Fighting Obamacare via Passive Resistance

by John Hawkins | November 26, 2012 11:03 pm

By John Hawkins
TPNN Contributor

[1]

It’s impossible to repeal Obamacare when the Democrats control the Senate and the White House, but that doesn’t mean we have to take the destruction of the American healthcare system lying down. Instead of a frontal assault, it’s time to take a page from Ghandi and engage in a little passive resistance.

It starts with Republican governors across the country: refusing to set up Obamacare exchanges[2].

The Obama administration faces major logistical and financial challenges in creating health insurance exchanges for states that have declined to set up their own systems.

The exchanges were designed as the centerpiece of President Obama’s signature law, and are intended to make buying health insurance comparable to booking a flight or finding a compatible partner on Match.com.

Sixteen states – most of them governed by Republicans – have said they will not set up their own systems, forcing the federal government to come up with one instead.
Another five states said they want a federal-state partnership, while four others are considering partnerships.

It’s a situation no one anticipated when the Affordable Care Act was written. The law assumed states would create and operate their own exchanges, and set aside billions in grants for that purpose.

Wesley J. Smith has: another suggestion[3].

Senate Republicans should filibuster confirmation of the soon-to-be-nominated members of the Independent Payment Advisory Board. No board, no IPAB autocracy. Of course, the president might then make a non-recess recess appointment, but that opens any action taken by IPAB to legal attack.

Then there’s: the House strategy[4].

Republicans in the House and Senate still hate the law – they say it’s bad health policy and bad budget policy – and their support for full repeal isn’t going anywhere. But they also realize the short-term strategy has to change.

The opposition plan is now centered on three main pieces, according to conversations with House and Senate Republicans: Focus on piecemeal repeal where it might be possible to pick up a few Democratic votes; use the House majority to conduct investigations into the implementation of the law; and be ready to act when the law crumbles, as they argue that it will.

Of course, there will: be more legal challenges as well[5].

The Supreme Court has revived a Christian college’s challenge to President Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul, with the acquiescence of the Obama administration.

The court on Monday ordered the federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., to consider the claim by Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., that Obama’s health care law violates the school’s religious freedoms. …

The school made a new filing with the court over the summer to argue that its claims should be fully evaluated in light of the high court decision. The administration said it did not oppose Liberty’s request.

Liberty is challenging both the requirement that most individuals obtain health insurance or pay a penalty, and a separate provision requiring many employers to offer health insurance to their workers.

The appeals court could ask the government and the college for new legal briefs to assess the effect of the Supreme Court ruling on Liberty’s claims before rendering a decision.

Will all of these tactics stop Obamacare from becoming the law of the land? There’s always a chance, but if you had to bet, probably not. Still, longshots do pay off sometimes and let’s face it: This is an unpopular bill passed without Republican support that would be a disaster to implement under the best of circumstances. Although we should of course obey the letter of the law, the Democrats passed Obamacare without Republican support; so let them implement it without Republican support.

Endnotes:
  1. [Image]: http://tpnn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/obamacare-signing.jpg
  2. refusing to set up Obamacare exchanges: http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/269137-obama-faces-huge-challenge-in-setting-up-health-exchanges
  3. another suggestion: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/333982/not-cooperating-obamacare-wesley-j-smith#
  4. the House strategy: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1112/84209.html
  5. be more legal challenges as well: http://hotair.com/archives/2012/11/26/supreme-court-revives-challenge-to-obamacare-on-religious-liberty-grounds/

Source URL: https://rightwingnews.com/column-2/fighting-obamacare-via-passive-resistance/