On June 26, a massive tax bill under the guise of "climate change" comprised of over 1,500 pages was jammed through the House of Representatives with 300 additional pages added to it in the middle of the night before the final vote. Not one representative had read the bill. Neither had President Obama or his energy czar.
This isn't the first time, nor will it likely be the last.
What might be more shocking is the public's muted reaction to its passage. Sure the news of the death of the King of Pop eclipsed last week's legislative session, but when Nancy Pelosi, the Queen of Socialism, is proposing the largest tax increase in our country's history you'd hope the population would be paying attention. Aftter all, the Congressional Budget Office estimates it would raise costs per household approximately $3,000.
This is the left's punitive action toward the audacity of electricity. Historically, this is what incites revolutions. Where is the outrage?
When it comes to health care the reality is equally as petrifying. The bill is a slapdash ball of obscurity that is shaping up to go down much like the cap-and-trade drive by. We don't have a final idea of cost beyond a staggering "upwards of $1 trillion." We've yet to see details on everything from public option to the taxing of employee health benefits. None, I repeat, NONE of it is up for debate. We're getting mugged and we don't even have time to assess what the folks in Congress took from us.
What baffles those of us who follow this unsolved mystery is that though the president's approval numbers are starting to slip, they should be tanking. Under his leadership, the administration has been bossy, nosy and bullying, and yet the White House manages to remain bulletproof while simultaneously feeding us a bunch of bull.
During his inaugural Obama insisted that only government can fix what ails us. His actions to date reaffirm this belief in the most absolute of terms. Recently he tried to convince a crowd that "government can't be everywhere." Really? All the evidence from this White House is to the contrary.
During his first live prime time press conference Obama said he doesn't want to run a car company or a bank, yet he has managed to flex his muscle by exerting a frightening level of control over almost every sector of commerce: insurance, health care, finance, banking, and automotive. Not even Bill Clinton got away with this type of deceitful doublespeak.
His stimulus is not working. Unemployment is growing. Inflation is imminent. He said he wouldn't raise taxes on those making less than $250,000, but he is poised to reverse his promise. The country is weaker, not stronger. Still, no overwhelming outrage.
The uproar won't take place until costs start to hit home. And believe me, they will, in no uncertain terms. These two colossal pet pieces of legislation -- climate change and healthcare -- if passed would have a catastrophic, debilitating effect on every corner of our country. They will affect our cars, our homes, our jobs; no person, no family will escape their affects.
When life is permanently altered for every single American, and not for the better, that's when we'll feel the outrage. When we are waiting in line to see a doctor, when see our electricity bills quadruple, when we are paying crushing taxes on everything from income to health benefits to gas, we'll feel the fury. But by then it will be too late.
President Obama puts a feather in his cap and calls it macaroni, credibility seemingly still in tact. While I still believe that health care will ultimately end his honeymoon, he is getting away with a radical, blitzkrieg of legislative lunacy thanks to his carefully crafted words, and an overly stimulated, distracted public.
Yes, apparently, they can. But dammit, they shouldn't. Not without a fight.
Author's note: This piece is dedicated to my mom, the inspiration for this column, and the one person who, without question, is feeling the outrage.
Andrea Tantaros is a conservative commentator and columnist. Her commentary can be found on www.andreatantaros.com.
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