Posted on 07/05/2013 9:23:27 AM PDT by Perdogg
The first inclination would be yes. I find the law awful and have expressed my desire time after time to have the law repealed. I was also extremely disappointed when the Supreme Court upheld the law based on the tax argument. However, since the GOP controls only the House, repeal is not realistic option at this time.
What should the GOP do?
Conservative talk show host Mark Levin called on Speaker Boehner to call a presser to announce that House is going to defund Obamacare, even at the risk of shutting the government down. Apparently many feel that the House Republican Establishment believes that if the Obamacare is defunded, a high game of political chicken will be played out in similar fashion of the 1995 government shutdown that reinvigorated the Clinton Presidency in 1995 and led to the ultimate downfall of Speaker Gingrich and President Clinton re-election.
The question would it be, is it wise to defund it?
Even if the exchanges were unfunded, businesses could still legally dump insurance coverage, requiring their employees to go the exchanges. You say that would be cold hearted - absolutely, when that has ever stopped anyone in the past? Are people going to quit their jobs in this economy because some corporate bureaucrat in New York dumped the health plan? The delay of the business mandate really has not changed anything. Once the exchanges are “up and running” on October 1st, business will be free to send their employees to the exchanges. Some will do so. To be honest, the economic incentive is there.
Here is the most important point. If the GOP tinkers with the bill, the GOP will own the bill. The Low Information Voters will blame the GOP for any impending disasters that occur, whether or not the blame is deserved.
Unfortunately, the only way to get change is that people suffer for their electoral actions, or in the case of many, inactions.
There is a silver lining. I believe, you can call me crazy, that there may be a stealth push underway to get rid the bill before next November elections. It is called Obamacare because signed, and yes, he owns it. However, one should remember that none of the suggestions he made, made it into the Senate bill. The Bill that actually became law.
He could always claim that it wasn’t his Bill and that the GOP has refused to properly fund it and in fact, the media no longer calls it Obamacare – i.e. the Limbaugh theorem. Once the full effect of disaster hits next year, the Dems will put out the stop to do anything to delay it or get rid of it.
Then the question should be what should GOP do then? In the big picture scheme of things, it is not a black and white issue.
What people are getting tired of is hearing about the 40 million people without health insurance. They are getting tired of hearing about their healthcare costs going up. They are getting tired about the lies Obama and friends are telling them.
Republicans need to take an axe to this. Tell us about the rising costs, the exemptions, the IRS.
End it now.
Thank you.
If we had responsible citizenry, that might be a possibility.
The GOP house should do a LOT of things.
But, they won’t!
The fact remains that if the GOP tinkers with it, they will own it.
You have to realize that still once someone in middle America who voted for Obamacare is forced to go the exchanges by their company, they are going to be angry. The issue isn’t necessarily the people who are not producers.
Don’t tinker. Kill.
I agree.
But our opponents are clever folks. I would say that the insurance business and the healthcare business are being thrown into turmoil no matter what. It won't be pretty.
Currently, Obamacare has nothing but Democrat fingerprints on it and -- theoretically -- it is a beautiful thing which will fill the world with skittles and unicorns.
If the Republicans tinker with it -- or if the Republicans kill it -- then, when the insurance business and the healthcare business are thrown into turmoil (as they will be under any scenario), the Democrats will say "Bush's fault" (or the equivalent).
Chaos is coming. I don't think it can be stopped.
The Chaos might be blamed on the Party of Big Government (by that I mean the Democrats).
Or else the Chaos will be blamed on the Party of Limited Government (by that I mean the GOP -- try not to laugh).
My fear is that we do something -- anything -- to Obamacare and when the chaos arrives, everyone in the world will say: "We've learned our lesson: we need to push harder to the Left next time -- let's go!!!"
Oh hell yes!
LLS
Could this not be used by a future Republican president to unilaterally get rid of Obamacare altogether?
Yes, and defund the IRS so they can’t hire the agents needed to implement.
Yes, then refuse to fund the IRS agents needed to implement the mandate. Blame it on the IRS scandal.
Force implementation in 2014 and the Democrats lose. Pass a bill AND go to court.
Delaying it until 2015 can be an excuse for defunding. "If you won't implement it as the law requires, why should we fund it?"
Obamacare is unconstitutional.
What you’re missing is that the GOP has not the spine to follow through on anything and will only get blamed for everything that is bad. Their motto is, “Heads, you win, tails, we lose.” Plus, we the people always get the worst of it because yet another bad program gets enacted. Two notables to look at both occurred under W: Signing McCain-Feingold figuring that the Supreme Court would strike it down, but the GOP would get the credit for trying, and the Medicare prescription plan which the Stupid Party gets tagged as huge spenders while getting no credit for whatever assistance it renders. Meanwhile, we suffer with both of them.
Well, regardless, it’s a moot point.
But the RINOs have to plant a flag somewhere, sometime. It’s a hell of a lot harder for us, since they own the media.
No, am well aware of the spinal fortitude (or lack thereof) of the Grand Old Party. It was more of an academic exercise when I posed the question. The Democrats are so diabolical that they put dictatorial powers into legislation that they would freely use, knowing full well that the opposition party would never take advantage of them if they had the opportunity. Talk about making Republicans your bitch. Still, the power would be there, if someone would show the gumption to use it.
All this, of course, is beside the fact that such power, constitutionally, should NOT be there in the first place. Sigh.
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