Unfortunately, despite the impressive attendance (10,000+) and clearly expressed voice of the people – at the rally and nationwide – against this “worst bill ever” the U.S. House did pass the bill the following Saturday at midnight (or just before).

Subsequent events – the Fort Hood massacre, commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, Josh Penry’s withdrawal from the Colorado Governor’s race, Veteran’s Day commemorations (plus technical delays in processing the videos) have delayed publication of PPC’s coverage of the event.  Which is a shame – because PPC correspondents got some fantastic coverage of the rally itself and even better interviews with many of the participants - and even got in to speak with a Colorado Congressman’s office (the Congressman, Ed Perlmutter, was conspicuously absent – but PPC did sit down for an interview with his point man on healthcare, before Perlmutter’s chief of staff rather brusquely pulled him away).

PPC Video interviews of rally participants (and congressional staffers) follow – for video coverage of the rally itself, view “House Call on Congress” part 1)

(“House Call on Congress” – All the way from Albuquerque)

(“House Call on Congress” – A colorful interview)

(“House Call on Congress” – interview with local citizens)

“House Call on Congress” – a brief appearance by Ron Paul)

(“House Call on Congress” – interview goes to the dogs)

(“House Call on Congress” – Code Pink Protestor)

(“House Call on Congress” – interview with a Rumanian-American citizen. A very articulate view, informed by personal experience with a Socialist government-run economy. Part 1 of 2).

(“House Call on Congress” – interview with a Rumanian-American citizen. A very articulate view, informed by personal experience with a Socialist government-run economy. Part 2 of 2).

(PPC interviews House Call on Congress attendee who grew up in (and emigrated from) Columbia. Articulate exposition of the dangers of “crony capitalism” and the power of “pull”)

(PPC correspondents are not exactly received with open arms at the office of their congressional representative, Ed Perlmutter)

(PPC interviews Perlmutter staffer on healthcare positions following the House Call on Congress rally)

(PPC interviews Perlmutter staffer on healthcare positions following House Call on Congress rally)

Unfortunately, despite the impressive attendance (10,000+) and clearly expressed voice of the people – at the rally and nationwide – against this “worst bill ever” the U.S. House did pass the bill the following Saturday at midnight (or just before).

Subsequent events – the Fort Hood massacre, commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, Josh Penry’s withdrawal from the Colorado Governor’s race, Veteran’s Day commemorations (plus technical delays in processing the videos) have delayed publication of PPC’s coverage of the event.  Which is a shame – because PPC correspondents got some fantastic coverage of the rally itself and even better interviews with many of the participants - and even got in to speak with a Colorado Congressman’s office (the Congressman, Ed Perlmutter, was conspicuously absent – but PPC did sit down for an interview with his point man on healthcare, before Perlmutter’s chief of staff rather brusquely pulled him away).

Videos of the “House Call on Congress” rally follow (view the participant and congressional interviews on part 2)

(Opening remarks by Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann)

(“House Call on Congress” clip 2)


(“House Call on Congress” clip 3)

(“House Call on Congress” clip 4)

(“House Call on Congress” clip 5)

(“House Call on Congress” clip 6)

(“House Call on Congress” clip 7)

(“House Call on Congress” clip

(“House Call on Congress” clip 9)

(“House Call on Congress” clip 10)

(“House Call on Congress” clip 11)

(“House Call on Congress” clip 12)

(“House Call on Congress” clip 13)

(“House Call on Congress” clip 14)

(For more coverage of the “House Call on Congress” rally – interviews with participants, and with Congressman Ed Perlmutter’s office – view “House Call on Congress” part 2)

Sadly, this was typical of the level of understanding of first principles I heard all afternoon from the collectivists promoting Obamacare.  There was much discussion about “social justice” [sic] and emotion-based “arguments” from the left, but little to no reflection on the readily foreseeable negative unintended consequences of socialized medicine.  Likewise, any attempt by the pro-liberty attendees to promote free market solutions or warn of the aforementioned consequences to liberty and choice from the socialization of healthcare fell on deaf ears on the other side of the discussion, since it is an article of faith unquestioned on the left that capitalism cannot solve any problem.

I think this interview perfectly illustrates the mindset of the average Obamacare supporter — meaning, loyal Democrats who blindly support Obamacare because they are preached to that it’s the “right thing to do” and constantly told that it’s the only way to fix the system (whose problems, ironically, are rooted in too much government intervention in the first place), rather than because they’ve looked at the details and likely consequences of the plan, given fair consideration to alternative plans, and come to their position through a careful examination of their philosophical and political principles.

Last night in Denver, Colorado’s appointed Senator Michael “Senator Who?” Bennett attended (briefly and at the last minute) a “townhall forum” on “comprehensive healthcare reform” put on by the self-parodyingly-named Metro Organization of People. 

As with all such townhalls, this one was strictly formatted and the questions for Back-and-Forth Bennett were given to him in advance to reduce the possibility of unfortunate gaffes and/or departures from the Obama machine’s coordinated message.  Naturally, this meant (as they reminded us several times as we waited and waited for Michael Bennett’s not-so-fashionably late arrival) that questions from the audience were not welcome and would not be addressed.

Well, I guess the closed agenda didn’t sit too well with a Ralph Nader supporter, who wore a “Nader’s Raiders” T-shirt and had clearly waited paitently for Both-Ways Bennett’s to show up to at last interrupt him on the third scripted question with his own impressively-bellowed commentary/question on “single-payer” (ie: fully socialized healthcare):

How amusing to see a juvenile tactic developed by the radical left now being turned against their one-time allies.  As Obama and the Democrats continue to disappoint the more radical members of their base, expect to see more of this sort of thing.

We’ll have a few more clips from the “comprehensive healthcare reform” forum up later today, including Senator Michael Bennett’s much-delayed and ultimately lackluster, Keanu-Reeves-style performance.  It was an interesting event, just not in the way the organizers might have intended…

1. The Incompetence of Large Organizations
   • “That government governs best which governs least.” As anyone who has served in the military, worked for a government, or been employed by a large corporation can attest, the effectiveness and efficiency of any organization decreases as the size of the organization increases and the tasks assigned to it multiply.
   • The federal government (like all levels of government) has more responsibilities on its plate than it can manage effectively and efficiently, responsibilities which already include two large healthcare bureaucracies (Medicare and Medicaid) rife with fraud, waste, mismanagement, runaway cost growth, and red tape.   Why give it more?  The federal government was never intended to be “all things to all people”, nor is it ever possible for it to fulfill such a mandate.   
2. More Government = More Options for Corruption
   • The more roles granted to government, the more temptations for corruption are presented to bureaucrats and elected officials, ranging from open bribery to more discreet exchanges of favors among those with pull.   This will be especially true when the day inevitably arrives that the system runs out of money and “austerity measures” (rationing) must be adopted – the scarcer a commodity, the fiercer the competition to obtain it and the more tempting the quiet, unrecorded offers to those who control its distribution.
3. Power Granted to the Government Will Inevitably Be Abused
   • Granting to government the power to give or withhold medical treatment, and closing off alternative avenues for such treatment (as private healthcare will surely be forced out of the market by the “single-payer” socialist plan),  leaves citizens who run afoul of some politician, bureaucrat, or agency with nowhere else to turn for lifesaving care. 
   • It is easy to dismiss such concerns as unfounded, but when a power is open to abuse it inevitably will be.  It’s hard to see such concerns as unfounded, in fact, when there are ample historical examples of blacklists, enemies lists, no-fly lists, politically-motivated IRS audits, personal vendettas carried out through regulatory agencies, misused police services and databases, whistleblower retaliation, rejected bids, withdrawn contracts, and other “paybacks” for those unlucky enough to earn the wrath of someone in government. 
   • If a citizen is afraid to, say, blog about their experiences with a corrupt or overreaching government agency for fear of harrassment in retribution, how afraid will they be to speak out when they know that the medicine or procedure they or a loved one need to live could be denied to them on a technicality or “inexplicably” delayed by red tape until it’s too late?
4. Healthcare Will Be Distorted by Vote-Farming Politicians
   • Just as increased government power offers increased opportunities for corruption, it also offers new opportunities for politicians to seek votes through pandering to the related special interest groups.  As we see already with unions, identity politics groups, and statist business interests, lobbying groups will continually pressure those Congressmen with influence over the new healthcare bureaucracy for expanded coverage of the conditions or demographic blocs they represent, in exchange for turning out the votes for those Congressmen at the next election or some other superficially legal quid pro quo goodie they desire. 
   • As a result, the degree of coverage for a particular condition and which avenues of research get funding won’t be determined through objective evaluations or cost-benefit analyses under a collectivized national healthcare system, but will be a matter of which lobbies have the most sway with key Congressmen, with the sands constantly shifting with shifts in power and influence. 
   • Worse than Oprah’s latest “disease/miracle cure of the week” diverting resources away from bigger problems and more promising treatments, is the fact that the pandering instinct of politicians will lead them to support coverage of bogus “alternative therapies” – therapies long on cult-like believers but short on peer-reviewed studies demonstrating their efficacy.  Like Ma Chalmers’ soybeans in Atlas Shrugged, limited resources will be wasted chasing moonbeams and rainbows, leaving citizens promised “universal coverage” and denied alternative choices in the free market to suffer and die from readily treatable or preventable conditions.
5. Healthcare in Government Hands Means Unstoppable Nannying
   • A government agency charged with providing healthcare to all is the perfect vehicle for do-gooders to do their flavor-of-the-week good on the rest of us…and when your healthcare is paid for by your friends and neigbors, the do-gooders will have an irresistable incentive to offer everyone to enforce their wise benevolence on everyone else.  When you are responsible for the increased healthcare costs stemming from your bad habits or dangerous hobbies, I have no reason to interfere – but when everyone is on the hook for the diseases or injuries you choose to bring upon yourself, I and everyone around you will have a direct financial incentive in incessantly nagging you to give up those habits and hobbies “for your own good”.
   • Smoking is the obvious example – smoking leads to a broad array of serious and expensive-to-treat health problems over time.  Assuming tobacco products aren’t banned outright, if I see you light up a cigarette and I am on the hook to pay for your eventual lung cancer and heart disease, why would I not dump a bucket of water over your head?  Similarly, why would I not pester you to eat a light salad with a glass of water instead of a bacon-double-cheeseburger and a Coke when we go out for lunch? Would I be out of line for nagging you to give up mountain biking or rock climbing, because you might suffer a broken limb or traumatic head injury that I would have to pay for?  What excuse could you offer to beg out of the mandatory twice-daily calisthenics your coworkers would arrange to offset the ill health effects of your working in a sedentary profession?  
   • Like the “green scolds” we have all encountered, who appear out of nowhere to tut-tut over our failure to properly separate our recyclables or shame us for some other hairsplitting transgression against the environment, everyone would be become the stereotypical mother-in-law to everyone else, empowered by their financial commitment to the collectivized healthcare system to micromanage the minutiae of each-other’s lifestyles.  Where would it ever end?

Quite apart from the unaffordable cost and usustainable tax burden that would come with the full-up collectivization of healthcare in America, and the unavoidable decline in quality and availability of care that would follow, there are numerous reasons rooted in simple human nature to shun the Obama proposal and any like it.

Overregulation and prior attempts at limited socialization of healthcare are what have led to cost growth, by inflicting compliance costs on doctors and hospitals and coverage mandates on insurers, and by incentivizing the squandering of healthcare resources through shifting the expenses to others (employers and the government).  Collectivizing healthcare through a “single-payer” scheme won’t fix anything, but it will further break plenty.  If cost growth and accessibility are the problems to be solved, the right solutions are (as always) free-market solutions: sensible deregulation of the healthcare and health insurance industries to reduce parasitic costs (paperwork and compliance) and make it possible to offer low-cost catastrophic coverage policies to those who are in good health, for example, or medical savings accounts which remove the “moral hazard” of the shifting of expenses to others and thereby encourage healthcare consumers to shop around and use their medical resources prudently.

Does this picture terrify you? Well, if it does, consider yourself invited to the Ft. Collins Tea Party’s rally this weekend to encourage Congresswoman Betsy Markey to vote against the promised Obama Health Care Plan. It will begin at Noon on Saturday June 13th at Washington Park behind the Fort Collins City Hall building.

Citizens in Colorado’s 4th Congressional district don’t approve of President Obama’s announced proposal for a socialist government-owned health care system, local organizers say.

Fort Collins Tea Party co-organizer Ray Harvey said if Markey supports Obama’s proposal to increase the federal government’s control of medical care, “it will result ultimately in rationing health care for our senior citizens, and also in long delays in receiving treatment that will threaten our own lives and the lives of our family members.”

“Doctors and patients,” Harvey continued, “who practice and live in socialized health care systems throughout the world, such as Canada, can always flee to the United States, and they do. If Betsy Markey votes to let the Obama Administration take control of our system and do away with our freedom of choice here, where do we flee? Answer: nowhere.”

The Obama Administration has announced its plan to push its disastrous policy through by the end of this summer. According to CNS NEWS, “Senior White House Adviser David Axelrod said on CBS’s Face the Nation (Sunday) that President Obama intends to promote a health-care reform plan that will include creating a government-owned health-care company and predicted that Congress will enact such a plan by the end of the summer.”

Harvey explained that Tea Party activists will respond this summer by pressuring Rep. Betsy Markey to vote against government-controlled health care “over the phone, by mail, at her district offices, or on her front doorstep, if necessary, starting this Saturday.”

There you have it Northern Colorado. If you think your health care choices should involve just you and your doctor – without any government bureaucrat interference – then grab your signs (like Michigan and North Carolina) and head out to Washington Park to let YOUR representative, Betsy Markey know that to represent YOU she has to vote against President Obama’s socialist government-owned health care system.