What defines civilization is that there is a set of rules by which everyone agrees to live. The Declaration of Independence was essentially an accusation that the King of England had violated the rules in effect at the time, and therefore we had a right to sever our ties to the throne. When the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution of the United States, they were writing new rules by which we agree to live.
Yes, the title of this post ends with a preposition, guilty as charged. The rules of grammar are not important enough for me to be inviolate. The Constitution is a different story. It is what makes us the Republic we are today. The troubles in Egypt today are due in part to the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood tried to impose a constitution on a people who did not agree to live by the rules set up by it.
It is in this context that I would like to talk about the tea party desire to defund Obamacare.
At this moment, I would like to point out that the Kos website word processing software doesn't recognize the word, "defund." That being said, the idea, and those pushing it exist outside of a fundamental understanding of the way the machinery that is our Republic works.
You are probably familiar with the saying that, "We are a nation of laws, not of men." This is a literal truism. Congress passes bills that become law upon the President's signature. The executive branch issues the rules of how those laws get applied. The judiciary gets to rule on the constitutionality of the laws. According to our Constitution, only the courts can prevent implementation of duly passed laws.
The President is constitutionally bound to faithfully execute the laws of the land. Obamacare is the law of the land. The Tea Party, and Senator Cruz (R-crazy) want to defund Obamacare. Cruz believes that Congress can fully fund government without funding Obamacare. The only way to do that is if Obamacare is not law. In other words, until a repeal passes both houses and is signed by a president, it must be funded.
The other movement to kill Obamacare is to hold the debt ceiling hostage. Again, this rhetoric displays a fundamental misunderstanding of the mechanisms of governing. Raising the debt ceiling does not give the government a blank check to spend money. In fact, the money has already been spent by law. Congress appropriated funds, and the President must allocate those funds, whether the Treasury has the money or not.
While we're on the subject of the debt ceiling, the Constitution has something to say on this as well. That is that the credit of US debt shall not be called into question. Congress is constitutionally bound to ensure that all debt incurred is paid.
The Tea Party professes love for The Constitution. They may think Obamacare is unconstitutional, but they don't get to make that call. The Supreme Court has ruled on this. The Constitution demands it be funded. The Constitution likewise demands we raise the debt ceiling. Love the Constitution or defund Obamacare, you can't do both. Sucks for you.