Ron Paul is Gratified That . . . What?

I was startled, startled, upon reading the headlines at FortBendNow that Congressmen Ron “Dr. No” Paul was gratified at yesterday’s vote to remove federally mandated healthcare insurance for all Americans.

Claiming that this vote was “a positive sign for renewed and ongoing efforts to prevent America from moving closer to a government-run healthcare system,” I felt my heart skip a beat.

Nooooooo.

That can’t be true. Removing federally mandated healthcare insurance from the recently passed Healthcare For All legislation, now the law of the land, would remove what was left of any incentive for Americans to all pitch in and pull ourselves out from under the boot heels of the insurance industry.

What little there is left to us, that is.

Disaster.

Then I looked at the vote totals as shown on FortBendNow and eyebrows ascended.

Final vote: 230 Nay, 187 Yea.

How, I asked myself, do you vote to repeal an essential aspect of healthcare reform with Nay votes?

So I looked it up. FortBendNow failed to mention that the attempt to remove federally mandated healthcare insurance through income tax penalties failed. Failed.

What Dr. Paul was gratified about was that 21 Democrats voted Aye with Republicans. But FortBendNow sent a message out over the internet was that somehow the reverse actually occurred and Republican efforts succeeded.

Here is how FortBendNow reported it:

“Before it was removed, the language would have subjected people to stiff IRS penalties or not purchasing government-approved insurance.”

How untrue. How crass. What is this, news for local consumption à la Fox News?

For the record then, a vote to recommit and amend HR 5486, the Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act of 2010, where the federal mandate that all Americans shall purchase federally approved health insurance coverage or suffer penalties charged through income taxes is removed came to a vote yesterday and passed went down to defeat by a vote of 229 Democrats and 1 Republican voting Nay and 166 Republicans and 21 Democrats voting Aye.

The motion to recommit failed.

FAILED.

Oh, who was the lone dissenting Republican who voted with the Party of Good and Holy Light?

Congressman Anh “Joseph” Cao of Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District.

UPDATE: I say it here it comes out there.

FortBendNow has emended its false assertion that the motion to recommit passed. Here is what they now say:

"The vote to remove the mandate ultimately failed by 230-187 despite a significant number of Democrats crossing party lines to oppose the requirement."

21. The significant number is 21. About half the Blue Dog Caucus.