Conservative - Not Republican

Today's vote on the Senate bill is a good example of why I am not a Republican but a conservative.  The Republicans in the House were finally doing what their constituents elected them to do - standing up to Obama and the Democrats.  The few true conservatives in the Senate stood with their colleagues in the House and said "NO" to Obamacare.  They were immediately attacked - but not just by Democrats.  They were attacked by the establishment Republicans - the old guard who worked with the Democrats today to give President Obama what he wanted.  John McCain, Mitch McConnell, Lindsay Graham, John Cornyn... and a host of others.  Of the 46 Republicans in the Senate only 18 had the courage to vote for their constituents.  (To his credit, John Cornyn actually voted against the bill today.  I'm not sure why.)

For two weeks Harry Reid and the Democrats have been screaming for the House to send them a "clean bill" that funded the government but with no added language or expenditures.  Yet the bill passed today by both houses includes a $174,000 payment to the widow of former Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), who died in June at the age of 89.  (In 2011 the Lautenbergs were multi-millionaires.)  It also includes $2 billion for Mitch McConnell's home state of Kentucky. Imagine - McConnell agrees to a deal with Harry Reid and gets $2 billion in earmarks.  Hard to believe, huh?

During the shut down Senator Reid and other Democrats, including the President and his mouthpiece, Jay Carney, have continuously used ugly and violent rhetoric when speaking of the Republicans.  They were called terrorists, suicide bombers, arsonists, hostage takers, etc., - all those things President Obama said shouldn't be said about each other after the Gabby Giffords' shooting.  But Jay Carney repeatedly said the Republicans are holding America hostage and said "the President will not negotiate when the Republicans are holding a gun to his head." I never once heard the President chastise any Democrat for their tone and language.  So much for toning down the rhetoric, huh Mr. President?

Today the Republicans without spines showed their true colors.  Each of them who ran for re-election in 2010 on the platform of repealing Obamacare today proved they care more for their own careers than they do for the people who elected them.  They proved it over and over last week when they attacked Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and Rand Paul - three Senators who are actually keeping their campaign promises.  I'm so disgusted with John McCain and Lindsay Graham that I hope their home states recall them and kick them out of office.  It would be very pleasant to watch.

We're now stuck with Obamacare.  You know - that wonderful bill that will "cost taxpayers nothing" but in reality will cost us trillions of dollars.  The bill that will let you keep your own doctor - unless your doctor is relieved of his duties by an Obamacare insurance exchange or quits seeing patients because he/she won't get paid appropriately.  The bill that insures that "your premiums won't go up" - unless you actually enroll.  The bill that allows exchanges to sell policies in which the annual deductible can be up to $12,000 a year.  The bill that will "allow all Americans to get health insurance" - except for those 30 million who won't be able to get it.  The bill that requires you pay a small "tax" if you don't have health insurance.  When in reality it's a fine that increases exponentially as the years go by.  And the bill for which President Obama has given countless waivers and has delayed many portions - except the part where you must begin paying a tax if you don't have it - even if you can't get into the computer program to enroll because it doesn't work!

Yeah - Obamacare is great.  With all the good things I listed above I can't imagine anything that could go wrong.  Can you?