The general idea I get joanie is that Specter and Tsongas believe HR3200 or something very like it will pass both houses of Congress. Their job at Town Hall events is simply to advise their constituents of what is coming. In short, they think it's already a done deal. They are not there to listen to their constituents, to receive advice from them, to hear their concerns. Nope. It's a done deal, so just shut up and listen to us tell you how wonderful the healthcare reform is going to be. And we're gonna get it, whether we want it or not, whether we like it or not.
Sigh. It is so very clear to me that the current political class thinks it is our rulers. They don't work for us; we work for them.
That referendum idea is interesting. But it would still miss the point. The federal government has no constitutional warrant to be in the healthcare/social services business in the first place. What would really be needed — if anybody cared about legislation actually being constitutional for a change — is a constitutional amendment — the whole Article Five business. Let Congress draft whatever they want, then send it out to the states for ratification.
Of course, this will never happen. Ratification of a constitutional amendment would take time. But 0bama is hot to trot. He wants to rush this through in the dead of night, by hook or by crook.
HR3200 is a Trojan Horse. As long as it gives the federal government the slightest toe hold WRT the "public option," they'll be happy to pass anything. 0bama has already said it would take additional years of tweaking to get the thing right. That tells me that whatever Congress passes is "just the beginning" anyway.
Must run for now. Time to write to my Congressperson....
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences at the Specter event joanie!
Thank you for sharing your insights, dearest sister in Christ!