WhatFinger


Camouflaging legislation and foot-dragging in an attempt to distract our attention no longer works. We have to ask why republican leadership is making the delivery of the last gasps of a dying Obamacare so complicated

Congress ignores ability to strike Obamacare, preferring to entrench control


A. Dru Kristenev image

By —— Bio and Archives March 20, 2017

Comments | Print This | Subscribe | Email Us

Instant gratification (we all recognize that phrase) in modern culture is now being realized via the instant construction of a house (won't go into energy consumption to produce the plastic materials), designer food or other "produced" items from 3D printers. "Instant" healthcare is just another take on the concept and government has been feeding the populace on the lie of its affordability for years now. But this is the reality--instantaneous creation of homes, steaks, clothing and healthcare result in no responsibility, no earning and no accomplishment. The universal consequence? There's no appreciation for anything. What is created is no confidence and, ultimately, the acceptance of individual failure which feeds dependence.

General dependence on government

And general dependence on government seems to be the outcome most members of Congress are promoting despite what they say publicly. The whole non-repeal of Obamacare serves as testament to this point. The morning of St. Patrick's Day, President Trump made a statement that he and some 20 members of Congress had reached an agreement of how best to enact the Ryan so-called replacement plan of the self-destructing Obamacare. Although their compromise has yet to be unveiled, it is a marvel to observers, such as our legal researcher Toddy Littman, that the Speaker of the House has not identified and employed the simplest and most effective Constitutional removal of the whole misnamed and ill-fated Affordable Care Act. Not enjoying the genius insight Littman possesses, the solution offered in my previous columns pales next to the elegant beauty of his suggestion which, in fact, is related to what he originally told Speaker Boehner in 2011. In response to a retweet of Representative Thomas Massie's comment that Ryan's American Health Care Act is a "stinking pile of garbage," Littman replied with common, constitutional sense (not that Congress functions accordingly) on March 16, 2017...
Teaparty Deplorable @ToddyLittman @GoldBaron08 Fact: SCOTUS said O'care a tax, undid #reconciliation (req Art 1, Sec 7 passage) Teaparty Deplorable @ToddyLittman @GoldBaron08 Our @SpeakerRyan can strike O'care from record, or retry passage as a tax now. Teaparty Deplorable @ToddyLittman @GoldBaron08 That's what the SCOTUS ruling O'care is a tax meant, unconstitutional passage. Did everyone get that? The fact that the mandate, which the Senate tried to call a "fine" was redefined by SCOTUS' ruling, thanks to Chief Justice John Roberts, as a tax. In so doing, it actually nullified the reconciliation passage of the original ACA as unconstitutional. The action taken by the Supreme Court created the opportunity for the Speaker of the House to officially strike the legislation from the record. Why, then, are the republicans playing this game of repealing Obamacare while not really repealing it at all but entrenching it? As the current legislation stands, it leaves in place the exchanges and the ultimate power of the Secretary of the Health and Human Services to guide and change healthcare according to the whim of whatever party happens to be in power. For the moment, we have a republican administration that is beholden to shrinking government but if the whole legislation's structure is not gutted and repealed, as soon as a democrat administration is voted in, the regulations will be reinstated.


Congress has allowed this charade to go on for seven years

Congress has allowed this charade to go on for seven years, refusing to take any action that would result in removal of the legislation. Previous repeal votes were little more than window dressing in that the republicans knew then President Obama would never sign those bills. Except for a small minority of conscientious legislators in the House and the Senate, it appears that most lawmakers are perfectly content to lord it over the rest of American citizenry by locking up control of a sixth of the economy. This is the problem with Washington, D.C. The establishment insiders have mucked up governance with overblown rules and contentions that only they have the ability to understand and manage legislation. The smokescreen has worked for too many years. Educational institutions have propagated the lie until average graduates believe they are powerless to think for themselves or understand the plain language of the Constitution without having it "interpreted" for them by those more knowledgeable. It's time voices from the gallery were heard and recognized. With the help of an 1828 Webster's dictionary to ascertain the meaning of words at the time of the Constitution's penning, we have more clarity of that document's purpose and application than most senators, representatives and appointed bureaucrats seated in D.C. The only way "instant" is utilized in the People's vocabulary is to invoke a response from our legislators. Camouflaging legislation and foot-dragging in an attempt to distract our attention no longer works. We have to ask why republican leadership is making the delivery of the last gasps of a dying Obamacare so complicated.

A. Dru Kristenev -- Bio and Archives | Comments

Former newspaper publisher, A. Dru Kristenev, grew up in the publishing industry working every angle of a paper, from ad composition and sales, to personnel management, copy writing, and overseeing all editorial content. During her tenure as a news professional, Kristenev traveled internationally as a representative of the paper and, on separate occasions, non-profit organizations. Since 2007, Kristenev has authored five fact-filled political suspense novels, the Baron Series, and two non-fiction books, all available on Amazon. Carrying an M.S. degree and having taught at premier northwest universities, she is the trustee of Scribes’ College of Journalism, which mission is to train a new generation of journalists in biblical standards of reporting. More information about the college and how to support it can be obtained by contacting Kristenev at cw.o@earthlink.net.


ChangingWind (changingwind.org) is a solutions-centered Christian ministry.

Donate Here


Sponsored