Written on January 8, 2010 in Blog Posts
Written by Dan Calabrese
Source: Courtesy of Northstar National
Assuming ObamaCare actually becomes law, what happens when its onerous health insurance mandate – complete with the threat of fines and prison time if you don’t buy insurance deemed acceptable by the federal government – is tested?
You file your tax return. You fail to offer proof that you have a policy that puts you in compliance with the law. The IRS tries to penalize you, possibly by garnishing your state tax refund.
If you live in Virginia, you might have the commonwealth in your corner. And that’s not only because the primary sponsor of a bill to protect taxpayers believes they deserve the protection.
It’s also because he’s opening to provoke a test case that could get ObamaCare thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bob Marshall, a Republican delegate to the legislature from the city of Manassas, has submitted a bill that reads as follows:
No law shall restrict a person’s natural right and power of contract to secure the blessings of liberty to choose private health care systems or private plans. No law shall interfere with the right of a person or entity to pay for lawful medical services to preserve life or health, nor shall any law impose a penalty, tax, fee, or fine, of any type, to decline or to contract for health care coverage or to participate in any particular health care system or plan, except as required by a court where an individual or entity is a named party in a judicial dispute. Nothing herein shall be construed to expand, limit or otherwise modify any determination of law regarding what constitutes lawful medical services within the Commonwealth.
In other words, the Commonwealth of Virginia will not recognize any law that requires a resident to enter into a health insurance contract not of his or her choosing. In any situation that would require the involvement of the Commonwealth in enforcing such a requirement – and there would surely be many – Virginia won’t play ball. Not only that, but it will go to court to defend its right not to do so. Read more
Written on December 7, 2009 in Blog Posts
A lot is going on, so this may be a long post.
We need to keep pressure on Warner and Webb. When we get closer to a final vote, we will organize a rally at their Roanoke offices. In the meantime, please continue to call, email and send letters. There will also be another march on Washington on December 15th. Details are here.
To further our goals we will begin to have monthly public meetings. Our first meeting will be on Feb 4th 6:30-8:45 PM at the main Roanoke Library located at 3131 Electric Road SW, Roanoke VA 24018. This will be to discuss plans and to set up our formal organization. We are targeting the 3rd Thursday of each month for this meeting. More coming soon.
We will begin to attend local events on weekends early in 2010. If you are interested in assisting with this, please contact me at purplerapture06@yahoo.com. We will start attending events handing out information and doing voter registration drives.
I attended the VTPP (Virginia Tea Party Patriots) Quarterly Meeting. Tea Party groups from across the state, as well as other Constitutional and 9-12 groups gathering together to pool resources and get more accomplished. It was a good and productive meeting. Read more
Written on December 2, 2009 in Blog Posts
Source: The Washington Post Blog, Virginia Politics
Written by Rosalind Helderman
With health care the hot topic in Washington, it should be no surprise there is likely to be an equally vigorous debate on the issue in Richmond when the General Assembly meets in January. It should also come as no surprise that Del. Bob Marshall, one of the body’s most creative conservative minds, has some thoughts about how Virginia’s General Assembly could best go about resisting President Obama’s health insurance initiatives.
Marshall believes Obama’s real goal is a socialist single-payer system. He believes it is unconstitutional for the government to mandate, at risk of penalty, that all individuals have insurance or that companies provide insurance for employees, as contemplated in bills being considered by the U.S. House and Senate. He notes contract law has long provided that contracts cannot be signed under duress.
“If that’s not duress, then I don’t know what is,” he said of the mandates.
His solution: Make it easier for Virginians to sue the federal government over the mandate, if it is imposed.
READ THE FULL TEXT at THE WASHINGTON POST BLOG
Written on September 29, 2009 in Blog Posts
Author: Citizen Tom
Last Tuesday I attended the debate between challenger John Bell and Delegate Bob Marshall. The Prince William Committee of 100 (PWC100) sponsored the debate. The PWC100, a well respected nonpartisan organization, strives to provide an educational forum on issues of local interest. That includes hosting debates between local candidates for political office.
Currently, the PWC100 is hosting a series of debates related to the election of delegates whose districts include portions Prince William County. In addition, the PWC100 has had some success hosting the debates of candidates for statewide offices. The PWC100’s home page (here) includes a listing of the time and location of these debates.
Did you miss the debate between Bell and Marshall or between Delegate Jackson Miller and candidate Jeanette Rishell? Then check out the videos of the debates. Links to the videos are also on the same home page.
What was my impression of the debate between Bell and Marshall? I think Marshall clearly won the debate. Why do I think that? Marshall distinguished himself by demonstrating expertise, a positive agenda, and a record for integrity. Read more
