If it looks like a skunk, smells like a skunk, and acts like a skunk, it’s probably a skunk no matter what anybody tries to call it.  As more and more corruption, vote buying, special exemptions for just some groups, and numerous other amendments reach the public, the more obvious it is becoming to most voters that the current bill is a skunk and should be scrapped. 

Many Americans simply are not buying that if this specific bill is not passed, it will be 15 years before any bill is seriously considered in Congress again. To them that sounds a lot like the politicians are saying “If you(the voters) don’t give me what I want or play by my rules, I’m taking my football and going home and none of you will be able to play until I say so.”  What the Politicians broadcasting these fears are apparently not hearing is millions of voters responding with “Oh yeah!  Well we will just get a new football come this coming November, and you can just stay home, because we don’t want to play with you anymore if that is the way you are going to be”.  Except in this case, the football is real healthcare reform and Congress is not supposed to be a game.

The Bribes, the Coercions, and the Corruption in the bills from the Senate and House should be enough to kill their so called Health Care Reform without further waste of everyone’s time. At least seven State Attorney Generals have vowed to challenge the final bill in federal courts all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary—as being illegal for legislating tax breaks only for one state (Nebraska) to line up a Yes vote from the lone Democrat Senator hold out required to prevent a Republican filibuster.  Several other lawsuits to stop actual implementation of the bill for other issues are reportedly already being drafted.  Among the most noteworthy for merit are lawsuits challenging the legality of the Federal Government to require all of its citizens to buy anything, or to fine / tax any citizen that fails to sign up for healthcare insurance, or granting special exemption for the unions not given to other citizens.  These legal challenges could easily tie up enforcing this bill for years and make it a total waste of time.

What the majority of Americans are saying they need and want is Real Reform, which many suggest only a brand new healthcare bill will deliver. We don’t need different 2,000+ page bills and 2,000 pages of amendments that have to be reconciled between the House and Senate before a final bill can be voted on.  Nor do we need the House or Senate to skip the 200 year precedent of reconciling all bills just to get this one passed now.  Most Americans know there is not an immediate healthcare crisis in the US and that much of what they have learned about the proposed bills has been studied by experts that openly state that the current bill will probably do more harm than good.

Even more aggravating to swelling numbers of voters are the deceptions and untruths being promoted by many politicians to “sell” the current bill to the general public.

  • From the very first polls, the majority of American’s reported that they were at least reasonably satisfied with their current healthcare coverage.  So as time goes on, it is getting harder and harder for politicians to sell that this is a crisis that must be immediately addressed or the entire economy will be in peril—or whatever their latest spin is on what the crisis is and therefore there is no time to even read the bills, much less study them, or do trial programs first.
  • Even those with minimal formal education understand that if you add 20 to 40 million new patients to the system, it’s not free—someone has to pay for it.  As the details of the bills (that have not been made transparent on CSPAN as promised during President Obama’s campaign) reach more and more of the general population over time, young Americans are getting that they will be forced to buy insurance and coverage they do not need, and it’s not going to be primarily funded with new taxes on the rich.
  • According to all polls, the majority of seniors agree with the expert analyses that quantify the resulting cuts in their Medicare coverage at around $500 Billion—to start.  They already reviewed much of the same sales rhetoric in the 1993 bill that was defeated.  And they have lived long enough to know first hand that most everything the Federal Government takes control over costs many times more than the politicians’ estimates bandied about; just like their campaign promises that just never seem to come true.  They don’t care much if you call it “Death Panels,” doctors getting paid a lot less money than is spent now and retiring, or the almost certain reality of fewer doctors in the system for more patients, etc.  It all adds up to less quality and accessibility of healthcare to them than they have now in the future when they need it the most.
  • The latest politician spin that voting against the bill is like voting to kill 45,000 Americans a year and worst than any terrorist threat today is seen as insulting as calling anyone who disagrees with them “stupid”, “tea baggers”, “Astroturf”, or attacking the wives of politicians like Senator Lieberman who opposes a “Public Option” in any form.  The demeaning name calling and apparent refusal to debate the facts is well past wearing thin on millions of voters who can’t wait to get to the polls in November.
  • Finally, most Americans don’t like half truths or deceptions on purpose very much either.  Politicians saying they will not be raising taxes on the middle class, that the bill will pay for itself, there will not be any cuts in Medicare or “Death Panels” have been exposed as simply not being truthful.  A Review Board that changes what medical procedures and who gets coverage is just another name for a “Death Panel” for seniors.  Spending $500 billion less on Medicare to pay for other increased costs is cutting Medicare.  Fining individuals who do not purchase coverage or taxing small businesses that do not pay for medical coverage is raising taxes on the middle class—as is the latest trial balloon of taxing all capital gains and other items to fund their healthcare bill.  Apparently we are not as “stupid” as many politicians think and say we are.

So far, the politicians in power or the opposition that is not speaking up have failed to even address the main issue that the majority of Americans want—Real Healthcare Reform that benefits them first. We are not as interested in their power grab agenda or political legacy as we are in getting some real help with our rising healthcare costs.  When almost every independent evaluation of their bill reports that it will end up costing us more for insurance than we pay today, and probably for less care, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.  Real Reform starts with decreasing costs and stopping the annual premium increases that are out of control.  It simply does not take 2,000+ pages to address Tort Reform and pre-set standardized awards for malpractice by the level of damage done, new group insurance policies to reduce individual and small company premiums, buying insurance across state lines to increase competition, allowing us to buy the same drugs from Canada to stop the current price fixing in the US, and to set the same rules for all American citizens while we enforce E-verify and other means to clamp down on fraud. 

Besides, the last thing we need is a “Healthcare Code” that will turn into another 67,000 pages of rules and exceptions like the current Tax Code—that started out as a bill with less than 100 pages. Nor do we need the Federal Government forcing itself into such a big part of our lives—much less against the will of the majority of the Americans polled.  SEND YOUR FAX TO YOUR SENATORS AND CONGRESSPERSON TODAY—and have your voice heard before it is too late.