We Will Fight Them In the States...

On the narrowest of partisan margins, House Democrats rammed through perhaps the most irresponsible piece of legislation ever enacted by any Congress. Despite losing 34 Democrats, the House leadership used questionable parliamentary tactics, backroom deals and raw political power to enact Obamacare, which nearly completes the federal takeover of the American health care system.

What does this bill do? In one fell swoop, Obamacare fatally weakens Medicare and Medicaid -- two existing entitlement programs that are already seriously underfunded. It creates yet another, new unsustainable health care entitlement, one that requires an unconstitutional mandate requiring all individuals purchase health insurance even if they don't wish to do so. It turns the IRS loose to audit all tax returns, to levy fines against taxpayers if necessary, and it explodes the national debt even beyond the annual trillion dollar deficits this administration is already running.

Americans who are satisfied with their health care are rightly concerned that this risky scheme will raise their insurance premiums or interfere with their access to quality medical care.

Congressional Republicans are promising to continue the fight, alter, or repeal it. Numerous court challenges against the bill's unconstitutional provisions are guaranteed.

GOPAC will pursue the fight at the state level. A number of state legislatures have already enacted bills to allow their states to "opt out" of some of the worst provisions of the bill especially the mandate that all individuals purchase health insurance under pain of audit and fine by the IRS.

We believe such state corrective legislation is constitutional under the 10th Amendment to the Constitution, which reserves to the states powers not EXPLICITLY delegated to the federal government. There is no enumerated power in the Constitution for the federal government to require anyone to purchase any good or service, including health care. We will work with Republicans to enact these bills in state legislatures across the country. If enough states do so, Obamacare will collapse under its own weight. If Democrats block these bills at the state level, we will recruit and fund Republican challengers to run against these recalcitrant Democrats.

As Ronald Reagan once said, "If you can't make them see the light, maybe we can make them feel the heat."

As in all matters, the American people will have the final say. Obamacare will be a galvanizing issue for all Americans deeply concerned about the unrestrained growth of the federal government in the second decade of the twenty-first century.

Frank Donatelli is chairman of GOPAC, the center for training and electing the next generation of Republican leaders. His previous appointments have included serving as an Assistant to President Reagan for Political and Intergovernmental Affairs and as Deputy Assistant to the President for Public Liaison at the White House. Mr. Donatelli served on White House Chief of Staff James Baker’s team that negotiated the 1984 presidential debates, a role he reprised as a Senior Advisor to Bob Dole in 1996. He was also a Regional Political Director for Ronald Reagan and was active in the presidential campaigns of George H.W. Bush.

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