The Health Care Debate; The Pedophile Argument

By Peter Lee
EastSide TeaParty

Since the Health Care bill was introduced many have been debating portions of the bill saying they agree or disagree with sections of the bill. We have had debates about “death panels”, rationing, pre-existing conditions, abortion, and a laundry list of other issues related to this bill.

Reasonable people can agree and disagree with particular line items in any complex piece of legislation however, we must continue to look at the bigger picture which is easier to articulate. The bigger argument, that we should be taking the time to educate the population with, is that health care is not an enumerated power given to congress by the Constitution.

With this argument, the contents of the bill become irrelevant. Arguments over certain wording in a bill, that should not exist in the first place, weaken and divides us.

Think of this as the pedophile argument. … stay with me …. If unknown adults offer children candy, would your first thought be to microscopically inspect the candy?

We can discuss candy flavor preferences and ask those adults to provide candy that best suit our discriminating pallets. We could argue the benefits, and the potential risks of eating the candy or the long term problems associated with too much candy in the diet. We can argue about the appropriate labeling on the outer wrapper. We can inspect the cleanliness of the factory and the processes involved in producing the candy.

Activists might argue about the source of ingredients used in the candy. Labor unions might argue about the benefits and wages provided to the workers at the candy manufacturing plants. The arguments could build indefinitely for and against the candy. Some of the arguments might even make sense. Who, for example, would promote eating candy from a dirty factory?

If our focus is on the good and bad associated with the candy and its container we miss the clear danger of the motives behind the unauthorized person delivering the candy and how that person might behave in the future. A pedophile might try this multiple times to earn more of the child’s trust before acting on his intentions. He wants the child to focus on the candy so that he/she will be later empowered over the child to do his will.

Progressives want us to focus on the contents of a bill while ignoring the authority, or lack of, that Congress has to produce such legislation. The real danger is the deliverer not the delivery.

Even if you believe the bill’s writers and signers intentions were honorable and there are pieces of this legislation we might agree on, we must reject the entire bill in adherence to the Constitution and prevent further violations later.

Many politicians in D.C. recognize the health care legislation is flawed. With “good intentions” they have been saying “repeal and replace”. However, how can they replace and remain Constitutional? Congress has not been given the authority to provide anything except those powers enumerated in the Constitution. The trappings of the Health Care legislation are meaningless. The good or bad intentions of the legislators are meaningless beyond this point.

Health Insurance has state, not national, governance. One of the complaints, by some, about the current system is that insurance cannot be purchased across state lines. However, examine the consequences if it was. The federal government would have no choice but to regulate (make regular) the interstate commerce that would be generated.

Under their Constitutional authority they would create agencies where unelected officials would impose regulations above and beyond the states’ own regulations. The end result would be the same or worse than what we fear from this bill. We need to be cautious and examine, just like we ask our representatives to do, the unintended consequences that could potentially sprout from our desire to “fix” current law.

Passion is a useful tool but it can also be dangerous. The goal of the Tea Party Movement is to prosper America, not ourselves or classifications of residents. The debate on the Health care legislation is not a competition to see who can legislate better. It is instead based on the premise that Congress has not been given, in the Constitution, the authority to act in this matter.

The cornerstone of the Tea Party strategy is the adherence to the Constitution and the intent of our founders. This framework and those principles has been the foundation of America’s prosperity. So please, before arguing about the individual selection of millions of words on thousands of pages, please return to the basic argument that the ruling body behind those pages does not have the Constitutional authority to kill a single tree for this purpose.