I MUST NOT TELL LIES by T. Edwin Perry
Near the end of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” Harry Potter utters these words as the Centaurs drag the evil Dolores Umbridge into the dark forest to punish her for trespassing as she cries out, “Tell them I mean no harm.” As Congress goes on recess, this seems to be the message that Nancy Pelosi would like the Congressional Democrats to convey to their constituents. “Tell them we mean no harm.”
Fox News published an article on their website today that outlined some items that Nancy Pelosi would like them to focus on as they meet with their constituents, including “Tell your constituents how (this Healthcare Reform Bill) was done in a fiscally responsible, open, and transparent way…” I wonder how many of them will be as brave as a High School Wizard like Harry Potter and tell her that, “I must not tell lies.”
Even after the 2000+ page bill has been signed by the President, there are still many things that the American people know nothing about. Taxes? You bet, starting right away. Coverage of children with pre-existing conditions? Sure, starting right away (for kids on Medicaid, that is. Wow, really? Weren’t they ALREADY covered with pre-existing conditions on Medicaid? Isn’t that why it was there?) Medical Coverage for the 32 Million Americans not previously insured by either choice or financial influences? Yeah, they’re right on top of that (in about four years when the bill starts adding people to the Medicare and Medicaid rolls).
And let’s not forget about how the bill got through Congress: a Partisan Vote in the Senate on a weekend before Christmas and a Partisan weekend vote in the House to pass the Senate’s bill. And, just to make sure that everything was open and transparent, backroom deals were made with the likes of Bart Stupak and his “Blue Dog” Anti-Abortion Democrats to ensure that they had just enough votes to pass the bill. And rather than fixing the bill, they agreed to an “Executive Order” by the President to modify the law outside of Congress. (Can anyone say, “Unconstitutional!”)
There are so many things in this bill that are Unconstitutional that, if all of the unconstitutional aspects of the bill were to be removed, it would likely be cut down to about 500 pages, in my humble opinion. Forced purchase of anything from a private entity by the public? Yeah, I couldn’t find that in the Constitution. Expansive taxes to fund social entitlements to a select few by punishing those who are more successful financially? Nope, not in OUR Constitution. The restriction of private funding for college finance? Nope, not in the Constitution, and I have no idea HOW they consider that to be connected to Healthcare Reform.
No, but Nancy Pelosi would like America to forget all about those things. Why should we focus on the negative, when they successfully passed the most sweeping and oppressive legislation on the American People that has EVER been written? The “How” is not as important as the “What,” and the “What” is not nearly as important as the “Why.” Why would they pass such a dog of a bill against the will of the American People?
At the time of its passing, more than 60% of Americans were opposed to the bill, regardless of which polling data you examined, and approval of the bill was consistently below 40%. That does not bode well for the concept of a Representative Republic, which demands that those serving in the Government REPRESENT the people that elected them to serve. And no matter how many times Nancy Pelosi tries to tell us that she means no harm, I have a hard time believing it.
House Minority leader John Boehner (R-OH) wrote in a memo recently that Congress will have to spend its time over the coming months fixing the flaws and mistakes contained in the new Healthcare Law. He said, “It has now become evident to working Americans that the Democratic majority running Washington not only has no plan to help our economy create jobs, but is actually willing to sacrifice millions of them if that’s the price to be paid for ensuring that the Left’s vision of big-spending big government advances.” He also wrote this, “For the American people, the consequences of ObamaCare’s enactment will be grave. It means fewer jobs and higher taxes. It means fewer doctors and more IRS agents. It means higher health care premiums, and lower quality health care. It means fewer Medicare benefits for seniors, and massive deficits to fund new entitlements. It means taxpayer funding of abortion, and shattered trust between Americans and those entrusted to run their government.”
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also had something to say in a recent Internet Broadcast. “Most people aren’t celebrating the fact that their insurance premiums will go up. Seniors aren’t popping champagne corks at more than a half a trillion dollars in Medicare cuts. And, job creators, already struggling in a down economy, aren’t doing any cartwheels over all the mandates and new taxes they’ll have to shoulder as a result of this bill.”
So as Republicans start their mantra of “Repeal and Replace,” Nancy Pelosi wants to combat it with “Tell your constituents how (this Healthcare Reform Bill) was done in a fiscally responsible, open, and transparent way…” You know what I say to that?
I MUST NOT TELL LIES!
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