My Representative, Connie Mack (R-FL-14), had a statement out moments after the vote concluded, predictably predicting the end of the world as we know it. Below the fold, his statement and my point-by-point rebuttal (also submitted to the local paper as a potential letter to the editor). This is a great day for America--Yes We Can!
"The American people are fed up. We don’t want bureaucrats and politicians making our health care decisions for us."
There is nothing in this law (as Rep. Mack should well know) that does what he’s claiming here. Furthermore, it is disingenuous to put forth this argument as if there are not currently an army of insurance company bureaucrats making our health care decisions for us, as anyone who has ever had a doctor’s recommended treatment or referral denied by their insurance carrier can attest.
"We don’t want higher taxes that will permanently discourage hard-working Americans from saving, investing, and creating new jobs."
Again, another disingenuous talking point. There are no new taxes in this law that will have any significant impact on the vast majority of hard-working Americans. In terms of job creation, the law actually makes life easier for the overwhelming majority of small businesses by exempting them from the need to provide insurance to their employees, and allowing those employees to participate in the insurance exchanges that will be set up to create a newly-competitive marketplace for insurance.
"We don’t want unconstitutional mandates dictating that we must purchase insurance and what form it must take."
I’m sure the courts will eventually rule on the constitutionality of the mandate, but there’s little argument that it was included at the behest of the private insurance companies, who are all quite concerned about the economics of their business if people are allowed to avoid buying health insurance until they need it. If Rep. Mack is willing to support a public option, where those ‘free riders’ could be covered by a public insurance program, I’m sure the for-profit insurance companies would be quite happy to drop their requirement for a mandate.
"And we don’t want to force our children and grandchildren to foot the bill for this massive spending."
The rigorously non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has stated categorically that the law that was just passed will reduce the deficit by over $140 BILLION over the next ten years and over $1.3 TRILLION over the next twenty. I’m not sure how Rep. Mack translates that into an increased burden on our children and grandchildren.
"But sadly, our strong concerns have repeatedly been ignored by a Democratic Congress that is all too eager to push its big government ideas on an unwilling public."
To this I can only say, elections have consequences. Unless you were unconscious during the last election cycle, and somehow only woke up on Election Day and randomly cast your ballot for the mixed-race guy with the funny name, you were pretty clear on what Obama’s position was on the matter of health care. He has delivered nearly exactly what he promised (to the extent he’s fallen short, it’s only that he didn’t go further and support a true public option or single-payer system). There is no way that anyone who spent even a few minutes paying attention to politics during the Presidential campaign is surprised by this outcome. We won the election fair and square, and this is the (not-surprising) result.
"Throughout this so-called "process," President Obama and the Democratic leadership refused to work in a bipartisan manner and even consider free-market proposals supported by a majority of Americans, such as substantial medical malpractice reform, association health plans, health savings accounts, and tax incentives. The only bipartisan thing about this bill was the opposition to it."
As Speaker Pelosi said tonight in her closing remarks on the debate, although there wasn’t a single Republican vote, there were over 200 Republican amendments that were incorporated into the body of the legislation. To say that there was no attempt to adopt the ideas of the Republicans is, again, disingenuous. In fact, there are a number of elements in the bill that Republicans in previous instances have been adamantly in favor of, but which they categorically rejected when they were proposed by Democrats.
The most clear-cut example of the hypocrisy on this point is the second vote that was taken tonight. After the bill was passed into the law of the land, and there was no further way to prevent it from being signed, the so-called ‘reconciliation package’ was put up for a vote, which strips out many of the more egregious elements of the bill (such as the "Cornhusker Kickback"). Despite the fact that a ‘yes’ vote on this bill would only serve to improve the overall law by removing those elements that they had most vigorously complained about, not a single Republican chose to stand in support of this corrective measure. Rep. Mack, if you really believed the things you’re saying, why didn’t you take a stand to fix the newly-passed law by voting to clean it up?
"Today’s vote proves that the Democrats believe in the power of government and not the power of the people. Well, the American people have had enough. The Democrats may have won this vote today through arm-twisting, tricks, and backroom deals, but the American people will have the final word in November."
Today’s vote proves that Democrats believe that the government has a role to play in ensuring that all Americans have an equal opportunity to enjoy the fundamental rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. For too many of us, the health care system has been broken for far too long. While it’s not perfect, this law begins the process of shifting the terms of the debate, by making health care a fundamental right that we are all entitled to as citizens of this great country. We no longer have to worry that a catastrophic illness or injury will pull the rug out from under us, and destroy the security that has resulted from our many years of hard work. We no longer have to fear that we will be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition, or tell our children that we can’t afford the medication they so desperately need to treat their illness because we’ve hit a lifetime cap on coverage.
"Freedom died today, and I fear that the freedoms of the American people will continue to fade if President Obama and the Democrats in Congress continue to expand the size, scope and control of the federal government."
I will agree with Rep. Mack on this point. Freedom did die today—the "freedom" to die because a faceless insurance company bureaucrat has found a way to kick you out of coverage when you most desperately need it. Personally, I don’t mind losing that "freedom." I look forward to having the American people discover what the real effects of this law will be, now that the debate has ended and the hyperbolic ranting about "death panels" will give way to the reality of an improved system of care. As President Obama said at the Health Care Summit, Congress voted, and now the American people can decide. If this turns out to be a giant ratcheting-up of some Communist/Socialist/Fascist takeover of every aspect of American life, then I heartily encourage all Americans to vote out the Democrats in November. But if it turns out that Rep. Mack has substantially overstated his case in order to continue creating fear, uncertainty and doubt in the minds of his constituents, I would urge you all to consider whether he’s really representing your best interests in Washington.