As an opponent of the president’s healthcare “reform,” I feel like we have won a small victory. Do you remember back in the spring when the president said he wanted a bill on his desk by August recess? (Why so soon? Think 2010 elections.)

Well, it’s the first Wednesday of August and no bill has been voted on by either chamber. I would chalk that up to the pressure “we the people” put on our members that we need to go about this slowly.

The last thing the President and the liberals wanted was for the members to go home without a vote because they know during the August recess they will hear just what their constituents think of “ObamaCare” and it isn’t pretty.

Since the President and Speaker of the House can no longer blame Republicans for their inability to pass this bill, they are now turning the blame to the doctors, insurance companies, and pharmaceutical companies. They claim these “villains” are the reason for our rising healthcare costs. Apparently the trial lawyers are the innocent victims in this scenario.

Well, I’ve got a few villains of my own I think we need to keep a close eye on.

The first villain is the President himself. The President is more interested in saving money (makes sense seeing as he is spending us into oblivion) than he is about saving lives.

He feels the government can make better medical decisions for you and your family than, well, you and your family. The president stated in a 2003 speech that he is for a “single payer system” and the way to get it was to first take back the White House (check), the Senate (check) and the House (check).

The second villains are the leaders in Congress. Ranging from Speaker Pelosi to Senator Ted Kennedy, make no mistake about it, these people want socialized medicine. In fact, 86 Democrats have cosponsored a bill to create the same single-payer system similar to the ones in Canada and Great Britain. Several members want to expand Medicare to cover those without insurance.

Are they insane? Medicare is going bankrupt, so why would we want to add more people?

The third and forth villains are medical advisors to the President. Dr. Ezekial Emanuel (brother of Obama’s chief of staff) is a scary figure to say the least. He and Dr. David Blumenthal believe that it is medical innovation that is responsible for “two thirds of the annual increase in healthcare spending.”

Well, having the best medical care in the world does have a price, and it is a price I think is worth it. Even the Congressional Budget Office stated in 2008 that while this is true, such innovations “permit the treatment of previously untreatable conditions.” Who would be against that?

The fifth villain is former Senator Tom Daschle who said, “Healthcare reform will not be pain-free” and that “seniors should be more accepting of the condition that comes with age instead of treating them.”

Ouch! Daschle wants to model America’s plan after Great Britain. Great Britain has a board called the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE for short) and they have set a general limit for the cost of extending life for a year and that amounts to about $49,000. They will even deny life-saving cancer drugs simply because the government can’t afford it.

Our government is trillions in debt, so technically we can’t afford drugs or treatments for our citizens.

Our sixth villain is the AARP who have endorsed ObamaCare. If you call them, they will tell you that they don’t agree with all of the details of the bill. Then why support it?

This bill will affect seniors. The same organization that is supposed to be advocates of the elderly is now looking to gut their medical care.

If you are a senior and oppose ObamaCare, I urge you to contact the AARP and let them know of your opposition to “ObamaCare.” I’ve heard many are even canceling their memberships.

Here’s a quote you never want to hear. Former Democrat Governor Richard Lamb of Colorado apparently doesn’t have any family members over the age of 65. He had the audacity to say that “old people have a duty to die and get out of the way.”

I’m sorry, but I love my grandparents and I want them around for as long as possible. They don’t have a duty to die; they have a right to life.

I find it necessary to remind the Democrats of some great Americans who contributed to this country after the age of 65. Benjamin Franklin is the only founding father whose signature is on four of our founding documents. They are the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Paris, the Treaty of Alliance and the United States Constitution, all signed at the age of 70 or older.

President Ronald Reagan was sworn in at age 70. Everyone will agree (well, liberals will disagree) that Reagan’s policies allowed for 25 years of economic prosperity.

Colonel Sanders started franchising Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants at age 65. Where would we be without our finger-licking good chicken?

Young and old alike should repeat the mantra of the 1960s, “Hell, no! I won’t go,” at least not on the schedule “planned, plotted, and designed by the Democrats.” The last time I checked the United States Constitution does not give the government the right to make medical decisions for its citizens.

When Obama and his cronies leave office, they’ll be very rich people who can afford the best healthcare for their family. The rest of us will be left trying to clean up the Marxist government they left behind.

Laura Lunsford

Fayetteville, Ga.

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