Lathered up
Published September 28, 2013
by Thomas Mills, Politics NC, September 26, 2013.
Republicans are all in a lather about the implementation of Obamacare. Here in North Carolina, they got news that sent them over the moon. Our state’s premiums will be higher than than the national average.
On twitter, this was like Christmas in September. The right-wing talking-point tweeters were doing 140-character metaphorical jigs tweeting various forms of “I told ya so, you liberal idiots.” And, at the same time, Ted Cruz was wooing them with his faux filibuster. They were swooning like teenage girls at an Elvis concert.
The right-flank of the Republican Party, dominated by the Tea Party faction, is betting the farm that the failure of Obamacare is going to send Democrats the way of the dinosaur. They are sure that the public is hanging on every negative article and they have polls that show the American people dislike the new program more than they like it.
The funnest part for me is watching them eat their own. They’re outright attacking Senator Richard Burrfor not trying to defund Obamacare by any futile means possible. And they attacked the conservative but pragmatic Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) as a RINO for saying that the folks trying to defund Obamacare are not based in the “real world.” While I hope the moderates in the GOP civil war eventually win, right now I’m just enjoying the show.
Republicans may hate Obamacare, but it’s their own fault. Throughout the first decade of the 21st century, when the GOP controlled the White House and Congress, health care reform was consistently the top issue among voters in federal races. Republicans, though, chose not to address it.
When Democrats took back Congress in 2006, health care reform was front and center in most Congressional races. During the 2008 Democratic primary for president, the famous debates between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton focused on how to implement reform, not whether to implement it. While the collapse of the economy changed the public’s priorities and focus after Obama’s election, demand for health care reform is real and has been part of the public debate for decades.
After the hundreds of millions of dollars Republicans and their corporate allies spent trashing Obamacare, support for the program should be in the tank. It’s not. Yes, there is skepticism and fear of change, but the visceral reaction to the implementation is reserved for those who just want to see the president fail.
My guess is there are going to be glitches to the program, as there are with all big programs, and that we hear about a few isolated horror stories that get a lot of press. But, overall, most people will find only subtle changes and few find the disaster that the GOP is predicting. The real disaster will be for the GOP if they allow those who are frothing at the mouth to drive their political agenda.
September 28, 2013 at 9:16 am
TP Wohlford says:
Thank you for reminding me of the hatred that was stirred up in 2010. Thank you for reminding me of the nasty campaign ads run against the GOP in 2010. Thank you for reminding me of how the thing was passed in the dark of the moon on a Sunday, with amendments not even dry on the paper yet. Thank you for reminding me of the nasty, snarky, mean and downright disgusting talk that the Dems used while they passed this thing.
Thank you for reminding me how the Dems lost 63 House seats, and 6 Senate seats, that year. Thank you for reminding me that the Dems have only won one major victory since, that of President. And how states like NC have swung GOP since the Obama election.
September 29, 2013 at 3:48 pm
Norm Kelly says:
Thanks also for pointing out that the only ones frothing at the mouth are those nasty, hate-the-poor Republicans.
Before you wrote this editorial, did you poll the people who's hours have been cut because of Obamacare? Did you poll the people who lost their jobs because of Obamacare? Did you mention that some are having their insurance plans cancelled out from under them? Did you mention that the King has called the new president of Iran, but has NOT called any Republicans in the House? Did you mention that Democrats refuse to negotiate on a single item of Obamacare? Did you mention that the King has violated the law a number of times in an attempt to make it more palatable to certain groups? Did you mention that subsidy verification will NOT exist when the plan starts?
It does not seem to be fear of change that is driving most people. It's fear of failure that drives me & people I know. I really don't care if Obama fails as president. (i believe he already has, but that's for another post.) I prefer he fail completely. But I'd rather his socialist ideas not get implemented. It's fear of something as important to the majority of people in the country as medical care failing that causes fear & skepticism. The skepticism comes from intelligent people who have looked around the world to see socialized medicine programs being complete disasters. It's watching our own federal government get involved in everyday life and completely screwing it up. It's the IRS targeting specific people or groups in violation of the law that causes fear. It's the federal government snooping at my phone, email, and online records without a warrant and without cause that creates fear and skepticism.
When there are glitches in some government programs, there may be little effect. When there are glitches in the medical delivery system, someone could die. Is this type of glitch acceptable? Are the current problems with Obamacare not cause for Democrats in Washington to at least negotiate with Republicans on some possible changes? Or were the wizards who crafted the law so darn good that they got everything right? (this would be the first time in history.)
Thanks for such an honest, in-depth, complete editorial. It's repeated stories like this that continue to rally the opponents of Obamacare. NOTE: I called it a story on purpose. Since there is such little useful information, it can't be called journalism.
