The End Of Obamacare Schadenfreude

It's over. With the House and Senate passing the tax bill last yesterday (the house has to make a small change, and revote today), the Obamacare mandate that everyone pay for insurance, or pay a tax is hereby repealed. With the mandate removed, the remainder of Obamacare may flop around like a freshly gutted fish, but it can't last.

Trump secures major victory as Senate Republicans pass $1.5 trillion tax cut bill despite Democrats warning they'll 'rue this day' and protesters screaming 'don't kill us' - paving the way for a final House vote today after earlier hiccup

The Senate passed the GOP’s $1.5 trillion tax cut early Wednesday morning, leaving just one technical hurdle and President Trump’s signature as the final steps before the president’s top legislative priority becomes reality.

There was little last-minute drama in the Senate where the final tally was 51-48 – hardly different from the original version that cleared the Senate earlier this month.

Not a single Democrat voted for it, just as none in the House voted for a similar bill earlier on Tuesday.

Moments after the measure passed, Trump was quick to voice his approval and said if the House succeeds in a final re-vote Wednesday morning, there will be a White House news conference at 1:00 p.m.

'The United States Senate just passed the biggest in history Tax Cut and Reform Bill,' he tweeted just after 1:00 in the morning. 'Terrible Individual Mandate (ObamaCare)Repealed. Goes to the House tomorrow morning for final vote.'

House Speaker Paul Ryan tweeted: 'Great news. The Senate just passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. After years of work, we are going to enact the most sweeping, pro-growth overhaul of our tax code in a generation.'

A wave of protesters provided one of the biggest bursts of emotion. One small group yelled out ‘Kill the bill, don't kill us!’ as the final vote was being taken.

Let me think about it.

OK, I thought about it. No.

Nolte: Obamacare Mandate Repeal Is the Most Important Civil Rights Victory in Years

For the sin of being born, Obamacare mandates that every American purchase health insurance. If we do not purchase this totally unnecessary, godawful product (more on this below), we are required by law to pay a hefty tax to the federal government.

Somehow, and I do not really care how, this tax actually costs the government money, some $340 billion — with a “B” — every ten years.

Only Bill Ayers’ pal and his merry band of congressional nincompoops could crawl so far up their own backsides that they were able to find a tax that increases the deficit.

But thank heavens they did. Had they not, the Senate would not have repealed the mandate Friday night.

After the humiliation of failing to keep their defining promise to repeal Obamacare, the Senate turned to tax reform, which also looked sketchy due to deficit projections. But then the clouds parted and the stars aligned with the discovery that repealing the Obamacare mandate would save the government this $340 billion.

Talk about a win-win. Here was a way to kill the most hated (and crucial) part of Obamacare and pass tax cuts. And that is exactly what happened — the American people won a sweet two-fer: lower taxes and freedom from a fascist mandate.

Normally I am cautious about celebrating such a thing until it is signed into law. My understanding, though, is that the worst that can happen from here is the House passes the Senate bill — which means the Obamacare mandate is dead, which means this is the most important civil rights victory in years.

If I purchase a car, I am voluntarily taking on certain civic responsibilities that require the purchase of insurance. I have no problem with that. The Obamacare mandate is something altogether different.

For no other reason other than the fact I am born, the mandate is the federal government forcing me to buy something. This is nothing less than a legalized violation of my civil rights.

Forget the fact that Obamacare so over-regulates the insurance industry that we are now required to purchase a ridiculously expensive, one-size-fits-all Cadillac plan with a deductible so sky-high most of us will never use it. That is the least of this outrage, and something the Senate still needs to fix.

What I am talking about is the principle of the state forcing you to purchase something for your own good and for the good of others.

Sorry to be crude, but f**k that.