The progressive Obama agenda has become so toxic, even at the state level, Reuters reports that the people not only flipped the DC House, but also their governorships, state houses, and entire legislatures.

This is important for two reasons:  redistricting and the ability to flex state’s rights against the Obama administration, which, as we know, has no problem suing states.  From Reuters:

In most states, legislatures will be redrawing electoral districts for the U.S. House — an adjustment of boundaries every 10 years that tends to favor the party in charge in each state.

The big Republican Party wins at the state level give it the edge in reinforcing its strength in the U.S. House.

Republicans took control of at least 18 state chambers from Democrats, according to Tim Storey, an elections analyst at the bipartisan National Conference of State Legislatures.

A firewall indeed.  There were significant gains by the Republicans as summarized over at RedState that bear repeating:

The whole of the Maine legislator has flipped to the GOP. Several people I have talked to said such a deep and thorough shift to any one party has not happened in one election in the past 100 years.

[snip]

GOP has moved to the right. More so, the Republicans picking up, in the worst case, seven seats is historically strong.

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One of the main selling points of health care reform was that it would cut the federal deficit by a supposed $143 billion over the next decade and a trillion-plus dollars in the one after that.

But not only will the legislation not cut one thin dime from the deficit, it will also certainly cost far more than the $940 billion in new spending already on the table for at least three reasons.

These include:

1. Legislative Trickery. Congressional Democrats have pledged support for “the doc fix,” a permanent upward adjustment to the rates at which Medicare providers are reimbursed. As Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said, “We have made a commitment to do this. This is very important.” The cost of the “doc fix”? Some $247 billion over the next 10 years, wiping out any deficit reduction from health care reform.

2. Higher Premiums. In 2006, Massachusetts passed health care reform very similar to what President Obama just signed. The result? The Bay State now has the highest premiums in the country and cost about 33 percent more than expected.

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As Republicans are preparing for the Press Event with Obama on Thursday, I’d like to see a specific point be made with regard to costs.  Something like this:

“Mr. President, our plan removes the barriers to Interstate Insurance sales, so individuals and families can purchase insurance with specific benefits across state lines.  We’re sure you are aware with insurance every new benefit mandated with the force the Federal government, will increase costs for every US citizen’s own policy.

“As such, we’d like to go over this list of Benefits / Services currently mandates by the states:*

Healthcare Mandates _2_

“Mr. President, you’ll note that there are very few benefits that even 25 of our states require, but there are more than 130 potential mandates.  And if all the state plans are forced to cover the same fifty Federal mandates, people won’t actually have any real choice.  Republicans believe there have to be both low cost, bare bone plans and plans that cover specific types of patients.

“Why do mandates happen Mr. President? Largely because special interest groups (good people in a state all suffering from the same condition and their doctors and drug makers) lobby their state government to have their problem covered by everyone, so their own costs are lower.

“Who can argue with: If special education for autism is covered,  why not home healthcare?  If an Osteopath is covered, why not a Psychiatric nurse. If HIV drugs are covered, why not morbid obesity, why not sickle cell, why not an athletic trainer, why not massage.  Mr. President, special interests have succeeded in getting ALL of these covered in different states.  Do you really believe the federal government can be trusted to say NO?

“Mandates pit patients and their doctors against other patients and doctors.   Who’s health is most important?

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Twenty-nine years ago I stood with my 150 classmates in Thorn Hall, at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, as Dean James Eckenhoff asked us to raise our right hands and repeat after him:    

I will apply measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice.

I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect.  In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art.

I will not use the knife, not even on sufferers from stone, but will withdraw in favor of such men as are engaged in this work.

Whatever houses I may visit, I will come for the benefit of the sick, remaining free of all intentional injustice.

Those words, from The Hippocratic Oath written in 400 B.C., changed my life and the lives of the thousands of patients my classmates and I have touched over the past twenty-nine years. 

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