The Patriot Post Brief 11-9-2009

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The Patriot Post Brief 11-9-2009
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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The Foundation

"History affords us many instances of the ruin of states, by the prosecution of measures ill suited to the temper and genius of their people. The ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation, to the prejudice and oppression of another, is certainly the most erroneous and mistaken policy. An equal dispensation of protection, rights, privileges, and advantages, is what every part is entitled to, and ought to enjoy." --Benjamin Franklin
Saturday Night Special -- "transparency" in action

Political Futures

"The push to get a health care reform bill through the U.S. House over the weekend was a classic political maneuver called 'changing the narrative.' It worked. Last week was a really, REALLY, bad news week for the Obama Administration. There was so much bad news that one story cascaded over another and, ultimately, they cancelled each other out. ... The decision to press for a Saturday vote on health care was formulated as soon as the Obama Administration realized how bad the job numbers were going to be. When the election results came in Tuesday night, that made the need to change the narrative even more important. After the Fort Hood horror, it became imperative. Among those voting for the health care bill was the new Congressman from NY-23, Bill Owens, who had said during the campaign that he was opposed to the public option. ... No matter how much the popular press pretends that the vote shows real momentum for a major overhaul of the nation's health care system, it was approved with a [five]-vote margin which does not sound like a choo-choo train racing across the Capitol Rotunda toward the Senate Chamber. The narrative may have changed for now, but the problems facing the Obama Administration continue to grow." --political analyst Rich Galen

Liberty

"Can Washington Make You Buy Health Insurance? Yes, yes, says White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. Congress has the power to make everyone buy health insurance. 'I don't believe there's a lot of case law that would demonstrate the veracity' of comments to the contrary. Thank you, Mr. Justice Gibbs. We'll see about all that when -- if -- the matter of Congress' power over private commercial judgments of this nature gets to the U.S. Supreme Court. Meanwhile the knock-down, drag-out over health insurance 'reform' shouldn't be allowed to fuzz up another immensely vital question; to wit, how in James Madison's name have we reached the point that Congress can so much as contemplate telling you, and you, and you, and all of us that we'll buy health insurance, like it or not, Buster? Why do we have to? Because the government says so, isn't that reason enough? For Mr. Justice Gibbs, and the people who employ him, it is. Just about anything Congress decides to do in the name of uplift seems to be constitutional: In other words, in accord with written stipulations as to what the national government may and may not do. Several problems arise concerning this fine theory: -- It's nonsense. It contravenes the whole constitutional concept of divided powers: particular functions reserved to particular branches of government. And other powers divided between states and the national government. -- It threatens liberty. A government that knows no limits to its power can be counted on to step more and more heavily on citizens' rights and privileges. All for the 'general good' naturally! -- It divides the citizens. On the one hand, those who want particular favors from government; on the other hand, those who deny that government has the right to dispense such favors. The Obama administration, which desperately wants health care to pass, brushes off such concerns as cranky and relevant mainly to wild-eyed Limbaugh and Palin fans, when in fact concerns about the rightful exercise of government power should inform every legislative debate. Those it doesn't inform are likely to end badly. Majority support of this or that initiative doesn't legitimize the initiative." --William Murchison, senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation

For the Record

"Does the U.S. Constitution stand for anything in an era of government excess? Can that founding document, which is supposed to restrain the power and reach of a centralized federal government, slow down the juggernaut of czars, health insurance overhaul and anything else this administration and Congress wish to do that is not in the Constitution? The Framers created a limited government, thus ensuring individuals would have the opportunity to become all that their talents and persistence would allow. The Left has put aside the original Constitution in favor of a 'living document' that they believe allows them to do whatever they want and demand more tax dollars with which to do it. Can they be stopped? Some constitutional scholars think the Tenth Amendment offers the best opportunity. The Tenth Amendment states: 'The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.' ... Constitutional Attorney John Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, tells me, 'Although the states surrendered many of their powers to the new federal government, they retained a residuary and inviolable sovereignty that is reflected throughout the Constitution's text. The Framers rejected the concept of a central government that would act upon and through the States, and instead designed a system in which the State and federal governments would exercise concurrent authority over the people. The Court's jurisprudence makes clear that the federal government may not compel the states to enact or administer a federal regulatory program.' Lawyers are busy writing language only they can understand which seeks to circumvent the intentions of the Founders. But it will be difficult to circumvent the last four words of the Tenth Amendment, which state unambiguously where ultimate power lies: '...or to the people.' Americans who believe their government should not be a giant ATM, dispensing money and benefits to people who have not earned them, and who want their country returned to its founding principles, must now exercise that power before it is taken from them. The Tenth Amendment is one place to begin." --columnist Cal Thomas

The Gipper

"Great nations which fail to meet their responsibilities are consigned to the dust bin of history. We grew from that small, weak republic which had as its assets spirit, optimism, faith in God and an unshakeable belief that free men and women could govern themselves wisely. We became the leader of the free world, an example for all those who cherish freedom. If we are to continue to be that example -- if we are to preserve our own freedom -- we must understand those who would dominate us and deal with them with determination." --Ronald Reagan

Government

"One of the strongest talking points of those who want a government-run medical care system is that we simply cannot afford the high and rising costs of medical care under the current system. First of all, what we can afford has absolutely nothing to do with the cost of producing anything. We will either pay those costs or not get the benefits. Moreover, if we cannot afford the quantity and quality of medical care that we want now, the government has no miraculous way of enabling us to afford it in the future. If you think the government can lower medical costs by eliminating 'waste, fraud and abuse,' as some Washington politicians claim, the logical question is: Why haven't they done that already? Over the years, scandal after scandal has shown waste, fraud and abuse to be rampant in Medicare and Medicaid. Why would anyone imagine that a new government medical program will do what existing government medical programs have clearly failed to do? If we cannot afford to pay for doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical drugs now, how can we afford to pay for doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical drugs, in addition to a new federal bureaucracy to administer a government-run medical system?" --economist Thomas Sowell

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The Patriot Post Brief 11-9-2009
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Culture

"Those of us who are not true believers in expanded government are certain of the following: If the 1,990-page House Health Care Bill becomes law, the average American will receive worse health care, American physicians will decline in status and income, American medical innovation will dramatically slow down and pharmaceutical discoveries will decline in number and quality. And, of course, the economy of the United States will deteriorate, perhaps permanently. However, we are also certain that there is one American group that will thrive -- trial lawyers. The very existence of a 1,990-page law guarantees years of, if not more or less permanent, lawsuits. And the law actually specifies that states that do not limit attorneys' fees in cases of medical malpractice shall be financially rewarded. ... Nothing better illustrates the reorientation -- indeed, the transformation -- of values that will take place if the Democrats' health care legislation is passed. ... No rational person argues that society doesn't need law or lawyers, or that all lawyers, even trial lawyers, do no good. That is certainly not what is being argued here. But it does say something about a society when those who sue physicians and hospitals make as much or more money than those who heal disease. It says something about a society when it glorifies and rewards those who litigate while it demonizes and punishes those who produce the drugs and devices that keep its citizens alive and well. This is part of the upside-down world the left is bequeathing to us and our children in the name of health care 'reform.'" --radio talk-show host Dennis Prager

Re: The Left

"If Obama can deny that a charge is a tax even when it's collected by the IRS and identified as a 'tax' in the legislation creating it, he surely sees nothing tax-like in the money people are required to spend if they want to avoid that charge. Yet forcing people to buy insurance they do not want so their premiums can subsidize other people's health care looks a lot like a tax-funded welfare program, even if the money does not flow through the public treasury. Furthermore, when businesses buy government-required health insurance or pay a penalty for failing to do so, that money comes at the expense of employee compensation. ... 'What we are saying,' House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., explained last week, 'is everybody will contribute ... to making sure that health care options are available to all of our citizens.' So we're talking about a legally required contribution that will be used to provide a government-arranged benefit. If only there were a shorter way of expressing that concept." --columnist Jacob Sullum

Reader Comments

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"Mr. Alexander, while I'm glad you are saying what you are saying, there is no way I'll donate to you. You've come aboard too late to the liberty movement. You had your chance during the previous election cycle to prove that you are not all words. You let true conservatism down. Not as bad as Newt who supported the establishment RINO. Well so did you. McCain, Rudy, Huckbeee and even Fred Thompson were all frauds. Albeit Thompson not as bad as the rest. I'll send my donations to true patriots." --Jim

"You guys are the best. I can do without to donate $26.00 just because your mission is so important. Seriously, if I had it, I'd personally donate the entire $325,000.00, just so you could have a chance to reach that many more people. And to 'Jim': I'm curious exactly what true patriots you're going to send you're money to. Is there someone who can reach more people? Is there some other organization that's exposing the lies and corruption? Is there someone else out there who is providing patriotic quotes, columns and news, and trying to organize people? If so, who are they?" --Billy396

"The groundswell of patriotic conservatism now building in our country is like a gentle spring breeze that comes after a long hard winter. It reminds me of the early days of WW11 when we gathered around the family radio hoping for some good news, which rarely came during 1941 and 1942. When the tide finally began to turn in our favor it raised the spirits of all of us and gave us hope for the future. I have that same feeling now." --John

Opinion in Brief

"In the aftermath of last year's Obama sweep, we heard endlessly about its fundamental, revolutionary, transformational nature. How it was ushering in an FDR-like realignment for the 21st century in which new demographics -- most prominently, rising minorities and the young -- would bury the GOP far into the future. One book proclaimed 'The Death of Conservatism,' while the more modest merely predicted the terminal decline of the Republican Party into a regional party of the Deep South or a rump party of marginalized angry white men. This was all ridiculous from the beginning. 2008 was a historical anomaly. A uniquely charismatic candidate was running at a time of deep war weariness, with an intensely unpopular Republican president, against a politically incompetent opponent, amid the greatest financial collapse since the Great Depression. And still he won by only seven points. Exactly a year later comes the empirical validation of that skepticism. ... What happened? The vaunted Obama realignment vanished. ... The Obama coattails of 2008 are gone. The expansion of the electorate, the excitement of the young, came in uniquely propitious Democratic circumstances and amid unparalleled enthusiasm for electing the first African-American president. November '08 was one-shot, one-time, never to be replicated. Nor was November '09 a realignment. It was a return to the norm -- and definitive confirmation that 2008 was one of the great flukes in American political history." --columnist Charles Krauthammer

The Last Word

"These are the times that try conservatives' souls. A liberal president wants funding for defense slashed. Congress aims to increase taxes and regulate just about everything. Activist judges create new 'rights' while ignoring long-standing precedent. So why remain upbeat? Because our country still has the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. They're the touchstones of our liberty -- and the conservative trump cards in the battle of ideas. 'We don't need to remake America, or discover new and untested principles,' writes scholar Matthew Spalding in his latest book. 'The change we need is not the rejection of America's principles but a great renewal of these permanent truths about humanity, politics, and liberty -- the foundational principles and constitutional wisdom that are the true roots of our country's greatness.' In short, we need a roadmap back to where our country should be. ... Every American should know the founding principles of our country. 'The meaning and power of these ideas will be lost in the course of a lifetime if they are not taught to each generation of students,' Spalding warns. ... The principles of our Declaration and our Constitution must again become 'an expression of the American mind,' as Thomas Jefferson once said. We can -- and must -- insist that our leaders again abide by true constitutional principles. But we also must rediscover these principles as a people if we are to reclaim our future." --Edwin J. Feulner, president of The Heritage Foundation

*****

Veritas vos Liberabit -- Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus, et Fidelis! Mark Alexander, Publisher, for The Patriot's editors and staff.

(Please pray for our Armed Forces standing in harm's way around the world, and for their families -- especially families of those fallen Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, who granted their lives in defense of American liberty.)