Health Care Freedom Act Passes

The Federal Health Care Reform legislation recently signed into law by President Obama forces uninsured individuals to purchase health insurance or face penalties imposed by the IRS.

The Florida House and Senate passed a measure intended to send a clear signal to Washington that Floridians reject intrusive health care mandates.

The measure proposes an amendment to the State Constitution prohibiting the government from interfering with an individual’s personal health care decisions.

Representative Plakon, sponsor of the measure, issued the following statement:

The government has never required citizens to purchase a product from a private for-profit company as a condition of lawful residence in the United States. As elected officials, it is our duty to protect citizens from Federal and State mandates that strip away the very freedoms our forefathers risked their lives for. With this vote, the Florida House has empowered the citizens of this great State to vote in November and make their voice heard on whether medical freedom is a fundamental right that must be protected in our State Constitution. I humbly thank all of the grassroots supporters and my House colleagues for looking beyond politics by pursuing public policy that ensures that we remain free souls under God and not property of the State.

Since the measure proposes an amendment to the State Constitution it will need to receive 60% of the vote to be ratified and made law.

Webster To Challenge Grayson

State Senator Dan Webster is the latest person to put his hat in the ring to run against Alan Grayson. Webster was elected to the State House in 1980, where he served for 18 years, before running for the State Senate, where he served another 10 years.

During his time in office he was elected by his colleagues to be the Speaker of the House and Senate Majority leader. He retired as the longest serving member of the Florida Legislature.

In 2004, he started a campaign to run for the US Senate but bowed out, before reaching enough signatures to qualify.

Immediately after announcing his plans to run in District 8, Grayson’s office responded by releasing the following statement:

“Dan Webster is another career politician born out of the Tallahassee Republican machine, which has been, and continues to be, the cradle of corruption in this state. Congressman Grayson is the epitome of ‘People Power.’ He has broad support from thousands of donors in Central Florida, who each contribute small amounts of clean money to his campaign, with no strings attached.”

Crist Weighs Options

In recent days it has come to light that Crist is weighing his options in the race for US Senate. With Rubio’s commanding lead in the polls, and his loss of Republican support, Crist’s dream of being president is slowly slipping away.

Last year, Crist lobbied to get on the McCain ticket, but he was passed over for Sarah Palin. He opted not to run again for Governor. So, if he loses this his political career, and his chances of president die with him. He has a lot at stake in this election.

Speculation is high among reliable sources that Crist will abandon the Republican Party and run as an Independent. Fox 35 Orlando reported last night, that Crist is closer to making a decision on the matter.

What Changed?

Last November, Suzanne Kosmas voted against the health care reform bill because she believed that the bill before the House was fiscally irresponsible.

Here is the explanation in her own words:

Health care reform is, at its core, an economic issue, and addressing rising costs was always one of my highest priorities. Last year’s bill simply did not do enough to rein in costs or to reduce the federal deficit.

On March 19th she declared tha she would change her vote to Yes because:

“We now have a bill that, while not perfect, represents the change needed to put the economy and our health care system on a sustainable and positive path – a bill that includes numerous ideas from both Republicans and Democrats.

“It was my commitment to families and businesses in Florida’s 24th District to be a voice for fiscally responsible, common-sense solutions and positive change for our children and their children. This bill represents those priorities, and that is why I will vote yes.”

Now she says:

As I have considered health insurance reform, a critical priority in my decision-making has been that reform must be fiscally sound. Unlike the original health care bill before the House, the reform bill that I supported is fiscally responsible and takes critical steps to rein in health care costs that are overwhelming our economy. This reform represents the single largest deficit reduction effort in over a decade, reducing the deficit by over $140 billion in the first 10 years and $1.3 trillion in the decade to follow.

Apparently, the only thing that changed was her opinion. She voted No the first time, and Yes the second time – to essentially the same bill. I guess now when she runs for re-election in the fall she can claim ” I voted against it before I voted for it.”

I hope she is happy with her vote, because come November she will be unemployed.