Republicans are falling over themselves, vowing to repeal "Obamacare" because of its supposed threat to the democracy. Come on, give us a break. How is the idea of insuring 32M Americans an apparent act of treason? The U.S. is just joining the rest of the civilized world in attempting to take care of its most needy citizens.
Republican lunacy is just not limited to fringe groups, such as the Tea Party gang members who showered insults and perhaps spit on Democratic Congressmen yesterday as they went to vote for the historic healthcare bill. Shame on them.
One thing for certain: conservative groups are going to make a ton of money as they pass the hat to fund healthcare repeal efforts. The establishment Heritage Foundation warns followers about the "descent into a European-style welfare state." It will do all within its power to keep the war against Obamacare "alive in the public square and make the intellectual case for the repeal of this act." The Heritage Foundation claims to be acting on the behalf of "those who believe America is and will always remain the Land of the Free."That patriotic sentiment also applies to the 219 men and women in Congress who courageously voted for health reform in the face of Republican threats.
And then there is Ron Paul, the former GOP presidential candidate. His latest "Straight Talk Express" diatribe attacks the nearly trillion-dollar, ten-year health bill as a national train wreck. Paul wrote that America has just "witnessed further dismantling of the Constitution, disregard of the will of the people, explosive expansion of the reach of government, unprecedented corporate favoritism, and the impending end of quality healthcare as we know it."
The good Congressman sees the free market as the way to go in healthcare, conveniently ignoring the fact that the free market is exactly the reason why healthcare costs are going through the roof.
Republican opponents to healthcare need to take a breath. Here's a novel idea: How about reaching out to Democrats and the White House to make a case for implementing the healthcare program? That outreach, of course, would have been better had it happened a year ago.
Congratulations to President Barack Obama for finally during the past two weeks finding the spine necessary to fight for healthcare reform. And special kudos go to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for knocking heads to get the bill done. Pelosi demonstrated the definition of "leadership."