Some Thoughts On Health Care Reform

As many of you know, the major news of the week centered around the Supreme Courts review of the President's 2010 Affordable Care Act. The 3 major parts of the bill being debated are: 1) The individual mandate, which would require uninsured people to buy insurance, or face a penalty in some cases. 2) Can you remove the mandate, and maintain the integrity of the bill? 3) If you do remove the mandate, should the entire bill be scrapped, or can some provisions stand alone? These are the heart of the arguments that were presented over 3 days this week, to the high court. It is, and will become, one of the most important decisions the Supreme Court has issued in decades.


That being said, I think it fair that these same judicial heavy weights are the group that brought us the "Citizens United" decision, which scrapped over 100 years of precedent with regards to political finance reform. Sadly, like the nation itself, it is hopelessly divided along liberal and conservative ideologies. It would also be true to call the divide Republican vs. Democratic, it's simply a matter of semantics. The latest polling bears out the same divide among the electorate. Republicans dislike the bill by 75%, Democrats like the bill by 66%, and Independents are evenly divided at 40% for and against. We won't know the verdict until June, but the fact of the matter is that the decisions will be reached today.

The 2 major arguments come down to this: 1) Because of the unique nature of the health care market, which everyone will use at one time or another, can the government under the "Commerce Clause" of the Constitution force people to buy insurance, or face a penalty if they do not. or 2) It is unconstitutional for the federal government to force people to buy health insurance if they don't want to, and further; if you grant this power to Congress here, where do you draw the line in the future? For these arguments I offer 2 examples. First, while it is totally constitutional for the states to enforce these kind of mandates, ie: car insurance. The question then falls to whether the federal government can do the same? Is it "necessary and proper" to impose a similar mandate by the federal government, through the "Commerce Clause" in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution? While there have been 236 years to more broadly define this power, I would point to my second point which is this, Social Security. Which in its simplest form is old age insurance, MANDATED by the federal government. As I see it, there is no credible distinction between this, and the Affordable Care Act. It is something everybody needs, so that those with insurance, don't end up paying for those who don't have it. It took monumental effort to achieve, and would be devastating to those already reaping the benefits of this legislation. It needs to be upheld, because if it is struck down, the current state of political affairs will not allow this issue to be addressed seriously for years, and the general welfare will suffer for it.

In closing I would add this. From the very inception of this legislation, the President, and the Democrats in Congress who drafted it, have NEVER, not even today, controlled the argument on the need for this legislation. It has been demonized by the Right for over 2 years, and if a greater effort was put into letting people know what this bill does for people had been pursued, we may not have even had the challenge that now lies before us at the Supreme Court. This bill is NOT an attack on Liberty, as some would have you believe. It is an imperfect, but necessary step in providing health care for the millions of uninsured Americans, who suffer daily through no fault of their own. My hope is that a majority of those 9 justices come to understand this, and uphold this crucial legislation.

Santorum Is Losing His Mojo

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum seems to be losing steam as the next three contests fast approach next Tuesday. Wisconsin which is being touted as a must win for Father Rick to stay in the race, seems to have slipped through his fingers. Just one month ago Santorum held a 16 point lead. Once again under the barrage of negative ads from Romney, who has outspent Santorum 9 to 1, the table has turned. Romney now holds an 8 point lead in the badger state, that's a 24 point shift. The other two contests in Maryland, and the District of Columbia, also seem to be lining up in Romney's column.

More bad news for Father Rick from his home state of Pennsylvania. Just two weeks ago he held a commanding 18 point lead in the keystone state, today his lead is just 2 points. As Romney begins to capture more high profile endorsements, the math, and the April contests, have made it almost impossible for Santorum to get the nomination. He would need to capture 79% of the remaining delegates, a task that is clearly out of reach.

However, the bad news isn't just Santorum's. As people begin to take a look at Mitt Romney, his numbers are dropping. His approval rating currently stands at 34%, while President Obama's approval is at 53%. In the three major battleground states of Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, once again the President is leading in all three states. Let's also not forget his gaff of the week. It regards the revelation that the former Massachusetts Governor plans to add a car elevator to his La Jolla estate in California, and his campaign’s subsequent defense of said elevator. However, it seems research shows Romney, as Governor, once vetoed a bill that would have, among other things, funded a $40,000 upgrade to make elevators compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. An elevator for his Bentley, screw the disabled. It is classic Romney, and just another out of touch moment for the masses to devour, as he continues to fail in his efforts to connect with regular people. Maybe he needs the elevator to help strap his dog on the roof of the car? just a thought.

As for Rick Santorum, seeing the writing on the wall, when asked if he would consider the V.P. spot he said, "I'll do whatever is necessary to help our country." What a trooper, if you can't beat em, join em. A suggestion that was not dismissed by Romney either, so we may still see Santorum as number 2, although to be honest, I've always seen him that way.

Santorum Scores Again In The South

The proverbial thorn in Mitt Romney's side, just won't go away. Louisiana gave Rick Santorum a 22 point victory in Saturday's Primary there. He carried every parish in the state except Orleans, home of New Orleans, which went to Romney. So we have yet another dispatch from the bumpkin belt voicing its unhappiness with the front runner Romney. The result comes as no surprise, and only stands as another example of Romney's inability to win in the south. In fact if you look at his numbers, excluding Florida (which isn't a true southern state), and Virginia, (where Santorum & Gingrich were not on the ballot), he can't seem to break the 31% mark. It should be noted that in the northern part of Florida, which is representative of the true south, Gingrich won hands down.

Romney's Southern Problem

South Carolina: 28%
Georgia: 26%
Tennessee: 28%
Alabama: 29%
Mississippi: 31%
Louisiana: 27%
Oklahoma: 28%

Despite the fact that he doesn't appeal to these states in the primaries, If I was Romney I wouldn't be overly concerned either that these states will go to Obama in November. They are all solid red bastions. However, it does raise some questions about the "solid south", that may give former Governor Romney pause. While it hasn't been talked about that much, the evangelical social conservative rubes that litter the landscape of the bumpkin belt, have a real problem with Romney's Mormon faith. They also don't see him as a true conservative. Romney's appeal has consistently been in the affluent suburban city areas, not the overwhelmingly rural areas that blanket the south. So the issue is this, we all know the majority of these states are going to vote for Romney, but will the electorates faith prevent them from embracing a candidate many see as being part of a cult? My guess is, probably not. Why? Because their hatred for Obama runs deeper than their religion. Which if you think about it, is a sad commentary on those who will be driven to the polls by that fact.

As for Father Rick, should he remain in the fight for the long haul, I can see him picking up 7 to 9 more states. The next one being Wisconsin a week from Tuesday. However, the writing is on the wall, and April is going to be a good month for Romney. My thought is this, the longer Romney has to fight Santorum, the better it is for the President. So here's to a long and bloody primary fight that carries us into June.