NEXT STEPS FOR CONG. ROSKAM: TAKE THE OBAMACARE CHALLENGE

With a twinge of optimism, I pressed PLAY to hear my Congressman Peter Roskam's email video entitled Next Steps following the June 28 Supreme Court ruling that Obamacare was Constitutional. Alas, the Congressman came out trumpeting his upcoming July 11 House vote to repeal Obamacare. Roskam objected to the "massive" new tax on the middle class that the law will bring, not mentioning that it will affect less than 1% of taxpayers who may choose to play Russian Roulette with their personal health finances while they drag down the entire and vital public need for every American to be part of the overall solution. We call that taking care of the Commons. Funny, Roskam doesn't call the requirement to buy car liability insurance a tax. I suspect he would object vehemently if a law was proposed to end mandatory auto insurance in Illinois. Nor did Roskam mention that the original "mandate" to buy health insurance came from Willard Mitt Romney, who made it the basis for his Romneycare health insurance program as Massachusetts Governor, and certainly didn't call it a "tax".


But what was particularly reprehensible about Roskam's repeal pitch, is that he didn't utter one word about the 30 million folks without adequate health care who are just beginning to get some relief from Obamacare. Nor did he mention that these folks are still going bankrupt, suffering catastrophic health problems and dying from being shut out from the health care system for so long. Apparently, GOP House Chief Deputy Majority Whip Roskam got the message from the GOP brass: never, ever mention those being helped; they don't exit. It took Fox News' Chris Wallace three tries before he got GOP Senate Majority Leader to blurt out: "That's not the issue", when Wallace dared ask him how the GOP is going to cover those 30 million folks when the GOP repeals Obamacare.

Congressman Roskam said his video was in response to an email from constituent John Witt asking Roskam about his next steps to the Supreme Court ruling. I'm still waiting for Roskam to respond to my June 20 email asking him to take the Obamacare Challenge: go without health care for him and his family for 90 days to confirm his belief that these folks get along just fine using the Emergency Room for every health issue and paying full fare for prescription drugs. I can guarantee that if he sends out an email video taking me up on the Obamacare Challenge... it will go viral.

Also published in the Glen Ellyn Patch, July 13, 2012