Requiem for the Republic?

A Tale of Two Ideologies

The tumultuous period of the French Revolution is succinctly captured in Charles Dickens classic historical novel A Tale of Two Cities, offering readers, arguably, the most famous opening sentence in all of literature…….” It was the best of times; it was the worst of times...”

Today, acolytes of the Constitution, freedom, liberty, limited government, and American exceptionalism find it to be “the worst of times”, an opinion that became crystallized with the 219-212 passage of the Health Care Bill, Sunday. Supporters of a democratic republic - a government in which power is explicitly vested in the people, who in turn exercise their power through elected representatives, stands in stark contrast to the President Barack Obama and the Democrat administration.

History’s greatest form of government, represented by the United States of America, now finds itself literally teetering precariously at the precipice of, take your pick, - Statism, where government centralizes extensive economic, political, and related controls at the cost of individual liberty; Socialism, where the government vests ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole, and according to Marxism, the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to Communism - all demonstrably failed systems of government.

It is sobering and at once shocking, to reflect on just how far we have drifted as a nation to the point where the will of the people is secondary to the agenda of the ruling party in Washington. Simply stated, we at a place where government has been dangerously, and most likely irrevocably expanded, where all elements of individual liberty and commercial freedom are entering the first concentric circle of the republic’s death spiral.

The Democrat ideology is shamelessly a system of Statism/Socialism, where government is determined to be the best solution for the management and control of the affairs of its citizens. This system in which entitlements are expanded to fiscally and ethically irresponsible levels, results in citizens becoming dependent upon the government as wards of the state.

The ideology of Republicans and most independents is one that holds the Constitution as the foundation for the U.S. government where individual freedom and liberty, limited government, and free enterprise are the hallmarks of the republic.

Quite simply, the values that this nation has fought and died for are at a vortex with the values that America has fought and died against.

Applying the Aristotelian Triumvirate

Over 2000 years ago Aristotle set forth the three modes of persuasion – logos, ethos, and pathos. The idea is that people are persuaded in three ways – logic: logos, ethics/trustworthiness: ethos, and emotions: pathos.

Under the Aristotelian triumvirate any one of the three modes, if expertly executed, is sufficient to persuade a majority of people regarding the subject under consideration. Successful execution of two or all three of the modes makes the acceptance of the persuader’s position a fait accompli.

Among the myriad of ironies of the Health Care debacle, is despite having a President described as the world’s greatest orator, a slavishly sycophantic promotional media, and Democrat control of the legislative and executive branches of government, these considerable combined forces failed, with virtually unlimited resources, to persuade a majority of Americans by logic, trustworthiness, or emotion to support nationalizing Health Care.

Obama persuaded 52% of voters in the last presidential election, now those surveyed in the last Gallup poll show 48% oppose the Health Care versus 45% in favor, similar polls range from 48% to 58% opposed. Nowhere in the polls is there a greater percentage in favor of the Health Care bill.

There is encouragement to be gleaned from these numbers that is supported in Aristotle’s quote:

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it”.

Deepening the Divide

Oh the great expectations of the “hope and change” crowd after electing President Obama, spurred on by a media and supporters that ignored the influence on the man incubated in a Socialist/Marxist milieu by his mother and various mentors, pastor, and friends. The man with the amorphous educational background somehow pops up in Harvard Law School and is made president of The Harvard Law Review. Later his three years as a U.S. Senator, he gained the distinction as Congress’s most liberal Senator.

While the fourth estate perpetuated the image of a messianic figure, claiming Obama as the nation’s first post racial/post partisan President. Newsweek broke the bounds of credulity proclaiming Obama as Pan President (President of the world). Reality set in at every conceivable juncture of issue, event, and policy, revealing Obama to be a man with a hard coded radical left ideology, bereft of leadership skills, a myopic world view, and a surprisingly less brilliant than advertised intellectual acumen. Rather quickly much of the public viewed Obama as the naked emperor, more as a figure head President to be placed in front of audiences with the ubiquitous teleprompter, and following his numerous ideological soul mates behind the Pelosi/Reid two headed hydra.

The Health Care Bill became Obama’s cause célèbre which he contemptuously pursued, despite strong public opposition, stating to democrats that his presidency hung in the balance of the Health Care vote. It was a fatidic pronouncement, for win or lose, the vote on Health Care, an Obama second term seems a long shot at best and the remainder of his first term will be a very rough sled. Thus began the cozen journey of the Health Care legislative process, which Obama referred to as “ugly” and Republicans referred to as “corrupt and unconstitutional”.

The 2700 page fatally flawed fiscal Frankenstein piece of legislation – beautifully summarized on the internet as a health care plan written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn't read it but exempts themselves from it, to be signed by a president that also hasn't read it and who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that's broke.

The bill is so bad that it becomes clear that the legislation is actually about Democrat control and power over government, ergo the nation. Even so, the bill had to be larded with incredible payoffs in the billions to Nebraska, Louisiana, New York, Connecticut, North Dakota, Florida, Cadillac Union plans et al.

Nancy Pelosi set the stage for a corrupt process with her announcement “we’ll do anything to pass the Health Care Bill”. Within a week of the vote the ever cool Obama came unglued in an interview with Bret Baier revealing a seldom publically seen robotic, uninformed, flustered, and petulant President, in addition to his normal obfuscating and misleading answers.

When the COB released last week the “preliminary estimate” of $940 B over 10 years claiming $138 B in savings from the COB, whose Director said he was only able to use the figures provided to him and his “overwhelmed and overworked staff”. It is doubtful that there is a Member of the House or the Senate that really believes these numbers. This is a bill that violates basic rules of arithmetic in addition to known accounting principles by double counting the $500 B taken from the already broke Medicare plan ($57 Trillion unfunded liability) and increasing taxes for the remaining $440 B – a ten year plan that increases taxes over the ten years for six years of benefits in the first ten years.

Along the way the Democrats dredged up the Reconciliation process to compensate for the lack of the necessary 60 votes – using a strictly budgetary tool to pass a major piece of legislation. To provide cover for their votes the Democrats planned to use the arcane Deem and Pass, a rule that allows the passing of two bills simultaneously under one piece of legislation, the second bill would be deemed to pass without having to vote again. This would have meant the bill to “fix” the Senate Health Care bill would have been voted on first and the amended bill would have been “deemed to pass”. Again, this rule has never been used on a major piece of legislation but has been used to expedite minor matters in routine legislation.

Democrat Alcee Hastings, a distinguished member of the House Rules Committee and former impeached Federal Judge removed from office for corruption and perjury, made the following comforting statement “We have no rules, we make the rules as we go along”, when queried about the legislative process of the Health Care bill.

Even the casual observer knew that the Dems had the 216 votes necessary when Saturday evening it was announced that they were dropping the Deem and Pass strategy. The fix was confirmed when long time abortion opponent Michigan Democrat Rep. Bart Stupak switched his vote from “no” to “yes” and carried with him eleven other prolife Dems, all based on Obama agreeing to sign an executive order that would state than no federal funds may be used to pay for abortions. Of course,
the President may rescind an executive order at any time and if challenged legally it becomes secondary to the rule of law contained in the Health Care bill.

It is not known what other enticements Rep. Stupak may have received for his changed vote.

The Republicans were united in their opposition to the Health Care bill.

The fissures separating the Republicans and most of the public from the Democrats are now yawning chasms.

Repeal and Replace

Obama’s favorability ratings were upside down Saturday, 43 % approve/53 % disapprove according to The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll. Gallup had congress at historic lows of 80% disapproval and 16% approval, before the vote.

The New England Journal of Medicine surveyed physicians nationally and 46% of those surveyed indicated that they were either going to leave the practice of medicine or were considering doing so.

The Obama administration’s chief actuary, Richard S. Foster and his staff analyzed the Senate-passed bill and determined that it bent the cost curve up, estimating in a January 8 report that national health expenditures would increase by an estimated total of $222 B, and that the additional demand for health services “could be difficult to meet” and “could lead to price increases, cost-shifting, and/or changes in providers’ willingness to treat patients with low-reimbursement health coverage.” Foster, in his letter today, expects the new health spending bill to be “generally similar.”

A letter sent last Thursday to President Barack Obama and members of Congress signed by more than 130 economists predicted the legislation would discourage companies from hiring more workers and would cause reduced hours and wages for those already employed.

Caterpillar, the world's largest construction machinery manufacturer, said it's particularly opposed to provisions in the bill that would expand Medicare taxes and mandate insurance coverage. The legislation would require nearly all companies to provide health insurance for their employees or face large fines. Caterpillar said these provisions would increase its insurance costs by at least 20 percent, or more than $100 million, just in the first year of the health-care overhaul program.

As the public becomes more aware of the various provisions of the Health Care legislation it should only strengthen the Republicans in the November elections.

The Bill calls for removal of medical limits, preexisting conditions, dropping coverage in 2010. Also imbedded in the HCB is the unrelated Federal takeover of student loans with the projected savings in billions credited against the cost of the Health Care Bill.

Through the creation of over 130 committees and several new agencies, the Bill is designed to ultimately drive insurance companies out of the health insurance business with the government setting all the rules for the insurance companies with doctors and hospitals becoming agents of the government. This is nationalized health care with health care rationing and death panels on the horizon as the public option becomes the only choice.

The Internal Revenue Service will become the enforcement agency for the purchase of mandatory health insurance with 17,000 agents and support staff budgeted in the bill.

The Republican plan is to repeal and replace the Health Care Bill; imagine the task ahead as trying to get a camel out of a tent.

Simply stated, the process must begin with the November elections resulting in recapturing the House and closing the gap in the Senate, if not regaining a majority. From there Obama must be defeated in 2012, then a tough fight to repeal the Health Care Act and replace it with a more viable program as previously proposed by the Republicans. That gets the camel out of the tent.

Now, until then 11 states Attorney Generals are preparing suits against the Congress as to the unconstitutionality of the mandatory insurance provision with 25 states considering joining in. This could make it all the way to the Supreme Court for the ultimate decision.

In the meantime expect the administration to be emboldened by their success and to pursue other transformational legislation - Amnesty that legalizes all illegal immigrants (how do you think they plan to win 2012?) and Cap and Trade (despite the scientific discrediting of much of the Global Warming/Climate Change theory).

The classic novel, A Tale of Two Cities has the unusual distinction of in addition to having the most famous opening sentence in literature; is also recognized as having the most famous closing sentence in literature:

“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.”

Taking literary license with the circumstances and setting of the novel and placing the words in the context of repeal and replacement of Health Care – may our elected officials view their work in the preservation of our Republic as "a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done", so that this current bill passage is but a battle in a War won by the Republic.