ObamaCare is an abomination. The bill that was passed into law was not even finished legislation—it was a jumbled mess of a draft bill that was passed into law as-is because that was the only way to disregard the Massachusetts election of Scott Brown and the clear will of the American people. That jumbled mess is now being arbitrarily interpreted by unelected bureaucrats who are making a bad bill even worse.
ObamaCare is packed full of tax hikes that make a mockery of Obama’s promise not to raise taxes on anyone but “the rich,” as Obama adviser Austan Goolsbee made embarrassingly clear in testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee, claiming that tax increases are not tax increases.
ObamaCare gives politicians and bureaucrats control over private health decisions that should be left to patients and doctors. And, of course, it is unconstitutional – and now inoperative in 26 states, although Obama will certainly appeal the decision.
ObamaCare just keeps getting worse, as waivers are granted to the administration’s political allies while the rest of us are expected to comply with all of the new requirements of the law’s vast new bureaucracies. Obama cheated the legitimate confirmation process, installing Don Berwick – who is romantic about the British system of health care rationing – as the new head of Medicare without so much as a single Senate hearing. Obama’s FDA is also cooperating in efforts to ration care by pulling approval for cancer drugs they deem too expensive.
The Senate will have an opportunity today to repeal this monstrosity, as the House has already done. The spin-doctors are already trying to say the vote is merely “symbolic” as they said about the House vote, because Obama will veto repeal. Well, maybe he will. But that will only make it more clear to the American people how important it is to convince a veto-proof number of members of both the House and Senate to stand with the American people and support repeal – or to elect such majorities in 2012. Or to elect a president who will sign repeal. You don’t win by not fighting.
Today’s vote will be the first opportunity for newly-elected members of the Senate – including West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, a Democrat who campaigned as a conservative – to show where they stand on ObamaCare. It will also be the first opportunity for vulnerable 2012 Democrats like Ben Nelson of "Cornhusker Kickback" infamy to decide whether they are ready to acknowledge they made a mistake when they helped the bill pass. Regardless of the outcome tonight, we’ll have a lot more information on where every member of the current Senate stands, and who still needs persuasion.
Activists who tried so hard to stop this disastrous bill should contact the Senate today and urge their senators to vote for repeal. Phone calls are best and you can reach your senator through the Senate switchboard at 202-224-3121. If you can’t get through on the phone, we have set up an e-mail form on this issue here. We need to bring pressure to bear to undo this disastrous, unconstitutional law. If we fail today, we must keep fighting until we succeed.
Phil Kerpen is vice president for policy at Americans for Prosperity.
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