The latest right-wing talking point (I prefer to call it a meme) is that because 38 state legislatures have proposed bills to block their state from participating in the federal mandate, the people clearly oppose the health care bill. In reality, this couldn't be further from the truth.
I understand that there is a deep division in this nation over the legislation. The left tends to support most or all of the law, while the right opposes it at all costs. Independents are probably split down the middle, with some supporting and some opposing. There is no clear view on our health care legislation, only deep divisions over whether it is right or wrong.
Then why is it that Republicans, led by frenzied cheerleading by Fox News, are so quick to say the people must oppose the bill because some member of a state legislature proposed that their state should be exempt from health care? I believe that these bills are mainly the pet projects of Republicans who are, obviously, disgruntled by the fact that they lost, and real health care reform has finally been accomplished.
Look, right now, there are 27 state legislatures who are controlled by the Democrats, 14 controlled by the Republicans, and 8 with a split in houses (Nebraska's legislature is officially nonpartisan). If a Republican legislator tries to introduce these bills in a Democratic-controlled body, it won't stand a chance at passing, because the Speaker and majority leaders in those states will never put it on the schedule. Even if a Republican legislature was to pass a bill, they would have to get the approval of the governor, and if that governor is a member of the Democratic Party, he'll probably veto the bill, and the legislature won't have that two-thirds majority to overrule the veto. So the odds of these bills becoming law in their states is very unlikely.
Republicans need to face the facts of this case. They lost. Real health care reform has finally passed in this country, and it is futile to keep dragging your feet in the sand. I know that the American people, if they give this bill a chance, will come to like it. It's time for the GOP to face the music and let us decide for ourselves if we want this bill. Stop forcing your operatives in my state and every other state from trying to derail this promise.