Obamacare “Gangster Government”

I have in times past written on the Obama regime’s totalitarian streak, and perhaps some readers thought that a stretch. I certainly think not. But even I was aghast to read of a letter of HHS Secretary Sebelius to the president of America’s Health Insurance Plans. Her message to the health insurance industry: Shut up about Obamacare costs and eat those costs . . . or else.

She does not like it that insurers are raising their rates due to costly Obamacare mandates and have the common courtesy to tell their customers why rates are going up. So she has threatened them with exclusion from future fed health insurance pools if they do not shut up about Obamacare costs . . . which would hurt their business to put it mildly. “Nice business you’ve got here. It would be a shame if something happened to it.”

This is nothing less than thuggery to stifle free speech, even in business communications with customers. It is unworthy of America, violates our Constitutional freedoms and may merit an investigation in the next Congress. It is gangster government:

"Congress shall make no law," reads the First Amendment, "abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press."

Sebelius' approach is different: "zero tolerance" for dissent.

The threat to use government regulation to destroy or harm someone's business because they disagree with government officials is thuggery. Like the Obama administration's transfer of money from Chrysler bondholders to its political allies in the United Auto Workers, it is a form of gangster government.

If this were not an outrage, it would be funny. The Obama regime is so thin-skinned that it refuses to own the consequences of the Obamacare it worked so hard to pass. Instead, it extorts businessmen to shut up about them, even in the normal process of informing customers why their rates are going up. (And if my insurance rates were going up, I would certainly want to know why.)

If only this were just a funny Mafia movie.

And in case one thinks this attempt to silence speech not typical of the Obama regime, I remind you of a past statement from Our Dear Leader Himself.



MORE: I forgot to mention that Sebelius recently recommended “re-education” on Obamacare. I was amused by her poor choice of words, but did not think it sinister.

Now it is not quite so amusing.