Oklahoma GOP on Obamacare Smacks of Hipocrisy

You might recall from Election 2010 that many candidates campaigned in Oklahoma on the idea that they would "fight Obamacare". Obviously, this was a ploy to get the attention of voters who disagreed with the new federal healthcare system, specifically the individual mandate a buy health insurance, and did not want to see it implemented in Oklahoma.

Then shortly after taking office, newly elected Governor Mary Fallin accepted $54 million of federal money for implementing the health insurance exchanges required by Obamacare. Upon acceptance of the grant, she even called this part of Obamacare "consistent with our mission to design and implement an Oklahoma-based health insurance exchange" and a "step in the right direction for Oklahoma".

In other words, instead of adhering to her campaign promise to fight Obamacare, she showed that she directly agrees with and supports a crucial aspect of it.

And then this past Thursday, what did the House of Representatives do? They voted 51-34 to begin implementation of Obamacare. This comes just two months after Attorney General Scott Pruitt filed a lawsuit against Obamacare based on the People's support of a Constitutional amendment barring participation by the State of Oklahoma in Obamacare.

So what exactly does HB2130 do? Simple. Instead of an elected official (the Insurance Commissioner) overseeing your insurance options in Oklahoma, this power will be vested in a group of appointees that do not have to report to anyone. By law, the funding for this will come from federal money alone.

If the GOP truly detests Obamacare as much as they claim, they would have thrown the money back in the federal government's face and refused to enact a bill that enables such a key part of Obamacare. We have a process in America called nullification. Here's a word to our legislators: USE IT.

I have noticed that some other bloggers have claimed that the idea purported by some legislators that the Heritage Foundation supported the exchange system and/or the individual mandate is false. While they are indeed correct that the Heritage Foundation does not currently support such ideas, they should also note that those ideas were once supported (and perhaps originated in some cases) by the Heritage Foundation.

It's another reason why I can't support organizations such as the Heritage Foundation where positions change based on the political winds.

Please contact your Senators and let them know that the People of Oklahoma will not stand for such hipocrisy.