06 Jun 2012 More Black Conservative Comment on ObamaCare Decision

Amidst the fallout from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the ObamaCare case, members of the Project 21 black leadership network are continuing to speak out against the ruling that largely leaves in place the plan for a government takeover of America’s health care system.

Horace Cooper

(a former general counsel to the congressional leadership and a former constitutional law professor, currently living in Northern Virginia):

Although it was somewhat mitigated, today represents a loss of liberty for the American people.  The Obama Administration wrongly claimed commerce power to dictate the health insurance decisions of the American people.  Not one justice agreed they had, so the question was put off for another day.

But the taxing power of Congress clearly has been stretched beyond recognition in order to uphold this act.

Now the status of the “Affordable Care Act” rests in the hands of Congress.

Jimmie L. Hollis

(a U.S. Air Force veteran and tea party organizer in southern New Jersey):

We are now living in a European-style socialist nation where our own Constitution has been made null and void and individual freedoms are being outlawed through regulation.

Dr. Elaina George

(a board-certified otolaryngologist living in Atlanta, Georgia):

By upholding the “Affordable Care Act,” the U.S. Supreme Court ignored the Constitution and confirmed what those who read the bill knew all along — the bill was, and ObamaCare is, a tax.  In its ruling, the Court has placed corporate interests and profits, along with government control, above the needs of the doctor and the patient.

This decision guarantees the destruction of the doctor-patient relationship in addition to individualized health care, innovation and access while perpetuating the worst aspects of our medical system.

Because of the mandate, Americans will be forced to pay for a system that will increase costs for patients, remove health care decisions from both the doctor and the patient and lead to rationing — thereby changing health care as we know it in America into a system based on one-size-fits-all, cost-controlled, conveyor-belt socialized medicine.

With this decision, it is clear that patient-centered medicine is effectively ended.

Lisa Fritsch

(an author, tea party activist and guest talk radio host in Austin, Texas):

The U.S. Supreme Court did not “affirm a principle,” as President Obama deceptively pushed in his press conference after the ObamaCare ruling was announced.  In fact, the Court really just conceded that the Obama Administration could get away with implementing ObamaCare as a tax increase.

President Obama succeeded in raising taxes for all Americans — rich and poor alike.  He made certain that our economy will be further stifled with uncertainty.

It would seem that the President believes our lives are only to contribute to the state and that government will direct and control the course of our lives.  Obama appears to have determined that his governing power is absolute under the disguise of fairness for all.  This is a significant detriment to American freedom and advancement.  And it would seem that the Court only empowered him to soldier on with its decision in the ObamaCare case.

Ultimately, Chief Justice Roberts and those who joined his decision left Americans with a responsibility and some soul-searching homework.  Because ObamaCare is now unmasked as a tax, it is time for all Americans to get serious about becoming more activist in halting government expansion.

In short, the Tea Party movement is needed now more than ever.

Liberal pundits and supporters of the regulatory state applaud Obama for pulling off what many of his predecessors could not by essentially making health care a government-controlled service.  Could this be because something in our nation’s anatomy has changed?

We’ve rested too long on the hard work and sacrifices of those in the past that made our core strong. Generations of a carefree attitude about government encroachment on our lives has made us weak and naïve about how quickly our liberties are slipping away.  ObamaCare is less about new taxes than it is a new way to define America.

We’ve come to a decision point: Are we opportunistic and eager for individual growth and success, or are we a stagnating body of monoliths complacent to allow an all-consuming government to rule each and every aspect of our lives?

Bishop Council Nedd II

(a former congressional staff member and current bishop of the Chesapeake and the Northeast for the Episcopal Missionary Church, currently living in central Pennsylvania):

With the U.S. Supreme Court decision on ObamaCare, it surely won’t be long until Obama and his expanding regulatory army puts the mark of the beast on all of us.

Derryck Green

(a doctoral student in ministry, currently living in Los Angeles)

Based upon the decision rendered by the U.S. Supreme Court majority, the ability of Congress to regulate behavior is limited because the individual mandate wasn’t found valid under the Constitution’s Commerce Clause.  But it would now appear that the ability for Congress to tax the citizenry for any purposes deemed fit is limitless.

The decision makes ObamaCare, the so-called and inappropriately-titled “Affordable Care Act” the largest tax increase in American history.  It will negatively affect both individuals and employers.  This is despite the fact that Barack Obama himself told the American public his legislation was not a tax.

But, because the Court ruled that the individual mandate is indeed a tax, the government can now compel its citizens through threat of fine to purchase healthcare or any other product or service.  It also means that health insurance can now be considered a form of taxation.  If the citizen refuses, the government — through the powers of the IRS — can withhold the amount in the form of a fine (and thus withheld from a citizen’s tax refund check, should they even qualify for one).

Even if Congress someday acts responsibly and defunds or repeals ObamaCare, the problem will not be completely rectified, because the Court has already set precedent and expanded the powers of taxation.  A Pandora’s box has just been opened for future taxation of American citizens for any and all behavioral modification.

From a religious standpoint, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling also condones the federal government’s ability to arbitrarily coerce religious Americans and religious organizations to act in a manner that is contradictory to their moral consciences and religious obligations.  Religiously devout, pro-life Americans will now be compelled by law into providing information and services such as contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs and procedures which stand in stark contradiction to their religious beliefs regarding the sacredness of human life.