Obamacare... national health care, passed under Obama, much as
 proposed by Richard Nixon 40 years ago.

 Seven of the 24 lawsuits against the law have been dismissed.
 Most of the rest are awaiting motions or decisions on motions.
 Only two appear to have serious standing so far. Both only on
 the matter of the mandate.

 All of the lawsuits considered by most to have a real chance
 focus on the mandate.

 Actually, almost all the suits involve the mandate. One of these
 seems to be closely watched.

 Obamacare, and I believe Democrats should embrace the name, will
 surive those lawsuits. What the right misses is, those lawsuits
 will pretty much guarantee the survival of the law.

 If those lawsuits fail, and they will surely go to the supreme
 court, that's it, the law will stand. Game over.

 If one of the lawsuits prevails, and that will still go all the
 way to the supreme court, that will only eliminate the mandate.
 As much as the mandate is a critical part of the bill, it will
 survive without it.

 What the right misses about this is, the mandate is the only
 part of the bill that the public opposes. Most of the rest of
 the bill provides things the American people do support for the
 most part, or are indifferent to.

 The people support banning insurance refusal for pre-existing
 conditions.

 The people do believe children should be covered.

 The people do believe the elderly should be able to consult with
 their doctors or other health care professionals about end of
 life care.

 The public does support Hospice care.

 All this dispite the fact that the right has lied about much of
 this.

 And if it ever gets close to the bill being declared
 unconstitutional on it's basis, the American people  will wake
 up to the fact that if National Health Care is unconstitutional,
 so is Medicare.

 If the republicans put this country in a position where Medicare
 is at risk of being declared unconstitutional the republicans
 will face holy hell.

 So, if the mandate stands, game over.

 If the mandate fails, Obamacare stands without it. That and the
 republicans will be faced with growing millions losing health
 care coverage, and they will have to come up with some way to
 provide it.

 Obama care will survive, and coverage will be provided to the
 entire population, either by the mandate, or some other means.

 I have always opposed the mandate, not because it's morally
 wrong, but because it's dumb. There is no way the government is
 going to come up with any standard by which they are going to
 establish a value of "affordable coverage" that actually means
 anything to a lot of people. If you fine someone for not haveing
 coverage, and that person doesn't have coverage because he's too
 poor to afford it, the fine just makes his poverty worse.

 However, some means will have to be found to provide care for
 all if this is to remain a decent country. And it will,
 eventually. How many will die before then is the question those
 opposing national health care will have to live with.



BOB KLAHN bob.klahn@sev.org   http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn

... Don't tell me you are pro-life if you don't support health care for all.
--- Via Silver Xpress V4.5/P [Reg]
 * Origin: Doc's Place BBS Fido Since 1991 docsplace.tzo.com (1:123/140)