Dr. E. Faye Williams

I’ve always heard the expression, “What goes on in the dark comes out in the light.” 

That statement is indicative of the faith that our forbearers had in the certainty of God’s justice. Although challenged, often from the darkest of places, truth and justice have a way of overcoming evil. In honest evaluation, we’ve seen truth win out at more than a few critical points in our history.

The 47 percent statement by Republican Mitt Romney during the 2008 presidential campaign was not made for public consumption. It was made in the confines of a secure campaign gathering among party loyalists who would surely keep it confidential. Yet, his utterance found its way into the public venue and revealed his true feelings about those less financially fortunate than him. When disclosed, Mr. Romney’s statement became the tool of his campaign’s destruction.

A similar scenario occurred in 2009, only a few hours after President Obama was sworn into office. Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and his cohorts in conspiracy were discovered secretly and treasonously plotting the failure of the future Obama administration. Sen. McConnell is famously known for remarking that his primary objective was to assure that President Obama became a one term president.  Sadly, Sen. McConnell has shown that in order to achieve that end, he was willing to see the nation fail along with President Obama.

Now, nearly nine years later, Sen. McConnell and his minions are still trying.  Their obsession with the ruination of former President Obama allows us to believe that they have not received the memo that President Obama’s term in office ended on Jan. 20, about six months ago.

Despite the fervent efforts of his adversaries, President Obama maintains worldwide love and respect. He is admired for forward-thinking leadership that elevates the potential for all Americans, as well as other citizens of spaceship Earth.

His adversaries continue their futile efforts to erase his highly successful legacy, but, like Muhammad Ali when he was stripped of his heavyweight title, President Obama remains the people’s president. Those impacted by his good works realize how badly their lives would now suffer without them. What remains is a vicious group of sinister old men dedicated to using every underhanded scheme available to destroying the good without a reasonable or beneficial substitute.

From the bowels of the House of Representatives, an alternative Republican plan to President Obama’s Affordable Care Act spewed forth on March 24. Without input from Democratic legislators or public hearings, House Republicans rammed through their plan, which by estimates would result in 24 million Americans losing health insurance.  Critical analysts understand that the major result of this plan would be a reward of $880 billion in tax relief to the wealthiest Americans.

First characterized as “dead on arrival,” the House plan was given little chance of passage in the U.S. Senate. Pundits, given their opportunities, guessed that there was little hope of health care “replacement and repeal” in 2017. We accepted that reasoning and our attention was diverted and drawn into a myriad of directions by the never-ending, malignant controversies growing from the Trump administration.

For those who are listening, we are being lulled into a false sense of security.  Following the path of their legislative partners in the House, Senate Republicans have retreated into the deepest, darkest recesses of legislative secrecy to create a Senate version of Trumpcare that, for all intent and purpose, will be rammed through the Senate on short notice without public hearing, without public disclosure and with the absence of input from Democratic legislators.

Apparently, while the Republicans are dealing with “the Russia thing,” “the Comey thing” or the latest “Trump thing,” Sen. McConnell plans for people to accept the pig in a poke — a sight unseen, out of the dark health plan.

We must not play the game of Russian roulette with our health, which they present.

The writer is president of the National Congress of Black Women.