Federal Government Ignores Constitutional Limits

Health Care and the Constitution... Remember that Document?
by Bobby Eberle

The debate continues on Capitol Hill as Barack Obama and the Democrats continue to force government control, higher taxes, and an unconstitutional health care system down our throats. Fortunately, for the American people, the plan runs so counter to the foundations of America and free enterprise, that its popularity continues to plummet.
But popularity aside, there is also the issue of whether Obama's plan is even legal. In today's times, the power of the federal government knows no bounds. Whether private companies are being taken over by the government or schools are using their platform to indoctrinate our children, the federal government has gone too far, and the American people are fighting back. It just shows how out of touch Obama and his socialist friends are that they never even saw it coming.
First... the latest on the state of the health care debate. A new Rasmussen Reports poll shows that Obama's health care plan is now at its lowest level of support since the plan started being tracked. "Just 41% of voters nationwide now favor the health care reform proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That's down two points from a week ago."
According to Rasmussen, 56% of respondents are opposed to the plan, with seniors leading the way:
Senior citizens are less supportive of the plan than younger voters. In the latest survey, just 33% of seniors favor the plan while 59% are opposed. The intensity gap among seniors is significant. Only 16% of the over-65 crowd Strongly Favors the legislation while 46% are Strongly Opposed.
For the first time ever, a slight plurality of voters now express doubt that the legislation will become law this year. Forty-six percent (46%) say passage is likely while 47% say it is not. Those figures include 18% who say passage is Very Likely and 15% who say it is Not at All Likely. Sixty percent (60%) are less certain.
As far as the actual legislation, it appears that the so-called "public option" is out. Thank goodness! The "public option" was a euphemism for a government-run health insurance company that would "compete" against private insurers. The problem, of course, is that the "company" could charge as little as it wanted for premiums, thus driving private insurance out of business. It would never have to show a profit, because it is funded by the taxpayers... so bye bye private insurance. Fortunately, the uproar from the American people has been load and clear!
As noted in an AP news story on GOPUSA, "liberal Democrats twice failed on Tuesday to inject a government-run insurance option into sweeping health care legislation taking shape in the Senate, despite bipartisan agreement that private insurers must change their ways."
"My job is to put together a bill that gets to 60 votes" in the full Senate, Max Baucus (D-MT) said shortly before he joined a majority on the committee in defeating efforts to rewrite a key portion of his draft legislation. "No one shows me how to get to 60 votes with a public option," he said, using the term used to describe a new government role in health care. It would take 60 votes in the 100-member Senate to overcome any filibuster Republicans might attempt.
But don't get too happy with that one victory. This bill is still BAD news and needs to be defeated.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, cited private studies -- one by the conservative Heritage Foundation, the other by the Lewin Group, owned by United HealthCare -- saying millions would be pushed out of private insurance as the government held fees to doctors at artificially low levels. He said the result would be a violation of Obama's pledge that consumers would be able to keep their current insurance if they wanted once the legislation went into effect.
In addition, there is Obama's mandate that every single American be forced to purchase health insurance or face additional taxes and penalties. This is patently unconstitutional.
As noted in a story on FOXNews.com, "The requirement that everyone buy health insurance -- a central element to President Obama's health care plan -- is flatly unconstitutional, legal experts argue."
"At the heart of this plan is an unprecedented imposition on individual liberty," constitutional attorney David Rivkin told FOX News.
The constitution allows the federal government to regulate interstate commerce but Rivkin argues the insurance requirement is just an attempt to dictate personal behavior.
"What's unique about here is the mandate imposed on individuals merely because they live," he said. "Not connected with any economic activity, not because they grow something, make something, compose something. Merely because they live. And this is absolutely unprecedented."
And so there we have it: a socialist health care plan that seeks to drive private industry out of business, remove choices from the American people, and force Americans to buy a service as a condition for being an American. That pretty much sums up what Obama is selling. I'm not buying it, and neither should you.