Posted on 09/14/2018 7:59:36 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Republican lawmakers have made it clear they have no intention of repealing Obamacare in the current Congress.
Republicans in the nation’s top lawmaking body have never really wanted to get rid of Obamacare. They would prefer to present the program, which David Horowitz correctly describes as “the greatest assault on individual freedom and individual choice in our lifetimes,” as a villain and whip up sentiment against it and run against it every election. They view Obamacare as good for the business of politics. They may chip away at it from time to time or tinker with it at the margins, but make no mistake: these creatures of Washington want to keep it in place. This is the Republicans’ dirty secret.
Republicans have been promising to rip Obamacare out root and branch ever since it was enacted. They ramped up their rhetoric after the allegedly conservative-dominated Supreme Court declared the blatantly unconstitutional Obamacare law constitutional in the incoherent NFIB v. Sebelius ruling of 2012. Americans responded to this government takeover of a huge chunk of the economy by electing GOP-controlled congresses in 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016, and by electing Donald Trump as president.
Unintimidated by the Left and sneering hack journalists, Trump began the push to bury the misnamed Affordable Care Act and as a result the individual mandate will die at the end of this year. But the bulk of the statute and related rules such as the economically suicidal pre-existing medical conditions mandate remain in place, complete with federal insurance-purchasing subsidies for people who don’t need the help, as well as the sclerotic administrative apparatus, and the odious rule that prevents health insurers from competing across state lines.
The top vote-counters in both chambers say repeal is a no-go for the rest of the year. This ought to worry conservatives because there is a good chance that when the new 116th Congress convenes Jan. 3, 2019, one or both of its chambers will be in the hands of the government healthcare-loving Democrats.
So it’s now or quite possibly never.
“I’m not going to be asking for another vote on that this year,” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas reportedly said last week when asked about Obamacare repeal. His counterpart in the House, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, offered excuses for his party’s inaction. “We need to win this election and then get more seats next year.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he won’t revisit Obamacare before this Election Day, and no expects him to change his tune after then and pursue repeal in a lame-duck congressional session.
Whether the return to the battle over the law is a decision “I don’t have to reach anytime soon and don’t have time to facilitate, even if I was so inclined,” McConnell said last week.
Retiring Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) made it clear he couldn’t care less. “I haven’t even thought about it,” he said.
Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who previously blocked repeal, continue to support keeping the Obamacare law in place.
“I would still oppose outright repeal,” Collins last week. Aides to Murkowski said she “is not interested in another rushed, partisan process in the absence of a quality, comprehensive replacement” for the law.
It’s the same old same old. And it’s not going to change unless reliable hardcore conservatives take over Congress.
This is absolutely false.
This is how the GOP succeeds in Washington. Just look through comments from people even right here on FreeRepublic and see how much Americans have come to love the stupidity of ObamaCare.
As much as I have to admit I would say forget about it for now. Right now Obamacare is popular. Our big fight and maybe the only one that matters is to stop open borders if we do not do that then we are dealing with a permanent and even overwhelming Democrat majority. In fact it may be to late even now. They will then be able to do anything and everything they want. Lets not get side tracked on something that will give them control for even a week.
All I know is that our health insurance is dependent upon keeping a job.
Not a big challenge. Except when it is. I worked at one company for 20 years. One company. Just one. About 18 years in, I had a medical issue. I got it taken care of, but I ended up losing the job eventually, because they were offshoring the entire operation.
At that point, I became ineligible for the same insurance. That was right around the time Obamacare became available.
I opposed Obama about everything. But he was absolutely right about covering everyone for healthcare.
For real. Everything else he did and said, I am opposed to, strongly. But I am very much for 100% healthcare for everyone.
Our healthcare has become a very, very expensive mess.
In my opinion...
Pay cash. It will probably cost you $100.
Good comment. They do lie to us — repeatedly.
Trump has shined a bright light on them. They don’t like being exposed for the deceitful scammers they are. So they refuse to support him in retaliation.
With any luck Trump will get enough SCOTUS picks and they’’ go back and revisit that absurd Roberts opinion.
The original ObamaCare legislation included massive cuts in Medicare spending to reduce its impact on the Federal budget.
The Republican Party ran in 2010 on a platform to restore those Medicare cuts -- and they WON.
Americans love ObamaCare as long as they're convinced that someone else is paying their medical bills. You'll find plenty of evidence for that right here on this thread.
You love ObamaCare because you want someone else to pay your medical bills.
Says it all.
They are just gaming us. The congress wouldn’t even have passed the tax bill if not for Trump’s insistence and persistence. They would have been quite happy to do nothing.
“There was no “mess” with our healthcare system until politicians got involved,..”
Truth!! I began working in 1978 and healthcare was great up until after the turn of the century, where Id downgrade it to ‘good’.
Then obola gets in office and the news starts blasting how horrible the healthcare system is 24/7. I knew what they were up to then.
How anyone can think it is a good thing for the government to FINE you into buying a certain product whether you need it or not is beyond reason.
All theyve done is to REALLY screw it up and make it into the mess that they were claiming it was before they took it over.
Nope.
But it is very, very important for whatever insurance system we have, that nobody be dropped off it.
That is what I am saying. I have had, and still have insurance.
Forever.
Always. It is completely unfair, for Americans to lose insurance.
That is blatantly unfair.
1) Insider trading/personal investments.
2) $200 Lunch
3) $50 manicure.
I want to see other Supreme Court challenges that have nothing to do with the individual mandate (the subject of the Roberts decision) but address the broader issue of whether Congress can ever force insurance companies to include specific provisions in their medical insurance plans.
There's absolutely no reason why an insurance company should be prohibited from selling a plan that does not cover pre-existing conditions, or has a lifetime cap of, say, $10 million on its benefits. Create a plan that includes these two things, and you'd be shocked at how much less it would cost than one that meets the ridiculous ObamaCare requirements.
I didn't forget anything. If you don't care for my 'kick the can' analogy, create your own clever meme. Ready? GO!
I think it's unfair to force any company to do business with people against its will. Isn't this a free country? Apparently not, in your eyes.
Yep. They’re dreadful people that are just executives in GOP Inc. They stand for almost nothing except “we’re not the other guys.”
During the run-up to the 2016 GOP Primaries, Rubio was touted as a strong candidate and a liberal acquaintance of mine asked why should he vote for Marco Rubio. I said honestly, I don’t think there’s a reason to vote for him.
He was surprised, expecting the flip side of democrat shilling, but the truth is the truth: he’s an example of a politician that’s just not worth very much.
Dreadful.
Well, at least they have embraced what they are really good at...
surrender.
Are you in the insurance business?
I really don't give a damn about ObamaCare anymore, either. I figured out how to get a waiver, I protect myself with a "non-compliant" plan that costs about 75% less than what I would have paid in a regular plan, and I work hard to minimize my tax burden so I don't have to pay for anyone else's medical costs.
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