We can all stop pretending continued Republican anger about the Affordable Care Act is news. Some figured a Supreme Court ruling would settle things. And since the GOP said it was unconstitutional with the same fervor as people who’ve read the Constitution—it was easy to assume a decision from the nine justices in the highest court in the land—regardless of the outcome—would chill them out.
They would say things like "We are a nation of laws." Things they say when they agree with the law—however unjust it may be (i.e. immigration).
No, instead there are calls for revolt. The perennially reasonable Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) said in a written statement: "Just because a couple people on the Supreme Court declare something to be ‘constitutional’ does not make it so." And then added, "The whole thing remains unconstitutional." Which is akin to saying just because something is a law doesn’t make it legal. Or just because they have hair on their face doesn’t make them mammals. The court, not some junior senator from a small state, ultimately decides what is or what is not constitutional. But unconstitutional is the word conservatives use for illegitimate. In chess this move is called flipping the board over and stomping away.
But it also feeds into the right-wing narrative that they are history’s most frequent victims. To them, the more egalitarian the country becomes the more persecuted conservatives are. The sentiment can be traced back to 1845 and the founding of the Know Nothings, a nativist group concerned the country was being overrun with German and Irish immigrants. The current tea party finds its sympathies much more inline with the Know Nothings than anyone who ever threw tea in the Boston Harbor. They’re each backlash movements sparked by "change."
The Know Nothings became split on the issue of slavery and in the southern states morphed into what we identify as the Confederacy. Here you have a region of the country that quite literally fired the first shots of what was to be the bloodiest war in American history and to hear them tell it, it was the "war of Northern aggression."
The Civil War for many didn’t settle things so why would we assume a 5-4 decision could?
Conservatives are still mad about the New Deal, even though it worked to pull the country out of the Great Depression. They’re still miffed about women suffrage, the Civil Rights Act and Roe v. Wade. In fact any movement forward giving more people more rights and greater acceptance is a point of contention with conservatives. Gay rights is framed as Christians losing their rights to vilify whomever they want. Women not being forced to pay for birth control out-of-pocket is the government restricting the freedom of religion institutions to dictate policy to the government.
Conservatives in the current incarnation of the Republican Party think rights are a zero sum game. If one group gains acceptance, it means another falls out of favor. The cornerstone of trickle down economics is that a rising tide raises all boats—but not when it comes to social change in the right-wing mindset. Then there are winners and there are losers. And conservatives on some level have to lose to prove their preexisting condition: They’re not bullies but martyrs—always hanged in the public square for their belief that only they should benefit from the Bill of Rights.
The Affordable Care Act is a law of social change. It insists on greater equality for women in health care. It stands up for the sick over the bottom line. It’s a step forward for human rights (finally) in our medical system. And it mandates personal responsibility (as with most laws). It’s far from perfect, and as with anything it can stand improvement—but does that make it an affront to Republicans?
In a word: Yes.
It’s health care reform policy, Republicans, going all the way back to Nixon, have touted as a way to avoid socialized medicine in America. So naturally its implementation is a major loss for their team.
Now more Americans can get private medical insurance and insurance companies have to spend a higher percentage of premiums on actual health care—but most importantly conservatives get to be the victims of "a communist plot to kill our freedom."
Copyright 2012 TinaDupuy.com, distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. Tina Dupuy is an award-winning writer and the managing editor of Crooks and Liars. Tina can be reached at tinadupuy@yahoo.com.
Cerulean posted at 4:38 pm on Sun, Jul 8, 2012.
“Now more Americans can get private medical insurance and insurance companies have to spend a higher percentage of premiums on actual health care—but most importantly conservatives get to be the victims of "a communist plot to kill our freedom."”
Yeah! very good column Tina Dupuy. I will forever think of tea party groups as the Know Nothings.
mnjcpa posted at 8:29 am on Mon, Jul 9, 2012.
Socialized medicine in America. Yeah, Cerulean the Tea Party knows nothing. Check back with me when America goes off the dollar as the world's currency and we have economic collapse. See who it was that knew nothing.
chuckles3 posted at 8:38 am on Mon, Jul 9, 2012.
"it stands up for the sick over the bottom line"
Really? Then why are we hiring thousands of IRS agents to enforce it?
"it mandates personal responsibility"
Really? What if I can't afford to pay the tax for my 6 children born out of wedlock? Oh, wait there will be a program to pay for it, along with WIC, Food stamps, etc. Give me a break.
And the best one, "it insists on greater equality for women in healthcare" lol, is that some kind of reference to free birth control pills? Or am I missing where all the women have to get behind the men at the ER?
mnjcpa posted at 9:46 am on Mon, Jul 9, 2012.
A peek in to Tina's background will show you she's a syndicated columnist with a `wild child` upbringing with hippie parents. So it stands to reason why her columns perfectly align with the radical left that is the Obama administration.
Does it matter to her that the very people that Obama said would be affected by these costs are in fact going to be hit the hardest. It's a fact that over 75% of the bill will be borne by those making less than $120k per year. Or now we're going to be funding medical costs of illegal citizens at the tune of billions each year.
No, those pesky issues like we can't afford and it will collapse our economy are minor stuff for Tina. We got to make sure we all feel good about the bill.
Ridiculous.
Engaged Voter posted at 11:10 am on Mon, Jul 9, 2012.
Wow, Tina sure hit the nail on the head with this one.
Just look at the last two comments...a couple of Chicken Littles yelling "The sky is falling! The economy will collapse! Squawk!".
"Or am I missing where all the women have to get behind the men at the ER?"
You mean the women who can't get their reproductive rights covered while the men get a deduction for Viagra? Yeah, you're missing it. Try opening your eyes.
Engaged Voter posted at 11:22 am on Mon, Jul 9, 2012.
We can afford trillions for wars - past, present and future - and trillions more to bail out the banks, and hundreds of billions more in tax breaks and subsidies for corporations ..
But we can't afford free (tax-paid) Universal Health Care.
mnjcpa posted at 11:41 am on Mon, Jul 9, 2012.
The wars represented only 4% of GDP Engaged so while I didn't agree with them either, they haven't had the impact on the economy that you would think.
The banks were bailed out because of the mortgage crisis started by Barney Frank/Chris Dodd/ and Bill Clinton that forced banks to give loans to risky customers which created the real estate bubble. You're right about the subsidies....but let's include the farmers that don't need them and billions to unproven technologies as well as the billions that go to illegals in tax credits.
Obamacare is socialized medicine and nothing is free and we won't know what hit us until 2014-2016.
That's why the substance of this election must be Obama and his policies and why we are in the condition we're in, period.
mnjcpa posted at 11:56 am on Mon, Jul 9, 2012.
Just saw your continued insults Engaged about `chicken little`. $16 trillion in debt and growing and I'm the one with flawed thoughts?
I guess those pesky tax codes, capital market reports, Wall Street Journal, European monetary system analysis that I read to keep informed are junk and I should start watching MSNBC along with their other 30,000 viewers to get informed.
VofReason posted at 1:13 pm on Mon, Jul 9, 2012.
There are definitly some good things that will come with the law, but they are well outweighted by the things that are bad. I think what she really means to say is that some people are just lost and have no chance in the world if no one takes care of them. Additionally, unmarried women cannot be asked to keep chaste and if they happen to work for a religous organization, they must be covered for something against the ideals. Finally, unborn babies have no right to life, but vicous murderers do and can be reformed. This is why liberalism is a mental disorder.
CSalafia posted at 1:22 pm on Mon, Jul 9, 2012.
"A peek in to Tina's background will show you she's a syndicated columnist with a `wild child` upbringing with hippie parents. So it stands to reason why her columns perfectly align with the radical left that is the Obama administration."
Typical response, smear the author.
*yawn*
mnjcpa posted at 2:13 pm on Mon, Jul 9, 2012.
Ideology is deeply rooted. Her ideas line up with liberals every time, no matter whether it makes economic sense or not.
That's not a smear CSalafia - it's an observation.
'
CSalafia posted at 2:59 pm on Mon, Jul 9, 2012.
"That's not a smear CSalafia - it's an observation. "
Yeah, it is. It's also a logical fallacy. When you start with (paraphrasing) "Of course she'd agree, she's got hippie parents", that's called "circumstantial ad hominem".
mnjcpa posted at 3:19 pm on Mon, Jul 9, 2012.
What in the heck is a logical fallacy or circumstantial ad hominen? Doesn't even make sense. What I said was that people with fixed ideologies are deeply rooted. They learn liberal nonsense somewhere - either in the school system or at home. Her ideas line up with liberals every time, and won't be persuaded otherwise no matter whether it makes economic sense or not. That's an observation.
Masterrogue666 posted at 7:26 pm on Mon, Jul 9, 2012.
When me and my family receives THE SAME LEVEL OF HEALTH CARE that our politicians receive, then I'll believe it's a "fair" system, as long as ILLEGAL ALIENS don't receive ANY! Why should my "tax" dollars help out a foreign national?
Will the country of said ILLEGAL ALIEN refund the US taxpayer?
Engaged Voter posted at 10:07 pm on Mon, Jul 9, 2012.
"What in the heck is a logical fallacy or circumstantial ad hominen?"
Tactics often used by those with fixed ideologies.
Unintentional irony is funny! :D
CSalafia posted at 7:53 am on Tue, Jul 10, 2012.
"When me and my family receives THE SAME LEVEL OF HEALTH CARE that our politicians receive, then I'll believe it's a "fair" system"
Sounds like envy to me. You're just jealous of their success.
mnjcpa posted at 9:30 am on Tue, Jul 10, 2012.
Seriously Masterrogue is jealous and envious of a congressman's success? Do you actually believe that?
We elect congress to represent our point of view. It's not a position where envy should even come in to the equation.
Oh but I forgot. It's important to hold grudges for people that do better than we do - that's the good liberal way.
Perfect example of where this administration has taken our culture.
chatmandu002 posted at 1:13 pm on Tue, Jul 10, 2012.
We won't know the full oppression of Obamacare until after the election. Obamacare is another highly touted social justice program that will cost much more than predicted and provide must less than promised.
VofReason posted at 12:36 pm on Wed, Jul 11, 2012.
Why do liberals always point out that others don't have an opened mind but then always take an ardent liberal stance on everything. President Obama can do no wrong, the Christians want to eat your children and Repulicans are rich, greedy people who only care about themselves. Yes, Enraged Voter is definitly the example of an open mind.
Unintentional irony is funny. Far left liberals are not.