Betting America's future on the "healthcare" circus

By Chris Adamo

At this writing, the prospect of America's descent into the abyss of socialism hinges on an impasse between Senator Joe Lieberman (I.-CT) and Barack Obama's replacement Senator Roland Burris (D.-IL). The irreconcilable difference between the two pertains to the inclusion in Obamacare of a "public option," (the latest euphemism for an eventual total government takeover of the entire American medical industry).

Lieberman opposes the concept, to the point of refusing to vote for any bill that includes it. In the other corner, Burris has strongly indicated that he might refuse to support any bill that does not include the "public option." Ultimately, both are either delusional, or merely seizing an opportunity to disingenuously grandstand for the cameras. The entire argument over a "public option" is absolutely pointless.

It matters not a whit what specific language of the bill contains. In its two thousand plus pages are the blueprints for an endless labyrinth of governmental bureaucracies, regulations, restrictions and encroachments on what has been, and should remain, a private enterprise. The United States Constitution strictly prohibits such an expansion of governmental power. Yet its precepts and limitations have been completely ignored and are systematically being supplanted by the self-aggrandizing quest for power among the majority party in Washington.

So, if the Constitution can be flagrantly brushed aside, does anybody realistically expect that some ambiguously worded clause, tucked into one of this bill's amendments, whether promising to enable or curb the imposition of unilateral medical socialism on this nation, will somehow be thereafter regarded as an ironclad boundary on the scope of this power grab?

Neither Lieberman nor Burris need waste another breath on this issue. Regardless of its specifics, if any so-called "healthcare reform" bill passes the Congress, it will be signed by Obama and invoked thereafter as cart blanche for an administration that has already mocked the limits of constitutional law in its takeover of the banks and the American auto industry. Lieberman deludes himself if he believes that any promises from the administration or Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D.-NV) will even be remembered once the bill is approved.

Conversely, Burris and his accomplices, who vehemently demand that the legislation specifically institute their "public option," ought to realize that even if the only measure to pass is some "stimulus" pork for the band-aid industry, the "public option" will inevitably be included on its back. Socialized medicine is the goal of this effort. Given even the slightest opening, socialized medicine will be the guaranteed result.

Such a characterization suggests that those promoting this effort are being less than honest. And that is the understatement of the decade, if not the century.

Consider that Obama incessantly attempts to convince the American people that this Marxist/statist monstrosity could somehow be "revenue neutral." The public has ceased to be amazed that he might make such a preposterous claim while keeping a straight face. Nobody believes his wild, almost juvenile declaration, and the collapse of any public support for the "healthcare" effort is proof. Yet he continues to repeat the claim.

What Americans have not yet fully grasped is the degree to which this enormously expensive power-grab would not only bankrupt their country, their businesses, and their private bank accounts, but also eradicate the manner in which they have received medical treatment and services in the past.

Get ready for a doctor visit to degenerate into the enraging run-around and indifference of every other bloated bureaucracy that has taken root in recent years. Take a number, stand in line, fill out the additional forms required for your extenuating condition, family circumstances, or employment situation, and the government worker on the other side of the glass will inform you when your case has been reviewed.

The manner of outrage and injustice regularly reported by any who are forced into the tentacles of the Internal Revenue Service will be standard fare for a much larger segment of the American population, simply because they had the misfortune to fall ill without state approval. And this nightmare pertains only to the area of actual medical need and response.

A calamity of much greater magnitude will befall the nation if it allows this fiasco to become law. Financial fallout, the implosion of the once-irrepressible American economy, and a disintegration of the American lifestyle are hardly beyond possibility.

The nation's economy has already been overloaded by criminal levels of deficit spending during the past year. "Healthcare reform" notwithstanding, the wasted trillions of the "bailouts" and "stimulus" scams are putting this nation on the fast track towards financial ruin. But this is before the American people are burdened by the additional trillions that Obamacare will cost.

Nor can they realistically expect any improvements in quality or availability of care when, on top of all of the bureaucratic bloat, any such "care" will undoubtedly be extended to millions of illegals (Obama did indeed lie about that one) who will be corralled and herded right alongside American citizens through the state controlled "medical" process.

Few would escape such a fate. Among them are the Congressmen, Senators, and Administration officials enthusiastically foisting this catastrophe on us commoners, though steadfastly refusing to be shackled by it. Somehow, a system that is so necessary to achieve "fairness" and "social justice" among the lowly masses will not be sufficient for the needs of the elected aristocracy. America is indeed on the verge of fracturing into a society of the privileged "ruling class," and the peasantry (which is the rest of us).

© Chris Adamo