It's strange to believe that in 2017, I live in a country where health care for any American including but not limited to the poor, the sickly, its citizens of color and baby boomers become the proverbial pin pong ball between what's right and wrong for the American people. The Republican party for  8 years has done everything in its power to degrade, demean and insult our country’s first Black President. They've held up legislation, he's been called a liar on numerous occasions, and at every turn, the Republican Party has done whatever it needed to do to discredit him. Now after 52 failed votes and two attempts to pass the Trumpcare bill this year, the party of Lincoln (the president they love to conjure up, so they won't look and sound like a pack of racist bigots, "wink") finally have passed a bill in the House of Representatives starting the process of repealing and replacing The Affordable Care Act "AKA" Obamacare. As I watched this circus unfold, I got to thinking, does this mean the Republican Party now believes that not all men are created equal and promoting the general welfare, of its people, means nothing?

Healthcare as a right, not a privilege has always been a part of the conversation in American politics. From Truman to Obama with the initial seeds planted by Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt. These men, leaders of the free world understood healthy citizens are productive citizens and with productivity can come entrepreneurship, job growth, improvement in the economy and with all those things achieved, healthy Americans wanting and willing to work longer can have greater benefit long term for all Americans. But somehow pride has cometh before the fall and has taken hold of the Republican Party. 

As elected officials, the members of the Republican Party serve at the pleasure of the American People, not themselves and not the President of the United States. But since 2008, where for one shining moment America and her people sat aside race, creed, and color and lived up to its truth; that all men are created equal we thought change had come. That we as Americans had set an example for the world to see that the preamble of the constitution was our truth. Although Republican Party tried and blocked a man, a black man who saw America, not black or white but America and her people. What President Obama did and wanted to do was to teach America and Americans that we are stronger, greater and not just better if we work together. Something the Republican party does not want to do.

So with the passage of this bill and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scoring it, we know 24 million Americans will be thrown off their health plans. Can this Republican party explain to me and the tired, the poor and huddled masses yearning be healthy how passing this bill will make America Great Again?  I'll wait…

Now I'm just the great-grandson of a slave so I might not know much, but on the slim chance the Senate does continue wanting to please the great pumpkin (I mean POTUS 45) by repealing and replacing Obamacare with Trumpcare, here's a word of advice. My people, the American people will rise up again as that did on January 21, 2017, continuing its protest, fighting for what's right and standing our ground against the greed of the oppressor.  Be warned the populist revolt is now on your doorstep Mr. President and what we won't allow is to have the rugs pulled from under us losing our healthcare because the republic under President Obama made it a right, not a privilege.