Rick Santorum Says Health Care Law is the Greatest Threat to Freedom

Observing Slavery in Massachusetts from Health Care Law – Where Mr. Romney Put Obamacare in Place

For Republicans the health care reform law formaly known as the Affordable Care Act and labeled by many others as Obamacare is not just health care reform. It is a threat to freedom, meaning that the law will result in enslavement of the population if it goes into effect as scheduled. 

Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum renewed his attacks on President Obama's signature health care legislation on Thursday, telling a large crowd in Huntsville, Alabama that "Obamacare is, in fact, the death knell for freedom, and that's why it must be repealed."

Well parts of the law are already in effect.  For example the law allows children up to the age of 26 to stay on their parents health care plans, and according to some reports several million of them have already done so.  But evidence of the immense loss of freedom people like Mr. Santorum has prophesized does not seem to be present in mos of the United States. 

It may be that not enough of the law has currently gone into effect to be able to see the loss of freedom and the enslavement of the American people.  But the major provisions of the law have been in place for years in Massachusetts, where current Presidential candidate and former Governor Mitt Romney put a plan in place that is almost identical to the President’s plan.  So obviously if Mr. Santorum is correct Massachusetts must be a slave camp, where freedom has largely disappeared.  And it is.

The Dismal Political Economist recently had cause to visit Boston, the epicenter of the crisis, the ground zero of the lost battle for freedom.  While he was there he was able to see exactly what Mr. Santorum was talking about.  It was a horrifying experience, akin to being thrust back in time to a Soviet style society, where the state controlled everything and individuals had no freedom whatsoever.

The most noticeable impact of health care reform and loss of individual freedom was the chains that the Bostonians were forced to wear.  Everyone was shackled, and movement was slowed as the citizens dragged their leg irons across the subway platforms in vain attempts to board the trains.  Most horrifying was seeing children chained to posts, unable to move more than a few feet without permission from the government.  And while babies were apparently exempt, baby carriages were not as each had a 50 lb. ball and chain attached to them.

Freedom of speech was nowhere to  be found in Boston.  No one was allowed to speak ill of the government or criticize public policy.  Newspapers had gone out of business, the only news available being from state operated TV stations and Fox News.  Anyone making a speech that was not pre-approved by the government was arrested and held without bail.

The saddest thing was health care itself, which was now totally controlled by the government.  Unless a person had an “approved” disease or disorder, they had no access to health care.  All of the health care facilities were operated by the government, and no one had any choice about which health care provider to consult with.  Millions of men and women were denied health care altogether, because they would not sign loyalty oaths to the state and agree to support the state’s health care policy regardless of their own personal beliefs.

Freedom of religion has largely disappeared in Boston.  After the passage of the health care reform the government decreed that there was only one official religion.  Everyone was free to practice whatever religion they wanted to, as long as it was the right religion.  Other basic freedoms lost in the health care reform were the right to choose one’s own clothing or even wear the color green, the right to watch the New York Yankees in any game other than when they were playing the Red Sox, and the right to vote.

Yess, all of the above did happen, and probably much more, but The Dismal Political Economist was just too discouraged by the imposition of a totalitarian government in Massachusetts by the passage of health care reform to stay any longer and document the loss of freedom.  The only ray of hope was that countries like Iran and North Korea were leading the charge at the U. N. to try and make Massachusetts improve conditions, and be more like them, but an expected veto by Russia and China would probably doom even that noble effort.