Bust ObamaCare or Bust!

Every day that passes sees the opportunity to dismantle ObamaCare diminish. During many months of presidential primary debates and campaign speeches, we will hear Republican candidates repeatedly state that ObamaCare must be repealed. Failure to destroy this unconstitutional assault on Liberty is of the utmost importance.

While the odds of repeal are low, because of unprincipled politicians and apparatchiks within the Republican Party, all the candidates- every single Republican running for the White House- must educate the public on why ObamaCare is a disaster for America. To do that, they had better know their stuff.

Several alternatives were advanced by Republicans during the lead-up to the Democrat Party passing socialized health care. Media will insist that candidates give alternatives, but that is the easiest part of the debate:  revisit prior conservative/constitutional proposals.

Certain facts need to be brought forward, repeatedly:

ObamaCare is not market driven, which tells us that it will not survive without printing presses creating money day and night, and those presses are already running out of ink. Learn it; explain it; explain it again.

ObamaCare is unconstitutional. This is a difficult argument to convey in the era of Social Security, Medicare, and the NSA having the technological ability to read this column as it was being written. Yawn. Ho hum. Unconstitutional. Whatever. Nevertheless, it needs to be explained. There is a reason why we are not Zimbabwe, economically speaking, or Nigeria, politically speaking. Without the Rule of Law, we will descend into the hellhole of political and economic ruin.

ObamaCare is unsustainable. The reason that 22 of the 23 government co-ops (non-profit insurance companies) created by ObamaCare lost money in 2014 is because costs are too high . They cannot repay their portions of the $2 billion federal loan because people did not flock to the co-ops as expected. Despite a national narrative to the contrary, employers offer better insurance coverage than what was reported (oh, the dangers of simply repeating what BHO states as fact), young people are not as stupid as the bureaucrats thought (getting young people to enroll is a subject unto itself), and there is more to creating and running a business than simply passing a law.

Health care costs are continuing to rise- not going down as predicted by the economically illiterate- because government spending is competing against private spending in the marketplace. This factor does not even address aspects of the law which encourage employers to cut hours and coverage plans and, ultimately, to drop insurance coverage altogether. Presidential candidates have to be able to explain why people’s premiums have increased, and in some cases, dramatically increased. To do that, candidates must understand how the law has legally mandated additional coverages while requiring fewer and fewer people, over time, to pay for those who cannot afford the high costs. The resulting damage to the economy means that even fewer still will be paying for the growing many.
One of the biggest arguments in favor of ObamaCare, advanced to this day, is the emotional argument of my uncle’s brother-in-law’s sister’s cousin’s neighbor now being able to get his knee replaced where he could not afford to do so previously. Oh, and was he ever in pain before BHO saved the day. Apparently the money materialized out of thin air, particle-beam transported over from one of the NSA’s experimental programs. Or you and I paid for it.

This argument is the toughest of all to overcome- not on an intellectual level, but on the level of the emotional battlefield of the political campaign trail. Conservatives and Republicans are already branded as heartless cavemen bent on beating the wretched and poor into the ground with their dinosaur bone clubs. Overcoming this takes not heart, but boldness. Soft-pedal this issue and a candidate will come off looking like a bumbling, fumbling fool who cares little about the human condition.

Boldness is the answer. If you are going to be portrayed as heartless no matter what you say, why not go all in? Candidates need to explain that working families who are now paying for that person who cannot pay suffers through higher taxes, higher medical costs- which  means higher insurance premiums- and more difficult access to all forms of health care. There are ways to have catastrophic insurance coverage for people who do not have financial means, but that must be accomplished through a market-based system which helps, not hinders, economic growth. States should play a role in this, not the federal government.

This answer requires a plan, education of the voting public, and patience. The national press will try to stymie and contort the message, but the alternative to ObamaCare is not “let them die,” it is better opportunity for all to have access to health care.

The Obama administration, the architects of ObamaCare, and Democrats around the country were not honest about what their plan would bring. It is not a surprise that we are down to three major private providers. It is not a surprise that costs are rising. It is not a surprise that there are calls for the federal government to do more. ObamaCare is simply the first step on the path to a single-payer system. The only way this battle is over is if we elect a president who has surrendered to the statists.

Republican presidential candidates have a lot of educating to do. If they choose to run typical campaigns, we will never rid ourselves of this federal intrusion, which means we will never rid ourselves of any federal intrusion. The political line must be drawn, and we have to nominate a candidate strong enough to define and then hold that line. The Rule of Law matters.