He posted our responses here: "Dr. Paul Hsieh and Dr. Beth Haynes on President Obama's Re-election".
I said:
It means that ObamaCare will be the law of the land, with no realistic chance of repeal. We’ll see an erosion in the quality and availability of health care in America over time, although it’s difficult to know yet how long it will take.
I personally predict that the failure of ObamaCare cost control will lead to calls for a government “single-payer” system by the end of Obama’s second term. If this goes through, then the US system will end up some variant of Canada’s or the UK’s. Unless this trend is reversed, it will not end well for either American patients or American doctors.Dr. Haynes said:
With the re-election of President Obama, our country takes another giant step toward statism. ObamaCare will become embedded not just into our healthcare system, but into our national way of being. Because of their continued support of conservative social agenda, Republicans failed to consistently embrace self-determinism and equality before the law. The positive case for individual rights and capitalism was not convincingly made and so a slight majority of our country still can not envision solutions that do not include a heavy dose of government interference. The belief in the moral goodness of the Welfare State remains insufficiently challenged.
That said, the difference in the popular vote is <1% of our populace. Nine million fewer people voted for Mr. Obama than in 2008. There was no landslide. There is no mandate.
This is what I posted on FB yesterday morning before any of the returns were in, and I stick by it:
“No matter who/what wins in this election, it is clear to me there is no consensus in this country. We all must continue to look for paths forward that more people are comfortable walking on, together.”
I won't sugar-coat the truth. The battle for health care freedom suffered a serious blow this week. But the fight is not yet lost, and I plan on working to protect the freedoms we still enjoy and reversing the bad trends where possible.
When my wife Diana and I visited the US Naval Academy Museum earlier this year, I had the privilege of seeing Oliver Hazard Perry's historic battle flag from the War of 1812 that read, "Don't Give Up The Ship".
That pretty much sums up how I feel right now.
As long as we still enjoy free speech and as long as ordinary Americans still value their health and their lives, we have a chance. I'm glad Dr. Haynes and Joshua Lipana will remain in this fight. I hope you'll stay with us as well.
