When the House passed legislation to defund ObamaCare but would keep the government running through mid-December, the Senate, led by Senate Majority Leader, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) stated that they would not budge on Obamacare and the legislation was defeated.

On Monday, Dr. Harold Pease, an expert on the United States Constitution, stated that the authority in dealing with Obamacare funding belongs to the U.S. House, not the U.S. Senate and that the House is doing this all wrong.

Pease said, “Everything hinged upon funding which was given exclusively to the House of Representatives, the only power that they alone had.”

Pease went on to say, “All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills. To fund anything, in this case Obamacare, first approval is required by the House of Representatives.”

“If that does not happen taxpayer money cannot be spent. The people, through their representatives to Congress, have determined, after a three-year closer scrutiny of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), that it does not protect the patient, is not affordable and is not even workable; hence in the interests of the vast majority of the people needs to be defunded.”

When the United States Supreme Court ruled on Obamacare in 2012, Chief Justice Roberts stance on Obamacare coincides with the intent of the U.S. Constitution, explained by Pease, and the powers between the House and Senate.

According to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Obamacare cannot be implemented and is not considered the law of the land, contrary to Democrat claims.

Bubba Atkinson of the Independent Journal Review wrote, “Chief Justice Roberts actually ruled the mandate, relative to the commerce clause, was unconstitutional. That is how the Democrats got Obama-care going in the first place. This is critical. His ruling means Congress can’t compel American citizens to purchase anything, ever. The notion is now officially and forever, unconstitutional. As it should be.”

“Next, he stated that, because Congress doesn’t have the ability to mandate, it must, to fund Obama-care, rely on its power to tax. Therefore, the mechanism that funds Obama-care is a tax,” said Atkinson. “He struck down as unconstitutional, the Obama-care idea that the federal government can bully states into complying by yanking their existing medicaid funding. Liberals, through Obama-care, basically said to the states — “comply with Obama-care or we will stop existing funding.” Roberts ruled that is a no-no.”

When the House attached Obamacare to the legislation in funding the government, it made a mistake in doing so and the funding of Obamacare should have been separate, thereby giving the Senate no power in denying the Houses’ request to defund Obamacare.

Pease said, “House opposition to funding Obamacare would have been far more powerful if made a “stand alone” bill not attached to general funding, but it is not. “Stand alone,” having no other parts, would have left the Senate no wiggle or compromise room once it went to them, nor would there be for the Joint Conference Committee thereafter that reconciles any differences between the two houses. There would be nothing to reconcile, Obamacare is merely defunded.”

“Still, the intent of the Founding Fathers was to give the people, through their House of Representatives, the power collectively to say no to any proposed federal tax, which she is decidedly doing.”

If Obamacare is removed from the government budget, presented, and voted on as a separate bill, Obamacare can be defunded by the House. If that is the case, then the Senate and the President has no constitutional authority to override the House’s decision.

Michigan farmers can more easily sell their goods to people from small or temporary roadside produce stands now that Gov. Rick Snyder has signed Public Act 125 of 2013 to reform certain building code requirements 

Triston and Stacy Cole of Cole Farm in Mancelona joined Rep. Greg MacMaster for the signing of House Bill 4732.  Triston approached MacMaster about creating the legislation to waive the rules for plumbing and other building code requirements based on the smaller size and type of facility.

“This bill reduces regulation on agri-business, especially startups and small farms looking to expand,” Triston Cole said. “This bill keeps farms family-owned and operated, and increases direct sales to the public. This also will help to continue to strengthen the relationship between the community and our local farmers, as well as increase awareness of local farming activity.”

MacMaster said the regulations put an overly burdensome requirement on the farmer for what should be fairly simple and straightforward part of farmers providing healthy food options for people.

“The small stands and tents that farmers use to protect vegetables and other produce so people can eat fresh, wholesome food shouldn’t fall under the full-blown rules for full-size building structures,” said MacMaster, R-Kewadin. “Excessive government paperwork and mandates don’t need to be part of picking up some tomatoes, peppers or a dozen ears of corn from the local farm stand on the drive home.”

Typically, the stands in question are approximately 200 to 300 square feet in size – the new law exempts those up to 400 square feet from the plumbing requirement. Building permits and other safety requirements remain in place.

Ryan Romeyn of Providence Farm in Central Lake also applauded the regulation reforms in the new MacMaster law.

“This is great news and will be a great improvement to give farmers and consumers greater flexibility in marketing and purchasing locally grown products to benefit our local economies in Michigan,” Romeyn said. “Our farm is preparing to expand our roadside market, and this law will provide many more options that are economically viable. This will benefit farm families, farm employees, local residents and vacationers.”

The law also exempts tents of the same size from the code in its entirety, but does require a form of secure anchoring for all structures.

MacMaster can be contacted by calling toll free (855) DIST-105; by email, GregMacMaster@house.mi.gov; or through is office website, www.repmacmaster.com.

Gov. Rick Snyder recently signed into law Rep. Greg MacMaster’s House Bill 4732 into Public Act 125 of 2013, a law that waives some state building code requirements so small roadside farm produce stands don’t have to install plumbing. Pictured attending the signing were Stacy and Triston Cole of Cole Farms in Mancelona, Rep. Greg MacMaster, and his wife, Kim MacMaster.

Our “Counter” View IS IN BOLD, ITALICS AND UNDERLINED AND EMBEDDED into the Petoskey News-Review’s editorial board’s (Ryan Bentley, Zac Britton, Rachel Brougham, Doug Caldwell, Brandon Hubbard, Jeremy McBain and Babette Stenuis Stolz) comments below and which appeared in their newspaper (on Friday, October 4th, 2013) and on-line at this link;  Our View: Benishek: Are you a Republican first or a resident of the 1st District?

Disappointing. Frustrating. Avoidable,….REALLY?  No,…we say Proud. Supportive. Inevitable. 

There are certainly many strong words to describe the situation involving the U.S. government shutdown in Washington, D.C., which is in its fourth day today, Friday (October 4th, 2013).  

We say Amen and Thank God,…we favor shutting down even more federal government spending programs and departments; [youtube_sc url=”http://youtu.be/U-F0ajiWLEQ”]

In our opinion, our Federal Government is spending way too much money and needs to get their fiscal spending under control,…this inevitably had to happen!

We could certainly speak generally about the Republican Party‘s laughable attempt to throw an economic  and literal temper tantrum involving the Affordable Care Act along with the Democratic Party’s lack of efforts for compromises that don’t involve the Affordable Care Act.

We say most of the Republican Party in the U.S. Congress (House of Representatives) are acting as the ONLY adults in Washington D.C. and are putting our principles over politics as usual, especially Dan Benishek!  If anyone are acting like young children and throwing temper tantrums its Harry Reid the Democrat Senate Majority Leader and President Obama.

Today, however, we’re more than disappointed in our elected Representative, Dan Benishek.  “We the People” of the 1st District are proud and supportive of our elected Congressman Dan Benishek.

When an official is elected into office, they are naturally expected to represent their district and be a leader. He has not met those expectations.  We believe on this issue,  Dan Benishek has represented our district and has been a leader in standing up and representing our principles.

The key issue over the past few weeks — although officials in Washington, D.C., have failed to properly address for several years by going the route of financial extensions — deals with the federal budget. Not laws approved and signed nearly four years ago, but the financial resources of the U.S. government.

Agree,…but who has been responsible for NO  federal budget?  President Obama’s budget did not receive ONE single vote in the Democrat controlled Senate,…the Senate hasn’t even passed a budget,…even though the House which Dan Benishek is a member, has passed several budgets!  So who is not doing their job on the federal budget issue?  Answer,…the President and the Democrat controlled Senate!

Instead, Benishek chose to vote for a budget that acted as if the Affordable Care Act was suddenly voted in four weeks ago.  Wrong, Dan Benishek voted to extend the continuing resolution (CR) AGAIN, which would have funded all of the federal government except for the funding of “Obamacare” (the Affordable Care Act,…which it isn’t) because Dan Benishek vowed to repeal it when he ran for and was elected to office in 2010 and again in 2012.

We don’t mean to keep repeating it, but House GOP officials have tried and failed more than 40 times to repeal the law. The Supreme Court allowed it to stay with subtle changes. Hundreds of thousands of people have gone online this week to research and even sign up for health insurance.  Again wrong, wrong and wrong!!! 

The House GOP,…HAS repealed “Obamacare” 43 times,…only to have Harry Reid not even bring it up for a vote in his Senate while President Obama acts like a spoiled child not willing to compromise on any aspect of this legislation which bares his name, except for giving exemptions to HIS corporate donors, allies and unions!

The Supreme Court didn’t allow it to stay with “subtle changes”!  Chief Justice John Roberts said “Obamacare” is only Constitutional as a “tax”.   Since ONLY the House has the power to originate spending bills/laws as a new tax and since the “Obamacare” tax law originated in the Senate and since the House controls the ‘purse strings’,…they have the  constitutional right to de-fund it;

Click on this link: Defund “Obamacare” with a “Stand Alone Bill in the House”!!! By Dr. Harold Pease 

Lastly,…computer hackers have checked out the “Obamacare” website to find out that barely 10,000 people (as of Saturday morning) have actually been successful in enrolling in “Obamacare”,…not “Hundreds of thousands”!

That’s apparently not acknowledged in Washington.  If parents say “no” 40 times, should kids keep doing it?  If your boss say “no” over and over, do you keep doing your job exactly as you see fit?  Does this mean we can drive on the other side of the road now?  Not pay our monthly bills?  The parents ARE the real Republicans in Washington!!!  Why doesn’t Harry Reid and President Obama listen to the U.S. House of Representatives like Dan Benishek? 

Of course not, we all have responsibilities. Benishek’s responsibility is to be a leader.  How exactly is he being a leader by not acknowledging a law, which will have significant benefits to many people in Northern Michigan, and instead vote along the party line? Then placing the blame at a specific political party and the president of the United States? 

Again, Dan Benishek ran for office back in 2010 to do everything possible to repeal “Obamacare” and/or to defund it,…he won that election and was re-elected in 2012 to continue fighting against this law and the Democrats and a President that rammed it through without ANY Republican input or support.  When are YOU going to accept the fact that Dan’s promise to the 1st District on this issue was instrumental in his winning two elections?

Our representative has been clear from the beginning of his distaste for the law, stating he wanted to see it repealed and replaced with a “patient-centered approach.” Three years in, we’re still awaiting to see what this “better” idea would be.  Dan Benishek and the Republicans have a better plan of free market solutions, tort reform, interstate insurance plans which would lead to competiton and insurance cost reductions, etc…   But the Republicans can’t get anything accomplished until “Obamacare” is repealed or de-funded and the Democrats including their main stream liberal media (like the Petoskey News-Review) are forced to listen to their plans, hold discussions in the Senate and with this President, which is what we expect our elected officials to do!

That all aside, is all this disagreement worth stopping the wheels on the U.S. economy?

The wheels on the U.S. economy haven’t been stopped,…the stock market has been fine, banks are open, gas prices have actually dropped here in Northern Michigan the past couple of days and plenty of food and products are still in our stores!

The federal budget is more than health care. It is more than just military spending. It is more than open parks and recreation areas. It is more than one political party or another.   Again,…what federal budget?

The problem is that’s all tied together because elected officials didn’t like something and voted along party lines to stop all of it. Now popular tourist options are shuttered, small businesses are left wondering about loans, veterans are left seeking answers for assistance, government employees are out of work and even house sales are being held up.

Once again, Dan Benishek and the House of Representatives voted to fund EVERYTHING that the federal government does, except for ObamaCare,..so who is really causing all of these services from being provided?  Answer, Harry Reid and President Obama,…NOT Dan Benishek!  You cannot blame other people for not giving you everything you want. And it is a fraud to blame them when you refuse to use the money they did vote to approve, especially when it is ample to pay for everything else in the government.

So yes, Northern Michigan is going to be affected by this. It’s a threat to our well-being, so we have to ask: Is Benishek a Republican first or a resident, supporter, representative of the 1st District of Michigan?   On this issue, Dan Benishek  is a Republican AND a resident, supporter and a TRUE Representative of the 1st District of Michigan! 

The answer to that question was clear from Benishek’s predecessor, Bart Stupak. He knew a thing or two about leadership, setting an example in his final term by standing up to his own political party when he disagreed with certain aspects of the Affordable Care Act. He held firm for a few days, got his point across and got a handshake deal for changes from the president himself.  No temper tantrum. No blame of one political party or another. The economy’s wheels kept turning. Stupak clearly listened to the residents of his district, looked in the mirror and showed leadership.

Yes,…Dan Benishek’s predecessor who believed an “Executive Order” signed by this President was worth the paper it was written on,…and then went along with the party line to support this law, only to realize that it wasn’t what our 1st District wanted,…so he then chose to not run for re-election and retired from politics!                          

With his professional background, Benishek could provide a more forceful, informed argument and example of leadership. He has a medical degree and he has, by all accounts, been working in that profession for more than 30 years treating and helping people. Undoubtedly, he has worked with people on employer-supported health plans, Medicare and even no insurance.

Finally some true facts,…all of which is why Dan Benishek is so much against “Obamacare”!

What would have been the response if he simply closed up shop one day during his surgical career? Didn’t keep appointments or not even have someone answer the ringing phone in his office?

Don’t get this analogy at all,…Actually, Dan Benishek is still working in Washington, has agreed to forego his salary during this government shutdown and is answering his phones,…you obviously haven’t tried contacting him.   Feel free to call Dan’s Washington DC office at;  202.225.4735  or his District Offices at;  877.376-5613 .   You can also email him by clicking HERE.

All because he didn’t like something that is a small part of his office’s responsibility?  Well, he just did close up shop, risking the immediate financial future of many businesses and families in this district to try to prove a point.  Again, more flat out lies and misrepresentations!  To use Dan Benishek’s campaign slogan,…”Enough is Enough”!!!

Our View’ represents the opinion of the News-Review editorial board: Ryan Bentley, Zac Britton, Rachel Brougham, Doug Caldwell, Brandon Hubbard, Jeremy McBain and Babette Stenuis Stolz.

Our “Counter” View represents the opinion of Patriot Voice Radio and it’s talk show hosts:            Greg Marshall, Brian Sommerfield  and “Trucker Randy” Bishop – Chairman of the Antrim County Republican Party.

We can be heard Monday – Friday on 94.5 and 93.9 FM in Northern Michigan and on-line at; http://patriotvoiceradio.us/ starting at 9:00 am until 6:00 p.m.

WASHINGTON (TheBlaze/AP) — Democrats in Congress have made it clear they do not plan to negotiate with Republicans in any fashion until the U.S. House passes a “clean” continuing resolution to fully fund the government and Obamacare.

That was evident late Tuesday when House Democrats killed a GOP bill aimed at reopening small slices of the federal establishment, including the Department of Veteran Affairs, the Park Service and a portion of the Washington, D.C., government funded with local tax revenue.

After a Tuesday strategy session, Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) said if Democrats are “really concerned about funding the VA, let’s fund it.”

However, Democrats generally opposed all three, saying Republicans shouldn’t be permitted to choose which agencies remain open and which stay shut. As a result, all fell well short of the two-thirds majority needed for passage.

The White House also issued veto threats against the bills, drawing a jab from Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner. Obama “can’t continue to complain about the impact of the government shutdown on veterans, visitors at National Parks, and D.C. while vetoing bills to help them,” he said.

Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) blasted House Democrats for killing a bill to “allow elderly, disabled WW2 vets to visit the WW2 Memorial.”

“Democrats are on a rampage,” he wrote on Twitter, later adding that “President Stompy Feet told Democrats to kill veterans funding.”

Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) said in a statement that it is “reckless and shameful that President Obama and House Democrats are putting Obamacare ahead of the interests’ of our nation’s brave veterans, and of school children and families across the country who wish to visit our rich National Parks and museums.”

“House Republicans will continue to work in the interest of the American people, and the President and Democrats should stop holding our nation hostage to their demands for their own special exemption from Obamacare, and their shameful desire to impose health care mandates on American citizens but not big businesses,” she added.

Several House Democrats used the occasion to seek a vote on a standalone spending bill, a measure that Rep. Elizabeth Esty of Connecticut said would “end the tea party shutdown.” The requests were ruled out of order.

Republican aides said all three bills that were sidetracked could be brought up again on Wednesday under rules requiring a mere majority to pass. They said the House might also vote on a measure to reopen the hospital at the NIH, after several Democrats cited the impact on patients.

“They’ve shut down the government over an ideological crusade to deny affordable health insurance to millions of Americans,” Obama said of Republicans in the White House Rose Garden on Tuesday.

Pending a miracle, the partial government shutdown will stretch into its second day on Wednesday.

“During the past three years, I have worked with my colleagues to ensure that state government remains accessible and accountable. In those efforts, We succeeded in our efforts to reform spending, balance the state budget, and construct an environment that attracts job creators and raises the standard of living for Michigan families.

“As I’m sure you are well aware, the federal government has not used the Michigan model for providing efficient and effective leadership. 

“We do have some thoughtful federal legislators committed to helping taxpayers and building a healthy economy, but as a whole, the federal government has failed to produce a workable budget and has effectively shut down. However, I want to assure you that all state offices and departments will remain open, as the budget we completed and passed in June goes into effect today.

“I am proud to say that, over the past three years, I have worked with my colleagues to pass a balanced budget four months early each year, which is quicker than it has been done over the past 30 years! It was a ‘Team’ effort. This process resulted in paying down more than $21 billion in debt and saving almost $580 million in the state’s rainy day fund. We have achieved these goals by making difficult decisions, offering common-sense solutions that deliver real, proven results, and providing a predictable, stable framework for the hard-working taxpayers of our state.

“Please know I will continue to fight for Michigan conservative values and make sure our state is a place where our children and grandchildren can prosperously live, work, and raise a family.”