Walter Patterson Herald ColumnistI have noticed several letters to the editor supporting the Affordable Health Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.  
I am almost one hundred percent sure that none of these letter writers have read this abomination. When this bill was first passed by the Democrats on Christmas Eve of 2010, I knew we were in for serious trouble.  
Have you ever read a book that was 2700 pages long?  If not, it’s safe to say that you have never read a law that is anywhere close to 2700 pages. Even today, we don’t know what is in this bill.  
The Supreme Court made it perfectly clear that they had no intention of reading it. No Democrat by their own admission read the bill before they voted on it, and yet, it is the current law of the land.  To quote then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a person grossly unqualified to be an elected Congresswoman, let along Speaker of the House, “We’ve got to pass it before we know what is in it.”
I can still hear Barack Obama saying, “If you like your present insurance coverage, you can keep it. If you like your doctor, you can keep him, too.”  Not according to Obamacare.  The way we have done things in the past will cease.  Your present relationship with the federal government will cease.  You will be forced to enter into a contract by your government, thereby voiding all previous contract law. A contract has always been a “voluntary” action.  Every American will be forced to purchase insurance whether they want to or not.  This is the “mandate” that lies ominously within the 2700 pages of this dictatorial law.
One of the arguments made by this administration is that Obamacare falls within the jurisdiction of the federal government because of the “commerce clause.” If the commerce clause is interpreted by the Supreme Court the way Obama wants it interpreted, then we might as well rip up the Constitution and submit to a dictatorship.  The federal government can do anything.
The original intent of the commerce clause was to resolve disputes among the several states when disputes arose because of trade.  It was not to force unwanted regulation on the states thereby limiting their ability to trade and engage in capitalistic activity.  This clause is found in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution and reads: “The Congress shall have the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.” Can Congress force a foreign nation to buy insurance for its people?  I think not.
One of the justices on the Supreme Court asked if it were permissible for the government to create commerce between the several states and then regulate it.  The answer I heard from the government lawyers was so convoluted that I had trouble following their reasoning.  But, we must admit up front that they was defending the indefensible.
Many of Obamacare’s supporters have been led to believe that this act will provide healthcare free of charge.  Wrong.  Nothing is free. Everyone is going to pay.  If you work, even part time, get ready to pay. Insurance premiums will necessarily rise because you and I will be paying for someone else’s insurance.  
Remember, according to recent studies, Obamacare will cost the worker over $6000 a year in reduced wages.  How do I know this?  The IRS is hiring 4000 new agents to enforce Obamacare.  You can pay up or you can lose what property you have or you can go to jail.  
Thank you Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the Democrat Party.  I have a feeling that we will be building more jails to incarcerate uninsured American citizens – and you thought that placing a person in jail because of debt was unconstitutional.  I’m sorry to be the first to break the bad news.
Obamacare will add to the federal deficit over $354 billion dollars, and this is a conservative figure.  What’s a few more billion dollars when Obama has added over $5 trillion to the deficit in less than four years?  I suppose his philosophy is, “We’re just not going broke fast enough.”
If Obamacare is held to be constitutional by the Supreme Court, then the federal government can force you to buy anything.  Can we be mandated to buy Chevy Volts?  One justice asked if the mandate were constitutional could the government force everyone to buy broccoli.  The answer is “yes” because if the court rules that the commerce clause allows the government to force citizens into a contract they do not wish to sign, the feds can force you, under this misinterpretation of the commerce clause, to buy anything.
I am beginning to fear for my country.  The leftist, the socialists, the people who hate this country and think that its founding was unjust, have moved further down the road to communism in the last three years than I thought possible.  
Nearly 50 percent of the American people depend on government for a handout or a check.  For whom will they vote?  In my opinion, they are not going to bite the hand that feeds them.  
Unless we put a stop to this authoritarian tail-spin we are in, we are doomed.  The sad part is that even the liberals know this.  Just read some of the saner one’s writings.