Senate vote was a sad day for freedom

Feb. 22 was a sad day for freedom. The Idaho Senate, bought and paid for by the big insurance companies, voted in favor of establishing a state healthcare exchange in accordance with Obamacare. For those of you who are unaware, in order for this expensive healthcare plan to be implemented, the states must establish an exchange. Twenty-eight states have refused. Idaho is the only Republican state that chose to cooperate with the feds on its invasive healthcare plan.

Our legislators claim that we have only two choices, let the feds create an exchange, or create it ourselves and retain some control over healthcare. They ignore the fact that the law states that any exchange set up by the states must comply with all federal laws. There is a third option: if enough states reject establishing an exchange, Obamacare will be forced back to Congress.

The Supreme Court ruled that Congress has the power to tax, but does not have the power to order people to buy health insurance. This power belongs to the states. The federal government needs the states to allow them in, and to do the fed’s dirty work of forcing the states’ citizens to comply with Obamacare or turn them and their employers into the IRS. For this reason the federal government has given more than $21 million to Idaho to establish the exchange.

If you care about your freedom, please contact your legislators: Rep. Eric Anderson at eanderson@house.idaho.gov; and Rep. George Eskridge at geskridge@house.idaho.gov.

ANNE WILDER CHAMBERLAIN

Priest River