The House of Representatives sends a message to America

Pelosi's healthcare reform bill passed in the House 220-215. It's funny how you never hear about Obamacare since the bills coming from the Democrats became more unpopular. I guess Obama ordered his name be removed from this effort. I don't blame him, because this passage is a slap to the face of the nation.

In essence, the Democrats are saying they have little concern for the majority's opinion that this bill is not good for the country. The representatives (a term used loosely) have sent the message that congress will decide what the country needs and they will do what they want to do with whatever legislation they want to do it with. The Democrats, however, are not showing any perverse virtue here, they are showing cowardice. The Democrats are more concerned with avoiding the wrath of the progressives than they are concerned with avoiding the wrath of the American people who mostly oppose progressivism.

Plus, they know that this is a power grab of huge significance. The Republicans didn't fight this with intelligent vigor -- they opted for photo-op sessions and soundbites. There was no concerted intellectual resistance from the Republicans, no persistent, clear and philosophical delineation. Maybe a handful of Republicans were persistant, but overall, they failed to formulate a solid opposition. Just not voting for it and saying "socialism" every once in awhile is not a resistance movement. The Tea Party movement was the only real resistance and many among them rejected the Republican Party as weak and corrupt.

The American people will now have to act as the wall between the Senate and the next step. It would be good if a clear voice could arise from the Republican Party which articulates the philosophical resistance to statism -- that would be nice, but I'm not sure if any of them know how to articulate America's founding philosophy, and I'm not sure that any of them will stick their heads above the crowd and risk their political careers on principles.