The Democrats' corrupt, sleazy and undemocratic methods to cram socialized medicine down our throats were only exceeded by the horrifying substance of the bill itself. But the bell has rung on round one. Round two begins, and we'd better come out swinging.
As distressed as I've been about President Barack Obama's deliberate, senseless acceleration of our national debt, I was heartened by the public's spontaneous reaction against Obama's agenda and optimistic about electing people who would turn it around.
As concerned as I was about the granddaddy of all socialist schemes -- Obamacare -- I was encouraged by Obama's difficulty in forcing this demon through both chambers of Congress -- despite substantial majorities -- because of Republican solidarity and pockets of principled Democratic opposition. (And I say "demon" advisedly, because everything about it was a lie, but it was wrapped in a seductive package disguising it as compassionate when it would destroy the best health care system in the world and achieve none of the good things it promised.)
But I was still nervous. How can you rest easy when you've witnessed the unscrupulous tactics of this administration and the congressional leadership to impose socialism across the board against the will of the people? How could you be confident that the forces for good would finally be able to resist the relentlessness of a statist leadership that fully embraced its hero's "end justifies the means" paradigm and whose members had shown their willingness to sell their votes?
Indeed, as feared, Obama did prevail in round one -- not because of superior punching skills or fancy footwork, but because he broke the rules and hit below the belt, while the aging and listless referee let him get away with it.
Yet as depressed as I was over the passage of this bill, I was lifted up by the groundswell of opposition raging through the land -- an awesome force whose intensity and resolve we had not seen in decades. As difficult as it would be to maintain the high energy of this resistance through November and beyond, there was still plenty of reason to be sanguine about our prospects for a sea change in Washington in November.
Then, the very day the president smugly and exuberantly (for him) signed this bill into law, the other shoe dropped. Certain Republican leaders expressed their resignation to the fact that this bill is now the law of the land and that full repeal might not be feasible.
The Huffington Post reported that the "entire slate of Republican senatorial candidates" appear poised to run on a full repeal platform. But the main one coordinating their election strategy -- National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn, R-Texas -- had already begun "softening the message."
What? I couldn't believe what I was reading. No. This couldn't be. Tell me it isn't true. Tell me that after all these years, I won't yet have to get on blood pressure medicine. Tell me my ongoing optimism is not for naught.
But I read on. Cornyn explained that "there is noncontroversial stuff here, like the pre-existing conditions exclusion and those sorts of things."
Noncontroversial? You mean he considers a provision that will completely change the character of insurance companies from private businesses to public utilities a little detail? Seriously -- what the heck is in the water in Washington? I can't take this insanity.
What the normally excellent Sen. Cornyn needs to understand is that this entire bill needs to be scrapped. War-weary Republicans need to get over this battered spouse syndrome and quit tolerating and sublimating the abuse. Enough is enough.
We don't need to be thinking about playing around the edges or even repealing a mere 90 percent of the bill. The whole bill is poison; it is infected with contagious toxins that will destroy our entire capitalistic system if we don't eradicate it entirely. No compromise. Market reforms are the solution, not socialism lite, which is what got us into this mess.
You don't have to listen to me, but you ignore the grass roots at your peril. The Republican Party must prove to freedom-loving Americans that it has the moral courage to exorcise Obamacare from the depths of this nation's soul. If it "softens its message" in any way, it will completely lose the confidence of the people, and we'll see either a third-party movement -- that will have a much tougher uphill battle -- or worse.
Now is not the time for the weak of heart, the complacent, the sycophants or the career politicians who believe collegiality is the highest virtue. Now is the time for principled, bold, peaceful revolution. Full repeal -- nothing less; replace, reform! Now. If not, beware the righteous wrath of the several states, which will fight this if our federal politicians won't.