Cowards in Washington

Republicans have the people behind them.

Yet they tremble in fear and refuse to support initiatives with their somewhat bolder colleagues to defund that monstrosity called "ObamaCare".  The unconstitutional law should have been repealed by the Supreme Court, but a cowardly John Roberts kept it alive by simultaneously declaring it unconstitutional and rewriting it in a way he could declare it constitutional.  I wonder if there is any precedent of the court rewriting a law in order to repair its unconstitutional provisions - I always thought the process was to declare it unconstitutional and send it back to congress to try again.  Unfortunately, Roberts felt huge pressure from the Democrats and the White House to roll over on the case.

So the polling is clear, and has been clear for some time.  American's don't like the idea of the Federal Government telling them what insurance to buy, charge us more for it, then dictate what's covered and not covered.  It sounds tyrannical.  Sarah Palin was vilified for introducing the term "death panels" to describe the national healthcare council, but has been proven right.  Whether the council turns into an egregious "death panel" for millions of Americans under ObamaCare remains to be seen, but they certainly have been granted that power.

Liberals like provisions that do away with insurance practices that deny insurance to those with pre-existing conditions.  They supposedly like the provision that lets parents keep their children on their plan until age 26, although that seems to me more of an indictment of the Obama Economy than a positive outcome.

So most states had the pre-existing problem solved by offering various high-risk pools that their citizens could join.  Seniors are already covered under Medicare.  The poor are already covered by Medicaid.  So it seems that the biggest problem has been that middle-income folks who work for companies that don't offer benefits or are self-employed were not buying private insurance because they viewed the policies as family budget-busters.

So now the Federal Government steps in and destroys all of the state high-risk pools with a one-size-fits-all plan.  One that forces those people who had previously chosen to remain uninsured to buy insurance at rates from 25 to 100 percent higher than what they would have paid if they'd bought private insurance previously.

People are also now being forced to buy insurance that is mandated to cover contraception at 100 percent.  Even if they're committed Catholics who believe contraception is immoral, their premiums will certainly be used to pay for other young women's contraceptives.  Businesses are being forced to also provide health insurance plans to their employees that cover contraception at 100 percent.  They're in court still, trying to overturn that particular mandate.

Perhaps the best proof the law is bad and needs to be repealed is the fact that Congress has successfully exempted themselves.  The ruling class has decided that the laws they pass only apply to their subjects, yet they deserve special treatment.

All I ask of congress is that they grow a pair.  You can't win the battle if you don't show up on the field.  If you fight hard and still lose, at least you gave it your all.  Your irrational fear of the media twisting your motives into a desire to "shut down government" is no excuse.  They'll do what they do.  Even John Roberts pulled that one on Fox News Sunday this weekend, so even the so-called conservative cable news channel proved to be toeing the liberal line on the GOP initiatives to stop Obamacare from being fully implemented.

So talk directly to your constituents and act according to your principles.  If you lose your seat next year, so be it.  But if your constituents come to understand the principle involved, they won't send you home.  If you chicken out from this fight, they might choose someone else next year.