Yesterday was a historic day. Historic in that the so-called "representatives" of the American people chose to ignore the voice of their constituents and pressed forward with a health care bill that was overwhelmingly opposed by the people. Historic in that the passage of this monstrosity was done with ZERO Republican support. Historic in that the passage of this bill showed the true color and character of the leaders that took part in this fleecing of the American citizen.
In the late mid afternoon hours, Representative Bart Stupak (D-Mi) caved under the pressure of President Obama and sold out all of his beliefs for what amounted to little more than a false promise of no federal funds for abortions. Holding up a finely crafted "Executive Order" written by President Obama reaffirming that no taxpayer dollars would be used to fund health plans that cover abortion, an order that would not even be signed until after HR 3590 was passed, Bart Stupak, along with 7 others, used this proclamation as a crutch to change their votes to a "Yes" for ObamaCare.
This executive order did little more than allow Stupak to save face for going against his Catholic heritage and place the vote that he knew he was going to make all along. Bart Stupak is not an idiot, he knows very well that this order does nothing to change the meat of this bill that he had claimed to oppose from of the start. The seven provisions of the bill that were at the heart of the abortion debate remain unchanged and President Obama's order will have no impact on them in the slightest. The bill is now a matter of law and the supreme court has already upheld that a presidential order cannot, let me repeat, cannot amend law by issuing an order. If challenged, the Supreme Court would fall back on the letter of the law, thus making the issuing of the executive order an non-issue. In addition, an executive order can be rescinded at any time and will most likely expire before the bill goes into effect in 2014.
In addition, the order does nothing more than reaffirm the Hyde amendment. It's important to note that the Hyde amendment is not a permanent ban on abortion funding, but only applies to Health and Human Services funding. It is an amendment that gets attached to appropriations bills and must be renewed every year. Within the order, it states that "The Act maintains current Hyde Amendment restrictions governing abortion policy and extends those restrictions to the newly-created health insurance exchanges". In short, it means that if the Hyde Amendment fails renewal, then all abortions bans in the health care act will vanish, and should the Hyde Amendment fail renewal, then exchanges would be free to use federal funds for such actions. Considering the Democratic controlled congress's track record of promoting legislation unpopular with the populace, what is to make us think that the Hyde Amendment will survive the turn of the year? Lastly, the crux of this order is contingent on the President's promise to sign and given the pro-choice backlash against Obama's issuing of the order to begin with, what leads us to believe that President Obama won't rescind, or even actually sign this order as promised? Bart, oh Bart, you sold your ideals, your "moral" stance, your career, and the respect of your constituents down the river for nothing. You gave everything, you bartered everything, but you gained nothing in return. It's no wonder that you are now unavailable for comment. Has your conscience finally gotten to you and made you sorry for what you've done? Atleast Ben Nelson got a $100M tax break to change his vote. Sen. Landrieu (D-LA) received $300M in Medicare subsidies for turning her back. Even Judas was granted 30 pieces of silver for his betrayal, but you sir, got nothing but a worthless paper which may, or may not, be autographed by the President.
So what now? How do we recover from such a sad mark in American history? Well, first, it's important to note that not one single Republican voted for this bill. All social entitlements in our history have passed with Republican votes from medicare to social security, however, this one was elusive of bi-partisan support. It's also important to note that many states have already pledged to challenge the constitutionality and legality of the act itself. Currently, there are nine states stepping up to challenge the bill within the courts before the individual mandates take effect in 2013. Challenges will be coming from states like Texas questioning the constitutionality of requiring citizens to purchase coverage and challenges from Virginia and South Carolina on the grounds that the special treatment of certain states, such as Nebraska due the "Cornhusker Kickback" or Louisiana's "Louisiana Purchase" violates Article 1, Section 9 of Constitution which states: "No preference will be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one state over those of another ...". In addition, a total of 33 states are already moving bills thru their houses to make it a matter of state law to challenge the impact of the act upon their states, with Idaho being the first to sign it into law, Virginia passing it thru both a Democratic held House and Senate, and many others on the ballot in 2010.
Lastly, the 111th congress discounted the tenacity and veracity of the American people by passing this bill to begin with, but I do believe that this is just the opening bell of a very long fight. It was the American People that won our independence from an oppressive government in 1775, and I believe that it will the American people that will once again do the same in November of 2010. The American People will not be discounted and told what is best for them. Our way of life depends on freedom and liberty and to allow our "elected leaders" ignore our voices because "they know what is best for us, even if we don't" goes against our very nature. The tea party movements are gaining more ground on a hourly basis. People never involved in politics are now taking a stand and becoming engaged. Town hall meetings have turned in to little more than public lashings of elected officials. The American people will not stand idly by as a growing government seeks to confiscate their money, property, and liberty. We are sick of seeing our hard earned dollars being thrown to the feed the flames of an out of control Federal government that does not hold our interests at heart. They will hold their revolution, not by force of arms, but by force of vote come November 2010 and 2012. Now is the time to get involved in local races. If your state is one of the ones challenging the bill, then make your support known. Even as the bill makes it's way to President Obama's desk, ensure that your outrage is expressed to those that voted yes, while showing your support that heard your voice and voted appropriately.
The fight has just begun! November is just around the corner and we have a lot of work to do. It's easy to feel as though we have failed. It's easy to resign to the fact that our representatives do not listen, but it's important to remember that this is OUR country and that those in Washington work for US. For all those that chose not to listen and ignored our wishes on March 21st, 2010, you WILL hear our voices in November of 2010 when we tell you that you're services are no longer needed.
For those interested in the voting record, you can find the complete listing here: Final Vote Results - March 21st, 2010
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