By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
The group, Conservatives for Good Government, has launched a new website to provide Alabama voters with their views about the 11 statewide constitutional amendments on the November 6, 2012 ballot.
According to their written statement, ‘The analysis is a compilation of thoughts and opinions from young conservatives across Alabama. Conservatives for Good Government utilizes textual analysis, informative videos, and social media to deliver the conservative response to the statewide constitutional amendments.”
Conservatives for Good Government Chairperson David Pinkleton said, “I am excited to be at the forefront of a growing movement in Alabama where young people are standing up and speaking out for their conservative principles.”
The writers are still formulating their opinions on all of the 11 amendments; but in the case of Amendment Six, the opt out of Obamacare amendment, the group has endorsed passage of the amendment.
Cole Manders writes, “Amendment 6 gives the people of Alabama an “opt-out” alternative to Obamacare. Joining the state of Alabama in this vote will be the states of Arizona, Missouri, and Montana. Allowing Obamacare to tie strings around our wrists and ankles would asphyxiate budget crises already taking a toll on middle-class America. According to the Alabama Policy Institute, “If the state implements the PPACA (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) Medicaid expansion, it could increase the number of enrollees by over 16%. The Medicaid expansion could cost the state anywhere from $470 million to $693 million from 2014 to 2019.” By the year 2020, Alabama could face ghastly budgetary troubles due to the fact that the federal government could choose not to extend or expand its “fork” of the bill.”
Manders concludes, “HB60 is sponsored by 26 representatives and is two pages long. This bill is simple, eloquent, effective, and is an effort to preserve the principal of freedom and sovereignty in our state and in our nation. The bill states, “In order to preserve the freedom of all residents of Alabama to provide for their own healthcare, a law or rule shall not compel, directly or indirectly, any person, employer or healthcare provider to participate in any healthcare system.” What more do you need? We must preserve our freedoms and vote YES to Amendment 6 on November 6.”
Amendment 6 may run into some constitutional issues if it is approved by Alabama voters in November. The U.S. Supreme Court has vigorously championed the principle that federal law has supremacy over state law and President Obama has expanded federal power more than any President since Franklin Roosevelt and it is likely that they will challenge the opt out provision. It is uncertain if the state even has the authority to give an individual or a business an opt out from the burdens that Obamacare will place on the lives of all of us as the more demanding provisions of that 2010 statute take effect. The Court has already ruled in June that the federal government in deed does have the power to tax individuals and businesses through its taxation powers that do not do what the Congress instructs them to do. The decision on whether or not the state of Alabama expands Medicaid and sets up the health insurance exchanges is left to Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, presumably with some input from the Alabama legislature. Given the enormous strain that the current Medicaid program is placing on the state’s budget it is hard to imagine how the state could ever begin to pay for Obama’s expansion of the already enormously expensive entitlement program.
Conservatives for Good Government says that their mission is to to educate citizens about conservative policy at all levels of government and that they are the voice of a new conservative generation.
To learn more about the group visit their website:
http://www.alabamaconservatives.com/#!home/mainPage
