Henry Waxman Has Second Thoughts About His 'Invitation': The Impact Of ObamaCare On Business

In recognition of our government's benign intentions toward its citizens and businesses, a brief meditation on Henry Waxman(D) of California and Bart ('I'm outta here!') Stupak (D) of Michigan.

Their Dream came true. ObamaCare became the LawOfTheLand one bright Sunday afternoon. Next day, a number of large corporations, the ones who create jobs and wealth, also complied with other federal law, and restated their projected earnings in light of ObamaCare. It was pretty distressing. Caterpillar projected a $100 million dollar hit, and firms like ATT projected dings of up to a billion dollars.

So Waxman and Stupak then went into Chicago Mode. It goes like this: Guys in suits walk into the place of business, and say, 'Dis here's a nice little business you got going here! It would be a crying SHAME (wouldn't it, Vito) if someone were to show up one night and BURN IT TO THE GROUND!! What you're gonna need to do is get yourself some fire insurance (right, Vito?). Yeah, fire insurance. Vito here, he'll be by to collect premiums every Friday afternoon. He don't like no late payments on premiums. Neither do I. It makes me UPSET!'

Well, Waxman and Stupak weren't quite that blatant, but they did send letters around to a lot of execs at a lot of firms, like the one they sent to the President of Verizon.  The language was almost as charming as Gino and Vito back in the 'hood:

The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing on April 21, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building to examine the impact of the new law on Verizon and other large employers. We request your personal testimony at this hearing. 

To assist the Committee with its preparation for the hearing, we request that you provide the following documents from January 1,2009, through the present: (1) any analyses related to the projected impact of health care reform on Verizon; and (2) any documents, including e-mail messages, sent to or prepared or reviewed by senior company officials related to the projected impact of health care reform on Verizon. We also request an explanation of the accounting methods used by Verizon since 2003 to estimate the financial impact on your company of the 28% subsidy for retiree drug coverage and its deductibility or nondeductibility, including the accounting methods used in preparing the cost impact released by Verizon this week.

We ask that you provide the requested information by April 9, 2010. For purposes of this request, the term "senior company officials" includes all company officials at the level of Vice President and above for the company or any subsidiary. Attachments to this letter provide additional information about responding to Committee document requests and testifying before the Committee.

Youse guys need some FIRE INSURANCE, so you better 'SPLAIN YOURSELF!

Well, as the date approached, it dawned on our two intrepid Congressmen:  What if the lawyers and accountants all showed up and made presentations that would enter the Congressional record that ObamaCare was a financial nightmare for business?

Word came down today that hearings were cancelled. Nothing rescheduled.

They'll be extorting some other way to be sure, just don't want to be caught doing it in the light of day.

That's not The Chicago Way.

Bart Stupak, The Vote That Put ObamaCare Over The Top, Announces His Retirement

Drinking the morning coffee, attempting to wake up, and this tidbit just flashed across the screen.

On one hand, no sympathy is felt, especially after he co-signed the letter 'inviting' the execs of Caterpillar, ATT and a few others to come to his committee and 'explain themselves', complete with an exhaustive surrender of records, down to emails. This because they obeyed the law, and restated their earnings in the wake of the passage of ObamaCare.

On the other hand--he is an Obama casualty, by his own hand. He bravely held the line against ObamaCare, knowing that it was morally flawed, and let himself get suckered in with the promise of an executive order (that has no force of law).  What was he promised? With what was he threatened by the masters of The Chicago Way?

And, then there was that 700K of airport improvements dropped out of the federal helicopter just before his vote. Those funds had been competitively applied for some months ago, and their granting was most likely unrelated to his vote. But, the timing of the announcement certainly emitted a terrible odor.

He was hounded by the left for standing up for life, but his caving in only began the negative reaction. He would stand for re-election totally stripped of any semblance of integrity, in a rural upper Michigan district that is only barely Democrat. If you don't live in a place like that, be assured that rural folk in those environs view this behavior with hostility. When he went home, reports are that the reception was pretty unfriendly. Conservatives around the country were eagerly awaiting the opportunity to donate to, and work for, his Republican challenger.

OS predicts:

1. The right will be blamed, at least for a couple of days. MSNBC will become all-Stupak-all-the-time, and he'll be a regular guest face for Chris Matthews and company. He won't just slink away, with talking points to score.

2. Bart will be owned by Obama for the days that remain, having been pimped. He will discover his Inner Leftist, and the joys of politburo life. He'll be an honored guest at some very nice fund-raiser parties, the poster-child for ObamaCare.

3. After he leaves office next January, he will be quietly moved into a comfortable government or think-tank job, where he can continue to do The Beloved Leader's bidding, at least for a couple of years. That will give him and his bride (who suffered greatly from the experience) time to reassemble their lives, decide where and how they wish to live in retirement. He'll be cast as martyr for the leftist cause, write a book, hit the college lecture circuit, cheer-lead the faithful for 2012. He'll make a bunch of money, land in some poly-sci academic job, and disappear, with his pension and Congressional health-care package.

4. Ten years from now, he will be a footnote or a question on a trivia quiz. In the interim, he will discover that Obama and company cared not a moment for the pains he endured. The other eleven Democrats he took over the cliff with him will be completely unremembered, as they enter private life much less well-cared-for.

The problem with ObamaCare is not just the end product, but the horrific process used to produce it. Stupak is just one example.  Most of the last bits of goodwill from Obama's inaguration have now melted away, and it will be a difficult matter to restore it. By June of 2007 G.W. Bush had managed to destroy the Republican party base that propelled him into office in 2000 and 2004. Obama risks doing the same to his faithful followers, less than eighteen months into a first term.  What replaces two decimated parties of long standing is anyone's guess.