The Affordable Care Act, the Government Shut-Down and Three Fundamentals of Representational Democracy

Sometimes passions bury the obvious.  Sometimes allegiance to a specific doctrine makes us lose sight of our overarching shared belief.  Sometimes we become so set on achieving a particular ends, we forget means matters—that a victory won unjustly is no victory at all, because it lowers the standard for all.  At such times, it is useful to strip things down to the bare-bones, look at things simply, objectively, while being honest about our own angle, our own intent.

Our country is currently at such a crisis.  Many conservatives truly believe the Affordable Healthcare Act, or Obama Care, as they call it, is fundamentally un-American.   Others, liberals, like me, believe that universal healthcare, in contemporary society, is essential for true liberty.  However, I’m not writing to argue either side of this debate.  Rather, I’m writing to remind others, what so many seem to have forgotten, some fundamentals of representational democracy. 

Fundamental #1:  Representational democracy requires two or more political parties to survive.  If you are liberal and want to eradicate conservatives, you are essentially un-American.  The same holds for conservatives.  I grew up in an era under Regan and Bush, Sr. when conservatives described me as the “L-word,” as if the “L-word,” like the “F-word” was so bad you shouldn’t say it.  (It may be worth mentioning here the F-word, creates life, and except how it’s used, isn’t ugly at all).  None-the-less, context is everything, and the attempt during the Regan era was clearly to marginalize and un-Americanize me.  Unfortunately, for too many years liberals accepted that label and ducked the very word that defines their ideals.  Although the “L-word” put-down has been dropped (primarily due to liberals finally standing up and saying, “Yes, and so what?”), conservatives continue to paint liberals as immoral and un-American.  I don’t get why—without me and other liberals, Democracy falls, and with it falls conservatism.  Only a one-party dictatorship will remain. 

You may not like that I’m for universal healthcare, but my belief does not make me un-American.  I am proud that in the heat of battle my party hasn’t sunk to calling conservatives the “C-word.”  We may not agree on healthcare, but we can still respect each other as humans, as Americans.

Fundamental #2:  In a representational democracy, elected representatives should vote according to the wishes of their constituents or according to their conscience.  I expect my legislators to vote one of two ways 1) primarily they should vote the wishes of those who put them in office; 2) However, as I want men and women of integrity to represent me, I’m okay with my representative occasionally voting against my wishes and in accordance with his/her own conscience.  If I don’t like how he or she votes on a particular issue, I can vote for someone else next time.

The Affordable Care Act was legislated when the Democrats had a majority in both houses as well as the office of President.  Voters at the time blamed Republicans for the recession and voted for Democrats.  Universal health care was part of the party’s platform.  It was not snuck in after the election.  I voted for Obama specifically because I support universal healthcare.  It would not make sense for a congress with a Democratic majority in both houses as well as a Democrat in the White House to push through anything but a liberal agenda.  It would be a betrayal of those who put them in office.

Now opinions do change, especially with big interests groups spending millions to influence public opinion, and just because voters thought they wanted universal health care doesn’t necessarily mean they should be stuck with it.  That change in opinion was reflected in the mid-term elections and the second-term presidential election of Obama, where Democrats lost control of the House as well as seats in the senate.

However, the reality is that so far Republicans have not been able to garnish enough support to repeal the Universal Health Care Act through the process established under the constitution.   As President Obama holds the veto, it is very unlikely they could do it under his administration.

So what?  There is always the next election cycle.  Does any political party, or group within a political party, have the right to hold the economy hostage if its demands aren’t met?  If so, every time the minority party controls the House, the federal government will come to a halt until the demands of the minority party are met as funding is used as an unconstitutional veto from the house.   If that happens, democracy, as established under the constitution, will cease to exist.  We will have rule by the minority rather than the majority.

Fundamental #3:  It is the job of the U.S. Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of laws:  The constitution carefully established checks and balances between the three branches of government and delegated the Supreme Court as the body to determine the legality of laws passed by congress.

That does not mean I believe the Supreme Court always carries out its mission.  For instance, I don’t believe the “separate but equal” ruling for segregation under Plessey vs. Ferguson was constitutional.  But again, we have checks for that.  As justices die or retire, they are replaced with new ones, appointed by the president and confirmed by the congress.  Also, the constitution can be amended.

The Affordable Care Act was determined to be constitutional by the Supreme Court.  That may not always be the case.  There are reversals of decisions.  But for now, The Affordable Healthcare Act is the law of the land which has been upheld by the Supreme Court as constitutional.

I don’t write anyone off as unpatriotic for being against the Affordable Healthcare Act.  If you are against it, you should fight it.  But here are some heavy questions to ask:

1)       Do you want an America where the budget is held hostage to keep a law from being implemented that was passed by a party as part of its platform and therefore represents the majority of voters at that time?

2)      Do you want an America where a small minority is able to nullify law and the Supreme Court’s ruling simply to advance minority’s creed?

Be careful how you answer those questions.  The pendulum always swings.  The last will be first and the first will be last.

You see, whether you realize it or not, the Tea Party members, who participated in the scheme to defund the Affordable Healthcare Act are not only holding the budget hostage, they are holding the constitution hostage, and if Obama negotiates with them, he is setting up a precedent that not only will Republicans use again, but Democrats too.

You can be a conservative and a great American.

You can be against the Affordable Care Act and be a great American.

Whatever your views, I wouldn’t want an America without you, because I know Democracy demands a multiplicity of views passionately argued and fought for on the political playing field, both in Washington and around the dinner table.

But, if you think that by supporting the hijacking of the budget by the Tea Party you are somehow supporting a glorious revolution against a liberal tyranny, returning to the glorious roots of the constitution, you are seriously mistaken.  What you are actually supporting is the nullification of the representational democracy envisioned by the forefathers as symbolized by the constitution.

I don’t doubt the integrity of anyone, even the Tea Party Representatives in the House.  But, I do know this:  sometimes we can get so involved in winning a specific battle, we lose sight of the banner we are fighting for.  That banner for America is not the liberal agenda, not the conservative agenda, not the flag, but representational democracy itself, symbolized by the constitution, but not necessarily protected by it.  We must protect democracy ourselves by controlling our passions, listening to the opposition and being willing to admit when we were wrong.  Without that ability, there is no Democracy.

I sincerely hope the current Republican Party comes to its senses, because although I’m a stanch Democrat, I can’t envision an America where everything doesn’t swing on the vote, which implies the need for a second party.  And, if this defunding stunt succeeds, that is no longer the case.  Laws that are not supported by a minority will simply be defunded as long as the minority can take control of one of the houses.  Our vote in the general election will no longer count.

That is a far bigger issue than Obama Care or even the budget.  Some rebels are patriots.  Others are simply hoodlums not man enough to play by the rules of the game.  They, themselves, may not even realize they have sunk to delinquency.  None the less, I’m not walking on by as they lute and pillage my home without saying something. 

© Steve Brown 2013