Obamacare Will NEVER DIE!A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
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Let's be clear about something. Even if the Supreme Court overturns the "Individual Mandate" of Obamacare (the rule that requires every citizen to have health insurance or pay the government a fine), Obamacare WILL live on.
Taking it a step farther -- if the Supreme Court overturns the entire law, which I strongly doubt, Obama and his henchman are already at work formulating an Obamacare 2.0. In other words, Obamacare WILL live on.
On the GOP side of the aisle, Republicans are hard at work devising a plan that will be offered in place of Obamacare and, of course, will be shot down in flames almost immediately.
Oh, but you say, "Obama is going to lose the election in November and we will have a republican President by January 20th of 2013."
In the first place, I am not THAT sure that Obama is gong to lose this election. In the second place -- even if Romney wins, we would do well to remember that it was from Romneycare that Obamacare was born. I don't know about you -- but that bothers me.
Then there is this.
No matter which of the presidential candidates wins in November not much will change in Washington -- at all.
Here's why I say that:
All the political elite, who spend their days studying politics and our government, are convinced, as am I , that there is virtually no way the republicans will lose control of the US House of Representatives. They have also concluded, as have I, that there is virtually no way the democrats will lose control of the US Senate. America will continue to have a divided Congress, just as it has today.
So, no matter which presidential candidate wins, America will wind up on the day after the election virtually the same, indeed, in the same mess, as we find ourselves today -- locked in a death-grip posture with each political party at the other's throat while the country goes to hell in a hand basket.
But, you say, "Longstreet, why such a bleak scenario?" Because it is the truth -- and someone needs to say it out loud.
With that in mind, consider this: Even though the republicans swear if Romney wins the election they will repeal Obamacare, it cannot be done. It will be impossible to get a repeal of Obamacare, or whatever is left of it after the Supreme Court ruling, through both houses of the Congress.
Depressing, isn't it?
The democrats have known this since the moment Obamacare became law.
There is an old adage, the exact words of which I cannot recall, that says something like: "The closest thing to eternal life is a law/tax passed by Congress."
Even a Supreme Court stake through the heart of Obamacare will not render it lifeless. Like an "undead" zombie it will slouch a slimy trail across America for decades to come.
The plain truth is this: America has been screwed -- again-- by the democrats, and they are laughing behind their hands at our efforts to remove their deeply embedded meat hooks from America's back. This is a very good example of what you can expect in a democracy (even a democracy such as ours, a constitutional representative republic) -- when the people of that democracy do not pay close attention to their government.
Look. We southern folk learned as far back as the 1820's that only a fool would place his or her trust in Washington. By the time Washington forced my southern ancestors to accept federal occupation, nearly 700,000 Americans were dead. Never, ever, believe the federal government will not bring the hammer down on its citizens if they/we do not toe the line and do as commanded.
As with President Abraham Lincoln, American has another President, Obama, who would be king. He, Obama, has made it abundantly clear that what the people of America want is of no concern to him. The Congress we have in place and the one we are most likely to get after November is, and will continue to be, so out of touch with the people it is supposed to represent that it is as if we speak two entirely different languages. In other words, we cannot communicate with each other.
Some are saying our political system is hopeless broken, deadlocked, has run its course and must be replaced. I can understand those sentiments, and yet, I would ask the following: Replaced by WHAT?
We Americans are on dangerous ground. In an attempt to close the barn doors, after the horse has made good its escape, may I suggest that had we not strayed from the dictates of our constitution -- we would not be in this mess -- in the first place.
Maybe a constitutional convention is in order. Maybe not! A constitutional convention under ANY circumstances is a dangerous exercise. It opens the doors to all sorts of mischief. But -- it remains an option.
I believe Americans are going to become aware of just how impotent our national legislature has become after January 20th of 2013. And bitterness toward the government is going to spread across the land like a heavy dew.
I predict the rise of a third political party that will promise to take America back to her constitutional roots. Unfortunately, I fear that a third party will only succeed at insuring American has a "consensus government" that will make no one happy and only foment more unrest within the masses.
I should come as no surprise that I have no answers. After all, I am but a man with nothing more than a bit of, uh, insight(?) to offer. At the risk of tossing a wet blanket over the enthusiasm of the anti-Obama crowd (of which, I am a card carrying member), I do not think giddiness is what we need at this point in the evolution of our country. We need sober reflection and probing contemplation about what we, as Americans, have lost -- and how we can regain that loss and restore our country.
Changing Presidents, I am convinced, will do little to right America's mess. Do not misread this as an endorsement of Obama or a call to vote for him in any way. I just think America needs to be aware that even with a refreshing new face in the Oval Office, not much else will change.
I'd like to see a President Romney call a convention of the best conservative minds in America immediately following the inauguration and set them about the task of finding (and devising, if necessary) ways to get America out of this mess and back to her constitutional roots so we can again claim our rightful place as that "shining city on a hill" so beloved by America's last REAL President -- Ronald Reagan.
J. D. Longstreet
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