Mandate or ‘Accommodation’ – Either Way Obamacare is an Unconstitutional Overreach

Dust-up with Catholic Church Illustrates the Massive Restriction on Liberty

The recent debate over the Obamacare Mandate that employers cover birth control, contraception services, and even the morning after abortion pill at little or no cost uncovers the bigger issue with Obamacare – that it is an unconstitutional power grab by the Federal government.

The dispute has been widely covered, so I will not cover its merits or why the government mandating that a religious organization set aside its tenets and purchase coverage for its employees is not constitutional. The problem is most analysts, the mainstream media, and even religious organizations have gotten lost in the details, so they miss the bigger picture. This type of government seizure of our liberty must be fought not just on narrow or specific religious grounds.

The Progressives who seek an overarching, all powerful state see one huge problem to their objectives – the US Constitution. In fact, President Obama in his days as a professor of Constitutional law expressed this frustration and the core belief of the left in America. That the Constitution is a ‘charter of negative rights.’ This is exactly what the framers sought when they drafted the Constitution and its antecedent, the Declaration of Independence.

When the founding fathers met in Philadelphia in 1776, it was to declare their independence from an all powerful monarch who trampled the rights of the people. In fact, they listed a number of grievances against the King, and ended by establishing the bed rock of the American Republic – ‘that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…’

Rights come from God. Men are born with them, and government cannot and does not give rights to its citizens. Moreover, the Founders were keenly aware that to prevent government from seizing rights and enslaving its citizenry, it was critical to institute a Constitution that protected the citizens from the government.

Progressives try to stand this on its head. Going back to Theodore Roosevelt and continuing to this day, Progressives have tried to convey ‘rights’ on the citizens, and see the Constitution as standing in their way.

The latest example of this is the ‘right’ of all women to free contraception under Obamacare. This mandate is the Holy Grail for the left – who see contraception and abortion as key to their Progressive agenda. The problem is, there are costs associated with this so-called ‘right’ – both moral and economic.

So certain religious organizations, many of whom generally side with Democrat politics, are up in arms over the fact they are being forced by the government to pay for services that violate their religious beliefs. So organizations who were generally supportive of Obamacare on compassionate ground now want to oppose certain parts of the mandate they don’t like.

The Obama administration thinks it can be so clever to offer an ‘accommodation’ - Women get free contraception but the objecting organizations don’t have to pay for it. In this magical fantasyland, insurance companies will simply give it free to the female employees of that organization.

If we stick with this fairytale, we can only believe one of two things: insurance companies will give it free and not raise the coverage of the objecting religious organizations, thereby causing everyone else’s premiums to increase so we can subsidize the religious objection. Or, the insurer will play the game of increasing the employers cost of insurance while claiming not to charge for this coverage, but give it upon request anyway.

So either way, Obamacare and the Contraception / abortion mandate violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution. If the cost of the insurance to these employers increases commensurate with the cost of contraception services, then the government is forcing a religion to abandon its tenets and adhere to the government’s dictates, a violation of the Free Exercise Clause. If the cost of insurance does not increase, then these religions are being given preferential treatment, in violation of the Establishment Clause.

By looking at this in such a narrow situation, it brings to light the much larger problem. One hopes that the Catholic Church in America and the other religious groups who have a problem with this contraception issue will understand the big picture. Just as important, one would hope that those who generally support big government solutions would see that empowering the Government through large mandates can just as easily infringe upon liberties that they would prefer to see:

The later is unlikely, because the Progress mantra is big government is the only thing capable of solving problems. But a government large enough to grant you ‘rights’ is also large enough to take your liberty away.

Copyright 2012 Reprint permitted with the following citation:
TJPaine
Un^Common Sense
Dedicated to the Advancement of Americanism
http://uncommonsense-tpaine.blogspot.com/

Follow me at http://twitter.com/tpaineus

Yawn and move on

President Obama Delivered a Campaign Speech, not a Plan

Last night, President Obama delivered a campaign stem winder disguised as an address to a Joint Session of Congress on the economy. The ruse was he was introducing a new job bill that would end the recession and put Americans back to work. In fact, in true campaign speech style, he had an oft repeated audience ‘chant line,’ replacing his tired ‘yes we can’ with ‘pass it now.’

No doubt the ‘smartest men in the room’ campaign people who run the Obama White House think they were being so clever. Now Obama can go out on the road, giving a tired stump speech with his SEIU and Teamster thugs in the audience echoing his chant of ‘Pass it now.’ The wizards of smart then will be able to point to the ‘do nothing, obstructionist’ GOP Congress as the reason the poor, beleaguered President hasn’t been able to turn the economy around.

There are many flaws with this half-baked political calculation. Some of these miscalculations include: this is simply a rehash of the same tired ideas that have failed to invigorate the economy to date; the American people have no appetite for another half trillion in debt to line the pockets of teachers unions, only to find out again that , oops, there really are no shovel ready jobs. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice…

His campaign geniuses are trying to run a replay of the 1994 Clinton – Dole campaign. In that race, a GOP controlled House and Senate had thwarted the President, shut down the government, and fought the President every step of the way. Does ‘political circus’ sound familiar?

But this is where the fallacy lies, and where the brilliant plan is foiled by some pesky facts. Mr. Obama will not be running against Congress in 2012, try as he might. In 1994, Mr. Clinton was in essence running against Congress. Bob Dole was the Republican Majority Leader of the Senate, and so was the face of the Congress. When Clinton railed against the GOP obstructionists, Bob Dole was the face of that obstruction. It was a Zero Sum Game.

Whoever the nominee is for the GOP next year, he is not likely to be associated with the Congress. Among the front-runners, only Michele Bachmann is a current member, and even she has successfully bucked the leadership and is running as a Tea Party ‘outsider.’ So if Mr. Obama plays the ‘obstructionist Congress’ card, the GOP nominee can trump it with the ‘we need a leader who can make Washington work’ mantra.

But Bill Clinton was popular and the economy was in good shape. Mr. Obama is not popular, with Gallup approval numbers in the high thirties or low forties. And the economy, well, 9.1% unemployment and a flat GDP growth tell another story entirely.

So we can look forward to rallies in the near future with adoring crowds chanting ‘Pass the Bill’ over and over. But we won’t be fooled again. ‘Son of Stimulus’ needs to be not only defeated, but ignored. The GOP needs to pass its own plan and challenge the Dems in the Senate up for reelection to send it to the President.

Now is the time for bold measures, not petty campaign speeches. Yawn and move on.

Copyright 2011 Reprint permitted with the following citation:
TJPaine
Un^Common Sense
Dedicated to the Advancement of Americanism
http://uncommonsense-tpaine.blogspot.com/

With Friends like the United States, Who Needs Enemies?

In Libya, the US once again fails to stand with people it claims to support.

One of the most surprising aspects of the revolution in Egypt was the speed with which the transition occurred. A relatively small number of protestors gathered, calling for the ouster of long time President (dictator) and Western Ally Hosni Mubarak. Almost immediately, the US government, including President Obama began calling for Mubarak to step down. It was all over in less than three weeks.

There is no doubt that Mubarak would not be gone had it not been for his ‘friend’ the US showing him the door. After waffling initially (and throughout the process), the Obama administration adopted a Mubarak must go strategy. Public pressure (and no doubt much greater behind the scene pressure) was applied to Mubarak and the members of the military. Most likely, threats of pulling US aid were made, and our longtime ally was gone.

Contrast this to the reaction of President Obama and his administration to the pro-democracy protests in Iran in 2009. There is little doubt that the protestors were inspired by the President’s word in the Cairo speech calling for greater freedom throughout the Muslim world. The opposition forces surely thought they had a friend in the US. But as this author noted at the time (http://snipr.com/27h7lx), Obama stood by idly, not wanting to ‘meddle’ in Iran’s politics. With no true support from the US and the west, and after an initial flurry of coverage, near radio silence by the mainstream media allowed the dictatorial regime in Iran to enact a brutal crackdown, crushing the opposition while their ‘friends’ in the US said and did nothing.

But one need not even go back to 2009 to see this administration’s willingness to support dictators who are not friends of the United States. President Obama threw a gala state dinner for China’s President Hu Jintau. There was no need to tarnish such a grand celebration with confrontation on human rights issues. When asked about China’s human rights record, about all President Obama could say is that China ‘has a different form of government’ than we do. Really? Such harsh words will surely bring about changes in the dismal human rights record of the very undemocratic Peoples Republic I am sure.

Now we are seeing the seeds of democracy growing throughout the dictatorial regimes of the Middle East. Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan and others have massive pro-reform movements, and protests by the people against their repressive governments, and the US seems to be content to sit this out. Even thought we couldn’t wait to show our ‘friend’ Mubarak the door.

Libya is the most shocking case. Obama has stated that ‘Ghadafi must go,’ and the administration has very tentatively backed the rebels. But while we dither (Obama has had more rounds of golf than words or actions on Libya) the rebels that we professed to be ‘friends’ of are being slaughtered by the superior forces loyal to one of the most brutal dictators in the world, and one that is clearly an enemy to the US.

The author is not naïve enough to believe that what we are seeing is simply small d democracy in action in these cases. There is little doubt that pro-extremist Muslim organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaeda and others are using and fomenting these rebellions for their own purposes. But the fact cannot be overlooked that these movements in countries like Libya would remove a clear enemy of the West in Ghadafi.

So the message seems to be clear: if you are a friend of the US, we are happy to abandon you. But if you are an enemy of the State like Iran or Libya, or if we need your cash and cheap goods like China, we will do nothing to upset the status quo.

With friends like the US, who needs enemies? Just ask Mubarak or the protestors in Iran and Libya. And let’s not be surprised when we find no takers in the Muslim world the next time we seek an ally to stick their necks out to support US anti-terrorism efforts or other policy priorites.

Copyright 2011 Reprint permitted with the following citation:
TJPaine
Un^Common Sense
Dedicated to the Advancement of Americanism
http://uncommonsense-tpaine.blogspot.com/

What Happened to the Shovel Ready Jobs?

The Big Government Shell Game



Governor Ed Rendell (D-PA) woke up a few weeks ago and discovered the roads in Pennsylvania were a mess. Vowing to solve this mess in his last six months in office (never mind that his first seven and a half years created the mess) Philadelphia Eddie gave the State Legislature an offer that no politician could refuse, especially during an election year. He'll sign 'any tax increase they pass.'

Gee, how generous. This is the annual saga in PA. Mass transit squanders all their money and continues to inefficiently operate with bloated budgets, fat union contracts, and even fatter administrator (read Democrat hacks) salaries. As a result, they run a deficit. Fast Eddie and the Dems (sounds like a bad 60's cover band) ride to their rescue, diverting Federal highway funds to prop up the inefficiencies (and pay back their union benefactors), and, alas, no money can be found to save the children from crumbling roads and bridges.

It is an old song, but a standard of the Dems, and is replayed in PA and other states most every year. Mass transit, benefiting only urban areas and its union employees versus highways. Cutting spending versus raising taxes.

But never fear, the new sheriff in town President Obama can save the day with the 'shovel ready' stimulus, right? Mmmmmm, not so much.

When passed in 2009, the Dems and Mr. Obama sang the praises of all the 'Shovel Ready' projects throughout the land that would immediately crank up. Images of FDR and the Public Works Administration, thousands of unemployed would pick up shovels and start fixing our crumbling roads and bridges, bringing down unemployment (at least keeping it below 8% we were promised), and giving our children a safe utopia of gleaming new bridges and smooth new roads. Indeed, signs began popping up all over America touting American Recovery and Reinvestment Act jobs.

But a year and a half later, where are the shovel ready jobs? It turns out the only thing 'shovel ready' was the bull crap Mr. Obama and the Democrats in Congress were shoveling about the Stimulus.

Follow the money. Most of the stimulus funds were used to plug holes in state and local budgets, to prop up teachers and public worker unions (AFSME and SEIU), and bail out Democrats in 'Blue States.'

That money is gone now, and Congress this month returned from their summer vacations to pass another stimulus, a $28 billion slush fund for Teachers Unions and other Democrat special interests. By my count this is now the eighth stimulus passed under Mr. Obama and his predecessor, George W. Bush.

And what have we gotten? For all the Democrat shoveling, unemployment is now 9.5% (real unemployment / underemployment is closer to 19%), and the roads and bridges are still 'crumbling,' according to Mr. Rendell, one of Mr. Obama's biggest supporters. Oh, and record debt and deficits that our children's grand children will be dealing with years from now.

Next time Government officials claim some program is 'shovel ready,' make sure you are wearing your boots.

Copyright 2010 Reprint permitted with the following citation:
TJPaine
Un^Common Sense - Dedicated to the Advancement of Americanism
http://uncommonsense-tpaine.blogspot.com/

Follow me at http://twitter.com/tpaineus

The First Battle in 2010 Could Provide the 41st Vote Against Obamacare

Scott Brown and the Battle for Massachusetts

My friends, 2010 is our moment to Take Back the USA. All house seats and 34 Senate seats (including Specter in PA) are up in the November general election. But did you know we can take a huge step toward taking back the Senate in January?

Massachusetts is holding a special election on January 19th to fill the remainder of Ted Kennedy's term. No one is talking about it, but it looks like it may turn out to be the next NY 23 - an incredible, unpredictable race that went from a sleepy ignored special election to a huge national battleground. But the stakes are much higher in this race!

Now Massachusetts is the bluest of blue states, but little known (outside of MA) state Senator Scott Brown is mounting a strong and growing challenge to the Dem establishment candidate, Attorney General Martha Coakely.

I still need to do a lot more research, but everything I can see shows that Scott Brown is conservative, and he is the best hope for America to wrest control of the Senate from the liberal Nancy Pelosi Democrats. He has taken very strong position against the healthcare bill that passed the Senate in a sleazy Christmas Eve vote, vowing to be the "41st vote against" Obamacare.

I have often stated that 2010 is our moment - the watershed election where lovers of liberty, defenders of the Constitution, and general patriots must take our country back from radical statist Democrats. I wrote on November 5, 2008 that "We who love liberty must start today to rebuild' the conservative movement and retake our country.

The Tea Party and 9-12 Project has been that grass roots, ground up forces that will change our nation for the good. But being voices in the wilderness, powerless to stand up to the statists in the Obama administration and Congress is one thing. And the goal of our project must be to take back power through the democratic process. Through elections.

The protests, tea parties, and town hall meetings of 2009 were like the famous Boston Tea Party of 1774. And just as the British Parliament ignored the will of the Colonists, as all tyrants do, the current Congress responded with its own series of Intolerable Acts - the Stimulus, the Omnibus Bill, Cap and Tax, and now Obamacare, passing on Christmas Eve. All liberty stealing, budget busting acts defying the will of the people.

Well my friends, we stand on the brink of the first battle in the war for 2010 - our generation's war for freedom and liberty. And just as the War of Independence began in Massachusetts, our war of 2010 will begin in that same Bay State.

Like the Minutemen of Lexington and Concord, we must rally our ragged forces to face a much stronger, well funded, Democrat state machine. But we can win. All polls show that the enthusiasm is on our side! After all, the Tea Party out polled both the Democrat and Republican parties in the recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

So rally the troops. Support Scott Brown anyway you can. His website is: http://www.brownforussenate.com/ I would encourage you to get involved. Donate time or money. Do whatever you can. Our future is at stake!

Massachusetts is the bluest of blue states. It is a long shot at best to imagine Sen. Brown can become US Senator Scott Brown. But the American Revolution was a long shot. If we fritter and "keep our powder dry" for the November elections, it may well be too late. We need Sen. Brown as the 41st vote against Obamacare.

And there is one thing I know for sure. Americans are fighters. We have enough fight in us for this special election, and to keep fighting for conservative candidates in the primaries all spring and summer and then, to take back our country in the general elections in November.

But don't stay on the sidelines. Just like we depended on the minutemen at Lexington and Concord, we need the Tea Party Patriots to fight the battle of Massachusetts right now!

Copyright 2009 Reprint permitted with the following citation:
TJPaine
Un^Common Sense - Dedicated to the Advancement of Americanism
http://uncommonsense-tpaine.blogspot.com/

Follow me at http://twitter.com/tpaineus