Is our constitution still worth defending? YES!

In the midst of a pivotal election year, I want to focus on how we can insure our constitution is intact for generations to come. The constitution is a exceptional document meant to protect the American people. It was written to keep the government from overstepping and infringing on the rights of the individual. I’m an attorney, I’ve studied our laws extensively and believe in the rule of law. Our nation’s laws were not written for judges to twist in favor of whatever argument they’re trying to make. Our judicial branch needs to get back to interpreting the law based solely on the plain meaning of the text.

Our country recently lost a historic figure; Judge Scalia is someone I have always greatly admired. He had an excellent philosophy on interpreting the constitution. He did not think he was above the law. He certainly didn’t interpret the law as it pertained to his personal opinions. The Judge was a man of integrity. He is quoted in saying, “The Constitution that I interpret and apply is not living but dead, or as I prefer to call it, enduring. It means today not what current society, much less the court, thinks it ought to mean, but what it meant when it was adopted". He interpreted the laws as they were written, and it is for that reason that I hold great reverence for the Judge.

One of my principal concerns should Hillary Clinton be elected is her deciding our nation’s next Supreme Court judges. I fear Clinton’s appointees will be both politically motivated and corrupt. I am strongly in favor of neutral judges. Our country doesn’t need its judiciaries voting down party lines. We need our judges acting strictly as the constitution intended. Simply speaking, we will not prosper under a partisan juridical system. We need to return to the basics. The constitution needs to, once again, be seen as this nation’s rule of law. Our country has been most prosperous in the moments we have followed the rule of law under its original intent. We must stand up against the rule of the mob and remember once more that the law is the highest authority in America.

As someone who has studied law and politics to great lengths, the issue of the constitution is one of great personal significance. I believe we must defend our constitution at all cost so I encourage you to vote this year and make your voice know. Do not support candidates like Hillary Clinton who have no respect for the rule of law. 

Mr. Reid is general practice attorney in Birmingham, Alabama. He has worked for republican leadership in the house in D.C. and was a health policy advisor to the governor of Alabama. You can contact him by email at chris.reid@reidlawalabama.com or by phone at 205-913-7406. For a full description of the Reid Law Firm's practice areas, please visit reidlawalabama.com. Our firm practices the following areas of law: wills, trust, and estates, divorce and family, DUI and drug offenses (only first and second time offenses), and car accident cases. We also handle business law, including formation of business entities and drafting contracts. Additionally, I co-host Yellowhammer News every Monday during lunch from 11-12 on 101.1 fm Birmingham (but our show is broadcast throughout most of the state).

Healthcare exchanges under Obamacare set to collapse in 2017. Your cost could go up 40%!

Americans currently using the Obamacare program should be wary of their coming health insurance rates. In my own state of Alabama, Blue Cross Blue Shield remains one of the only insurers. Over the summer, the insurance company put in a request that, if granted, would cause the rates for individual plans to skyrocket. President Obama recently held a meeting with a group of CEOs of the nation’s top insurance companies (Blue Cross Blue Shield CEO Scott Serota included). This meeting was called in reaction to the nationwide backlash to Obamacare. Additionally, Obama wrote individual letters to each CEO requesting their cooperation with his act. The CEOs of AETNA and United Healthcare were among those not in attendance. This is notable as AETNA was one of the strongest proponents for the act just a year ago. Since voicing their support last year, AETNA has lost over 300 million dollars. In response, the company has announced their intentions to withdraw from the health exchanges. This has been one of the biggest obstacles for the administration. Companies are losing unbelievable amounts of money, leaving prominent private insurance companies with no choice but to cut ties with the health exchange markets

At this point, Obamacare has proven to be a complete failure. Government intrusion in healthcare is not helping our country, it’s hurting it. For the third year in a row, a Gallup poll recorded the majority of American’s disfavor Obamacare, and they also do not favor Hillary Clintons push towards full government control of healthcare.

If the democrats are able to take back congress and the white house there is no doubt that they will push for a complete government takeover of healthcare. If that were to occur, it would have disastrous consequences for all Americans.

My father is an internal medical doctor. As a physician, he has seen the negative effects of the act firsthand. A number of his colleagues are entering private medicine and will no longer take Medicare patients. Obama’s actions have cost this country billions. Insurance rates are through the roof and it is the American people that have to pay for it. This rise in rates is happening across the nation. And if the trends are correct, 2017 will be the biggest increase in healthcare cost and the biggest decrease of doctors participating in the exchanges. If our economy is to grow, we need more than one company to keep rates competitive. Thanks to Obamacare, Many Americans are left with only one major healthcare provider in their state. How is this going to keep rates affordable for the average consumer? Answer: it won’t.

When I graduated law school my first job was working for the governor of Alabama as a health policy advisor. And at the time we were dealing with the impact of Obamacare on our state and because the law is so intrusive, states don’t have a lot of options to avoid the consequences of this bad law. On a personal note, Healthcare is something with which I have a great deal of experience and passion. I want what is best for my community and my country. Americans do not want the government in their business. If the Democrats get there way our healthcare system will operate with the same efficiency as the DMV. Is that what we want? No. We can’t let the Obama administration continue pushing the farce that they are helping the American people. As a concerned citizen and voter, I hope our country can find a way to get back on the right track.

On a practical note, I would advise you to check out any alternatives to participating in the health exchanges. There are many ways to avoid the negative impact of this law which are free market based. Taking a little time to research these alternatives could save your family thousands of dollars.

Mr. Reid is general practice attorney in Birmingham, Alabama. He has worked for republican leadership in the house in D.C. and was a health policy advisor to the governor of Alabama. You can contact him by email at chris.reid@reidlawalabama.com or by phone at 205-913-7406. For a full description of the Reid Law Firm's practice areas, please visit reidlawalabama.com. Our firm practices the following areas of law: wills, trust, and estates, divorce and family, DUI and drug offenses (only first and second time offenses), and car accident cases. We also handle business law, including formation of business entities and drafting contracts. Additionally, I co-host Yellowhammer News every Monday during lunch from 11-12 on 101.1 fm Birmingham (but our show is broadcast throughout most of the state).

Hope for America: how we can overcome the politics of fear

The greatest danger to the American people is not an outside force but internal conflict. Our country has always had diversity of opinions and differences but we have generally had common values that we all adhered too. Our leaders may have disagreed on the solutions, but they at the very least worked to inspire people to believe in something greater than themselves. In this election year, I have been discouraged that the theme that is getting the most attention by the mainstream media is how we should be afraid of each other. I really was inspired by Marco Rubio not because I agreed with all of his positions, but because he believed that America’s best days are still ahead of her. The sentiment in this country is that we are on a path to decline and this generation will inherit a worse country than the one before it. America’s greatest resource isn’t her military might nor her economic power…. it is her people.

All around us we see people losing hope, and not just in political parties, but in the great institutions of this country. People begin to believe that they can’t achieve so they stop trying. Our politicians find short term success by promoting discord, so they continue to stoke the fire of discontentment. If we are going to succeed as a country we cannot allow politicians to divide us against each other. Although our country is faced with great challenges I fully believe we can meet those challenges. America has always believed that she can overcome anything, but when the masses lose confidence, we set ourselves up to fail. I still believe that applying the conservative principals of personal and fiscal responsibility are the best hope to restoring the greatness of our country. The Republican party has its flaws but we have some incredible young leaders who are doing amazing things behind the scenes (Mike Pence is someone we can all look up to because he has worked his whole life to make this country better). All the liberals have is the same failed policies of big government and high taxes, which lead to less freedom for the individual and more government intrusion into every aspect of our lives. I firmly believe liberals are motivated by a desire to do good and help others (many of my liberal friends work tirelessly in their own lives to help those in need and they are incredibly generous), but the policies they advocate tend to do more harm than good.

As an attorney and small business owner, I see firsthand the hardship caused by an intrusive government. Many of my clients are small business owners who not only desire to make a better life for their family but sometimes they feel like they can’t get ahead because of the endless red tape caused by the government. Because of all the pressure they face, sometimes my clients have to learn how to deal with failure. I always tell them it’s ok to fail but it’s never ok to let themselves be defined by the failure. I know many of you are frustrated by the failures that were brought on by the Obama administration. His liberal policies have done harm to our health care system to the point where many people can’t afford coverage and the coverage they can afford has such a high deductable that they can’t afford the co-pay. However, as conservatives, we must not only point out the failures of the liberal policies we must advocate for conservative free market solutions. The good news is we know what the solutions are and I believe that if we all work together we can win over the American people to our philosophy of limited government. My encouragement to you is to do everything you can to get your friends and family to vote for conservative candidates on November 8th. I plan on going door to door almost every weekend until the election to get people to come and vote. In closing, remember the words of Winston Churchill “Never, Never, Never Give Up”. God bless you all and lets all remember to pray that God will continue to bless our nation.

Mr. Reid is general practice attorney in Birmingham, Alabama. He has worked for republican leadership in the house in D.C. and was a health policy advisor to the governor of Alabama. You can contact him by email at chris.reid@reidlawalabama.com or by phone at 205-913-7406. For a full description of the Reid Law Firm's practice areas, please visit reidlawalabama.com. Our firm practices the following areas of law: wills, trust, and estates, divorce and family, DUI and drug offenses (only first and second time offenses), and car accident cases. We also handle business law, including formation of business entities and drafting contracts. Additionally, I co-host Yellowhammer News every Monday during lunch from 11-12 on 101.1 fm Birmingham (but our show is broadcast throughout most of the state).

Capitalism and Freedom: Why conservative principals will ensure the American dream for my generation

The biggest discouragement I have faced in this election cycle is that the media is focusing on the personalities of the candidates, rather than the ideas they support. Elections are supposed to be a battle of ideas in which each side makes an argument about what they believe, and how they are going to make the lives of Americans better.. Yet, in this year the only thing we are hearing is how terrible the other candidate would be, and that is a discouraging thing for many Americans. My first job out of college was working at the Heritage foundation in DC, and my favorite thing about that job was getting to work with the best conservative minds in the country to promote policies that truly make America the greatest country on earth. The hardest thing about that job was learning how easy it would be to fix our countries problems if we had the political leadership we needed. If we could have implemented conservative tax reform we could easily see an economy that is growing at 4% each year. But under the leadership of Obama we have seen our economy stifled by a regulatory state that makes it difficult for many companies to compete. The Dodd Frank act which supposedly was going to ensure that banks are never “to big to fail” has had the opposite effect. The big banks are more powerful than they were before the recession, and many smaller banks have closed down because the regulations in that act simply cost too much to comply with. Americans were also promised health care that was higher in quality and lower in cost and again we got the opposite result. Almost all of the major insurers have pulled out of Obamacare and premiums have gone through the roof throughout the United States.

My dad is an internal medicine physician and due to the fact that the regulations in Obamacare are onerous, many of his colleagues are retiring early or moving into private practice. In some states the only option for many families is to buy a plan that has 2,500-5,000 dollar deductible, which if a person is only making 30,000 a year is almost as bad as having no insurance at all. Obama also promised that we would be respected throughout the world, and yet there has never been a time of greater instability since the cold war ended. The Iran deal is falling apart and the other Middle Eastern countries are ramping up their nuclear programs in response to Iran’s dominance in the region. Obama promised peace but all he did was make it more likely that our soldiers will be in harm’s way in the future. The point of all this is not to point out the failures of Obama but to highlight the fact that big government cannot work better than the market. The solution to our problems is the same as it was when our nation was founded. We need a government by the people and for the people. Thomas Jefferson said “a government which governs less governs best” and his words are still true today. Every generation believes that the problems they face are unique and overwhelming, yet every generation has found ways to solve the biggest problems our country faces.

Our parents’ generation saw the end of the cold war and the spreading of democracy to countries all over the globe, and though the challenges we face are significant, I have no doubt that we can overcome them together. I do not believe that liberals have ill intentions. Most of my friends who are liberal believe what they do because they think their way is the best way and that it helps the most people. But the truth is that socialism has failed everywhere it has been tried and it cannot work because socialism describes a world as it should be but not the world as it is, which is why it will always fail. If we rely on conservative principles of personal responsibility and limited government we can have a free and prosperous society. And with September 11th coming up let us not forget the men and woman who gave their lives so that we could live in peace. I know many of you are discouraged about the leadership in our party, but the truth is we have so many great young leaders in the GOP who are going to fix our nation’s problems and restore the idea of the American dream. Something I try to remember is that liberty is a blessing from God and it is our creator who blessed us with the rights we enjoy. Let us always give thanks to God for his mercy on our nation and remember to pray for our men and woman overseas. One of my family members is serving overseas right now and I am so proud of him for all he has given to make this country great. Don’t lose heart my friends when you see politicians and the media bicker over petty things. Remember that we are a great nation and our best days are ahead of us. God bless. Christopher Calvin Reid.

Mr. Reid is general practice attorney in Birmingham, Alabama. He has worked for republican leadership in the house in D.C. and was a health policy advisor to the governor of Alabama. You can contact him by email at chris.reid@reidlawalabama.com or by phone at 205-913-7406. For a full description of the Reid Law Firm's practice areas, please visit reidlawalabama.com. Our firm practices the following areas of law: wills, trust, and estates, divorce and family, DUI and drug offenses (only first and second time offenses), and car accident cases. We also handle business law, including formation of business entities and drafting contracts. Additionally, I co-host Yellowhammer News every Monday during lunch from 11-12 on 101.1 fm Birmingham (but our show is broadcast throughout most of the state).