It’s obvious by now healthcare reform is not reform at all. The latest votes cast in the Senate opens the door to “debate” on the bill, but will do little to change it. We know that Congress is up to its comfortable tricks stuffing pork in every piece of legislation it passes. The biggest obstacle Senate Majority Leader Reid faces is how much it will cost to bribe a few of his members to vote favorably in the end. He needs every single Senate Democrat plus two Independents. Will there be any holdouts among them? Probably not – government officials cannot control themselves when it comes to spending – marching in lock-step anxious to bring home the bacon for their respective districts, even if it means destroying health care in the process.

Some pundits have speculated that a “watered down” version, one without the public option, will pass eventually, but I disagree. This bill is inoperable without the public option. The government, with its 2000+ pages of rules and regulations, will determine the way private insurance companies’ assign risk and set prices, in effect crippling its operation. No longer will companies profit from healthy member costs – in order to pay for costs related to unhealthy members – and will lock-step fall apart because without profits, no company can succeed. The only private insurance companies left will be high priced and available to politicians, union workers, and the rich. The public option is put in place to handle the fallback of failing private companies.

That’s the goal — use the profit that private insurance companies would have ordinarily made to subsidize the uninsured. But the uninsured number will sharply increase due to employers preferring to pay penalties (which will be cheaper) rather than pay healthcare insurance. Slowly but surely the more healthcare “reform” develops the more the average consumer will be forced into the public option to have access to health insurance. There you have it – a single payer system – American style – which is precisely what Reid and Pelosi wanted in the first place.

If you are against government controlled healthcare, you can try and contact your representatives or attend a tea party or two, but whether anyone is listening is another story. Even if you go so far as to threaten to vote for the opposition in 2010, don’t hold your breath, because a) officials either don’t believe it to be true; or b) Party loyalty is more important.

It’s the leader of this motley crew, President Obama, who is the true arm twister in this debate, and who is unconcerned about the outcry of the People, dismissing us as quickly as he dismissed Reverend Wright, his one-time mentor and Pastor. Once the President realizes if ever, that 2010 is really a referendum on Obama and indicative of his downfall in 2012, will he stop and take a second look at healthcare reform.

We ought to let the President know that public sentiment is as much against his administration as it is against Congress. Maybe then, just maybe, terrified at the prospect of being a one term president, will he call off the dogs, let Congress go back to doing whatever other dastardly things it does, and DROP government run healthcare.

Join me and other Patriots – Saturday December 5 between 2 –4 PM

HEALTHCARE REFORM PROTEST outside the office of Senator Kristen Gillibrand, 780 Third Ave., NYC, Between 48^th and 49^th Street. (Flyers and Signs will be available.)