Alaska's Governor Parnell Says "No" To Obamacare
Becky Bohner- The Minneapolis Star and Tribune
Gov. Sean Parnell took a defiant stand Thursday against the federal health care overhaul Congress passed last year, declaring that he will refuse to implement a law he views as blatantly unconstitutional.
Parnell is the latest Republican governor to lash out against the law as the courts weigh the constitutionality of the overhaul. More than half of all states, including Alaska, have sued or joined lawsuits against the government over the health care plan pushed by President Barack Obama.
It’s not immediately clear what impact the unusual, rather bold move would have on Alaskans, an estimated 14 percent of whom are uninsured year-round.
Several experts believe Parnell is on shaky legal ground and that his comments are little more than symbolic. The law won’t fully take effect until 2015 — just after his first term will have ended — and the constitutionality question will not get settled until the U.S. Supreme Court decides it.
Until then, in Parnell’s view the decision by a federal judge in Florida, striking down the law as unconstitutional, “is the law of the land, as it pertains to Alaska.
This is simple. Where in the Constitution does it say the federal government can force us to buy health insurance? Oh that’s right, it doesn’t. [emphasis added]
Let’s hope more Governors follow Mr. Parnell and say it loud and proud: No to Obamacare!
Link: http://www.startribune.com/nation/116425924.html
Feb. 18, 2011