Edmund Burke, before the British Parliament way back in March 1775, observed the colonists' fierce "spirit of liberty." He said:
"In other countries the people . . . judge of an ill principle in government only by an actual grievance; here they anticipate the evil and judge of the pressure of the grievance by the badness of the principle." He said Americans could detect "misgovernment at a distance and sniff the approach of tyranny in every tainted breeze."
James Madison put it this way, "The freemen of America did not wait till usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise, and entangled the question in precedents. They saw all the consequences in the principle, and they avoided the consequences by denying the principle. We revere this lesson too much, soo to forget it."
Any Republicans or Democrats who "compromise" for the sake of popularity now on this important principle involving future generations should be recalled at the next election cycle!
This is not about a frivolous question of which provisions are acceptable and which are unacceptable. This is about a power struggle between the principles the founding generation were willing to stake their "lives, property, and sacred honor" for, and those who, throughout the history of civilization have arrogated unto themselves power over other people's lives.
The current "issue" called "health care reform," or its equally obnoxious semantic twin "health insurance reform," is just the invasion of liberty by arrogant elected officials which has finally aroused citizens who, heretofore, ignored the decades-long power grab by those who were supposed to protect "We, the People's" constitutional principles.
Now, citizens are seeing that it is a matter of "principle," not an issue of semantics over wording.
They should not allow their elected representatives to be coopted by "blue dogs" or any other "wolf in sheep's clothing" that would allow what may turn out to be the most important watershed moment in the history of American liberty to be further threatened. Now, Conrad and Sebelius, and others, sensing the voter mood are throwing out "compromise" talk this weekend, all to punt for better position down the road. Seize the moment for the sake of posterity and just say, "no"!
A word from the author of our Declaration of Independence regarding citizens and oppressive government might give some backbone to today's citizens:
"The most effectual means of preventing the perversion of power into tyranny are to illuminate . . . the minds of the people at large, and more especially to give them knowledge of those facts which history exhibits, that they may. . . know ambition under all its shapes, and . . . exert their natural power to defeat its purposes." - Thomas Jefferson
And, for more wisdom from the same source:
" . . . this is a tendency of all human governments. A departure from principle in one instance becomes a precedent for a second, that second for a third, and so on, till the bulk of the society is reduced to be mere automatons of misery, to have no sensibilities left but for sin and suffering. Then begins, indeed, the bellum omnium in omnia, which some philosophers. . . have mistaken it for the natural, instead of the abusive state of man. And the forehorse of this frightful team is public debt. Taxation follws that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression."- Thomas Jefferson
It’s only the camel’s nose under the tent. When the sheeple go for it, the rest will follow.
Has never failed to do so...never, never, never!
Cooperative, Collective, public option, it is all the same thing - government run healthcare. This was planned all along as a tactical “concession” but not really ceding anything. KILL THE BILL!
We must not let any part, even the merest, of this thing pass. If anything passes as one of these bills, it will be expanded by amendments to every piece of new legislation that comes through Congress so long as there is a Social Democrat majority. Once enacted it will be “interpreted” to contain the provisions removed to facilitate passage. If anything passes under the health care rubric, the whole thing will be in place after a little while.
NONONONONONONONO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PERIOD!!!
Kill it all and quit stealing from those that work and giving to those that don’t!!
Either pay for it or lie down and die!
Can anyone give me an example of an insurance co-op?
But the people? lol Nope... It won't take long before people start associating the idea with Fannie and Freddy. In a way, it makes it even easier to envision the disaster this would be.
These assholes want a ANYTHING because they will then be able to add to it and get what they want. Not this year, but in the next two or three.
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, said it would be difficult to pass any legislation through the Democratic-controlled Congress without the promised public plan.
"We'll have the same number of people uninsured," she said. "If the insurance companies wanted to insure these people now, they'd be insured."
Hopefully, enough Liberals will pissed at this "compromise", that it won't pass.
The Democrats did not let President Bush have any kind of victory with privatizing Socical Security. Why should Republicans do any different?
It sounds like these will be run by private citizens - Like any other Co-0p.
The problem that I see, is that the initial money is provided by the GOVERNMENT & it's not clear if it will be paid back or not.
You know what happened when the auto industry & the banks took GOVERNMENT money!! The same GOVERNMENT puts rules in on HOW it is run...so what's the difference between doing this & having Obama's plan?
Two words: Trojan horse
In the end, the master goal is achieved. Blue Dogs and Moderate R's NEVER learn from their mistakes. They are the Socialists best friends as useful idiots in their implementation of agendas.
Sebelius is the sensitive person who praised the SEIU.
I don’t think so. The Poacher in chief is after sitting duck. Press your advantage you damn Republicans!
10,000 times NO.