Obama Pledges He Won’t ‘Walk Away’ From Health Care Reform
President Obama on Friday pledged not to “walk away” from health care reform, telling a crowd in the Cleveland suburbs that he’s still committed to driving down health care costs despite the crippling effect his party’s loss in the Massachusetts Senate election had on the Democrats’ bill.
The president, who with party leaders has urged Congress to take a step back on health care reform, downplayed the drama and confusion that has dominated Capitol Hill since Republican Scott Brown’s upset win in Massachusetts. He aggressively defended the work his administration has done so far on the economy, urged Congress to pass a new jobs bill and tried to link health care reform to that issue.
“Health care is part of the drag on our economy,” Obama said at a town hall event. “We’ve gotten pretty far down the road but I’ve got to admit, we hit a little bit of a buzz saw this week.”
Obamacare and the States, What Now?
“This bill is not being debated openly and fairly. It will raise taxes, hurt Medicare, destroy jobs, and run our nation deeper into debt. It is not in the interest of our state or country – we can do better.” — Senator-Elect Scott Brown in his acceptance speech
As the Tea Parties of August were winding down, some Georgia legislators began talking about what they could do if Obamacare passes. Sen. Chip Rogers, Majority Leader of the State Senate and Sen. Judson Hill joined together with other like minded legislators to take a look at the 10th Amendment of the US Constitution. “It seems only right that the place we start to determine what the role of government, if any, in health care is with the Constitution,” Sen. Rogers said in an appearance on the Fox News Channel on Labor Day.
Sen. Rogers and Hill have been passionate about this issue for months. “We actually think we should not wait (to find out what the bill says). We must preserve the rights of all Georgians to choose their doctor and their payment method,” Rogers said. For them, this is about the role of government.
Sen. Hill also has a long record on making health care better for Georgians through legislation but more importantly by using the bully pulpit to make Georgians aware of what they can do to make their health better. Rogers and Hill will be introducing a constitutional amendment protecting Georgians from the excesses of Obamacare and if passed in the legislature this session will be voted on by the people in November.
![Glenn Beck - States Test the 10th Amendment [1 of 2] - May 7, 2009](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/W_Lv0Nfvkvo/2.jpg)