It’s Real Now, Folks

As the surreal saga of the healthcare bill that will not die continued into this past weekend, I think it’s fair to say that come what may, the United States as we have known it has been forever changed. Whether or not the monstrosity has passed by the time this goes to press is almost irrelevant at this point. Just the fact that by hook or crook (mostly crook) the Obama-ites got this far and this close is horrifying for anyone who fears socialism by gradual, torturous drips, let alone in one giant fell swoop.

If my children and grandchildren never read anything else that I write, I hope that they read this little column over and over again. Spending a lot of in-car time on vacation last week, my wife and I had a ring-side seat via satellite radio to the best of conservative talk during one of the most momentous weeks for the cause of liberty in our nation’s history. When we look back on the past week, I don’t think that will be considered hyperbole. What we learned not only about the economic and social impact of this toxic bill, the extra-Constitutional measures being employed to drive its passage, and potential efforts by some states to nullify the effect of the bill should it pass into law, were extraordinary to say the least. It was as if a year’s worth of debate and discussion with such tremendous import for our future were condensed into one week.

Here are just a few general observations regarding what this horrific bill has already wrought:

• Among all of the borderline and actually criminal machinations to get a bill—any bill—passed, the smoking gun may be the apparent bait and switch that Madame Pelosi was preparing. That is, the alleged plan to vote on and pass the “reconciliation” package, but then split off the Senate-passed bill (with no House changes) as if it were passed as part of the package, get it certified by the Senate, and have Obama sign it into law. Just like that, law of the land—with no real vote by the House to make it so.
  
• One radio host is talking openly about initiating a Constitutional Convention under Article V of the Constitution, with the main purpose to roll back the largely unwarranted and unconstitutional usurpation of power by the federal government in many areas, not just healthcare. That we (the conservative movement) are even thinking about such drastic action is a realization, albeit late in the game, that our “leaders” are socialists who will say or do anything to accomplish their agenda, and the only way to stop them is to fight back and utterly defeat them. As a backdrop to this, several states are pushing ahead with nullification actions—actions that will no doubt be challenged by the feds.
  
• The arrogance of the Democrat leadership showed up in so many ways last week, but none so profound as their ill-kept secret to use passage of the Senate bill as a mere stepping stone to their ultimate goal of a government run, single-payer plan. How else do you think that a confirmed socialist like Dennis Kucinich could be strong-armed into changing his vote to “yes” on a bill that he didn’t like because it didn’t go far enough? Yet in their more lucid (lying) public moments, Obama and his minions insist that single-payer is not the goal of this bill or any other.
  
• Rarely if ever has the disparity between the truth and what the parrot-like “mainstream” media reported on such a key issue been greater than it was last week. One of many examples was when the preliminary Congressional Budget Office (CBO) numbers were reported as gospel. Never mind that lost in the shuffle was the CBO’s own claim that without further information on the “reconciled” bill, they could not provide anything more than a preliminary (and thus meaningless) estimate. Never mind also the lurking “Doc-Fix” bill that would add about $300 billion to the mix and therefore more than nullify the already phony “deficit reduction” over the first 10 years so crowed about by Pelosi, Obama and the press. Even if Doc-Fix was not included, since when has ANY estimate of a government program’s revenues and expenses 10 to 20 years out been anything but wildly optimistic?
  
• The rising up of the American people—people like you and me—in protest of this monstrosity has been inspirational and is something that is increasingly difficult for Obama’s minions in the “mainstream” media to deny. Whether or not it stopped or stops the bill from passing, it’s clear that this new activism is not going away. Why not? Because with this issue along with others that are coming down the pike, the real crux of the matter, when you get beyond costs and deficits and votes, is FREEDOM. Those who are on the front lines protesting the healthcare bill and the freedoms that it will take away understand that. It’s about time that other freedom-loving Americans get it too.

What I want my family, as well as anyone else who has still not seen the light, to know and learn from all of this is that there IS a difference in the political parties and elections have significant CONSEQUENCES for good or ill. And that more often than not, it is the Democrat politicians, no matter how sincere they may sound, who will change their positions or votes on a dime whether it is for their own good or “the greater good” as defined by Obama, Pelosi, et al. Besides the obviously reprehensible Kucinich, take as an example Rep. Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania. As a fence-sitter who originally voted “no” last fall, he was the subject of a lot of media attention last week. After condemning the so-called “Slaughter rule” to “deem and pass” the Senate bill without a House vote, Altmire then—in the space of less than a day—contradicted his stated position and voted for a bill that would allow the Slaughter rule to be used. Although it’s possible to hear about a Republican switching in such a blatant manner from time to time, with Democrats it’s something that seems to happen ALL the time. 

It will be interesting to see the impact on Obama’s all-important approval rating, already eclipsed by the percentage that disapproves, should this monstrosity pass. Not to mention what the next election will bring. But we must realize this time around that simply gaining Republican majorities back in the House and even the Senate does not guarantee anything regarding the march of socialism in our country. We can’t be satisfied with politicians who only want to tweak it or slow it down. Never again.