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It isn't even the law of the land yet. Health care reform, President Obama's most ambitious policy initiative since taking office, won't become law unless Congressional Democrats put aside their differences and support the legislation in a crucial vote later this week.
But that fact isn't stopping some individual states from preparing legal strategies to gut the effectiveness of Obama's health care reform package - just in case it becomes law.
In Idaho, Republican Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter signed a law that that forced the state's attorney general to sue the federal government for requiring people to buy health insurance.
Under the health care reform package, Americans will be required to purchase health insurance coverage.
The bad news for the president is that 37 other states, under the banner of protecting their states rights, are considering similar legislation that would significantly weaken the proposed health care reform legislation.
If you are over the age of 45, you have probably heard the term "states-rights" before and know what it means. And it should make us all a tiny bit little nervous.
The states rights banner was used by southern states to fight the Emancipation Proclamation.
And just think about the grainy, black and white film footage from the 1960's of little black children trying to go to school and black civil rights workers attempting to register to vote. And think about the local white officials standing in the school doorway barring the students from attending class or blasting the black voters with water hoses to keep them from registering to vote.
That was the states-rights argument in action.
The states-right argument was used by southern states opposed to civil rights legislation in the 1960's.
The lawmakers in Idaho and other states considering the anti-health care reform legislation can't be called racist like the states rights advocates of the 1960s. But they are just as short-sighted and misguided as their 1960's states rights counterparts.
They are willing to waste public money on a useless crusade against the federal government. Only the lawyers will get rich.
Luckily for us all, in virtually all cases, the sovereignty of the federal government and the laws it created crushed the states rights blather in the 1960s and federal civil rights legislation became the law of the land.
The same outcome is a certainty if states attempt to water down health care reform legislation with their own laws and regulations.
Comments: (3)
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By: Bill Watson on 3/18/2010 4:15PM
Kill This Bill It Is A Fraud
Don’t be fooled into allowing the underlying 2700 pages bill, which the health care industry crafted to allow them to steal at will from us and the US Treasury to become law.
It will force us to purchase questionable insurance to purchase overpriced care.
The health care industry reported paying $600,000,000. dollars so far for this bill.
What other deals and payoffs have been made?
These are dastardly crimes against humanity and everyone found guilty should be forever unforgiven and forced to pay harsh consequences for their treachery.
Real Public Option reforms which would save lives and save money have been kept out of the debate by the President, Democrats, and Republicans, did anyone commit crimes doing it?
All 300 million people in the US could receive free public option health care, delivered from government VA system styled hospitals, paid for with sales tax revenues instead of insurance premiums, and it would save $1trillion dollars every year from the $2.6trillion spent last year.
Everyone choosing Free Public Option government care, sales tax funded, could have it free with no restrictions primary, inpatient, outpatient, long-term, mental, ophthalmology and dentistry including medications.
If you are in the United States and you show up for Public Option care it would be given free no restrictions period.
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By: Roy on 3/18/2010 9:40PM
Are you serious? You're unequivicoble ignorance of Constitional principles is truly scary given that you have an audience such as comes with the internet. What don't you understand about flow of power in this great nation. Before there was ever a Federal government, it was only State governments. It was the State governments that created a Federal, which logically would mean that the feds derive their power to govern at all from the States and the People. Who are you and where the heck do people with your amount of ignorance come from?
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By: Marionette Hicks on 3/22/2010 5:53PM
Your article clearly shows your own ignorance, and bigotry. Our people have for to long bowed to their Demo-Fed massa's. Trying to drag the civil war into a current day political arena is nothing short of moronic. Such analogies clearly show your Racist logic. Stop bringing our people into the past, and strive harder to lead them into the future. It is narrow minded mentality such as this that does more to oppress our people today, and deny our children the hope of any future. It is time to Grow Up. There is no future in the past.
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