ObamaCare: A Continuing Study on The Art of Political Deception

Back in October of 2013, I wrote an article about detailing how ObamaCare is an excellent study in how politicians manipulate, deceive and mislead the American people. In fact, the conception, passage and fragile survival of ObamaCare is probably the best example of political deception in modern American history. Someday, Obama will be known as the "great manipulator" in the same way that Regan will be remembered as the great communicator.

More details continue to emerge about Obama's campaign of deception in making ObamaCare the law of the land. We continue our study in the art of political deception with a video has been circulating around the Internet of Obama's 2008 Presidential run in which he aired a commercial that attacked John McCain's health care plan. 

The reason why this old 2008 campaign ad has suddenly become relevant today is because of how well Obama deceived the public on his health care plan.  Obama ended up adopting policies that were proposed by Hillary Clinton and John McCain even though he was initially against them during his 2008 campaign: 

And Obama, who has argued against adopting an individual mandate, as proposed by Hillary Clinton, ended up embracing exactly that option—and even accepted a variation of an idea from McCain that he criticizes in this ad.

What part of McCain's 2008 healthcare plan did Obama incorporate into ObamaCare? The high risk pools. The high risk pools was one of the criticisms Obama had against McCain's health care plan that was mentioned in Obama's 2008 campaign ad above. Its funny that every argument Obama had about McCainCare was, in hindsight, criticism of ObamaCare. 

This isn't the first time Obama attacked an idea before adopting it into his own plan. Obama went after Mitt Romney on RomneyCare's individual mandate before he ultimately incorporated Hillary Clinton's 2008 health care plan which included the individual mandate into ObamaCare.  Barack Obama's claims that Mitt Romney's healthcare plan was the basis for ObamaCare is a lie based on his own admission. There are many conservatives (as well as liberals) that argue that Obama got the idea for the individual mandate from Mitt Romney. That claim is not supported by the facts.

The truth is that 99% of ObamaCare is based on Hillary Clinton's health care plan with a few ideas from McCain's 2008 health care plan mixed in.

Obama sold himself to the public as young politician who would never lie his way into office and tell people what they wanted to hear. However, now that we have seen Obama in action as a politician as the President of the United States, he's everything he claimed he wasn't. He's a smooth talking, lying, do-whatever-it-takes-to-win, politician. Obama hasn't transcended politics. He's deep into politics.

The fact that Obama was against certain ideas contained HillaryCare, McCain Care and RomneyCare isn't case of a politician flip flopping. This is a case of outright deception in which he publicly opposed these ideas but secretly supported them. Obama had to scare voters away from supporting Hillary, McCain and Mitt Romney so that he can win the 2008 and 2012 election only later work to convince the American people to accept these proposals as part of ObamaCare that he advocated against as a candidate.

Where Did Obama's "If You Like Your Plan, You Can Keep Your Plan" Promise Come From?

During the 2008 Presidential primaries, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were battling each other to become the Democratic candidate for the General election. They clashed with one another on the issue of health care. The only major difference between the two candidate's health care plan was that Hilary Clinton had an individual mandate while Barack Obama's health plan didn't. However, Obama would later include the individual mandate into his health care plan. Once he incorporated the individual mandate, he also incorporated her campaign promise:

Hilliary Clinton told the American people this: 

Obama would go on to repeat Hillary Clinton's promise 36 times:

Obama stole that infamous campaign promise from Hilliary Clinton. 

That 2008 campaign promise that "if you like your plan/doctor/hospital, you can keep it" is a lie. It was a lie told by both candiates. One of those candidates would later become President in 2008. The other candidate is thinking of running in 2016.

UPDATE (4/11/15):  The Wall Street Journal just came across a memo that one of Hillary Clinton's staffers wrote  nearly 20 years ago during the summer of 1994 which reads, “If you like your Blue Cross you can keep your BC.” The next line extends that promise to Aetna, Prudential, and any similar insurer. See the memo below:

ObamaCare Will Not Help The Poor

While the Appeals Court for the District of Columbia Circuit has upheld ObamaCare, voters in Ohio rejected ObamaCare by a wide margin. When the Supreme Court takes up the question of whether or not ObamaCare is constitutional, the nine justices would be wise to listen to the American people who reject President Obama's health care law. 

The American people know a bad law when they see one. Not only is the law unconstitutional, but it doesn't live up to any of the promises that the President made about the law. Obama promised that this law would "bend the cost curve down". It doesn't. 

He also promised that this law would help poor people get health insurance. Yet, we learned yesterday that millions of low income Americans will not get subsidized health care under ObamaCare:

At yesterday's hearing of the health subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Cornell University economics professor Richard Burkhauser showed that in 2014, millions of low-income Americans may be unable to get subsidized health insurance through the new health care exchanges.

It's true that under Obamacare, firms with more than 49 workers have to offer affordable health insurance coverage to full-time employees or pay a penalty. But the coverage only has to be for an individual policy, not a family policy.

And what most people don't know is that if a worker receives coverage for a single person from his employer, his family will not be able to get subsidized health insurance coverage under the exchange.

This is because, if one member of a family receives employer-sponsored health insurance, other members of the family cannot receive subsidized coverage under the exchange.

Other family members would have to purchase full-price health insurance, which would be prohibitively expensive for those at low incomes, those who are supposed to be protected.

Burkhauser testified that, for a four-person family at 133 percent of the poverty line earning $28,000, purchasing a family health insurance plan would cost 43 percent of family income, without government subsidies.

If that family earned $53,000, reaching 250 percent of the poverty line, the plan would cost 23 percent of their income.

About 13 million dependents of workers with single coverage would potentially be affected, according to Burkhauser. That's 26 percent of the estimated 50 million uninsured workers.

This perverse incentive has a number of consequences, none of them foreseen by Obamacare architects.

Workers with families will prefer to work for firms that do not offer health insurance. In that way, they can qualify to purchase family coverage through the exchange, using government subsidies. For a family at 133 percent of the poverty line, premiums will be capped at 2 percent of income.

If the firm does offer health insurance, the worker with dependents will prefer that the coverage is unaffordable. That's not a typo -- if the coverage is unaffordable, then the employee will be able to buy health insurance for his family on the exchange.

A firm that offers unaffordable coverage will have to pay a penalty of $3,000 per worker. But workers would prefer to receive a lower salary, have the employer pay the $3,000 penalty, and be able to buy subsidized health insurance on the exchange.

This causes substantial disincentives to marriage. Say that Jeff, who receives health insurance from his employer, wants to marry Jane, who is buying her health insurance from the exchange. If they married, then Jane would no longer be able to buy subsidized coverage from the exchange.

Or, take Sally and Steve, married with two children, earning below 400 percent of the poverty line (about $90,000 for a family of four). Sally is a stay-at-home mom.

Come 2014, Steve's employer will only be required to provide affordable coverage for him. If they were to get divorced, Sally could buy subsidized family coverage through the exchange.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that in 2019 another 3 million people will be covered by the health exchanges because of employers dropping coverage.

But with employer affordable health coverage only applying to singles, this number will be far greater, resulting in higher costs for the new law and higher federal budget deficits.

Yes, health care will be affordable for low-income Americans -- but only if they're unmarried.

Obama claims that he used RomneyCare as a template for ObamaCare but that claim is untrue. This explains why RomneyCare and ObamaCare are not the same because he didn't care to understand the intent of the law, how the law works and why the law was not meant to be applied at the national level.  The fact ObamaCare will not help the poor get insured is new example to add to the list of differences between RomneyCare and ObamaCare. Unlike ObamaCare, RomneyCare in Massachusetts has the highest health care coverage in the nation with 98% of the citizens and 99% of the children covered under his plan. 

Obama's Dismal Economic Record

Unfortunately for Americans, we are enduring the consequences of Obama's inexperience in handling the economy. To make matters worse, Obama is a progressive which means his views on economic matters is not a political philosophy that promotes economic growth. 

Obama's record since he's been in office has never been good. Ace, a fellow conservative blogger, serves up a nice infographic that demonstrates a discrepancy between what Obama's statements on the economy places it next to current economic statistics. The infograph is an eyeopening look at how Obama's incompetence has affected the economic health of our country.

Obama Makes His Choice: ObamaCare Will Go Before The Supreme Court

In my last post, I wrote about how Obama had the choice to decide when his health care plan would be heard before the United States Supreme Court. He could have the case heard this upcoming fall or he could have it heard sometime in the next year or two. Well, Obama made his choice:

The Obama administration chose not to ask the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to re-hear a pivotal health reform case Monday, signaling that it’s going to ask the Supreme Court to decide whether President Barack Obama’s health reform law is constitutional.

the Obama Administration intentionally missed the deadline required to seek a review from the 11th District court of Appeal which struck down his health care plan: 

Since the ruling, the Justice Department had until Monday to ask the entire 11th Circuit to review the case. Administration lawyers didn’t file the paperwork by the 5 p.m. deadline, so the ruling would stand unless the Justice Department asks the Supreme Court to step in.

The petition isn’t due until November, and the administration could get an extension.

The timing of when to file and when the case will be heard will be risky for the Obama administration:

But a Supreme Court ruling in the middle of a presidential election could carry serious political risks, since a decision upholding or striking the mandate has the potential to galvanize either Republicans or Democrats.

If the court accepts the case before January, it is likely to be put on the calendar to be heard in the spring. A decision would likely be postponed until June.

Many spectators are confused why Obama is chosing to go ahead and have it heard so close to the election. Some people believe that the Obama Administration is confident they will win. Others believe Obama will use it as a rallying cry to motivate the liberals to relect him to another term so that he can put more progressive liberal judges on the Supreme Court bench in the event ObamaCare is found unconstitutional.

For me, it doesn't matter why Obama is choosing to go ahead rather than delay having his health plan heard at the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court leans right thanks to President Bush appointing Judge Alito and John Roberts and the outcome will be that ObamaCare will be struck down on a 5-4 vote. 

Obama seems to be confident that he will prevail. I think he's about to be in for a real shock. 

Health Care Reform=Bigger Government

Hot Air has a nice article with revealing videos of what health care "reform" really means in the Obama Administration.

I highly recommend people go over to that website and read about it.