are we going to have to fight them alongside the Democrats? That's a biggie, in my opinion. Second, we will see how Senate Dems react to being forced on the record over the issue. Remember, there's a big group of them coming up for re-election in 2012, and Obamacare proved to be a killer issue for loads of Dems in 2010. Believe me, they're paying very close attention to this, and they really, really, REALLY don't want to have to go on record supporting it again. So, even if the vote goes down to defeat, the simple fact that a vote took place is a victory for Republicans.
Now, just think what would happen if the GOP forced this kind of pain on the Democrats over and over and over...? It would be a thing of beauty. After all, they're just doing what the American people want. The fact that they score loads of political points at the same time is just gravy.
And what if...what if...just a few Dems in the Senate were persuaded to come over to the GOP's side...? It's theoretically possible, especially since most politicians are slimy crapweasels who are far more interested in their own political power than any higher ideals, and usually more than happy to sell out if it's in their own best interest. It wouldn't take many defections before the Senate would fall, too. If that happens, it would force President Obama to stand alone in opposition against the American people. Just roll that one around for a while...
But the future will take care of itself. All we can do for now is push forward with the repeal effort as it stands today, right now. We have victory #1 in the House, and now it's time to pressure the Senate. Win or lose, a vote must take place. Pick up the phone, send an e-mail. Wash, rinse, repeat.
We can win this thing.
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