A progressive government as large and intrusive as ours functions by taking from some in order to give to others. A perfect example is the “Cash for Clunkers” program, through which Congress took $4 billion from taxpayers(losers) to boost the failing auto industry and individuals in the market for a new car at the time (winners).
Remember when healthcare reform was going to become more popular after it was passed? At its six-month anniversary you can tell it's a crowd-pleaser when the only Democrats who mention it on the campaign trail are those who want to let you know they voted against it.
Clearly, the end of discrimination against the sick by insurance companies is a universally compelling policy goal, and one that has likely changed the lives of many anxious Americans who are now battling conditions and diseases with insurance instead of without it. But reaching that goal required expanding access, which required a mandate to purchase insurance, and a majority of Americans now oppose the law for that reason alone. Many who oppose the mandate are already insured, but they don't want the government telling them they have to do something. They see healthcare reform as part of a continuum of increased government intervention that started with the Wall Street bailout, went further with the enormous stimulus package, and even further with the auto industry rescues and on and on.
Does ObamaCare flagrantly violate the U.S. Constitution?
Well, the 20 states that will stand against ObamaCare think so. In addition, the bill is facing legal resistance from other forces, including the National Federation of Independent Business — an association specializing in lobbying for small businesses.
Do these entities have a right to fight against a ratified law? Clearly, there is a large disconnect between what Congress is willing to blindly push — legislation pilfered by lobbying fleas — and what the states and the people of America need. Healthcare is a necessity, but is hasty legislation our best option?
While the trifecta of stimulus/bailouts/ObamaCare is what is mostly touted as the explanation for the waning Democratic political fortunes, ObamaCare is the mother-lode of straws that broke the camel's back and crushed it. Democrats know this, but can't acknowledge it. Why? Because they can't blame ObamaCare on George W. Bush. And that leaves them with nothing, and nowhere to hide.
What's surprising to me about this renewed push to blame Bush for the Democrats' election-year problems now is not that they are using it as a desperate Hail Mary pass. It's been obvious for quite some time they pull that out of their back pocket when backed into a corner. No — what's so surprising to me, and also very, very telling, is that they are throwing this Hail Mary pass before Labor Day, rather than in the final three or four weeks of the campaign. This means their internal polling is scarier than what the rest of us are privy to, and they know they have little wiggle room and nowhere to run. They searched every nook and cranny, but can't win new voters or change any minds, so they must try to compete in the Election Day voter-turnout game by getting the Bush-hating far-left wing of the party angry and energized, and blaming Bush is all they have in their arsenal — even when their arguments make no sense at all.
The initial stages of ObamaCare death panels have begun by targeting the 40,000 American women killed by breast cancer annually. The FDA has recommended rescinding government approval of Avastin, a treatment for later-stage breast cancer, due to its high cost. Avastin can cost as much as $88,000 annually, but can have significant results in expanding the life of those suffering.
The federal government needs to stay away from the personal health decisions of Americans. Yes, there are some who wouldn’t care to live longer after suffering from breast cancer. However, there are many women suffering from the illness who would like to spend every extra day possible with their families. Our government doesn’t have the right to withhold that from them.
It’s ironic that in the summer of 2010, in which our government has redefined profligate spending, President Obama’s FDA would decide to pinch pennies and recommend withdrawing the approval of the life extending drug despite 40,000 annual breast cancer deaths. Even more shocking is the silence of the American Feminist, as they abandon the many women that find themselves in this crisis situation. A recent search on NOW.org, the National Organization for Women’s website, appalled me — there wasn’t one hit on the issue of Avastin.
With a beginning like this, I’m not looking forward to seeing how the lives of Americans suffering from illnesses are at the mercy of government entities controlled by people who have never looked them in the eyes.
Congress should return from its prolonged recess and pass a tax cut for the middle class and a jobs tax credit for small business, and should return after the election to rewrite a healthcare bill that has severe problems that must be addressed.
Remember
last August and those furious town hall meetings where people yelled at the
Democrats about healthcare reform? Have you accepted the new healthcare
reform law as a benefit overall? Or are you one of the voters who still hates
it?
Interestingly, polling has shifted on the popularity of the new law. While a
majority favored repeal (58 percent) in the months after President Obama
signed it into law at the end of March, a new survey by the Kaiser Family
Foundation shows opposition dropping to 35 percent from 41 percent in the last
month, and 50 percent of the public had a favorable view of the law, up from 48
percent. Support and opposition tend to be partisan, but the trendline is
certainly heading in the Democrats' direction.
There are two things that can ruin an MRI scan. One of them is metal. The other
is ObamaCare.
The MRI machine was first used on a human being on July 3, 1977. Three doctors,
Dr. Raymond Damadian, Dr. Larry Minkoff and Dr. Michael Goldsmith, worked for 7
years on their machine, which they called the “Indomitable.”
The MRI’s most important component is a huge magnet, which is why it is pretty
dangerous to bring any kind of metal object into a room where a MRI is being
used.
At
a Government and Oversight Reform Committee hearing this week, I testified to
the devastating and deadly impacts of an unsuspecting disease: Viral Hepatitis.
The fact that I was joined by Dr. Howard Koh, Assistant Secretary for Health,
and Dr. John Ward, Director of the Viral Hepatitis Program at the Center for
Disease Control, underscores the importance of the issue. Government oversight
is a good start to getting the American public more informed, but much more is
needed, according to the Institute of Medicine's 2010 report titled
"Hepatitis and Liver Cancer: A National Strategy for Prevention and
Control of Hepatitis B and C".
Read more...
Most Viewed RSS Feed »
