Shea-Porter: “When you can pay for insurance, you must”
New Hampshire Democratic Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01) had stern words for her audience in Alton on Friday. “I think when you can pay for insurance, you must,” Shea-Porter said to a small crowd of mostly skeptical constituents, according to the Laconia Citizen.
Shea-Porter has become an increasingly influential player in the health care reform debate. She serves on one of the committees of jurisdiction that helped to craft Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s final bill, which passed last week.
And upon announcing her bill Pelosi called on Shea-Porter to address a rally of supporters.
But can the United States Congress compel citizens to purchase anything, let alone health insurance?
Shea-Porter evidently believes so. In August she told a talk radio caller that Congress was empowered to make these decisions because “the Constitution did not cover everything”:
Well, as much as I hate soundbites, that was a pretty lightweight response to a question that she ought to have known would arise. Is there any depth to this Congresscritter or is she just a rubber-stamper for the Congressional leadership? Or perhaps she just disdains the intellect of the people she has chosen to represent?
Remember when Democrats actually believed in a person’s right to choose?
With all due respect Representative Shea-Porter your point about the Constitution is exactly why the government has no right to do any of the things you mentioned. You have a serious lack of knowledge about the Constitution. The Constitution only enumerates the powers that the Federal government has, split among the three branches. All remaining powers are ceded to the individual states. You mentioned the Manchester police force in your list of items that the Constitution does not call for. As much as you might prefer it, the Federal government has no power or resposibility in a local police force so that’s a poor example on your part. As for the other items you mentioned they are all powers that the Federal government should never have and they are all unconstitutional.