Posted on 12/04/2013 12:33:21 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
In politics, hyperbole is routine. It's common for campaign ads to praise a candidate as a savior or denigrate a contender as the destroyer of worlds. On Capitol Hill, lawmakers regularly claim that a particular piece of legislation will yield everlasting rainbowsor bring about complete devastation. President Barack Obama has been hailed by fans as a champion of hope and change and declaimed by foes as a secret, foreign-born, America-hating Muslim socialist bearing a covert plot to weaken the nation he leads. But every once in the rare while, hyperbole is warranted. And as the fierce mud-wrestling over Obamacare continues, it's not going too far to say that this clash is darn close to a life-and-death battle between the Democrats and Republicans. Which explains why the conflict is not ending, even as the White House patches up the glitchy Healthcare.gov website. Tea party leader Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is still tweeting out daily his demand for a full repeal of Obamacare, and Obama, as he is demonstrating at a White House event on Tuesday afternoon, is revving up the White House sales campaign for the Affordable Care Act.
With the website somewhat functioning, the fundamental debate over Obamacare resumes, and this debate pits the basic philosophy of each party against the other. Ever since becoming tea partyized, the Republican Party has essentially stood for one notion: Government is the problem. After the economic crash of 2008, Republicans tended to blame Washington's federal budget woesnot the actions of Wall Street dealers and schemersfor the financial calamity that sent the economy into the most severe recession since the Great Depression. They saw little need for government action to re-regulate the financial shenanigans that led to millions of Americans losing their jobs and homes. And they fiercely opposed the idea that government should stimulate the collapsing economy. The tea party victory of 2010 pushed the GOP further in this direction, with new Republican legislators obsessively peddling a single-minded agenda: Big government must be crushed. Obamacare, naturally, was the main target of this ideological wrath. So much so that this year, House Speaker John Boehner was outmaneuvered by Cruz-inspired tea party back-benchers determined to shut down the government to thwart health care reform law.
Obamacare does indeed embody the president's view that government can be a force for positive change. After the 2010 electioneven before the GOP was close to settling on Mitt Romney as its 2012 presidential nomineeObama began setting up a strong ideological contrast between himself and the Republicans in preparation for his reelection battle. He repeatedly tried to place the ongoing battles of the momentover the budget, over the debt ceilingwithin an overarching clash of values. The Rs, he argued, believed government should be reduced and people left to their own devices within the marketplace. Instead, he maintained, government action was crucial for overcoming the economic challenges the country faced. Government could shape the economy of the future by investing in education, infrastructure, and clean energy; the federal government could be a positive actor in protecting middle-class Americans and lifting up the poor. The 2012 presidential campaign did become a face-off between these two distinct visions. (Rep. Paul Ryan's acceptance speech at the Tampa conventiona hardcore libertarian critique of governmentwas perhaps the most archly ideological convention speech in decades.)
Obama won this contest, but the fight over the big stuff wasn't over. And the Republicans didn't have to depend on libertarian abstractions to wage this battle. Obamacare still loomed. Though it had passed Congress and been okayed by the Supreme Court, the health care law still did not poll well. (At least half of those who had an opinion of the Affordable Care Act were dubious, particularly after years of relentless bashing from the right. The skeptics, though, did include Americans who believed Obamacare did not go far enough and relied too much on the private health insurance industry.) And because the program had yet to kick in fully, tea party Republicans saw there was still an opportunity. Obamacare did represent what they most fundamentally opposed: active government intervention in society. The Republican Party's raison d'être had become a single note: assail the idea that government can be a productive force (in any matter other than perhaps national security). Though GOPers have repeatedly deployed false attacksdeath panel!they were not wrong to zoom in on Obamacare as the defining difference between them and the Dems.
In recent weeks, the basics of this fight have been obscured by the dustups over the website and the cancelation of junky policies within the individual market. Now, the bottom-line debate is reemerging: Is this big-government program worthwhile and effective or not? (Sen. Bob Corker, a Republican form Tennessee, recently claimed Obamacare was beyond fixing.) But within months, it may well be that abstract arguments over the nature of Obamacare will be trumped by the realities of the Affordable Care Act. Eventually, there will be stats and facts to consider: how many people receive insurance through the exchanges, what happens with premiums, the direction of health care costs, customer satisfaction, and the like. Though the results may be open to debate for a while, it is distinctly possible that one side or the other will be proven right (or wrong). If the website functions, millions sign up, and the health care market doesn't crash, and premiums don't zoom upand this will be on top of the already existing benefits of Obamacare, including removing preexisting conditions restraints, allowing young adults to remain on their parents' policies, reducing out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for seniors, and forcing insurance companies to devote a higher percentage of premiums to health care coveragewhere will the Republicans be? Not only will they be failed doomsayers; they will have lost the No. 1 item on their why-you-should-vote-GOP list. Their anti-government crusade will be derailed. They will be a train without a motor.
Should Obamacare not work, then Obama's visionwhich reflects the progressive tradition of the past centurywill be a flat tire. He will no longer be able to advance the cause of government activism. Expand Head Start? Create an infrastructure bank? Why should government be allowed (or trusted) to increase its reach? He can talk about helping the middle class. But how? The failed rollout of the website was a problem in so many ways but especially because it suggested that government cannot perform competently. A more extensive failure with Obamacare would suggest that government cannot be used in the manner Obama wishes to see it utilized.
What's at stake in this never-ending debate over Obamacare are the foundational premises of each party. The success of Obamacare could be close to a death blow to the GOP. Ditto for Obamacare and the Democrats, should it collapse. Of course, this has implications for next year's congressional electionsthough the traditionally low off-year turnout and gerrymandering could be offsetting factors. But there likely will come a time, if not in months, then in years, when the results of Obamacare will matter as much as the rhetoric generated by Obamacareperhaps more so. When that day arrives, it will be quite a bad moment for one of the two parties.
Interesting thought process! Actually, I believe that even if the process of Obamacare succeeds, it will fail for both economic and practical problems.
That means that this discussion is mute anyway, as it puts Democrats in a no-win position. The problem is that the Republicans seem to be Democrat light with no aggressive approach to the problems. That leaves politics wide open in the future and if no consolidation occurs, the Republicans lose again anyway...so what is accomplished.
This problem has just caused a real rift among the Republicans (Democrats do seem solidified on this). This will only cause a split in the Republican Party and I see the rise of a third party. They won’t win, but they will cause the Republican Party to lose and it will continue for a few years before the new party becomes prominent.
This means that the Republican Party will be losers from now until forever (It will become disbanded) at it becomes much more Conservative and provides an actual difference to the current Democrat Party.
Future fixes? Tort reform. Program to help medical students who will work in problem areas—rural, inner city, etc.—in exchange for financial help. Companies that will enter the field who do not feel their CEO needs a $20,000,000 salary. Better self care education in schools. I had a dynamite home nursing class in high school. It meant I was not intimidated by caring for my mother and my husband while they were dying at home as they had requested. Probably more, but it is late and I am sleepy.
It was announced on the early local super news Memphis that in 2014 Medicare patients who are getting spinal nerve blocks for back pain were going to be rationed to TWO per year. The pain management doc they had on said it would be harmful to his patients, as he’d have to write more scripts for narcotics and the patients would get hooked on those drugs.
Your right but do you understand the problems passing that kind of legislation even among the Republicans! That is the problem, we have way too may Republicans protecting their benefactors - even including lawyers, to actually push your legislation. That IS the problem!! Tort reform is required to even make a dent in the problem but just watch at the Republicans that revolt (not to mention the Democrats)! It is amazing just how many suddenly become non-cooperative when they have their money-folks are in included...
This is a much bigger problem than parties unfortunately!
Don’t forget that this tool, Corn, released the illegal recording of Romney speaking about the 47%. He has a big big agenda clouding his vision. And he underpays his interns.
Well, at least he pays them:
Work for Obama grassroots organization
for free
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3097976/posts
The Democrats and GOP-e are two separate political parties?
The article is right that for Obamacare to be a boon to the Democrats more than the website has to work. People must see better coverage and lower health insurance costs not to mention keep their current plan if they like it and keep their doctor. The reality is that with Obamcare they are forced to buy policies meeting the one size fits all government mandate, that cost more, have unwanted or unneeded benefits and in all likelihood do not allow them to keep their current doctor or choose their hospital. To believe that people will be so pleased with Obamacare they will overlook the flaws of the sign up process is beyond naive. Added to people’s dissatisfaction is Obama’s fraudulent promises about keeping their current health plans and their doctors not to mention save $2500 on average in premiums. They now clearly know these were lies. No amount of Obama speeches will fix the reality. Obamacare is sinking faster than the Titanic while Capt. Obama keeps telling the passengers who are getting their shoes wet that they will be in New York on schedule and how good the next day’s dinner is going to be.
Good post. The think I don’t get is why they think having Dear Leader spread even more lies will make people trust him. Or maybe they don’t care? The more Obama talks, the deeper he gets connected to something that is not working as stated, and will only continue to get worse.
Lots of bias. Lots.
Author thinks the success of 0bamacare is likely to be had when a) the website works leading to b) millions with lower cost premiums.
Well, the website probably won’t ever work. Notwithstanding website functionality, the law is a disaster that won’t ever work. I suppose liberals want it to work so bad they don’t see the problems?
There is one thing I agree with in this article - this is a fight to the death. I agree b/c the manner in which 0bamacare was “passed” was so egregiously offensive to half the nation that said half will never, ever comply. This law WILL be repealed. It may take longer than we’d like, but it WILL fall. 0bama ensured that in the way he “passed” it, the way he blames others for its failure, and the way he uses the executive branch to punish and discourage dissent.
This is the main reason to me that the country is so divided. Half of us are being unlawfully and unfairly punished.
0bama has instilled a seething hatred in most of us. It won’t go away until a)0bamacare is gone and b)we use similar tactics on his side to roll back his damage.
That sonofabitch is a g-d demon.
What I find most interesting as that Corn, a fully engaged fire breathing left lunatic, was able to emerge from his dogma to write such a balanced and, in my view, accurate article overall.
I “think” that david cornhole does not deserve to be read by anyone with a functioning brain stem.
This statement tells me the man has no clue at what is going on in the GOP. It is a civil war and the contest is far from over. The odds are against the Tea Party the GOPe is fighting tooth and nail to maintain power.
Overall the failure of OBastardCare will crush both establishment parties, one for foisting it, the other for not fighting it hard enough and for fighting the Tea Party...
Obama was groomed from the beginning for the destruction of our country.
If Obamacare remains law, Obama wins and we become a socialist country. Obamacare is not about health care—it’s about government control of the decisions of life and death.
Social Security has never worked either—and we still have it. It is a house of cards that has never been finically sustainable. And yet the RATS and the Pubbies continue to push it forward.
Obamacare has the potential to bring down 100 years of Progressivism—but that would require the GOP to have courage. RINOS will be the death of us.
No question.
Further, no way was 2012 legit.
Yep.
Robert Novak said it was him more than any other journalist responsible for the "bloat" of the story.
Mother Jones is communist and Corn is scum.
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