Weekly Opinion/Editorial

OPT OUT!
by Steve Fair

President Obama signed the health care bill into law last Tuesday. The highly controversial bill squeaked by in the U.S. House in a 219-207 vote late Sunday evening. No Republican voted for the bill. The Congressional Budget Office says the president’s health care plan will reduce the deficit over 10-years’ time, but voters are skeptical of the official government projections. According to a Rasmussen poll, eighty one percent (81%) believe the health care plan will cost more than projected. Voters overwhelmingly believe passage of the plan will increase the deficit and is likely to mean higher middle class taxes.
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On Tuesday, the Oklahoma State Senate approved House Joint Resolution 1054, authored by State Senator Randy Brogdon, (R-Owasso) by a bipartisan vote of 36-11. The Joint Resolution puts a state question on the ballot in November, which would allow Oklahoma businesses to opt out of Obama Care. Brogdon called the vote on an Obama Care opt-out measure an important step toward reasserting Oklahoma’s sovereignty as a state. “Overwhelmingly, the people who have contacted my office and those of Representatives Ritz and Reynolds ((the House authors) have expressed frustration and outrage at how Congress and President Obama railroaded the American people,” Brogdon said. “HJR 1054 would give voters that opportunity to amend the Oklahoma Constitution to include the “Freedom of Healthcare Choice Act." Brogdon is vying for the Republican nomination for Governor. Brogdon’s opponents are Congresswoman Mary Fallin and Yukon businessman Robert Hubbard.
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If the voters approve JR 1054 in November, it would prohibit any law or rule from directly or indirectly compelling an employer from participating in any health care system. It would also allow employers to pay directly for health care with paying fines or penalties. It would also stipulate that the purchase or sale of private health insurance not be prohibited.
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Other states are not just placing the issue on their ballots, but their Attorney Generals are suing the federal government. The list of states includes Texas, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Utah, North and South Dakota and Washington.
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According to the new Rasmussen poll, forty-nine percent (49%) of U.S. voters favor their state suing the federal government; thirty seven percent (37%) disagree and oppose their state suing to challenge that requirement. Fourteen percent (14%) are undecided. The poll also found most voters (53%) oppose a provision in the new health care law that requires every American to buy or obtain health insurance. Just 42% favor it.
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Thus far, Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson has not joined the other A.G.s. "We will review the bill once it becomes law,” said Edmondson, who was called on Monday by Fallin and both leaders of the Republican- controlled state Legislature to take action against the bill. “We also will review the case law and we will do what’s in the best interest of the state of Oklahoma, which may be filing litigation or joining litigation that’s already been filed. It is way too early.” Edmondson continued "I’ll not be stampeded into doing something by people playing politics with this issue.” Perhaps Edmondson has learned from past experience about filing lawsuits with other states.
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Back in 2000, Edmondson joined the state of New Jersey in suing the Boy Scouts to accept homosexual leaders. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Edmondson's position, ruling that the Boys Scouts of America had the authority to set the criteria for leadership within their organization. After the suit, three fourths of the state legislature condemned Edmondson’s action. It has widely speculated that is what kept Edmondson out of the 2002 race for Governor. He is a candidate for the Democrat nomination for Governor this year. His opponent is current Oklahoma Lt. Governor Jari Askins.
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The real question is; will the national health care bill pass constitutional muster? Randy Barnett is a Georgetown law professor and U.S. Constitutional expert who believes the bill violates the founding document. Barnett says, “A mandate requiring all individuals to purchase health insurance would be an unprecedented form of federal action. The government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States. An individual mandate would have two features that, in combination, would make it unique. First, it would impose a duty on individuals as members of society. Second, it would require people to purchase a specific service that would be heavily regulated by the federal government.”
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If the health care bill is found to be constitutional, I suggest the next ‘federal mandate’ for purchase be peanut butter and jelly. Every consumer in America should be required to have at least two jars of peanut butter and jelly in their pantry at all times. That would substantially increase individual consumption and in the process, my income. You say that’s foolish, but that is what the health care mandate does- it requires businesses and individuals to purchase a product. Not only does this health care bill violate the Constitution, but it seriously erodes our individual personal liberty. Oklahomans should ‘opt out’ when the issue appears on the ballot in November and we should elect an AG who will sue the feds.