Lipstick on health care won't make it more palatable

To the Editor:

With the November elections drawing near, there is a definite nationwide backlash against one of the most oppressive measures in the history of our nation, the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," commonly referred as ObamaCare.

For the first time ever Congress has enacted a law which will force Americans to purchase health insurance from a private company or face a penalty by claiming that the "Commerce Clause" of the Constitution gives them the power to regulate the lives of individuals, rather than the power to only regulate Commerce among the states.

Stop and imagine what it would mean if Congress had such power. Government would have the power to fix every perceived problem by forcing the American people to buy or do something just because government thinks the idea is a good one.

Many Democrat congressional candidates, realizing the strong national backlash against ObamaCare, have come up with a new message for voters. Their message: "We know you don't like ObamaCare so we'll fix it."

The impetus for Democrat legislators to distance themselves from the president became even more pronounced after 84 year-old TV icon Andy Griffith was unable to turn the tide this summer as the pitch man for the Obama administration. His TV spots promised lots of good things coming the way of seniors as a result of the new health care law, for which the Obama administration bought $700,000 worth of ad time.

But how can a bill be fixed that will cause massive reductions in Medicare payments to senior citizens resulting in higher out of pocket costs, reduced benefits, and fewer health care choices for America's seniors; ration the current health care received by most Americans; force up to 25 percent of hospitals and skilled nursing facilities to operate in the red; and cause many employers to stop buying health insurance for its employees, but instead pay the fine? The list goes on and on...

And yes there are "death panels"!

Section 1311 of the new health care legislation gives the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and her appointees the power to establish care guidelines that your doctor must abide by or face penalties and fines. Doctors will no longer be in charge of your health care decisions, which will destroy the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship.

If the bill is too flawed to be fixed, what else is possible? Many states are going the route of declaring ObamaCare unconstitutional based foremost on the claim that the Commerce Clause does not give Congress power to enact such a draconian law that requires all to purchase "minimum essential health care coverage."

But even if Republicans should take over the House in November (all Republicans voted against ObamaCare), any attempt to repeal ObamaCare would face a veto by President Obama. For to repeal ObamaCare would require Republican control of the House, the Senate, and the presidency.

State lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of ObamaCare will work their way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, thereby offering the best way to stop it.

Even so, it's important to elect candidates who believe in limited government, less spending, and who will protect our personal liberties as enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution.

When going to the polls, remember that the future of our nation is at stake. If we fail to stop the transformation of American into a socialist nation, Liberty will die and so will this nation.

Nancy J. Thorner
Lake Bluff