Updated The Rachael Maddow Show video link information in this article on 6/10/2015
From the time that Americans let our politicians know that we want affordable healthcare and Congress passed the Affordable Care Act so that average Americans can afford to purchase healthcare insurance, the Republican Party has been working to repeal or destroy it. Now it is likely that 5 guys – who for all intents and purposes could likely fit into the category of quasi politician – will decide its fate. The uncanny thing is that this case even managed to reach the Supreme Court.
Yes, this month, it will have been a little more than five years since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (a.k.a., Obamacare) was passed and although Congress has accomplished very little else since then they have voted at least 54 times to cripple or repeal it. In conjunction with voting to repeal Obamacare they continue to do everything that they possibly can to destroy it even though they have no substantive plan with which to replace it.
The 5 top guys who will likely decide its fate will likely be the same guys that decided who would become America’s president as a result of the Bush versus Gore debacle in Florida in 2000. The real problem is not whether it is these same five guys. The problem is that 5 people decided for all of America in 2000 who our president would be and now they likely will decide whether or not America will provide its citizens with affordable healthcare so that they can purchase healthcare insurance.
If these 5 guys decide against the Administration on this case it will be up to Congress to correct the problem, which normally would be quite easy. But with this Congress and their record; and based on the record and accomplishments of the Congresses over the past few years, good luck! Based on this Congress’ ability to work together and get things done it would take all but an act of God for them to come together and fix the Obamacare problem even though that fix would only require them to change a few words in the law.
It seems that most of those in the Republican Party want to repeal or destroy Obamacare so despite the fact that right now they are fighting among themselves (e.g. their inability to pass their own bills although they control Congress); because they are in harmony when it comes to their hatred of Obamacare, they would likely circle the wagons and…do nothing.
The top 5 guys are probably good people who, hopefully, always interpret the law honestly and to the best of their ability. But just like the rest of Americans, they have their political persuasions and though they may work hard not to allow those persuasions to influence their ultimate decisions; just like the rest of us, they are human.
The bottom line is that to the greatest extent possible, the majority of Americans should be making these determinations through our elected officials and they should not be made by 5 guys who have the same flaws that all Americans have. What about the do-nothing Congress, you might ask? My answer; we can easily fix that and keep it fixed by stepping up to our responsibility as American citizens: we can get registered and get out and vote. And that means that we need to vote in more than just presidential elections: we need to vote in local, state, and federal elections.
I can’t guarantee you that all of us will then be happy and content with the outcomes; instead, I can guarantee you that one side will likely prevail more often than the other and some of us will always be disgruntled with those outcomes. But it will be a lot better than letting 5 guys determine our destiny. And besides, we should not necessarily be looking for an equal share of those outcomes to be favorable for us but rather an equal opportunity to have input into what those outcomes will be.
Our elected officials should be working to make the system as fair as possible, encouraging citizens to vote and making it as easy as legally possible for us to do so. Unfortunately, that is not the case and some of them are instead putting up barriers to obstruct or prevent some of us from voting.
African-Americans who had to endure events like Bloody Sunday on the journey to the right to vote, and women – who were not allowed to vote until 1920, should be especially focused and determined to vote as a result of these hard-won victories: victories, some of which by the way, have been greatly eroded by the Supreme Court’s 2013 Voting Rights decision.
After the Court’s ruling, the state of Texas immediately enacted new and onerous voter ID laws that have had an adverse impact on many Texans’ ability to vote. These new laws have mainly impacted on the poor, people of color and young people. Many of those in these groups normally vote for Democrats. Unfortunately, Texas is not the only state that has enacted new and unfair voter ID laws. There may be as many as 20 other states that have enacted or are making an effort to enact such laws. All of these states are headed by Republicans or have legislatures that are dominated by Republicans. How does this approach to governance fit into the definition of democracy and the spirit and intent of the United States’ Constitution? It doesn’t!
Before the Supreme Court’s ruling that gutted the Voting Rights Act, the U.S. Department of Justice was able to block the passage of such laws unless the lawmakers that wanted them implemented could prove in advance of passing them that they would not have a disparate impact on any group of voters.
This is not the case now and many Texas voters who had been voting since the time that they became eligible to vote can no longer do so. The reasons for denying these American citizens their right to vote have been, at best, flimsy and the most obvious reason for implementing these laws appears to be to make it harder or prevent those who do not vote for Republicans from voting. This must change; and we can change it through our vote! So whatever your Party affiliation might be, make a determination right now that no matter what roadblocks are placed in your way that you will somehow get beyond them, get registered and vote.
The reduction in the number of polling places, days that are available for one to vote, not allowing those who are already in line to vote before the polls close – no matter how long the line and the long lines that have been created in the past and will continue to be created as a result of these reductions are obstacles that may prove to be a major challenge to meet: but we must continue to fight and try until we meet and ultimately surmount them!
Finally, if you are interested, you can click on the following link (click the link then type ‘Clinton slams GOP for war on voting, calls for universal registration’) into the search box to watch a video on The Rachael Maddow Show on how bad things have actually become with regards to some lawmakers around the country who are making it harder for their constituents to vote.
Eulus Dennis