America
has long been looked up to as a beacon of light in a world where
corruption, greed, and tyranny often mock the very concepts of freedom,
fairness, and rule of rule.
We were different, or so we thought,
because of our Constitution,
the balancing of power assured by having separate, but equal, branches of government,
and a heritage of commitment to the rule of law.
Ours was not a
government where matters of great importance were decided in dark, musty
rooms by special interest sleaze merchants and elitist politicians
willing to sell influence for personal enrichment rather than pursuing
the common good.
Government “by and for the people,” was
understood to mean open, honest resolution of differences, regardless
of how substantial those differences. Adherence to rule of law meant
that established rules and laws would always apply,
regardless of how urgent the issue, and without regard to the intensity
of the passions with which opposing views were held.
Above all
else, executing the will of the people was of paramount importance.
Advancing the career objectives of ambitious politicians was not.
Sleights
of hand and behind the scenes chicanery are accepted as the mother’s
milk of dictatorships and banana republics, but were understood to have
no place here in America, home to the most sophisticated and civilized
political system in the world.
Unfortunately, the tragic
manner in which health care
reform has been mangled by Congress and the White House has
snuffed America’s image as a beacon of light and hope, and replaced it
with that of the banana, the symbol of lawlessness, corruption, rule by
fiat, and everything antithetical to democratic self-governance.
Over
the course of the past six months, we have witnessed a government
completely out of
touch with, and actually intolerant of, the views of the American people.
We
have stood aghast at a government that has deliberately snubbed the
will of the people in order to pacify an incompetent president whose
disapproval rating is at 52 percent and rising.
We have been
shocked by a Congress that is willing to forgo established rules and
procedures in order to “get it done,” it being socialization of the greatest health
care system in the world, a process not favored by the American
people.
Despite all of the cajoling, elbow bending, bribing and
other unethical behavior executed on behalf of Barack Obama by Democrat leaders, there is
still insufficient support among Democrats to pass the flawed ObamaCare
into law.
All of this means that another level of
chicanery and banana-republic tactics may be employed by Democrats to
get their way,
As reported, in part, by the Washington Post (1), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
may attempt to pass health care without having members vote on it:
“After
laying the groundwork for a decisive vote this week on the Senate’s
health-care bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested Monday that she
might attempt to pass the measure without having members vote on it.
“Instead,
Pelosi (D-Calif.) would rely on a procedural sleight of hand: The House
would vote on a more popular package of fixes to the Senate bill; under
the House rule for
that vote, passage would signify that lawmakers "deem" the health-care
bill to be passed.
“The tactic — known as a "self-executing rule" or a "deem and
pass" — has been commonly used, although never to pass legislation as
momentous as the $875 billion health-care bill. It is one of three
options that Pelosi said she is considering for a late-week House vote,
but she added that she prefers it because it would politically protect
lawmakers who are reluctant to publicly support the measure.
"It’s
more insider and process-oriented than most people want to know," the
speaker said in a roundtable discussion with bloggers Monday. "But I
like it," she said, "because people don’t have to vote on the Senate
bill."
Republican Senator
Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, not a man with whom
conservatives often see eye-to-eye, hit the nail on the head when he
said that the “American people are getting tired of this crap.”
Indeed,
we are, Senator.
The big question: Are there enough
Democrats in
Congress with the integrity and back bone needed to restore that beacon
of light and hope to America’s legacy?
(1)
John
W. Lillpop
Marions space 