Georgia Republican Senators Propose Amending State Constitution To Block Federal Health Care

[babylonsister]

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/09/georgia-senators-tenthers/

Georgia Republican Senators Propose Amending State Constitution To Block Federal Health Care


The newest in a series of far-right political movements is “tentherism.” Tenthers are part of a radical ideology that references the 10th amendment to claim that the federal government does not have a right to enact a whole host of government programs. Under the tenther belief system, “Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, federal education funding, the Veterans Affairs health system and the G.I. Bill are all illegal… {and} beyond Congress’ power to enact.”

Yesterday, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that a group of Republican state legislators in Georgia planned to introduce legislation that would “invoke the 10th amendement” to allow Georgia to opt out of participation in any federal health care legislation:

A group of Republican state senators on Thursday said they want to amend the state’s Constitution in an attempt to stop Democrats in Washington from enforcing health care reform here.

Sens. Judson Hill (R-Marietta) and Chip Rogers (R-Marietta) were joined by about half a dozen colleagues to unveil their plans. The resolution would be introduced when lawmakers return in January.

The proposed amendment would, Hill and Rogers said, would allow Georgia to invoke the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That amendment says that any power not explicitly granted the federal government in the Constitution is preserved for the states.

While Hill and Rogers are playing politics with their extremist reading of the Constitution, Georgians without health care continue to suffer. As of March 2009, 2,929,000 Georgians under the age of 65 were uninsured — nearly 34 percent of the state’s total population. More than three-quarters of these Georgians went without health care for six months or longer between 2007 and 2008.

One group of Georgians does have guaranteed, high-quality health coverage: Medicare recipients. As of 2008, 1,145,727 Georgians benefited from Medicare, a program Hill refuses to call constitutional. Commenting on tenther bill, the leading Georgian conservative blog Peach Pundit writes, “Somebody didn’t think this one through.”

The efforts by Hill and his colleagues are similar to those of a group of Republican state legislators in Florida who are trying to enact legislation that would prevent Floridans from taking part in any new federal health care plan.

[dkf]

1. Is Georgia opting out of Medicare?

lol.

[raccoon]

2. You beat me to the post. nt

[PA Democrat]

3. Someone needs to let the senior citizens of Georgia know.

It's not Obama trying to kill granny!

[margotb822]

5. Yea, my question too.

How FUCKING stupid are these people???

[indepat]

6. Hopefully Medicare will opt out all Georgians should this pass

:P

[RT Atlanta]

4. It's ridiculous!

my ranting and raving on the whole topic from yesterday....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6456132&mesg_id=6456132

[Botany]

7. O.K. Georgia dumb asses no more big federal health care $ in your state

No medicare, no medicaid, no V.A. payments, if anybody gets cancer do not get any treatment because the National Cancer Institute which
oversees and funds cancer treatments gets it's money from the NIH, move the C.D.C. from Atlanta (Center for Disease Control),
no N1H1 flu shots, no S-CHIP payments, no stimulus funds, and while you are it don't get onto any freeways either.




Let's close Ft. Benning too.

[global1]

8. These Repugs Just Keep Getting Crazier and Crazier......

they keep outdoing themselves.

[sinkingfeeling]

9. All of these wacko GOP states should give back every frinkin' dime of federal money they've taken

above the actual amount the state's citizens paid into federal taxes. No more fed subsidies for Georgia's S-CHIP or Medicaid programs, no education funds, no government grants, etc., etc.

[babylonsister]

10. I so agree! I bet their yapping gums would shut right quick. nt

[Botany]

12. And stay the f*** off all the freeways too.

hitch up your mules and drive on those red clay roads.

[seafan]

11. Yep, Florida's wingnut Republican lawmakers are blazing the trail to refuse federal health care.

Psychotic break.



Florida Lawmakers Want To Thwart Federal Health Care

July 28, 2009

Two Republican lawmakers have filed a proposed state constitutional amendment aimed at blocking a federal health care plan in Florida.

Sen. Carey Baker of Eustis, a candidate for agriculture commissioner, said Tuesday that legislation pending in Congress amounts to 'socialization' and would let the federal government choose a person's doctor and ration treatment.

The House sponsor, Rep. Scott Plakon of Longwood, called it a 'power-grab' by President Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress.

If approved by a three-fifths vote in each house, the proposal would go on the November 2010 ballot.

And now, it has spread to Georgia.



Update II: GOP senators plan move to stop health care reform in Georgia

September 3, 2009

A group of Republican state senators on Thursday said they want to amend the state’s Constitution in an attempt to stop Democrats in Washington from enforcing health care reform here.

Sens. Judson Hill (R-Marietta) and Chip Rogers (R-Marietta) were joined by about half a dozen colleagues to unveil their plans. The resolution would be introduced when lawmakers return in January.

The proposed amendment would, Hill and Rogers said, would allow Georgia to invoke the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That amendment says that any power not explicitly granted the federal government in the Constitution is preserved for the states.

Hill and Rogers argue that the health care reform bill being debated in Congress would violate the 10th Amendment and that their state amendment would protect Georgia from having to participate in any federal reform.

“The 10th Amendment protects us from such federal mandates,” Hill said. “United we stand to protect Georgians, united we stand to protect these freedoms for Georgians.”

But when asked if the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which grants Congress the right to regulate and enforce matters related to interstate commerce, would interfere with their plan, Hill could not say.

“The 10th amendment allows any state to preserve their own rights,” Hill said. “We’re saying this is one right that is preserved for all Georgians and is not delegated out to the United States government.”

Asked if Medicare, which is government-run health care for seniors, would also then be unconstitutional, Hill said, “That’s a good question. I don’t know yet. We’ll fight that battle when it comes before us.”

.....

We now have a new right-wing splinter sect. The Tenth-ers.

[fascisthunter]

13. all that just to protect corporate interests huh?

I'm sure the poor will appreciate you denying them adequate healthcare coverage.

[Peace Patriot]

14. Georgians ought to think seriously about ridding their state of Diebold voting machines,

and all voting machines run on 'TRADE SECRET,' PROPRIETARY programming code, owned and controlled by far rightwing corporations*, with NO audit/recount controls. Private, secret, corporate-controlled vote counting just makes it too easy, ya know?

--------------------------------

*(ES&S just bought out Diebold--which had changed its name to "Premier," so sullied had its reputation become--but ES&S is, anything, worse than Diebold. ES&S has, as its initial funder and major investor, rightwing nutcase billionaire Howard Ahmanson, who also gave one million dollars to the extremist 'christian' Chalcedon foundation, which touts the death penalty for homosexuals (among other things). Georgia's Diebold machines will now be programmed by the Chalcedon foundation, ahem...ES&S...and it is also one of the states--about half in the US--with NO ability to verify vote totals. So, while Georgia may tend right-ish, on its own, the voting machine situation means that there is NO chance for progressives to gain a foothold, and, if the majority of Georgians favor some or many progressive policies, they have NO chance of seeing such policies implemented by their public office holders.)

[SOS]

15. Imagine when the the Social Security checks stop arriving in Georgia.

That will be entertaining!

[flaminbats]

16. this will never happen..

These Republicans are just begging us for defeat.

2/3's of the vote in the Georgia General Assembly is needed to amend the state constitution, and even then a statewide public referendum must be held.

Thankfully Democrats make up more than 1/3 of both houses.

[TreasonousBastard]

17. This shouldn't even be news...

if the biggest conservative blog in Georgia says it's nonsense, it ain't gonna happen. Coupla blowhards playing to a voter base so stupid they can't figure out where to vote anyway.

The idiocy is going viral, though-- today a woman called in to the Diane Rehm show saying that at a Mark Warner town hall, Warner said it was wrong to call Obama a traitor and most of the room booed and turned their backs on him.

It's getting insane out there. Forget about swine flu shots-- we got the stupid flu already.