Sen. Burr STILL dodging, weaving, misleading on ObamaCare defunding | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: Brant Clifton understands that often, there are no "second acts" in American politics, especially in regards to defunding ObamaCare in his "bare knuckles" Conservative online publication known as The Daily Haymaker.

    Senator Richard Burr doesn't have time for the folks at Heritage Action, but he made time this week for Rotary. Activists affiliated with Heritage Action had scheduled a town hall meeting on ObamaCare in Wilmington for the end of August. Both North Carolina senators were invited, as were several members of Congress.

    But Burr spent time with the Rotary Club in the big city of Graham - opining on issues from Egypt to the debt to defunding ObamaCare:

    [...] Burr said The Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, was a mandated program and suggestions made by some fellow lawmakers to shut down the government to defund it would not work to eliminate the program. Burr said a government shutdown would only delay the implementation of Obamacare. [...]

    Hmmm. Social Security is also considered a "mandated" program. Burr & the gang are always tinkering with it - bumping it up with "cost of living adjustments." Why not do the same - in reverse - to ObamaCare?

    (By the way, it was a stroke of PR genius for Burr to blow off Heritage Action for Rotary. Rotary audiences are easy. The meetings I've attended - the crowd would give Satan himself a standing-O. It's very gentlemanly. No tough questions. No in-your-face moments. Strict time limits. With Heritage Action, you've got to face Tracey Bentgson and Ginny Quaglia. Trust ,me. No politician wants a piece of those two ladies. They're tough.)

    The Constitution - Article I, section 7 - says Congress has every right to make adjustments to federal spending. Spending MUST originate in the House, but senators - like Burr - can offer amendments to adjust that spending. The leftist FDR worshippers at The Roosevelt Institute aren't buying the spin Burr is peddling:

    [...] Anything that has a significant impact on federal revenues or spending, such as fees, interest on student loans, or mining licenses, can be changed using the budget reconcilation process. The mandate, and some other provisions of the Affordable Care Act, can certainly be stripped out by a Republican majority. Other provisions that don't affect the budget, such as some of the requirements placed on insurance companies to cover preexisting conditions and keep young adults on their parents' plans, probably can't be, because their effect on federal finances is minimal.[...]

    Jim DeMint did a great job earlier of slapping down arguments like this made by Burr and other chickenhawk Republicans in the defunding fight.

    The Constitution says NOTHING about the federal government running the nation's health care system. The Constitution is the rule book by which the governing game is to be played. Sure, the leftists will howl and find a favorable judge to slap down defunding efforts. But surely, there are still judges out there who pay attention to The Constitution. The Constitution has done a great job of holding this country together and making America a place people from all over the world want to call home. Surely that two centuries old document is still worth fighting for.