Come on, governor. Don’t be ridiculous. The healthcare bill is not a good one — it fall too far short of universal coverage and leaves the for-profit insurance industry in place — but it is constitutional, and a challenge on these grounds is pure ideological hubris.
Author: hankkalet
Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie.
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Hank Kalet 
The Guv, (any guv of either side of the duopoly), should be looking at the Medicaid expense down the road. If it looks like \”their\” State can't afford it, don't they then have a Constitutional, if not a moral, obligation to push back?(See by allowing the direct election of Senators, we disconnect the feedback loop to the Senate from the State Legislatures. Unfunded mandates would be IMPOSSIBLE if the Senator was beholding to his State Legislature. If that was still in place, do you think the Senate would vote for UNFUNDED MEDICAID expense be dumped on the States? At least the States that didn't have a the brains to get a Cornhusker kickback for us! Did Menedez and Lautenberg get us a kickback, purchase, hospital, judgeship, or something?)
Before the 17th amendment, there was massive corruption in the selection of senators. In the late 1800s, one rich guy walked into the legislature, I forget which state, and handed out packs of money to each legislator to \”encourage\” them to select him for senator. There was corruption but there was also political infighting between the parties to the extent that no senator was selected for years and that state lacked proper representation in the senate. Why anyone would want to go back to that flawed system is beyond me? Unless you want to suppress the vote. Popular voting for senators is certainly more democratic and more efficacious.
I JUST EXPLAINED WHY?Let me try again. Maybe I wasn't clear? Or was too wordy? Or, just made too much of it.\”UNFUNDED MANDATES UPON THE STATES\”Democracy isn't all it's cracked up to be. The Dead Old White Guys recognized that \”democracy\” is essentially mob rule. A Republic is representative and moderates the passions of the mob by slowing everything down (i.e., takes a long time to make a law) and recognizes that EVERYONE has \”inalienable rights endowed by their Creator\” (i.e., not subject to law or diktat).We should GO BACK to the Dead Old White Guy's original design to limit the \”passions of the mob\”. In this case, the congresscritters have \”stuck\” the States (at least 49 of them) with a Medicaid tab they can't afford. And, they stuck The Sheeple with an unconstitutional \”insurance mandate\” to hide the cost of 1.5T$.That's why we should go back.Keep the abuses closer to home and keep the tyrants squabbling among themselves.Was that easier to understand?
>>We should GO BACK to the Dead Old White Guy's original design<<Really? Go back to slavery, when blacks could not vote, women could not vote, non-property owners could not vote (initially). If you are so afraid of the people voting, then I guess we should have legislatures select representatives for the US House, too. We have direct elections of governors and state legislatures but voting for US senators is some how beyond the pale, a big no no? We are a democratic republic, we trust the \”mob\” (you and I) to vote directly for all kinds of offices. I do agree that there should be no elections for judges and sheriffs but not because of any mob. But because the rich and powerful will fund the campaigns and then the judge or sheriff will be beholden to their rich patrons. The 17th amendment was enacted because of the out of control corruption by the rich/corporate mob and because of the political infighting that lead to political paralysis (non selection of senators for years). The constitution allows for amendments to be made. Article one, section 8 allows for health care.
*** begin quote ***>>We should GO BACK to the Dead Old White Guy's original design<<Really? Go back to slavery, when blacks could not vote, women could not vote, non-property owners could not vote (initially). If you are so afraid of the people voting, then I guess we should have legislatures select representatives for the US House, too. We have direct elections of governors and state legislatures but voting for US senators is some how beyond the pale, a big no no? *** end quote ***Love how you just run past the point.The original design was State's Legislatures selecting Senators. Who could vote was a compromise to get the deal done. And, like most compromises, it was a bastard.What the States do, that don't infringe on their citizen's Constitutional rights, is not the Fed's business.\”Governments are created among men to secure these rights.\”The passions of the mob are to be feared. The Temperance movement is a good example. IT, as well as Organized Crime, comes directly out of women's suffrage. The War on (Some) Drugs is another example of our collective foolishness. As well as all the other \”Wars\”, welfare, and all the other foolishness are great examples of the mob and its passions.So let's agree that we need to follow the Constitution and think carefully where it needs changing. THEN, insist that the congress critters follow it or amend it formally. Sure, it's hard and takes time, but it prevents mistakes.Some wag summarized the Obamacare:\”Health care 'reform' passed by a Congress that hasn't read it, signed by a President who smokes, administered by an obese Surgeon General, financed by a Treasury Secretary who didn't pay his taxes, and paid for by a country that is broke – what could possibly go wrong?\” So what can possibly go wrong with the passions of the mob?
The Surgeon General will not administer this new health program, she will have nothing directly to do with it whatsoever. She just may use her bully pulpit to encourage people to use it for preventative care.Obama is in good shape and I believe he's trying to quit smoking. His wife and daughters are after him to quit the weed.I wish Obama would fire Geithner and Summers. They're two corporate insiders. This country was going broke before health reform. Our current health insurance system is broken and would bankrupt us. Health reform may actually alleviate some of the problems of our current broken system.I wish we would have Medicare for all or at least the public option but that is not possible with the GOP and the conservoDems.
*** begin quote ***The Surgeon General will not administer this new health program, she will have nothing directly to do with it whatsoever. She just may use her bully pulpit to encourage people to use it for preventative care.*** end quote ***So is this a job we can eliminate?You have absolutely no sense of humor.When they had the snow emergency, I thought we should fire all \”non-essential\” workers. If they're \”non-essential\”, then why are we paying for them?