Ron HartView other columns by Ron Hart
As Obamacare predictably collapses and the Senate decides how to vote on the House repeal, here is a column I wrote in March 2010:
Obama says we have been "debating" the Obamacare bill for a year, and now it's time to ram it through in a down - or up yours - vote. Democrats view this bill as a cure-all elixir, Republicans view it as a suppository.
In the first tough interview of his presidency, he told Fox News that we would know what is in the bill 72 hours before the House tries to pass it. Obama seemed frustrated that the vast majority of the country is against his bill. It turns out that president-ing is harder than community organizing.
Well worth reading, the Obama administration was foretold in "Atlas Shrugged," which is 1,300 pages long. It took me two weeks to read - and it was well-written. This "health care reform" bill runs 2,000-plus pages and is written in cryptic Washington-speak. No one understands it. It feels like we are getting the last-minute hard sell, like the one from a car salesman when he gets you in that little room with the closing guy, starts shoving documents at you to sign, and tells you not to worry your pretty little head over it.
What we saw in the past year was the Democrats having to bribe, using our tax dollars, their own supermajority party to pass this massive takeover of one-sixth of our economy. President Obama said all aspects of the bill are agreed upon except, of course, minor details like how to pay for it, whether it covers illegal immigrants, and how to cover more than 30 million more people who currently do not have health insurance, all without adding doctors and/or rationing care. Other than that, Pelosi and Reid seem to have it done.
Since our representatives have not read the bill, I will not read the bill for you and tell you what it says.
On the issue of how we are going to cover the predicted 30 million-plus new Obamacare enrollees, Dr. Ahmed Patel of Manhattan, Kan., has agreed to see these patients. While he readily admits Manhattan was not quite the place he saw in the pictures before he moved to our country three years ago, he thinks the additional 30 million patients will be good for his business. He says he's centrally located in Kansas, making him convenient to all Americans, and is willing to expand his waiting room.
There is a provision in the bill to hire all Democrats booted out of office because they voted for this bill. Where? In the government monstrosity they just created. As U.S. Rep. Billy Tauzin of the politically honest state of Louisiana found out when he championed the Bush Medicare prescription drug entitlement disaster, there are $2 million-a-year jobs with pharmaceutical companies waiting for you once you leave Congress (a.k.a. the scene of the crime).
Obama has promised not to stump for Democrats who vote for this bill. Political pundits and the Congressional Budget Office score this as being worth 12 points for any Democrat who can keep Obama out of his district.
One of the more egregious deceits of Obamacare is that it front-loads the goodies: Adults up to age 26 and pre-existing conditions would be immediately covered. Costs and regulations were pushed to the back end, 2017, when Obama is gone. Simple economics tells us that you cannot get something for free. Premiums and deductibles will rise as insurance companies price in all the government mandates. Obamacare seems like a flimsy hospital gown; you seem to be covered up front, but you're very exposed from the rear.
Obama's Julius Caesar haircut should serve as fair warning of his ultimate goal; making sure this idea blows up and forcing us to "single payer." As you know, Julius Caesar overthrew the Roman Republic in a series of bold power grabs and set in motion the end of the once-proud Roman Empire. Consider yourself notified. Entitlements, once given, are hard to take away.
The South will not buy into Obamacare. Since we Southerners value our self-reliance, Southern governors will continue to fight this law. Keep in mind, we still do Civil War re-enactments - and that's for a war we lost.
Contact Ron Hart, a syndicated op-ed humorist, author and TV/radio commentator, at Ron@RonaldHart.com, Twitter @RonaldHart or visit RonaldHart.com.