FAYETTEVILLE — At the time of this writing, the Democrat-controlled Congress is considering passing a vastlyunpopular national health care program by using questionable parliamentary tricks. The trick of which I speak is the so-called "nuclear option" in theU.S. Senate. Simply put, this is a method by which the political party in control of the Senate may bring to a vote a matter with a simple majority of senators' consent as opposed to the typical filibuster-proof majority of 60 members.
This is significant in many respects. First, it flies in the face of the representative democracy in which we live. With an ever-growing number of Americans standing opposed to a national or universal health care scheme, Democrats in Congress are willing to ignore the will of the people and nationalize one-sixth of our nation's economy. Just the mere fact that this "nuclear option" is being discussed in regard to such an important issue with such a far-reaching impact goes against the very foundations of our nation. I quote one of our founding documents:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed ..." (A complete copy of the Declaration of Independence may be found at www.archives.gov.)
I remind the current leadership in Washington that the reason for the angst and rising blood pressure in middle America is over the mishandling of this process and procedure of implementing a national health care plan. The reason for the anger of our citizenry comes from our origins. The foundation of our country has been built on the premise that in the United States of America the governments' power (political) comes from the people. We are not a nation that embraced a monarchy, aristocratic rule or an oligarchy. Instead, our first patriots were people who embraced the ideas of self-determination, self-governance and governing from the "bottom up." The whole world at the time was governed by monarchs or dictators. These models were "top-down" models.
If the Democrat-controlled Congress forces a national health plan (of which I am not debating the merits or detractors today) on an unwilling population, how does that differ from a king of England forcing his will upon a colonialistin the late 1700s?
The time has come for the president and Congress to recognize the fact that they have made their argument for a national health care scheme repeatedly and, up to this point, have not been able to convince the American people of the merits. They are now at a crossroads. Either they abandon their plan or move forward with the idea that they know better than everyone else. This is the height of arrogance.
This "nuclear option," if used to pass a national health care plan, would serve up two cycles of referendum elections. The 2010 and 2012 elections would be about one thing: national health care. In one corner, you will have those who forced it upon people (the latest polling shows 56 percent of Americans don't want it). In the other corner, any savvy Republican challenger would champion the people and let everyone know the only way to stop this plan is to vote for them.
I can see the campaign commercials in my mind's eye already. "Senator Know It All ignored you little people and forced a big government, nanny state health care program on you. You didn't want it, but the good senator did it anyway. But it's not too late to stop it from becoming a reality. Vote for me and I'll roll back the plan before it can ruin your life." Well, maybe not exactly like that, but you get the idea.
The media elites and talking heads continue to speak of a political climate brewing in our nation akin to 1994, when the GOP swept into congressional power. Elitist policies and tactics by the Democrats are creating a new cycle of referendum politics. They and all political leaders would do well to remember Thomas Jefferson's words penned centuries ago. It's not just about political survival, but the foundational premises of our great country.
Doug Matayo is a former House member of the Arkansas General Assembly. He is currently president of the board of directors at the Children's Safety Center in Springdale.
Opinion, Pages 4 on 09/24/2009