It has been interesting to watch the circus that has become the case currently in front of the Supreme Court regarding the constitutionality of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. The Republicans call it Obamacare because they will do anything to tie the president’s name to such a hated bill.

A recent poll of Americans showed that a vast majority disagreed with Obamacare as a whole bill and would like it repealed. However, when asked if they supported individual parts of the bill, a majority of Americans supported all of the different parts except for one key part.

The one part of Obamacare an overwhelming majority of Americans refuse to support is the section that mandates each individual in America to purchase health insurance. This is where I have a complete problem with Obamacare, and it seems most Americans do, too.

I firmly believe the founding fathers, when drafting our Constitution, did not intend on forming a government that could force its citizens to buy any product because to do so would be a complete reversal of the ideas of freedom and liberty espoused in the Declaration of Independence. I have gotten into many discussions with people that firmly support the president’s Affordable Care Act. I always tell them that if the President had simply submitted 10 different bills, each covering a different part of the healthcare system, he would have gotten much more support for most of his healthcare overhauls. Instead, he put all of them into one massive bill and told Congress and the American people it was all or nothing.

The “all or nothing” strategy worked to get the bill passed, but it seems that the Supreme Court may use the individual mandate section of the bill to throw the entire bill out for being unconstitutional. In essence, President Obama’s “all or nothing” formula might be used to kill the bill it helped to pass.

Regardless of the outcome of the Supreme Court’s decision, Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act is sure to be a main point in the upcoming election for president. The ironic thing is I don’t see the Republicans changing Obamacare if they get elected because the American people like most of what’s in the bill. The failure of the Republicans to repeal the entire bill will only prove that if you pass something that isn’t wanted, just delay the reversal long enough, and it won’t ever get done by the other party.

The last bite…

If you missed the St. John Relay for Life then you missed some great food! I tried to sample as many dishes as possible but my favorites were the cold Italian pasta salad by Girls with Goals and the pastalaya from St. John Physical Therapy cooked by Woody Norsworthy himself! That being said, my absolute favorite of the night was also the healthiest (yeah right). The fried Oreos from Tough Cookies took top prize. I was partial to them because I was on the team. I fried them but the recipe came from Natalie Tatje. I give fried Oreos topped with powdered sugar 5 out of 5 crumbs!

Buddy Boe, a resident of Garyville, owns a public relations and program management company and is well known on the local political (and food) scenes. His column appears Wednesdays in L’Observateur.