TOWSON, Maryland, Thursday, July 27, 2017 - I must state that I have absolutely no interest in hearing any excuses from the Republican United States Senators and those United States Senators who file as Republicans while virtually never voting as Republicans, for their abject failure to pass a law that they have promised the American people they would pass. These Senators have, to a man and to a woman, promised this for seven consecutive years; that is, ever since a previous Democratically-controlled Congress enacted the Obamashame health bill, commonly known as the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare. This blog has mostly called the legislation 'Obamashame' because of the shame it heaps upon its primary mover, the former President. This 'Affordable Care Act,' was, in reality, anything but. Everybody knows of a neighbor, co-worker, or even the person in the mirror, who has received bills generated pursuant to this law which more than double from one year to the next. Others testify that they pay more per month for Obamashame than they do for their monthly mortgage premium. And an untold number of Americans have deductibles that are so high that they dare not ever hope to utilize the coverage. The 'Affordable' Care Act will burden a working family with premiums of over $1,000 per month while at the same time fixing the deductible at over $10,000.
And all of this 'beyond the pale' outrageousness is after the bald-faced lies told to Americans to get the damn thing passed in the first place. We all remember, "if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor" and "if you like you policy you can keep your policy." It was later shown that even as he told the American People this, Obama knew it was untrue. Yet people still say that he is a "good person."
He is not.
The Supreme Court had the most golden of opportunities to throw this terror out, but led by the ever-spineless Chief Justice, John Roberts, it somehow improperly and outrageously survived Judicial Scrutiny on a 5-4 vote. Several justices were so incensed by what Roberts did that they reportedly refused to talk to him for months. Roberts, it turns out, told President Bush anything he wanted to hear. Then he slithered onto the Court and started making America sick. Another one who wants to be remembered as a good person. He is not a good person.
All four of the United States Senators who have announced that they will not vote in favor of a current bill which would merely but completely eliminate Obamashame from the Code of United States Laws did exactly the opposite in 2015.
In 2015, Senators Collins of Maine, Murkowski of Alaska, Portman of Ohio and Capito of West Virginia voted in favor of the same law, the law to end Obamashame*.
You read that correctly. All four of these clowns voted to eliminate Obamashame in 2015. Now, they announce they will vote against a vill to get rid of this heinous legislation.
Experts say that Obamashame will implode itself out of existence sometime next year. Assuming that Congress does absolutely nothing between now and then, this event will leave many Americans without health insurance even when they are prepared to pay for it.
I do not care what ridiculous excuse these four are offering for their unforced about-face. When they last ran for election or re-election, they promised to get rid of Obamashame. Now, when they have a golden opportunity to do just that, they won't. All four deserve to be put out to pasture as fast as possible.
A Non-Profit group surveyed the voting patterns of various United States Senators and have recently announced the results of that survey. The one I recall from hearing the results on the radio concerned Senator Collins of Maine. In only 12% of all votes taken in the United States Senate did Senator Collins vote with the Republicans. This person is not a Republican, and should not be permitted to hold herself out as one. She should be reprimanded by the Congress for deceiving her constituents. She must go. Her current term, sadly, doesn't end until 2021. Four more years? Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has an even more sordid history. She lost her last GOP primary election to a member of the Tea Party. Defeated, she ran in the general election as a write-in candidate. In such an election, Democrats and Ultra Leftists were free to vote for her. They did. She won. The members of her party in Alaska wanted nothing to do with her so she jived the rules and won. Terrific. This is what America gets. This is what Alaska got for such sordid voting laws.
If you've been off the planet, you need to be reminded of the events which took place when this awful thing was first enacted. Obama was in his first years in office and this law was his first big legislative effort. Until this law surfaced, he could do no wrong. His approval ratings were so high that many were afraid to oppose him. Then came this Affordable Care thing. The Democrats were doing all they could to discourage actually reading the law. Because when people read it, they gagged. There were death panels for old folk. Obama and his minions denied this, but the panels are in the law in black and white. During a day of education about the law that Obama held at the White House, one woman raised her hand and was called upon by Obama. She wanted to be in favor of the law.
She wanted to be.
She said that her mother was in her upper eighties, was in excellent health, was robust and lively and a joy to be with. If her doctor saw that her mother needed a heart by-pass, and was willing to perform the operation because of her overall health and in spite of her age, would the Affordable thing prevent it. Obama, acting as if this was entirely logical, said no, she would not get the operation under the law because someone younger should get the operation. Instead, doctors would give her mother pain killers. All over America, eyes were opened. Obama saw nothing wrong with the law as written. Obama's approval rating boarded the old downbound train.
There was an incident in Texas where the AARP sponsored a forum on the law. Many seniors came to the meeting because they didn't like the law and wanted it either changed or scuttled. The AARP moderator said neither of those options would be pursued. She tried to talk up the law but the audience wouldn't have it. Disgusted, she tried to pack up the room and leave, but the seniors weren't budging. They wanted to stay and talk among themselves about the law. The AARP woman pitched a fit and tried to have the room cleared. Failing this, she stormed out. Then there was our friend Ben Cardin, the United States Senator from Maryland. There were people utterly concerned about the parts of the law they knew about at one of his forums on 'Affordable Care.' The crowd grew hostile. But old Ben, he said that the problems with the law made him more determined than ever to have it passed. Huh?
What is worse? Promising voters you will do one thing, than doing something else, like Senator Collins and Murkowski, or not even giving your constituents a second thought when the party wanted you to do something else, like Senator Ben.
Obama and his minions forced the law through the House of Representatives in spite of Nancy Pelosi's famous saying, "We'll have to pass the law to find out what is in it." The Senate, however, was another matter. There were hardly enough Democrats to pass the law on the best day, but this law made every day the worst day. First, Obama changed the rules of the Senate - OK, actually Harry Reed changed the rules at Obama's behest - and then he began bribing individual Senators with this pork pot and that new grant. It became a national laughing stock, but in the end, the law was enacted. And it is still in force now despite Trump's promise to get rid of it.
The law has always been nothing short of awful. But the weak-kneed GOP is afraid that someone covered under the Affordable thing would not be covered under whatever replacement legislation the GOP comes up with. It will happen that way. There is no way to avoid it. But a national legislative body is supposed to do what is best for the nation as a whole, then leave it to social welfare agencies to clean up little messes along the way. But not dear old Senator Collins and Senator Murkowski etc. Let everybody get stiffed so the media won't whine.
For the last six years of Obama's Predatory Presidency the GOP swelled its ranks because they always promised to get rid of Obamashame if they ever got the chance. First the voters gave the House back to the GOP. That happened in 2010. In 2014 the voters gave the Senate back to the Republicans. And then, in 2016 the voters kept both houses in the GOP's control and topped it all off by giving the GOP the oval office even though all of the national polls said it wouldn't happen.
All of the excuses are gone. Now the GOP has to put up or shut up. Sadly - as many observers had feared - many so-called Republicans are really liberals in sheep's clothing. No matter what kind of legislation is proposed to replace the Obamashame, enough GOP legislators to kill the effort always pop up. Even the latest proposal - to merely scrap the Affordable thing and worry about replacing it later - has had four Senators (the four identified above: Collins, Portman, Murkowski and Capito of West Virginia) come forward and say they won't be in favor of mere scrapping of Obamashame.
Voters everywhere are hanging their heads in disgust. How can people who promised to do something go back on the promise after the voters gave them what they said they needed. All four of the deadbeats who say they will kill the last chance voted in favor of doing the exact same thing in 2015. For those four, dumping them in an election year is the American way, but in this case it really seems like it isn't enough. All four should be prohibited from ever holding public office again and expelled from the party. And the Democrats? They won't vote for anything that eliminates the Affordable Care Act because it is Obama's legacy. Benedict Arnold also has a legacy. I wonder what the Dems would do to preserve that?
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