CULLMAN —
Americans have real concerns about the impact of President Obama’s national health care plan, but leave it to the U.S. House of Representatives to dilute the issue with election-year politics.
The Republican-led House voted 244-185 to repeal the health care law, with five Democrats joining the chorus. But keep in mind that the repeal was voted with the understanding that it will go nowhere when it crosses the aisle to the Democrat-controlled Senate.
The essence of the House effort was to see how many Democrats would stay on the side of Obama and how many would step over to the other side. The campaign cannon has been loaded.
For taxpayers, the House wasted a lot of time in orchestrating this kangaroo vote. Surely something more urgent was on the agenda than using precious congressional time to carve out a campaign scenario for Mitt Romney.
For certain, Republicans have vowed to dismantle Obama’s health care initiative, particularly if Romney wins the election and Republicans eventually reclaim the Senate. That’s fair enough if those pieces of the puzzle fall into place. But Wednesday’s vote was nothing more than grandstanding while Americans continue to worry over jobs and the general economic outlook of the nation.
The truth about the national health care plan cannot even be fully measured at this time. The intent of the law is to provider broader, fuller health coverage for more Americans. Whether the measure is a budget breaker or stumbling block for the economy is unknown.
A lot of speculation is not hard facts. After the campaigns are settled Congress will be in a position and frame of mind to make legitimate decisions about the plan. Wednesday’s vote was a gaudy waste of time with no purpose other than to promote party politics.
Editorials
A grand waste of time
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