You might think that the health care debate is over. That you’re stuck with whatever abortion-funding, higher-taxing, premium-increasing, health care “reform” plan Congress comes up with. But that’s not true—yet.
You still have time to stop this ugly train. You still have time to persuade your U.S. representative to vote NO when the bill comes to the floor.
Right now, the House and the Senate are working out the differences in their versions of the bill behind closed doors. When they’re done—they’ll quickly throw the bill on the House and Senate floors for a vote. That’s why *right now* is so important. Now is the time to contact your U.S. representative and tell him or her that the health care plan is unacceptable, particularly because the Senate-passed version includes abortion funding.
And while phone calls are good, in-person visits to your representative’s home district office are better. Check out this toolkit to help you set up a meeting at your lawmaker’s office. You still have time!
While Saturday night’s 60-39 vote to move the health care bill forward was disappointing, all is not lost.
Americans have all this week, while their senators are home for the Thanksgiving break, to contact local offices and urge their senators to vote NO on the 60-vote hurdle coming up after the holiday. Did we mention the bill still includes federal funding of elective abortion? Yes, it does. And we now know that the “reform” will cost far more than the $849 billion that the Dems are touting.
So eat a lot of turkey this Thanksgiving, and while you’re at it, make a quick phone call to your senators’ local offices and say “vote NO” on the next health care vote coming up. Just go here, type in your zip code, and then click on your senators’ names to find the contact information for their state offices. Quick and easy.
Here’s a quick recap from Saturday’s vote on health care reform.
The House of Representatives passed its version of government health care “reform” 220-215. 39 Democrats and 176 Republicans voted against the bill. 219 Democrats joined 1 Republican, Joseph Cao (Louisiana), to pass the bill.
The Stupak/Pitts amendment that would prohibit federal funds from being used to pay for abortion or to cover any part of the costs of a health plan that includes abortion coverage, also passed, 240-194. 64 Democrats and 176 Republicans voted in favor. One lone Republican, John Shadegg, voted “present.” This vote is a win for pro-lifers — in a Democrat-controlled Congress. Are those pigs flying?
And yes, it’s possible that the Stupak amendment could be stripped out in conference committee when the two chambers work out the differences in their versions. But health care “reform” has to clear the Senate first.
Moving forward, we await the unveiling of Senate Democrats’ version of health care. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) says he’ll release it after the Congressional Budget Office finishes tallying the cost of the plan, and that his version will “look markedly different” from the House bill. Interestingly, Senator Joe Lieberman is promising to keep the bill from coming to the floor if it contains a public option plan.
I’ve mentioned it before but it bears repeating: the only thing Americans oppose more than government health care is government health care that funds abortion. Perhaps the Senate will listen.
Late last week, the Senate passed “hate crimes” legislation as an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill. The vote was 63-28. (The House passed it in April this year 249-175). President Obama has promised to sign “hate crimes” into law.
That means it will be a federal crime to commit violence against someone because of the victim’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.
Because some victims are more worthy of protection than others–say liberals in Congress. Here’s what they mean:
Let’s say Joe needs cash for drugs, so he takes his gun purchased at a gun show and decides to rob someone. Joe sees an elderly man from across the street and realizes he’d make a good target–the man is old and walking slow. So Joe runs up and knocks him to the ground with the handle of his gun, and runs off with the man’s wallet.
Turns out the wallet had no cash. So Joe searches for another victim. He notices a young man across the parking lot–short, skinny, and well-dressed. Maybe he has more money, Joe thinks. The young man is also wearing a shirt that says “Gay and Proud!” And Joe has never really liked guys who identify as gay. So he knocks the young man down with his gun and steals his wallet.
Under the federal hate crimes law, Joe will be charged with a more serious crime–a federal crime–for assaulting the gay man than for assaulting the elderly man. Even though he committed the exact same act.
I’ll take “unequal justice under the law,” for $200 please, Alex.
They say justice is supposed to be blind. But under the federal hate crimes law, it’s only blind to some victims.
