by Michael E. Hammond, former General Counsel Senate Steering Committee 1978-89.
To listen to the liberal media, you would think conservatives had won the first and only battle on ObamaCare repeal –- but already lost the war.
The Washington Post, echoing the almost universal media theme (including Fox), called the vote “largely symbolic.” Over and over again, we have been told that ObamaCare will never be repealed and we are wasting our time to even think about it.
And, incidentally, the stupid Republicans reinforce this theme when they concede at the beginning of each interview that they are too flaccid and ineffectual to prevail. Compare this to the “We will win!” mantra Obama used to pass ObamaCare in the first place.
Ironically, we are probably only about four Senate votes short of sending the repeal bill to Obama’s desk in the 112TH Congress. And, if Republicans have the courage to tack repeal onto the debt limit or continuing resolution, even without those four votes, the House will have the capacity to present Obama with a choice:
* sign the ObamaCare repeal; or
* shut down the administration’s rulemaking powers for the next two years.
That’s right. No regulatory cap-and-trade. No NLRB requirements that employers encourage unionization. No BATF gun registries for multiple sales. No massive new administratively designated wilderness areas. No taxpayer funded TV commercials touting ObamaCare. No ObamaCare implementation.
In September, 2009, Obama was more than four votes short of passing ObamaCare. He initially fell more than four votes short of ratifying START, repealing don’t-ask-don’t-tell, creating a 9/11 entitlement, and regulating small farms. Yet, he moved ruthlessly and methodically to pick up the votes he needed. And the Hypocrite Press, not surprisingly, didn’t whine that these initiatives were “symbolic” or “a waste of time.”
Here are the steps to repealing ObamaCare:
http://www.redstate.com/mikehammond/2011/01/23/how-to-repeal-obamacare/
