We are to blame for allowing this “fundamental transformation” in our government to take place. President Obama told us he was going to do just that and we elected him to office. Now, it has become his mandate, a behest from the voters to make the “transformation” complete. Congress shows every sign of wanting to follow this “mandate” right over the cliffs of American Democracy.
This is how we got to the point that the Senate had the audacity to ignore the polls and the will of the people to pass their version of the Health Care plan on Christmas Eve. This is why, when all of the dirt came out about the unethical tricks they played with Nebraska, Louisiana and Michigan in order to get the bill passed, they justified it by saying “That’s how the system works in Washington.” Most of those guys know in their hearts that what they are doing is wrong, but they are doing it anyway, because they have to support Obama’s “mandate.”
Ben Nelson knew it. Had we been flies on the wall in the smoke-filled back rooms of the Senate when Reid was holed up with Rahm Emanuel and hammering the Senate version out, we probably would have heard this speech: “Listen, Benny, this is the way it’s going to work. You are going to vote ‘yes’ on the passage of this bill, and here’s why. No one in Nebraska will ever have to pay a Medicaid bill again…ever. You will get an extra $20 million in your campaign coffers and the President himself will make repeated personal visits to your state to help you in your reelection when the time comes. If you should happen, by any remote chance, to vote ‘no,’ then we are going to shit on Nebraska like you have never seen shit fly before. We’ll close Offutt AFB, we’ll cut federal funding, we’ll pay an opponent to run against you, and we’ll make sure that the whole world knows what an asshole Ben Nelson is. You’ll see I.R.S. audits like you’ve never imagined. You, Senator, would not want to see the grief we can lay on you.” In my mind, I’m sure that’s the way it came down, or something very close to it.
Almost sounds like the Chicago Mob, doesn’t it?
Obama has laid out all of his political capital to get the health care bill passed. He knows that if this bill fails, he doesn’t stand a chance of getting any of the rest of his agenda passed, either. In his mind, if it gets passed and he can sign it, he not only can run rough-shod over the entire country regarding every one of his other agenda items, but over our Constitution as well. As he has already said to those of us who would stop him, “Shut up and get out of the way.” This is why the secret hearings going on with Reid, Pelosi, Emanuel and the “boys,” will never see the light of a C-SPAN Television broadcast.
When it eventually makes its way out of that back room, the chances of us having 72 hours to pour over it on the Internet are slim and none, zero, zilch. This thing is going to hit the floor of the House, probably get passed at 2:00 AM on a Saturday morning, land in the Senate and get passed at 2:00 AM on Sunday morning, all without anyone reading it. This has been their track record so far; you know it and I know it.
Monday morning, the President will invite everyone over to the Oval Office for a signing ceremony and he’ll pat everyone on the back and he’ll grandstand about their success in “this historic moment for the American people,” and he’ll move right on to “Cap and Trade.”
Are we going to allow this to happen?
We all know in our hearts that this is a moment in history when our American Democracy will either survive, or it will die forever. If we want it to survive, and I assume you do or you would not be reading this, then we have to make it plain and clear that passage of this Bill, before we Americans have a chance to read it on the Internet and to digest it, discuss it, and voice our opinions, there will be holy hell to pay. This is not the time to shrug our shoulders and sit on the couch hoping God will intervene. We have to do something.
Yes, we need health care reform. Quality of care is excellent, but the cost is escalating. Although they promised us that this new bill would brings costs under control, there is nothing in it to control malpractice awards, prescription costs, or rising insurance premiums. Not only must we prevent this bill from passing, but we must then turn around and push for the legislation that will actually solve the problem without "transforming our country."
Call, write, FAX, email your Congressional delegates, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and President Obama. Send copies to your local newspapers. Don’t mince words. Don’t wait until tomorrow. If we fail on this mission, we will have no one but ourselves to blame for the resulting travesty.
Don’t be embarrassed to stand up for your country. Do it, do it now, and do it with pride.
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