Heritage: Obamacare is today’s Intolerable Act

If you read nothing else today, read the Heritage Foundation’s Morning Bell post, “Repeal.”

A small sampling:

In December of 1773, to protest unjust taxation, a group of American colonists dumped tea in Boston Harbor. The punishment for that first Tea Party was a series of intrusive laws passed by Parliament that were so oppressive that they could only be described as the “Intolerable Acts.”

Obamacare is today’s Intolerable Act. And just as the colonists banded together to enact change after those acts were passed, so should America respond to Obamacare. This law must be repealed.

Much of the fight against this bill will be led by the individual states, a process we encourage. All told, 33 states have already taken steps to challenge various aspects of Obamacare, including its unprecedented mandate that every American purchase health insurance or face a steep penalty for noncompliance. Four additional States will have this question on the ballot in November.

On Capitol Hill, the initial battle over Obamacare will occur when Congress considers whether to fund the tens of thousands of new federal bureaucrats necessary to implement the new law. In the tradition of the Hyde amendment, which prevented federal funding for abortions through annual limitations appended to appropriations bills, conservatives should look to the appropriations process as our first line of defense. Straightforward funding limitations would prevent any Administration official or any bureaucrat from implementing the law.

Our health care system requires reform, and we have long advocated measures to improve our system. We can and should strengthen the ability of American families to choose the coverage they want, rather than giving that power to Congress and its agency bureaucrats. We can also spur competition and choice to bring efficiency and lower costs to the health system, in place of the bill’s deadening regulation and damaging price controls. And, above all, we should foster state innovation rather than Washington-based central planning.

But such reforms can only be considered once this tragedy of arrogance has been fully and completely repealed.

Read it all.

Obama And Democrats Flip Us The Bird; Pass ObamaCare

House Democrats have once again ignored the will of the people.  ObamaCare is the law of the land.

I’d like to take this opportunity to extend the same flaming bird to all of the Republicans who stayed home in November ’08 to prove a point.  Happy now?  You all deserve ObamaCare and I hope you are among the first to enjoy it in its full nightmarish glory.

Queen Nancy Scrambles For Votes

Unless some bribes took place overnight, the votes aren’t there yet.

According to Roll Call, Loretta Sanchez is a NO.  She voted yes for the House bill back in November.

According to Hot Air, Zack Space and Jim Matheson are both now in the NO column.

I am not convinced this is a done deal.

Update:  Firedog Lake has an excellent graph of the YES and NO votes as of 8:00 p.m. last night.

The Doc Fix Is In: CBO Declares ObamaCare Will Add To Deficit When Scored With Increased Medicare Payment Rates

CBO admitted this in respone to a letter from Paul Ryan which asked them to score the Senate version and the House reconciliation version (ObamaCare) alongside the increase in Medicare payments (Doc Fix) in that bill.

When scored together, the bill will add $59 BILLION to the deficit.

In response to a question from Paul Ryan (as Kathryn notes below), the CBO has now priced out the cost of the Democrats’ health-bill (including the reconciliation bill), together with the cost of the permanent “doc fix” they have proposed. CBO writes: “enacting all three pieces of legislation would add $59 billion to budget deficits over the 2010–2019 period.” That, of course, is without even accounting for all the other gimmicks, empty promises, and implausible offsets in the .Democrats’ bill.

Together with all those gimmicks, keeping the “doc fix” separate from the health-care bills they are getting ready to vote on was key to allowing the Democrats to get a CBO score that seemed to keep the bill from raising the deficit.

Shocka.

Coburn To Dems Who Sold Their Votes: It’s Gonna Be Hell

It’s on.  Coburn was referring to the jobs that several Democrats have been promised by The Liar In Chief in exchange for their votes. 

Coburn makes his own promise to these whores:  Every single penny heading to your district will be scrutinized, publicized and demonized.

Video via Hot Air

What these despicable fools don’t seem to realize is that there will come a day in the not too distant future where they will be the party out of power and their sickening behavoir will come back to bite them in their shady asses.  I, for one, am counting the minutes until we have our day of reckoning.

Another Day, Another Sellout Senator

Via Hot Air/Think Progress

Ben Nelson traded his vote for a big (temporary) payoff for Nebraska. 

Under the current merged legislation (the version unveiled on November 18th), the federal government fully finances care for the expanded population for two years and increases its matching funds (known as FMAP) thereafter. Page 98 of the managers amendment specifically identifies Nebraska for higher federal matching funds, fully funding its expansion for an additional year:

‘‘(3) Notwithstanding subsection (b) and paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection, the Federal medical assistance percentage otherwise determined under subsection (b) with respect to all or any portion of a fiscal year that begins on or after January 1, 2017, for the State of Nebraska, with respect to amounts expended for newly eligible individuals described in subclause (VIII) of section 1902(a)(10)(A)(i), shall be determined as provided for under subsection (y)(1) (A) (notwithstanding the period provided for in such paragraph)

So the state of Nebraska gets a pass on paying for Medicaid expansion for a few years.  But what happens after the three years are up?  Nebraskans will be kicking in for this abomination like the rest of us.  In the meantime, the majority of Nebraskans still will be forced to buy health insurance, will see their premiums rise and many will see a decline in their coverage.  And all the while, their tax dollars WILL pay for abortions.   Just ask Bart Stupak.