President Obama this morning presented a very eloquent, well delivered defense of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or what is better known as ObamaCare. In his address he brought out some benefits of the ACA that many Americans might not have been aware of. No doubt, like myself his speech will encourage other republicans and conservatives to once again express their dislike for the ACA. But unlike many of them I will not be baited into the debate of the positives and negatives of ObamaCare; I will instead take a moment to remind republicans/conservatives why we are opposed to even the very concept of ObamaCare.
Imagine for a moment, if you will, having a neighbor who disapproves with the way you maintains your personal property. Perhaps you prefer a certain kind of bushes because of the shade they provide or you enjoy your fence because of how easy it is to maintain the lawn around it.
One day this neighbor comes over and starts ripping up your bushes and putting in his own smaller version. he then begins replacing your fence with one he feels would be a bigger deterrent to unwanted animals.
As you come outside to see what is going he hands you a bill for the costs of the change and begins to explain to you all the "benefits" of his bushes and the "advantages" of the new fence. You in turn begin to express concern over the costs of the new amenities. You express your concerns about the so called "benefits and advantages" of the new features by pointing out that you wanted the shade the bushes provide, you don't mind the occasional squirrel, and your fence made it easier to mow around than the new one will. The two of you engage in this debate for a while with you pointing out the disadvantages of his plan and him pointing out the disadvantages of yours.
During your debate a police officer called by your wife shows up, and asks what's the problem? You explain what your neighbor has done and how his new fence and bushes are unwanted.
Imagine for ha second that at this point the police officer tells you that your neighbor is correct. He say's, "his choice of bushes look better and the new fence is certainly nicer than your old one, therefore you need to keep the new landscaping and pay for the services your neighbor has provided."
This story is used to help illustrate the problems I see with the ObamaCare debate, and the trap the Republican are getting into by debating the pros and cons of socialized medicine.
In this story the neighbor represents the Federal Government while the policeman represents the U.S. constitution as interpreted by the current Supreme Court. What the police (Supreme Court) should have said to the neighbor (Federal Government) is this, "Get off this man's land you have no authority here."
A major mistake the Republicans are making right now is they've chosen to debate ObamaCare based upon the benefits and problems of it instead of debating the real problem. It is not the proper role of the Federal Government to control the healthcare system of every American. Many Republicans appear to only be opposed to ObamaCare because of it's costs or other problems. They are in the mindset that if they could just fix some of these issues, ObamaCare wouldn't be so bad.
Democrats knew there would be lots of problems with the ACA. They planned on it when they decided they didn't even need to read it. All they wanted was to get the infrastructure of the program in place. After it's implementation they can begin the process of tweaking it till it meets their expectations.
Republicans are swatting at flies while swallowing a spider. Or to use the illustration above, they are standing in their front yard, debating the price of the new bushes and fence when what they need to be saying is "get off of my land!"
Republicans are on the verge of accepting a socialized healthcare program provided the benefits of the program are acceptable to them.
Republicans need to remember the problem with ObamaCare is not so much how much it will cost or what extra discomforts it may bring, but rather the very idea itself is wrong; It is unconstitutional and contrary to the proper role of the Federal Government. If we get caught up talking about the negatives of the program, what will be our argument if those negatives are resolved? If we get caught up talking about the negatives of the program, the program will exist indefinitely, constantly being adjusted and enlarged always trying to improve the program.
We as Conservatives should be encouraging our leadership to defund and repeal the ACA with no other option but that. If our representatives do not share this view we should replace them with someone who does.
We should not be forced to live with a Federal Government that controls our everyday choices. Especially when those choices are what we choose to spend our money on, what doctors we choose to visit, and what medical treatments we choose to undergo.
Republicans are falling into the trap of debating the pros and cons of ObamaCare as if this is a legitimate law, as if it's only flaws are those of costs and burdens placed upon the American people.
Instead Republicans need to return to our constitutional roots, focus on what made America great, and preach strongly against socialist programs.
Enough is enough ObamaCare must go. We are not a Socialist nation, and I pray to God that we never will become so.
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