The government shutdown as a strategy to eliminate the
Affordable Care Act (known as “Obama Care”) is joke. I think to a great extent republican
politicians want to stop anything President Obama does. Whether you like the Affordable Care Act or
don’t like it, it is the law of the land. In 2010, the law was passed by the US
House of Representatives, it was passed by the Senate, it was signed by the
president and subsequently it was upheld by the Supreme Court.
There is no question that this law, like the tax code, labor
laws, heath laws, and all other laws, needs to be tweaked. There is a process for revising and amending
law. A constitutional process. The US
House of Representatives passes a bill making changes to Affordable Care Act,
the Senate passes the bill and the president signs it.
The republicans in the congress have taken a different
approach, they have shutdown the government in an extortion effort to first
eliminate the Affordable Care Act, when they were unsuccessful at that, then they wanted to
delay it, and when they unsuccessful with that they demanded something else or
the government would be shut down.
One of the late night talk shows interviewed people on the
street. Several people said they hated “Obama
Care” and thought it was wrong and should be stopped. The same people then said that they did not object to
the “Affordable Care Act”. Duh, Obama
Care is the Affordable Care Act. Its not
the Act they object to, its the Obama.
I saw a cartoon in a paper once that had a robber holding a
gun that was pointed at the head of a dog.
A man and woman were looking at the robber, the gun and the dog. The robber looked at the couple and said
“give me your money or I will shoot this dog”.
Obviously not a funny cartoon but that certainly reminds me
of the republicans in this government shutdown.
“Give me your money or I will shoot this dog”. Well guess what? They made a demand, they didn’t
get what they demanded, so they shot the dog.
I just read the following in Huffington Post.com:
House Republicans are continuing to play hardball in negotiations over the spending bill
that precipitated the government shutdown on Oct. 1, apparently out of fear
that compromise would weaken their power.
"We're not going to
be disrespected," Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) told The Washington
Examiner. "We have to get something out of this. And I don't know what
that even is."
Just think about it. It’s not about what’s best for America,
it is not about a lawful process of amending a law, its about being “disrespected”.
"We're not going
to be disrespected," We have to get something out of this. And I don't
know what that even is."
Hundreds of thousands of people, government employees and
private industry employees, have been and will be laid off, receiving no income
because “we don’t want to be disrespected”.
The congressmen and senators still get paid although some
have done the right thing and have stated they will donate their pay to charity
during the shutdown.
Utah right wing Senator Mike Lee is one of the architects of
the government shutdown strategy was asked if he would donate his pay. He said that he would not. He was blasted for that position and then he cowered off of that position. Here is an article from the Salt Lake
Tribune:
Sen. Orrin Hatch and
Rep. Jim Matheson plan to donate their congressional pay during the government
shutdown, saying they shouldn’t be paid when federal workers are not. Sen. Mike
Lee — after previously telling a reporter he had no plan to do so — also says
he will contribute his pay to charity.
They are among dozens
of congress members saying they will donate their pay.
“I don’t think that’d
be appropriate” to take a paycheck, said Matheson, D-Utah, who says he plans to
find a charity that will help Utahns who have been affected by the government
closure.
Hatch, R-Utah, says he
will give his congressional pay until the government is running to his faith,
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Washington Post
listed dozens of members of Congress who have agreed to donate their pay as
well. Rank-and-file House members and senators are paid $174,000 and the
Constitution’s 27th Amendment forbids changing their pay during a congressional
term.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz,
R-Utah, says he plans to ask the House clerk to delay paying him until the
shutdown ends.
Lee, who led the
effort to attempt to stop Obamacare by tying it to the budget bill, told KUTV
Tuesday night that he would take his salary because he is working and had no
plan to donate his pay to charity.
("Later") A spokesman on
Wednesday told BuzzFeed that “Lee will donate to charity for every day of the
shutdown.” The spokesman told the website that the KUTV story was “wrong,” and
that the senator had always intended to donate, although his response may have
been somewhat muddy.
KUTV on Wednesday
stood by its original report and posted audio of its interview with Lee.
So let me get this. After Lee said he was going to take his
pay, he received a lot of bad publicity causing his spokesman to assert that
Lee never said he would take his pay. The spokesman was lying. I just listened to the audio of interview
where Lee clearly said he was working and would take his pay. After being shown as a hypocrite, he now
says he won’t take his pay. What a total
chicken shit.
Mike Lee
Give me your money or I will shoot this dog.
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