There is no question that the President wants a “single payer,” where hospitals and physicians are all paid from a single source, a single government-run program funded by general taxation. The fact that this leads to shortages, waiting lines, and rationing does not seem to concern those who have this single-minded goal.

Before he became President, Senator Barack Obama addressed members of the AFL-CIO. He stated:

“I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer universal health care program. I see no reason why the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, spending 14 percent of its gross national product on health care, cannot provide basic health insurance to everybody. Everybody in, nobody out — a single-payer health care plan, a universal health care plan. That’s what I’d like to see. But as all of you know, we may not get there immediately. Because first we’ve got to take back the White House, we’ve got to take back the Senate, and we’ve got to take back the House.”

The messy business of passing health care reform began in earnest as soon as President Obama took office. His party did have control of the House and Senate, but loud opposition began and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was passed by the slimmest of margins in early 2010. In order to keep the semblance of continuity, the new law was built on the current system of employer-based health insurance. Americans have an independent streak and would not accept a government single-payer system in one fell swoop.

Employer-based health insurance has proven inadequate. It developed in a time when people were less mobile and the norm was to find a job and stay with it until it was time for the retirement dinner and gold watch. Now that people tend to regularly change jobs, getting into and out of health insurance policies leads to disruption of care as different doctors are in different plans.

Despite its drawbacks, 170 million Americans depend on employer-based coverage. What will happen if they lose it in the next two years, thanks to PPACA? The law was actually designed to discourage employers from covering their workers, as the penalty for not meeting the employer mandate is quite small, while the “minimum essential coverage” will be very expensive. The House Ways and Means Committee found that 71 of the Fortune 100 companies could save $422 billion from 2014-2023 by dropping insurance and paying the fine.

In addition, price limits on premiums with increasing mandated benefits will serve to drive the insurance companies out of business.

If PPACA is not overturned or repealed, President Obama will probably get his wish.

And would Americans get “fair” and “equal” care? On George Orwell’s Animal Farm “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.” Under socialism, the ruling elite never seem to have to abide by the rules that they so methodically craft for the rest of us. President Obama knows that his wife and daughters will be immune to the downside of single payer, while the rank and file will suffer greatly. The people will beg for relief from excessive taxation and access to better medical care, but will they be able to find it?

Rather than moving toward single payer, it would be better to eliminate any middleman in most encounters between patient and physician. Allow the patients to pay for routine care and purchase their own health insurance plans with the least government meddling. Big government stifles initiative and punishes achievement.

Our Constitution envisioned citizen legislators who would create laws that are so fair they are happy to live by them. It is what Americans really need. Let’s hope the Supreme Court completely voids PPACA and we can have a system based on liberty, personal initiative, and freedom to access the best care at the lowest cost. Only when the government gets out of medicine will we ever achieve that goal.

Dr. Alieta Eck, MD, President of AAPS, graduated from the Rutgers College of Pharmacy in NJ and the St. Louis School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. She studied Internal Medicine at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ and has been in private practice with her husband, Dr. John Eck, MD in Piscataway, NJ since 1988. She has been involved in health care reform since residency and is convinced that the government is a poor provider of medical care. She testified before the Joint Economic Committee of the US Congress in 2004 about better ways to deliver health care in the United States. In 2003, she and her husband founded the Zarephath Health Center, a free clinic for the poor and uninsured that currently cares for 300-400 patients per month utilizing the donated services of volunteer physicians and nurses. Dr. Eck is a long time member of the Christian Medical Dental Association and in 2009 joined the board of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. In addition, she serves on the board of Christian Care Medi-Share, a faith based medical cost sharing Ministry. She is a member of Zarephath Christian Church and she and her husband have five children, one in medical school in NJ.

Tonight’s 8:00PM post will be from Dr. Alieta Eck, MD, who is the president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons.  CNJ has been reposting many of the excellent articles on ObamaCare by Dr. Eck and her colleagues at AAPS for awhile now.  If you would like to meet Dr. Eck and learn more about ObamaCare from the physicians’ viewpoint you can.  AAPS will be holding a “Town Hall” meeting tomorrow, Friday the 18^th at 6:30PM.  It will be at the Doubletree Hotel, 200 Atrium Drive, in Somerset.  The Town Hall is free but you must RSVP at www.aapsonline.org/townhall  I plan on trying to be there and I hope you will too.

Conservative New Jersey offers conservative groups throughout New Jersey the opportunity to post your organizations upcoming meetings, events and rallies.

If you would like to have your organization’s event listed, send it to my attention at rzuendt@conservativenewjersey.com Please send your request in such a format like the one you see in this post so that it will be easy to cut and paste into the post. Include your email and/or website so a reader can obtain additional information.

Town Hall: Restoring Medical Freedom
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
Friday, May 18th at 6:30PM
Doubletree Hotel
200 Atrium Drive
Somerset, NJ
Info: http://www.aapsonline.org/index.php/event/patients_physicians_town_hall/  
Franklin Lakes Tea Party
Barbara From Harlem
Tuesday May 21st at 7:00PM
Ambulance Building
Bender Court
Franklin Lakes, NJ
Info: jrkayal@aol.com or 201-891-8728

West Bergen Tea Party
Gayle Kesselman - Update on Immigration
Tuesday May 22nd at 7PM
Larking House
380 Godwin Avenue, Wyckoff
(1/4 mile North of Stop & Shop on the right)
More Information: 201 891-5918
conservative_caucus@verizon.net
www.westbergenteaparty.com
Count Down to NOBAMA

The Tea Party of Middlesex County - NJ
Thursday, June 7th at 7:00PM
The Peterpank Diner
967 Route 9 North
Sayreville, NJ 08872
Info: http://www.midcoteaparty.com/page/page/7525681.htm

Mahwah Tea Party
Nick Rago, President Morristown Tea Party
Election 2012: A War of Ideologies
Tuesday, June 12th at 7:00PM
Ramapo Reformed Church
100 Island Road
Mahwah, NJ
www.mahwahteaparty.com

The New Jersey Conservative Agenda has taken the fight a step further.  In an effort to determine if certain New Jersey Tea Parties are anything more than a social club, or are conservative at all, over the past couple of days they have e-mailed certain Tea Parties who either the Qarmout campaign has claimed support him, or who have publicly stated they support him.  As of earlier this afternoon, according to an e-mail exchange, NJ Conservative Agenda had not heard back from some of the groups that they had provided the opportunity to clarify their position on driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants.  The e-mail blast was copied to what they described as “a few thousand New Jersey conservatives”.

NJ Conservative Agenda should be applauded for recognizing that for movement conservatives, giving drivers licenses to illegal immigrants followed by amnesty is a non starter.  It is a point we have been making on CNJ for some time.  As individuals we must hold our groups accountable to our conservative principles.

Here is a copy of the NJ Conservative Agenda e-mail:

From: Editor New Jersey Conservative Agenda [mailto:editor@njconservativeagenda.com]
Sent: Monday, May 14, 2012 6:38 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: Do you support driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants?

May 14, 2012

TO: Bayshore Tea Party Group, Monmouth County Tea Party Coalition, Ocean County Citizens for Freedom, Jersey Shore Tea Party, Sussex County Tea Party Patriots, Tea Party Fund (Al Frech), and New Jersey Tea Party Caucus.

FR: Conservative Agenda

RE: Do you support driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants?

Each one of your groups is supporting Bader Qarmout for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate. It is reasonable to believe that before supporting him, you reviewed his campaign website.

The very first policy Bader Qarmout put forward is an immigration “reform” plan that he came up with himself. The plan has been criticized as a form of amnesty for those living, working, and using the social services of the United States illegally. This policy has been on his campaign website for months and has been the source of much commentary. In fact, Qarmout or his campaign, have altered this policy several times in response to outside commentary.

One aspect of Bader Qarmout’s plan that has not altered is his intention to give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. Qarmout is clear about this on his campaign website:

The illegal aliens would be required to pay a registration fee of $150.00 per adult and $10.00 per child under 18 years old. The registration application would require the applicant to be photographed and fingerprinted. (The USPS could fill that need for a fee of $20.00 for photo and $23.00 for fingerprinting). After the applications is completed and filed it would be entered into a nationwide database system. At this point the applicant would be issued an alien number similar to an H1 visa. The alien number would be specific to every applicant and would be required in addition to a social security number in every instance a social security number is required. The H1 visa would allow the applicant to work and pay taxes, along with open a bank account and get a driver’s license.

This is a very controversial idea that is deeply opposed by conservative Republicans. In fact, as late as the last Presidential election, this idea was opposed by many liberal Democrats. When disgraced New York Governor Eliot Spitzer proposed the idea of allowing illegal immigrants to apply for a driver’s license, he was opposed by many in his own party. U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton flip-flopped on the issue before ultimately supporting driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants. She was later joined by then Senator Barack Obama, who contrasted his support of giving illegal immigrants driver’s licenses with the position taken by “moderate” Republican Senator John McCain, who opposed it.

It surprises many conservatives and Republicans that some Tea Party groups would embrace a candidate for the office of United States Senator who has a clear, stated policy of supporting driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants. It is worth noting that the position taken by these Tea Party groups in New Jersey is unique to New Jersey and that nowhere else in America are Tea Party groups supporting a candidate with similar views.

We are writing to each group to make sure that you are aware of U.S. Senate candidate Bader Qarmout’s position on providing illegal immigrants access to driver’s licenses - and that you, indeed, support this position. While your support of Bader Qarmout’s candidacy clearly indicates support for his policies, please advise us if you, in fact, oppose this policy in whole or in part.

Thank you,

Your Team at New Jersey Conservative Agenda

You can follow Rob Eichmann on Twitter…

Follow @RobEichmannNJ

Conservative New Jersey offers conservative groups throughout New Jersey the opportunity to post your organizations upcoming meetings, events and rallies.

If you would like to have your organization’s event listed, send it to my attention at rzuendt@conservativenewjersey.com Please send your request in such a format like the one you see in this post so that it will be easy to cut and paste into the post. Include your email and/or website so a reader can obtain additional information.

Town Hall: Restoring Medical Freedom
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
Friday, May 18th at 6:30PM
Doubletree Hotel
200 Atrium Drive
Somerset, NJ
Info: http://www.aapsonline.org/index.php/event/patients_physicians_town_hall/

Franklin Lakes Tea Party
Barbara From Harlem
Tuesday May 21st at 7:00PM
Ambulance Building
Bender Court
Franklin Lakes, NJ
Info: jrkayal@aol.com or 201-891-8728

The Tea Party of Middlesex County - NJ
Thursday, June 7th at 7:00PM
The Peterpank Diner
967 Route 9 North
Sayreville, NJ 08872
Info: http://www.midcoteaparty.com/page/page/7525681.htm

Mahwah Tea Party
Nick Rago, President Morristown Tea Party
Election 2012: A War of Ideologies
Tuesday, June 12th at 7:00PM
Ramapo Reformed Church
100 Island Road
Mahwah, NJ
www.mahwahteaparty.com

But there is something else that motivated Obama. By talking social policy, the President forced his Republican opponent, Governor Mitt Romney, and Republicans running in races around the country to do the same. (Indeed, Governor Romney felt compelled following the President’s announcement to remind the American people that he is unequivocally against gay marriage and, taking the issue one step further, is against civil unions that give the same benefits as marriage.)

President Obama has a good reason for shifting the focus to social issues. Polls show Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of the way Obama is handling the economy and believe Governor Romney would do a better job handling the economy. Why? There’s no great mystery there. The federal government has incurred more debt in the first three and a quarter years of the Obama administration than the first 232 years of our nation’s history combined. The economy is growing at a barely mediocre 2.2% annualized rate. Unemployment remains higher at 8.1% than Obama said it ever would be if Congress passed his nearly $800 billion so-called stimulus initiative and millions more have simply left the job market. Gas prices are too high, though they have dropped in recent weeks. Social Security and Medicare are in worse trouble than previously realized. And, “it is George Bush’s fault” is simply not resonating with voters like it did when Obama ran in 2008.

Governor Romney is ahead of the President in some polls and has run a so-far successful general election campaign critical of the President’s economic stewardship. Romney is making this a close race because he has so far managed to keep to the issue most important to the American people, especially independent voters - the economy. If Obama knocks Romney off message and the media, complicit in the plot, pepper the Governor with questions about gay marriage, and other social issues, Romney loses focus and Obama increases his re-election odds.

Romney and other Republicans must resist the urge, however, to debate social issues. As important as they are, social issues will not win this election. “It’s the economy stupid” is as true today as it was when Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign effectively used those words so many years ago. Republicans must constantly emphasize to the American people that they have a proven plan to cut and control spending, balance the budget, and grow the economy and create jobs through tax and regulatory reform. They also must emphasize to the American people that they have a plan to save the entitlement programs for future generations and that they have the courage to push their plans regardless of the political costs. This is the message Republicans must send if they want to keep the President on the defensive throughout the campaign and retake the White House this November.

Obama’s political decision to announce he is for gay marriage must not distract us. There is far too much at stake.

Ian Linker is an attorney and a former Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from New Jersey.

To give a little background for everyone, the Delaware Joint Toll Bridge Commission is the Delaware River version of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.  As its name implies, it was created to build toll bridges across the Delaware River.  Of course they believe that they should also have a monopoly on all crossings of the river from Trenton to Port Jervis.  Here is the list of toll bridges that belong to the commission:

Milford-Montague Toll Bridge - US Route 206

Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge - Interstate 80

Portland-Columbia Toll Bridge - US Route 46/PA 611

Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge - US Route 22

I-78 Toll Bridge - Interstate 78

New Hope-Lambertville Route 202 Toll Bridge - US Route 202

Trenton-Morrisville Route 1 Toll Bridge - US Route 1

Unlike the Port of Authority of New York and New Jersey or the Delaware River Port of Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, none of these bridges are anything special.  Any of the interstate highways in the country have bridges that are much longer, much more complex and completely free to cross, unlike the bridges listed above.  And if you look carefully, you will find that from Trenton to Port Jervis, every single major highway crossing the Delaware is a toll bridge with a car toll of $1.00, except for one place, the I-95 Bridge at Scudder Falls, just north of Trenton.  But, if they have their way, The Delaware Joint Toll Bridge Commission will rip down a perfectly good bridge to build another one that will be a toll bridge.  This will deprive the drivers of New Jersey any major toll free crossing of the Delaware River from Port Jervis, New York south till the river meets the Atlantic Ocean. 

I told you before that the current bridge is in good condition, even for a bridge that is 52 years old.  That is made clear when you read the Executive Summary; scudder-falls-toll-supported-bridges.  Here are the two pages regarding the condition of the current bridge.

My oldest son is a civil engineer who is a licensed professional in New Jersey.  I sent him this report and asked him his opinion of it.  His “professional” opinion was “why the hell would they want to replace a bridge that just needs some minor repair”?  Now he did ask for the complete engineering report, but he told me that these people are just plain nuts to replace this bridge; unless they have an alternative motive.  And in there lies the reason.

For a commission like The Delaware Joint Toll Bridge Commission to continue to exist it must justify itself every year.  When they see a condition that does not allow them to have a monopoly they must rectify it in their minds.  And they will do what ever they can to do just that.  Here is the pricing for that new bridge:

These people want to spend over $329 million to replace a bridge that does not need to be replaced and will actually be getting less traffic in the future.  Now you ask “how is that possible”?  Simple, as I am writing this, an exit is being constructed in Pennsylvania that will allow traffic to exit Interstate 95 and take the Pennsylvania Turnpike extension to directly connect to the New Jersey Turnpike at exit 7 in Bordentown.  This is the multi-billion dollar project that required the recent increase in the tolls on both the Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway.  This project makes the Scudder Falls Bridge project nothing but a white elephant that will cost the agency millions and return NOTHING, but will rape the drivers in New Jersey who use it.

This is the total disregard that these agencies have for the New Jersey driver.  This is the reason that projects like this must not only be stopped, but the commissions that propose them must be dissolved and the responsibility for their infrastructures transferred to the Department of Transportation.  Commissions like these exist for one reason and one reason only, to insure that the members of the commission and their executives receive public benefits that are measured in millions of dollars. 

State Senator Michael Doherty will be holding a press conference to address this very issue on Thursday at 1:00PM at the Statehouse.  I urge anyone who can attend to do so.  This useless project can be stopped by having either Governor Christie or Governor Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania can refuse to sign off on the minutes of the Commission.  The time to act is now!