Mark Steyn: Obamacare worth the price to Democrats

The Orange County Register ^ | March 5, 2010 | Mark Steyn

[2ndDivisionVet]

So there was President Obama, giving his bazillionth speech on health care, droning yet again that "now is the hour when we must seize the moment," the same moment he's been seizing every day of the week for the past year, only this time his genius photo-op guys thought it would look good to have him surrounded by men in white coats.

Why is he doing this? Why let "health" "care" "reform" stagger on like the rotting husk in a low-grade creature feature who refuses to stay dead no matter how many stakes you pound through his chest?

Because it's worth it. Big time. I've been saying in this space for two years that the governmentalization of health care is the fastest way to a permanent left-of-center political culture. It redefines the relationship between the citizen and the state in fundamental ways that make limited government all but impossible. In most of the rest of the Western world, there are still nominally "conservative" parties, and they even win elections occasionally, but not to any great effect (Let's not forget that Jacques Chirac was, in French terms, a "conservative").

The result is a kind of two-party one-party state: Right-of-center parties will once in a while be in office, but never in power, merely presiding over vast left-wing bureaucracies that cruise on regardless.

Republicans seem to have difficulty grasping this basic dynamic. Less than three months ago, they were stunned at the way the Democrats managed to get 60 senators to vote for the health bill. Then Scott Brown took them back down to 59, and Republicans were again stunned to find the Dems talking about ramming this thing into law through the parliamentary device of "reconciliation."(continued)

[feralcat]

This is certainly a very important Mark Steyn column (and he has been my favorite columnist for a while now).

If Congress passes Obamacare it will be signing the death warrant for the US. Citizens will no longer look to their own efforts to improve their lives but will instead be consumed with getting the government to do it for them. “Health care” will be the excuse for government to micromanage anything and everything. We will all become “special interests” seeing government handouts as a “right,” with little regard as to what it does to the nation as a whole.

Pray that God would stop this demonic legislation from becoming law!

[EmilyGeiger]

Very well written, thanks!

[GailA]

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” ~~ President Ronald Reagan

OBAMANOMICS—TRICKLE DOWN DESTRUCTION of the economy

Bambi doesn’t keep his promises...so buyer beware!

SET THEIR LOCAL AND DC LINES ON FIRE!

PLEASE ASK THEM TO REPEAL THE BIG NEW FEES in TRICARE for Life, the retired Military over 65 secondary health ins. which they passed in a DOD bill. They promised our Military these benefits, and our Military have earned them.

Sen Scott Brown’s number is 202-224-4543
Capitol Hill switchboard is 202-224-3121

Lots of local demwit phone numbers on this thread
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2408217/posts

Rename, repackage, rewrite it a tad smaller, and sell another pig in a poke. NO COLAs for granny, retired Military or retired fed employees. BIG NEW fees for Tricare for Life retired over 65 Military’s secondary health ins. (DOD bill already passed, delayed but goes into effect 2011 NEEDS TO BE REPEALED!
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OBAMA’s WAR ON SENIORS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2433867/posts/

New Dem mantra: Woof, woof eat dog food granny....ala let them eat cake.

Obama says slight fix will extend Social Security, http://townhall.com/news/us/2010/02/19/obama_says_slight_fix_will_extend_social_security

Health Care Rationing for Seniors Another Problem in New Obama Plan http://www.lifenews.com/bio3058.html

Medicare tax may apply to investment income (ObamaCare tax hike)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2460988/posts

Obama: No reduced Medicare benefits in health care reform
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/28/obama.health.care/index.html

Will healthcare reform mean cuts in Medicare for seniors?
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2009/1017/will-healthcare-reform-mean-cuts-in-medicare-for-seniors

Health Reform’s Hidden Victims Young people and seniors would pay a high price for ObamaCare.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203517304574306303720472842.html

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SOCIALIZED MED THREAD http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2464538/posts
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MILITARY & Retired MILITARY
Veterans’ G.I. Bill benefits MIA
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2464680/posts
TRI CARE FOR LIFE This from a google search:

http://economicspolitics.blogspot.com/2009/05/tricare-for-life-is-obama-trying-to.html

This option would help reduce the costs of TFL, as well as costs for Medicare, by introducing minimum out-of pocket requirements for beneficiaries. Under this option, TFL would not cover any of the first $525 of an enrollee’s cost-sharing liabilities for calendar year 2011 and would limit coverage to 50 percent of the next $4,725 in Medicare cost sharing that the beneficiary incurred. (Because all further cost sharing would be covered by TFL, enrollees could not pay more than $2,888 in cost sharing in that year.) http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99xx/doc9925/12-18-HealthOptions.pdf

Bill Would Restrict Veterans’ Health Care Options 11/06/09
Buyer and McKeon Offer Amendments to Protect Veterans and TRICARE Beneficiaries

Congress plans to block Tricare fee increases
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/military_tricarefees_blocked_100709w
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/10/military_tricarefees_blocked_100709w/

By Rick Maze - Staff writer, Oct 7, 2009

Tricare fee increases imposed last week by the Defense Department will be repealed by a provision of the compromise 2010 defense authorization bill unveiled Wednesday by House and Senate negotiators.

The fee increases were announced on Sept. 30 and took effect on Oct. 1, but the defense bill, HR 2647, includes a provision barring any fee increases until the start of fiscal 2011.

Retired Army Maj. Gen. Bill Matz, president of the National Association for Uniformed Services, said the announcement of fee increases was shocking considering that the Obama administration promised earlier this year to hold off on any new fee Tricare fee increases until fiscal 2011.

“President Obama and DoD assured NAUS and the entire military family earlier this year that there would rightly be no increases in any Tricare fees” in fiscal 2010, Matz said. “We took them at their word, and I can’t believe that a co-pay increase like this was allowed to go forward,” he added.

[GailA]

Obamacare call list: Courtsey of TN Eagle Forum:

PLEASE CALL! DC OFFICE LOCAL OFFICE State District
Harry Mitchell (202) 225-2190 (480) 946-2411 AZ 5th District
Gabrielle Giffords (202) 225-2542 (520) 881-3588 AZ 8th District
Ann Kirkpatrick (202) 225-2315 (928) 226-6914 AZ 1st District
Jerry McNerney (202) 225-1947 925-833-0643 CA 11th District
John Salazar 202-225-4761 970-245-7107 CO 3rd District
Jim Himes (202) 225-5541 (866) 453-0028 CT 4th District
Alan Grayson (202) 225-2176 (407) 841-1757 FL 8th District
Bill Foster (202) 225-2976 630-406-1114 IL 14th District
Baron Hill 202 225 5315 812 288 3999 IN 9th District
Mark Schauer (202) 225-6276 (517) 780-9075 MI 7th District
Gary Peters (202) 225-5802 (248) 273-4227 MI 9th District
Dina Titus (202) 225-3252 702-256-DINA (3462) NV 3rd District
Carol Shea-Porter (202) 225-5456 (603) 743-4813 NH 1st District
Tim Bishop (202) 225-3826 (631) 696-6500 NY 1st District
John Hall (202) 225-5441 (845) 225-3641 x49371 NY 19th District
Bill Owens (202) 225-4611 (315) 782-3150 NY 23rd District
Mike Arcuri (202)225-3665 (315)793-8146 NY 24th District
Dan Maffei (202) 225-3701 (315) 423-5657 NY 25th District
Earl Pomeroy (202) 225-2611 (701) 224-0355 ND At-Large District
Steven Driehaus (202) 225-2216 (513) 684-2723 OH 1st District
Mary Jo Kilroy (202) 225-2015 (614) 294-2196 OH 15th District
Zach Space (202) 225-6265 (330) 364-4300 OH 18th District
Kathy Dahlkemper (202) 225-5406 (814) 456-2038 PA 3rd District
Patrick Murphy (202) 225-4276 (215) 826-1963 PA 8th District
Christopher Carney (202) 225-3731 (570) 585-9988 PA 10th District
Paul Kanjorski (202) 225-6511 (570) 825-2200 PA 11th District
John Spratt (202) 225-5501 (803)327-1114 SC 5th District
Tom Perriello (202) 225-4711 (276) 656-2291 VA 5th District
Alan Mollohan (202) 225-4172 (304) 623-4422 WVA 1st District
Nick Rahall (202) 225-3452 (304) 252-5000 WVA 3rd District
Steve Kagen (202) 225-5665 (920) 437-1954 WI 8th District
Bart Gordon (202) 225-4231 TN
Bart Stupak (202) 225 4735 MI
senator mark begich (202) 224-3004 toll free. (877) 501 - 6275 just became a MAYBE

[Asfarastheeastisfromthewest...]

A “right,” in the traditional American lexicon laid out by the likes of Thomas Jefferson, is something that exists by virtue of our humanity. It is “inalienable” and we are endowed with these rights by our creator. No government or institution has the power to take away these rights. You exist, therefore these rights exist. In the leftist sense of the word, though, a “right” is something very different. In fact, it’s not a “right” at all: it’s a handout provided to you by government, often at exorbitant costs to society.

The ones who control the language end up controlling the agenda and that is why it is so important to stop such nonsense right in its tracks. Your definition of what is a right and what the left defines as a right should be ingrained into our youth along with a zillion of other 'agenda seizing words'. The words 'tolerance' and 'diversity' come to mind...along with 'choice', and so on....

[2ndDivisionVet]

PING!!

[narses]

+

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Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of general interest.

[GOP_Lady]

Thank you!

[Jet Jaguar]

It is health control.

[combat_boots]

Is it worth reducing the next generation of Americans to indentured servitude to pay for this poor New Yorker's dentured servitude?

Steyn, you don't know your real value to those of us out here who share conservative views.

[combat_boots]

But when government monopolizes the system, when government first decides what kind of care you’ll get, and when government next decides if they’ll even pay for it, your right to health care no longer exists

Bravo.

[SkipW]

A lot of Republicans are complicit with the Democrats. I can never again wholeheartedly trust the Republicans after George W. Bush and most Republican Party leaders joined with the Democrats in the amnesty fiasco.

I acknowledge that I need to do the work when it comes to finding out how each Republican in Washington has voted over the last eight years on a variety of issues.

The way that John McCain became the candidate for president is extremely suspicious. His campangn was out of money and declared dead by the MSM. Then, suddenly, those left out of the original dozen GOP candidates dropped out and supported McCain.

McCain and his team spent more energy tearing Sarah Palin down than they did campaigning against Obama. I think McCain threw the race. I have never trusted McCain, but I thought Fred Thompson and even Romney could have beaten Obama. Why did they drop out? Why did they support that little RINO?

No, it will be very difficult to trust the Republican Party again. New faces are needed. If those new faces get elected they need to be under a microscope from day one in that cesspool that is Washington, DC.

[Osage Orange]

REFORM my hindfoot.

It's all about the MONEY!!

They WANT the MONEY!!

[Osage Orange]

Just wait till...the rank and file are fed Romney in 2012.

It's his "turn" don't ya know......

If the GOP thinks for one minute...that's going to be foisted on the rank and file...they are flipping nuts!

[Tatze]

Bump, and ping for later.

[GVnana]

Why let "health" "care" "reform" stagger on like the rotting husk in a low-grade creature feature who refuses to stay dead no matter how many stakes you pound through his chest?

Awww Gawwwd. That's exactly how it feels.

[Track9]

Very well written, thanks!

Double thanks

[Painesright]

The tax code: Economic control.

The education system: Mind control.

Government healthcare: Total economic, mind and body control.

This is the last and final nail in Freedom’s coffin.

Obama has the hammer raised and wants nothing more than to slam it down and seal America’s fate.

He is so close, he can taste it.

[nikos1121]

I think this puts it out there very clear does it not? I mean that answers the WHY ARE THE DOING this question.

This also makes it all the more urgent for us to fight these bast*rds.

I for one, do not think our constitution will allow this to happen.

I think there is 5 to 4 against this happening even if obamacare passes.

[nikos1121]

I felt the exact same thing reading this.

I’ve asked many times, “why are they doing this?” This is the unhidden answer. It’s power. It’s got nothing to do with healthcare. Not a thing.

The problem is, that republicans are too stupid to fight this NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!