A few days ago, I wrote an article about how Donald Trump attacked Rand Paul for not supporting the fake-repeal of Obamacare, known as Graham/Cassidy. Paul opposed the legislation because it kept all the damaging and costly parts of Obamacare in place, and because it continued Obama’s “redistribute the wealth” philosophy by providing taxpayer-funded block grants to pay for the 95% of Obamacare that remained under the bill.
I have defended Paul many times over the years for being a person who appeared to put the Constitution and the rule of law above partisan politics, such as when he stood in opposition to Obama’s dictatorial use of his pen and phone whenever Congress failed to do as he wished. Unfortunately, as is almost always the case with members of the GOP, such principles are easily brushed aside in the name of political convenience, and Rand Paul is no exception.
In an interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Paul proudly announced that Trump will soon have some “big news” about executive actions he’s about to take to “reform” healthcare.
You remember executive actions, don’t you? It’s how Obama created DACA, which permitted millions of illegals to stay in America, and it’s how he created new LGBT rights under Title IX—just to give you a few examples. In fact, executive actions were Obama’s bread and butter because they allowed him to use a reinterpretation of old laws instead of creating fake new laws using executive orders. This is exactly what Paul has recommended Donald Trump do with healthcare.
With the GOP’s failure to repeal Obamacare, Paul wants Trump to use his pen and phone to take executive action that would “legalize” buying health insurance across state lines using a “reinterpretation” of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Besides the fact that this is simply putting lipstick on the Obamacare pig—because Obamacare stays—this action by Trump is exactly the same thing Paul once condemned under Obama.
Rand Paul’s claim about how this order will increase competition and lower prices for health care—boy does that sound familiar—is nothing but smoke and mirrors. Paul and Trump should be working on ways to get Congress to do its job by passing laws to repeal Obamacare instead of looking for ways to skirt the Constitution.
David Leach is the owner of The Strident Conservative, your source for opinion that’s politically-incorrect and always “right.” His articles can also be found on RedState.com.
His daily radio commentary is nationally syndicated with Salem Radio Network and can be heard on stations across America.
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