On January 27, 1838, a young State Legislator named Abraham Lincoln spoke before a gathering in Springfield, IL. At the time, America was a deeply divided Nation, and Lincoln warned that the greatest threats to the young democracy were internal. He said, "If danger ever reaches us, it must spring up amongst us; it cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a Nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide." The actions of the past few weeks, the extremism of a small core of members in the House of Representatives, have crippled Congress and put our Nation on a very perilous path. For more than 200 years, the United States has been true to its word. It has honored its obligations. It has paid its debts. Yet today, a small group of hardliners is using our economy as a bargaining chip to repeal the Affordable Care Act.