Obamacare... national health care, passed under Obama, much as   
    proposed by Richard Nixon 40 years ago.   
      
    Seven of the 24 lawsuits against the law have been dismissed.   
    Most of the rest are awaiting motions or decisions on motions.   
    Only two appear to have serious standing so far. Both only on   
    the matter of the mandate.   
      
    All of the lawsuits considered by most to have a real chance   
    focus on the mandate.   
      
    Actually, almost all the suits involve the mandate. One of these   
    seems to be closely watched.   
      
    Obamacare, and I believe Democrats should embrace the name, will   
    surive those lawsuits. What the right misses is, those lawsuits   
    will pretty much guarantee the survival of the law.   
      
    If those lawsuits fail, and they will surely go to the supreme   
    court, that's it, the law will stand. Game over.   
      
    If one of the lawsuits prevails, and that will still go all the   
    way to the supreme court, that will only eliminate the mandate.   
    As much as the mandate is a critical part of the bill, it will   
    survive without it.   
      
    What the right misses about this is, the mandate is the only   
    part of the bill that the public opposes. Most of the rest of   
    the bill provides things the American people do support for the   
    most part, or are indifferent to.   
      
    The people support banning insurance refusal for pre-existing   
    conditions.   
      
    The people do believe children should be covered.   
      
    The people do believe the elderly should be able to consult with   
    their doctors or other health care professionals about end of   
    life care.   
      
    The public does support Hospice care.   
      
    All this dispite the fact that the right has lied about much of   
    this.   
      
    And if it ever gets close to the bill being declared   
    unconstitutional on it's basis, the American people  will wake   
    up to the fact that if National Health Care is unconstitutional,   
    so is Medicare.   
      
    If the republicans put this country in a position where Medicare   
    is at risk of being declared unconstitutional the republicans   
    will face holy hell.   
      
    So, if the mandate stands, game over.   
      
    If the mandate fails, Obamacare stands without it. That and the   
    republicans will be faced with growing millions losing health   
    care coverage, and they will have to come up with some way to   
    provide it.   
      
    Obama care will survive, and coverage will be provided to the   
    entire population, either by the mandate, or some other means.   
      
    I have always opposed the mandate, not because it's morally   
    wrong, but because it's dumb. There is no way the government is   
    going to come up with any standard by which they are going to   
    establish a value of "affordable coverage" that actually means   
    anything to a lot of people. If you fine someone for not haveing   
    coverage, and that person doesn't have coverage because he's too   
    poor to afford it, the fine just makes his poverty worse.   
      
    However, some means will have to be found to provide care for   
    all if this is to remain a decent country. And it will,   
    eventually. How many will die before then is the question those   
    opposing national health care will have to live with.   
      
      
      
   BOB KLAHN bob.klahn@sev.org   http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn   
      
   ... Don't tell me you are pro-life if you don't support health care for all.   
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