South Carolina: First to Secede, First to Outlaw Obamacare?

South Carolina is a beautiful state.  It was the first state to secede in December of 1860; it is now on its way to being the first state to secede from Obamacare.

Well actually, when I say "secede" from Obamacare, I am really describing nullification.  Any state has the right to opt out of any federal law that violates the Constitution, regardless of what the Supreme Court says (screw you John Roberts).  South Carolina may be the first state to nullify the so-called "Affordable Care Act" by exempting all of its citizens and businesses from participating in Obamacare.

South Carolina's House voted in favor of banning Obamacare from its state by a vote of 65-34, and the state  Republican-controlled Senate will vote on the bill (HB3101) in January.

Capitalism Institute reports:

The core of the “South Carolina Freedom of Heath Care Protection Act” (HB3101) outlaws any state employees, officers, or agencies from implementing Obamacare.

The federal government can try to subject South Carolinians to the horrors of the ACA – but they would have no personnel or funds in the state to actually carry it out. Obamacare would be nothing more than a ghost.

Capitalism Institute also cites a Supreme Court case of Printz v. United States:

What the Supreme Court said … is that states are not merely political subdivisions of the federal government to carry out what the federal government does; they are sovereign entities. Congress can pass laws, but it cannot compel the states to utilize either their treasury or personnel to implement those federal laws.

Note that kiddies:  the states are sovereign entities, not merely subdivisions of the federal government.  The latter answers to the former, not the other way around.  May this spirit of states' rights expand and spread.  It is exactly what the Founders intended.

The Obamacare Disaster: Hope and Change, Bwa Ha Ha! #Obamacare

American Power has a post on Jonah Goldberg's schadenfreude for Obama's crashing failure, Obamacare.  Jonah Goldberg writes:

Because, frankly, this has been one of the most enjoyable political moments of my lifetime. I wake up in the morning and rush to find my just-delivered newspaper with a joyful expectation of worsening news so intense, I feel like Morgan Freeman should be narrating my trek to the front lawn. Indeed, not since Dan Rather handcuffed himself to a fraudulent typewriter, hurled it into the abyss, and saw his career plummet like Ted Kennedy was behind the wheel have I enjoyed a story more.

The arrogant, sophomoric moron in the oval office wouldn't compromise, wouldn't agree to delay the roll out of Obamacare, and acted like a tin-horn dictator to Republicans in Congress.  Now he owns this disaster all on his own and the Democrats look like a pack of fools.  It does my heart good.

"Hope and Change" has become "Dope Deranged."

Two Disturbing Trends From the Obama Administration #barackobama #Democrats

Every day I read of new disturbing trends from the Obama Administration.  I sit here incredulous that such things could be happening in the United States of America.  It's as if all my fears are coming true; that even the best civilizations eventually fall and are replaced by something worse.

Here are two of those trends:
1.  The firing of dozens of military generals and commanders.  It seems the military is being pruned of any officers who might be loyal to the Constitution instead of the unconstitutional policies of Barack Obama.  Since Obama was first elected, 197 officers have been fired.   Investors' Business Daily states:

What the president calls "my military" is being cleansed of any officer suspected of disloyalty to or disagreement with the administration on matters of policy or force structure, leaving the compliant and fearful.

 IBD gives General Carter Ham as an example.

Gen. Carter Ham. He was relieved as head of U.S. Africa Command after only a year and a half because he disagreed with orders not to mount a rescue mission in response to the Sept. 11, 2012, attack in Benghazi.

2.  Barack Obama is openly lying about Obamacare.  Barack Obama and his team are openly lying about Obamacare, and their previous assurances that "if you like your health plan and doctor, you can keep them."  One source states that Obama made this promise 29 times.

The Shrill Pettiness of Obama's Mean-Spirited Spite #obamacare

Obama Reveals Himself

Breitbart has printed a list of national parks and agencies that have been unnecessarily shut down by Obama, in order to force compliance with his political agenda.  A more mean-spirited, irresponsible and ruthless act by a president is almost unprecedented in American history.  I have long said that Barack Obama is more of a modern day fascist than a communist, and his latest behavior proves it.

John Nolte writes:

While our president still enjoys his essential employees and locations: the White House chefs, Camp David, and a military golf course, there doesn't seem to be any question that in mercenary pursuit of a political win, this White House is determined to unreasonably punish as many everyday people as possible. And this includes children sick with cancer. That might sound like hyperbole, but it is not.

And this:

There are many other examples of this president's cold-hearted fanaticism and willingness to punish people for reasons that seem to have much more to with spite than what is and is not "essential." In fact, there are a number of examples where Obama seems to be spending more money and using more resources to close and block and inconvenience than to just leave it alone.

 True.  Hiring guards to keep vets out of the World War II Memorial, when guards are not present when it is open; closing highway vista points to prevent motorists from viewing Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota (something that costs the federal government nothing); evicting an elderly couple from their home; closing state run and privately funded parks, and many more.

This shutdown episode clearly shows the hypocrisy and falsity of Democrat concern and caring for people, as they like to brag.  Cancer care for children has been shutdown (Obama refuses to allow special funding) and the Amber Alert website (for kidnapped children) has also been shut down [subsequently restored due to bad publicity].  The real thing, the only thing the Obamabots care about is raw power, and will do anything to gain it and hold on to it.

Read the list of unnecessary shut downs at Breitbart here.

Four States to Vote on Nullification of Obamacare

The Tenth Amendment Center states that four states are planning to vote on bills that would nullify Obamacare, making the law null and void and unenforceable in those states.  Another ten or so states are mulling over the creation of similar bills.  Nullification, an old American strategy, may yet be the best way to end the so-called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The principle of nullification is not new, and is described in Thomas E. Wood's book 33 Questions About American History You're Not Supposed to Ask.  The Virginia Resolutions of 1798 concluded that if the federal government should encroach upon the powers reserved to the states, the states have a right to nullify the offending law and refuse to enforce it—after all, a law that violates the Constitution is no law at all. Taken together, these ideas became known as the “Principles of ’98."

It doesn't matter if a federal court, including the Supreme Court, decides differently.  Ultimately, it is the right of the individual states to determine the constitutionality of any federal laws and choose to obey them or not.

This principle has precedent in American history.  Of course, there is the well-known "Nullification Crisis" of 1833, when South Carolina passed an ordinance of nullification against the 1828 federal Tariff of Abominations that would have greatly increased the tax on imported goods from Britain, resulting in a significant lowering of British demand for Southern cotton.  President Andrew Jackson was prepared to send federal troops to South Carolina to enforce the tariff, but a compromise ended the crisis.

However, that nullification crisis of 1833 wasn't the first time individual states have nullified federal laws.  The first was by Massachusetts, reacting to federal government's Embargo of 1807.  This embargo was designed to punish Britain and France for depredations of American neutrality rights on the seas, and prohibited any American trade with foreign nations whatsoever.  The U.S. Navy was to enforce the embargo by stopping and searching merchant ships -- a clear violation of the 4th Amendment's prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures.  Further, the embargo badly damaged the New England economy.

A federal district court ruled the embargo constitutional, but Massachusetts did not agree, and passed state laws to nullify the federal embargo.  The nullification held.  The important thing to note is that the federal court's decision was not the last word on the matter.   The Massachusetts House explained:

“Were it true, that the measures of government once passed into an act, the constitutionality of that act is stamped with the deal of infallibility, and is no longer a subject for the deliberation or remonstrance of the citizen, to what monstrous lengths might not an arbitrary and tyrannical administration carry its power…. Were such doctrine sound, what species of oppression might not be inflicted on the prostrate liberties of our country? If such a doctrine were true, our Constitution would be nothing but a name—nay, worse, a fatal instrument to sanctify oppression, and legalize the tyranny which inflicts it.”  (Thomas E. Woods, 33 Questions About American History You're Not Supposed to Ask.)

The Governor of Connecticut, John Trumbull, agreed with the Massachusetts legislature, stating:

“Whenever our national legislature is led to overleap the prescribed bounds of their constitutional powers, on the State Legislatures, in great emergencies, devolves the arduous task—it is their right—it becomes their duty, to interpose their protecting shield between the right and liberty of the people, and the assumed power of the General Government.”  (See Woods Jr., Thomas E. (2007-07-10). 33 Questions About American History You're Not Supposed to Ask (p. 30). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.) 

Conclusions:  Nullification of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, is both legal and constitutional, and is undoubtedly the most expedient way to dispose of this unconstitutional and oppressive federal law.  However, each state will have to pass its own separate nullification laws.  Which state will be the first to do so?  Once one does, others will quickly follow.

Gov Rick Perry Refuses to Set Up Obamacare Health Insurance Exchange in Texas!

Another red state governor, Rick Perry of Texas, has refused to set up a heath insurance exchange required by Obamacare.  Technically, the [misnamed] Affordable Care Act allows the Federal Government to do it if the states will not.  So it is not clear how this refusal will affect the implementation of this execrable act.

I am hoping that these red states will block ALL implementation of Obamacare, essentially nullifying the law and preventing its taking effect.

Read about it here.

Resistance Begins: Alabama Just Says "NO" to Obamacare

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley said yesterday that Alabama will not be setting up a state insurance exchange to implement the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare").  The Governor stated that the tax increase that this act imposes on Alabama's citizens is unacceptable.  He also stated that his conversations with other governors indicate that many of them feel the same way.

This is what I have been advocating for some time:  the states must NULLIFY unconstitutional edicts by the federal government and simply REFUSE to go along.  Further, the nullifying states should communicate and coordinate resistance to federal tyranny imposed by Barack Obama.

I am proud to say that my Confederate ancestors were Alabamans.

Read more about it at Moonbattery here.

The Sickening Reality of the Obamacare Decision

I really wasn't surprised by the Supreme Court's decision on Obamacare.  I generally expect the worst while hoping for the best.  When I turned on the radio Thursday morning on the way to work, and learned of Justice John Roberts' utterly asinine position, it was mere confirmation of what I already knew:  America is over.  America was over when Americans elected Barack Obama to be President of the United States.

Now that we can finally acknowledge the death of America, perhaps we can move on to finding a way to resurrect her, or, if not all of her, perhaps part of her, through an association or even secession of like-minded states (like Arizona and Texas).  I know it sounds bizarre, like something out of a cheap novel, but it's way past time to realize that the federal government (including and especially the Supreme Court) is the enemy of freedom -- at least in its present form.

It's time to realize that our Constitution and Bill of Rights are dead letters.  The statists will enforce them when convenient, or when they can twist their original meaning and purpose to somehow increase federal power over the individual.  They will not enforce them merely to protect the individual from an overweening federal government.

One of the immediate acts that can be taken is nullification.  Nullification is when individual states refuse to implement or obey federal laws that violate the Constitution.  This is not "rebellion against law," because unconstitutional enactments are not law.  Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Kentucky Resolutions that “whensoever the [federal] government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force…”

Let the peaceful revolution begin.

Related post:  The Republic of the United States of America is Dead

Fifteen Reasons Why The Obamacare Decision Is A Mind Blowing Disaster For America

Guest Post by Michael Snyder

You can almost always count on the Supreme Court to do the wrong thing. In fact, just about every major decision by the U.S. Supreme Court over the last 40 years has been bad for America. Many were hoping that the Supreme Court would strike down Obamacare, but the truth is that we all should have known better than to expect them to get something right. So now America is headed for a complete and total disaster as Obamacare is fully implemented over the next several years. Obamacare is going to absolutely shred the infrastructure of our medical system, it is going to send health insurance premiums soaring, it is going to dramatically expand the size and the scope of government, it is going to fundamentally alter the relationships between doctors and their patients and it is one of the largest tax increases in U.S. history. Not only that, it is also going to add about a trillion dollars to our national debt over the next decade. So no, the Obamacare decision is not good news. Obamacare was one of the worst pieces of legislation in American history, and now we are stuck with it.

It was a 5-4 decision to uphold Obamacare, and the swing vote was Chief Justice John Roberts who was appointed by George W. Bush.

After the vote today, it is hard to have any faith in the U.S. Supreme Court. Many constitutional conservatives kept voting for Republicans in the hope that the direction of the Supreme Court would change, but it hasn't.

Prior to the Obama administration, Republicans controlled the White House for 20 out of 28 years. If Republicans were going to fundamentally change the nature of the Supreme Court, that was their opportunity.

But it didn't happen.

Instead, what we have is a Supreme Court that is dominated by judges that have very little respect for the U.S. Constitution. When I was in law school I got to study the Supreme Court pretty closely and I quickly realized that most of the time they simply do whatever they want to do and they make up whatever reasons they can to justify their decisions.

That sounds really bad, but that is the truth.

And thanks to the Supreme Court, we are stuck with Obamacare - at least for now.

The following are 15 reasons why the Obamacare decision is a mind blowing disaster for America....

#1 According to the U.S. Supreme Court, the federal government has the power to force you to buy private goods and services. Now that this door has been opened, what else will we be forced to buy in the future?

#2 Obamacare is another step away from individual liberty and another step toward a "nanny state" where the government dominates our lives from the cradle to the grave.

#3 The IRS is now going to be given the task of hunting down and penalizing millions of Americans that do not have any health insurance. In fact, the Obama administration has given the IRS 500 million extra dollars "outside the normal appropriations process" to help them enforce the provisions of Obamacare that they are in charge of overseeing.

#4 Obamacare imposes more than 20 new taxes on the American people. You can find a comprehensive list of Obamacare taxes right here. If you love paying higher taxes, then you are going to absolutely love Obamacare once it is fully implemented.

#5 In an attempt to "control costs" and "promote efficiency", Obamacare limits the treatment options that doctors and patients can consider. This is likely to result in a decrease in life expectancy in the United States.

#6 Obamacare is going to impose nightmarish paperwork burdens on doctors, hospitals and the rest of the healthcare system. This is going to significantly increase our healthcare costs as a nation.

#7 Obamacare is going to send health insurance premiums soaring. This is especially true for younger Americans.

#8 Many small businesses are going to be absolutely crushed by the provisions in Obamacare that require them to provide expensive health insurance coverage for their employees. This is going to make them even less competitive with companies in other countries where businesses are not required to provide healthcare for their workers. This is also going to make it even less attractive for businesses to hire new employees.

#9 Obamacare is going to make the emerging doctor shortage in America a lot worse. Surveys have found that we could potentially see hundreds of thousands of doctors leave the medical profession because of Obamacare.

#10 Obamacare has already forced the cancellation of dozens of doctor-owned hospitals.

#11 Obamacare is going to result in a much bigger federal government. In order to fully implement all of the provisions of Obamacare, hordes of new government bureaucrats will be required.

#12 Thanks to Obamacare, you are going to have to wait much longer to see a doctor. Just look at what happened once Romneycare was implemented in Massachusetts....

In fact, we have already seen the start of this process in Massachusetts, where Mitt Romney’s health care reforms were nearly identical to President Obama’s. Romney’s reforms increased the demand for health care but did nothing to expand the supply of physicians. In fact, by cracking down on insurance premiums, Massachusetts pushed insurers to reduce their payments to providers, making it less worthwhile for doctors to expand their practices. As a result, the average wait to get an appointment with a doctor grew from 33 days to over 55 days.

#13 Obamacare contains all kinds of insidious little provisions that most people don't even know about. The following is one example from the Alliance Defense Fund....

"Did you know that with ObamaCare you will have to pay for life-saving drugs, but life-ending drugs are free. One hundred percent free. If this plan were really about health care wouldn't it be the other way around?"

#14 As if the U.S. government was not facing enough of a crisis with entitlement spending, it is being projected that Obamacare will add 16 million more Americans to the Medicaid rolls. You and I will be paying for all of this.

#15 The Congressional Budget Office estimates that Obamacare will add more than a trillion dollars to government spending over the next decade. Considering the fact that the U.S. government is already drowning in debt, how in the world can we afford this?

http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/15-reasons-why-the-obamacare-decision-is-a-mind-blowing-disaster-for-america

Obamacare is Hard to Swallow

Hat tip:  Theodore's World

WimpyCare: a Cartoon by Guy

A reader named Guy sent me his cartoon of "Wimpy Care."  After taxing us into oblivion for four years, Obamacare will provide government issued health care in four years.

Most people don't know that the taxes start now and the "benefits" start later.

The Battle for America: Already Lost?

The Democrats are moving heaven and earth to pass their socialized medical bill, using highly dubious means that appear unconstitutional and ruthless.  Anger over this is at the boiling point, not only among conservatives, but many Americans of differing political persuasions.

I, however, remain calm.  I suppose it's because I have almost reconciled myself to the end of America as we know it.  The situation, as I see it, is no longer to defeat the socialist juggernaut that sees its goals within reach, but to find ways to nullify and resist the increasingly tyrannical rule being foisted upon us.

Many states are planning to sue the federal government over Obamacare, and constitutional challenges to its passage are being planned.  Obama's impeachment is now being discussed as a real possibility.  We should try and remove this radical leftist from the presidency by any legal means possible.  He is a disaster, just as we predicted he would be.

It is obvious that the Democrats' pursuit of a new, socialist America will not be deterred by the will of the people or the unpopularity of their schemes.   The question now is how can we best resist and nullify the damage that they have wrought.

The Day Obamacare Died (Video, Satire)

Shovel it under already!

The GOP's Last Stand Against Obamacare

Senator John McCain told Chris Wallace of Fox News that Republicans will make a last stand against Obamacare, but they most likely will not be able to stop it.  He said:

“We will fight until the last vote.  We owe that to our constituents, because we must do everything – we must look back and say we did everything to prevent this terrible mistake from taking place.” 

The first order of business of the new Republican majority in 2010 is to repeal the massive governmental intervention into health care.  If they cannot, then individual states should simply refuse to go along, nullifying the federal government's illegal and unconstitutional invasion of the private sector.

Here's McCain's interview with Fox News:

Senator Ben Nelson to Vote for Obamacare

The Democrats' sweeping legislation on health care moves closer to passage.  Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska was the last hold-out, but was sufficiently bribed (legally, I mean) to vote for the bill.

The Democrats now have the 60 senate votes needed to pass the bill.  And they will pass it, over the objections of a majority of Americans who don't want Obamacare (51% vs 39% who do).

At this point conservatives should worry less about kicking the Democrats out in 2010 than in how to either nullify the Democrats' new socialist laws or secede from the union.

It's time.


See this flag?  It holds special meaning for those who believe in state sovereignty.

Finger Biter Image Released -- Do You Know This Man?

Donald Douglas at American Power has posted a photograph of the man who bit off another man's finger at an Obamacare rally in Ventura.

I have blown up the photograph of this man to aid in identification. If you know the identity of this man, please contact the Ventura County Sheriff's Department.

Per American Power:

This image provided by the Ventura County Sheriff's Department shows the beginning of an altercation between William Rice, at right in the khaki shirt and olive shorts, and an unidentified man wearing black, who authorities say bit off Rice's little finger. The sheriff's department is seeking the public's help in identifying the man in black at far right, by calling the investigations bureau at (805)494-8201.

Town Hall Plants and Democrat Spin

The townhall meetings on nationalized health care have become raucous and angry. This reflects the majority's fear of a government run monopoly taking the place of their private health plans.

The fears, based on actual experiences in Canada, the U.K. and other parts of the E.U., are real. However, the Democrats have armed their minions with the proper talking points and sent them out to opine, blog and editorialize on the publc groundswell of anger and anxiety. Their message: the public outrage isn't really based on a knowledge of Obamacare. It's caused by conservative pundits hawking falsehoods, especially Rush Limbaugh. In fact, the public opposition to Obamacare is really a subtle form of racism -- or so they would have you believe. The public isn't buying it, however.

The Democrats have tried to fight back in traditional Democrat fashion, by spinning, lying and planting their speakers and agents in the town hall meetings. A little girl is called on to opine about the mean signs outside the hall; she is later outted as a plant, i.e. someone who was set up to voice opinions and ask questions supplied in advance.

Union members show up posing as conservatives, carrying signs and posters depicting Obama as Hitler. Their goal is to provide propaganda for the MSM cameras: to foster a false impression of conservatives as kooks or extremists.

The Democrats, as usual, are a study in Machiavellian dirty tricks and poisoned politics. Be informed.

Cartoon: Credit is due Clifton of Another Black Conservative for the inspiration.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Patterico's Pontifications

Anger Over Obamacare Spreading Like Wildfire

From the Astute Bloggers, a post title that is surely the quote of the day:

NYTIMES ADMITS WHAT DEMS WON'T: ANGER OVER OBAMACARE IS REAL, DEEP, WIDESPREAD - AND GROWING!

Read it here.