Karl D's Posts - Arapahoe Tea Party2024-03-29T14:28:41ZKarl Dhttp://arapahoeteaparty.ning.com/profile/KarlDhttp://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2159987996?profile=original&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://arapahoeteaparty.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=3g07zkbp7qt77&xn_auth=noNew Path to the Repeal of Obamacaretag:arapahoeteaparty.ning.com,2011-05-05:3186561:BlogPost:153672011-05-05T17:04:38.000ZKarl Dhttp://arapahoeteaparty.ning.com/profile/KarlD
<p>The efforts to repeal Obamacare have taken many forms. The primary effort has been in the U.S. Congress, where the House of Representatives has passed a bill to repeal Obamacare that received more votes than the original legislation enacting Obamacare. However, the effort has stalled in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Furthermore, President Obama has indicated that he would veto any repeal legislation. For this effort to succeed, repeal-supporting Republicans must take the Senate and…</p>
<p>The efforts to repeal Obamacare have taken many forms. The primary effort has been in the U.S. Congress, where the House of Representatives has passed a bill to repeal Obamacare that received more votes than the original legislation enacting Obamacare. However, the effort has stalled in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Furthermore, President Obama has indicated that he would veto any repeal legislation. For this effort to succeed, repeal-supporting Republicans must take the Senate and Presidency in 2012 and maintain control of the House. This will not be an easy task. World events, economic considerations, and candidate missteps all could affect the 2012 elections in unpredictable ways.</p>
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<p>Another significant effort to repeal Obamacare is being made in the courts. A Florida Federal Court recently ruled that the Obamacare mandate requiring people to purchase health insurance from private companies is unconstitutional. The court went on to declare the rest of Obamacare invalid since the mandate is a key structural feature of Obamacare and the bill contained no “severability clause” (a clause stating if one portion of the law is declared invalid, the rest of the law should still stay in effect). However, other Federal Court rulings declared the mandate provision of Obamacare constitutional. The cases will eventually get to the Supreme Court, where the outcome is far from predictable.</p>
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<p>There is another way to repeal Obamacare; a way that does not require the approval of Congress or the Supreme Court. It is to use the state-led constitutional amendment process under article V of the U.S. Constitution to pass a constitutional amendment that <i>directly</i> repeals Obamacare. The amendment would be clear and brief:</p>
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<p>Amendment 28 – Repeal of Public Law No. 111-148.</p>
<p> Public Law No. 111-148, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and any amendments thereto, are repealed.</p>
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<p>Essentially “Obamacare is repealed.” Such an amendment would not be unprecedented. In 1933, state legislatures ratified the 21<sup>st</sup> Amendment that states, in part, “The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed,” and thus repealed the prohibition of alcohol. As the supreme law of the land, a constitutional amendment repealing Obamacare would be equally unassailable.</p>
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A direct constitutional repeal of Obamacare would be like a scalpel, excising only the offending legislation, while leaving the rest of the Constitution and federal structure untouched. As such, the amendment would be impervious to arguments warning of unintended consequences or of disturbing the current balance of power between the states and the federal government. Indeed, supporters of the direct constitutional repeal of Obamacare can argue that the founders included the state-led Article V amendment process for exactly this type of situation: where a congress acts in clear opposition to the will of the majority of the people.The Myth of the "Runaway Convention"tag:arapahoeteaparty.ning.com,2011-05-05:3186561:BlogPost:148782011-05-05T06:21:30.000ZKarl Dhttp://arapahoeteaparty.ning.com/profile/KarlD
<p> The US Constitution does not have loopholes. The “runaway convention” is a myth propagated by conspiracy theorists and those who want an all-powerful centralized government. </p>
<p> The state legislatures will select delegates they trust to carry out their wishes at the Convention for proposing Amendments. The Convention for proposing Amendments has, under the US Constitution, the limited power <u>only to propose amendments</u>. Any proposal coming out of the Convention for…</p>
<p> The US Constitution does not have loopholes. The “runaway convention” is a myth propagated by conspiracy theorists and those who want an all-powerful centralized government. </p>
<p> The state legislatures will select delegates they trust to carry out their wishes at the Convention for proposing Amendments. The Convention for proposing Amendments has, under the US Constitution, the limited power <u>only to propose amendments</u>. Any proposal coming out of the Convention for proposing Amendments must be ratified by three-fourths of the states.</p>
<p> Moreover, Conventions don’t runaway. There have been hundreds of state constitutional conventions and none have runaway.</p>
<p> The “Runaway Convention” is a myth.</p>
<p> Finally, trying to envision a runaway convention scenario reveals its weaknesses. Let’s say we reach the 34 states applying for the amendment to repeal Obamacare and Congress calls a convention for proposing amendments. The state legislatures would then send delegates to hammer out the exact language. Now, of course the delegates from liberal states may attempt to hijack the convention for proposing amendments, but since the majority (at least 2/3) are there to propose an amendment repealing Obamacare, this could not occur. But the runaway myth would have us believe that once at the convention, the delegates appointed by the states supporting the repeal of Obamacare will simply change their minds and decide to rewrite the constitution or propose some left wing amendment like repealing the Second Amendment. Then, the Legislatures who originally just wanted Obamacare repealed would then abandon the effort to repeal Obamacare and sign on to the left wing amendment. This is simply unrealistic fantasy.</p>
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<p>Other resources:</p>
<p>Wikipedia actually has a nice summary of the Convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution:</p>
<p> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_to_propose_amendments_to_the_United_States_Constitution">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_to_propose_amendments_to_the_United_States_Constitution</a></p>
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<p>And here’s a scholarly examination of the state led process from Harvard law:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jlpp/Vol30_No3_Rogersonline.pdf">http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jlpp/Vol30_No3_Rogersonline.pdf</a></p>
<p> </p>The How and Why of the Direct Constitutional Repeal of Obamacaretag:arapahoeteaparty.ning.com,2011-05-05:3186561:BlogPost:149822011-05-05T06:09:52.000ZKarl Dhttp://arapahoeteaparty.ning.com/profile/KarlD
<p>When the Constitution was drafted, the Founders were concerned with too much power being vested in one person or group of people. The most obvious expression of this concern was the separation of powers that sought to divide power between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the federal government. But the Founders also sought to balance power between the states and the federal government. One way in this is achieved is in the amendment process specified in Article…</p>
<p>When the Constitution was drafted, the Founders were concerned with too much power being vested in one person or group of people. The most obvious expression of this concern was the separation of powers that sought to divide power between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the federal government. But the Founders also sought to balance power between the states and the federal government. One way in this is achieved is in the amendment process specified in Article V.</p>
<p>Article V requires that any amendment to the US Constitution be ratified by three fourths of the states. However, an amendment can be proposed in one of two ways. The first is through the action of Congress, and this is how every existing amendment has been proposed. The second method of proposing an amendment is through state-led action. That is, if two thirds of the states apply to Congress, Congress shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which would convene and determine the exact language of the amendment. Note that the US Constitution states that Congress <em><strong>shall</strong></em> call the Convention for proposing Amendments; Congress has no discretion in the matter; the US Constitution compels them to act. Once the language of the amendment is determined, the amendment goes to the states, and the amendment becomes part of the US Constitution upon ratification by three fourths of the states.</p>
<p>Thus, the Founders placed within Article V, a method of amending the Constitution that did not require the consent of Congress, the judiciary, or the President. The Founders saw the federal government as a necessity, but also recognized that one day it could become unresponsive to will of the people. That day has come.</p>
<p>The passage of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, was an act of a Congress and Executive branch in direct opposition to the will of the majority of Americans. The scope of Obamacare is unparalleled, giving federal control to one sixth of our economy, yet it was passed along strict party lines using questionable parliamentary maneuvers. This effort seeks to repeal Obamacare in its entirety, clearing the way for reasonable targeted reforms to our healthcare system.</p>
<p>As the passage of Obamacare was an unprecedented act by the federal government against the will of the people, it demands an unprecedented response by the people. That is why today, we are calling for a Convention for proposing Amendments to be held by the states, which will propose an amendment to the US constitution that will read:</p>
<p><strong><span class="font-size-3">Public Law No. 111-148, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and any amendments thereto, are repealed.</span></strong></p>
<p>Or in plain language: "Obamacare is repealed."</p>
<p>The Founders foresaw the day the federal government would overreach and act against the will of the people. In their wisdom, they provided a means for the states to respond. Today, we propose using that means.</p>