Tea Party member says he’ll vote Hillary to preserve his Obamacare benefits
According to the latest polls (or some of them, anyway), the ACA is starting to cross into net-positive territory in terms of favorability among the public.
We’ll need more time to see if we (ACA supporters) were actually right that it would eventually become popular, but this is a good sign.
Well, that was Obama’s gamble, wasn’t it? He was betting that even in it’s mangled and misbegotten state, the efficiencies of Obamacare would eventually make themselves felt, if only it survived long enough. And that even if he swallowed all, or nearly all, of the Republican poison, it would prove itself. Republicans made the opposite bet, that they could capitalize on its initial unpopularity to kill it, and kill it so dead they wouldn’t have to face this fight again, at least not for a generation.
Thing is, what we had was so wretched, so mindless, that even a crippled Obamacare would be a vast improvement. Not so much that it was a brilliant new plan, bold and progressive, but that it was so much better than the shit we had, it was bound to prove itself. And then, once that was proven, improvements and fixes would be easier to get.
Obama was practical, pragmatic, and devious. He let the Pubbies have their way to the point where they were sure Obamacare would fail, and they could pound a stake into the dark heart of Socialized Medicine and that would be that. And it was fucking close, all the way, every step could have been the last.
Got a nickel says that a year from now, no major Republican candidates will be “repeal”. In fact, none of them will even admit they ever were. It will all be about fixes and improvements, and some will start claiming that the success of Obamacare was their doing, how they forced the liberals to be practical and pragmatic, and thus they saved Obamacare!
What’s that you say? They would never even attempt to get away with such thundering hypocrisy?
Bet me.
Only if they can make their servants on the Supreme Court understand that no, they now want them NOT to vote for the King v. Burwell plaintiffs. Otherwise, they’re screwed for a while, or at least until they can sneak in the wording fix as some obscure amendment to something unrelated. And good luck with that.
I think it’s (no major Republican candidates in favor of repeal) going to be slower than in just a year – and it may not cross much higher than a moderate advantage (maybe 50-45, with 5 undecided, or so) in terms of favorability for another generation or so. But we’ll see – I hope you’re right.
I, too, think it will take longer than that. But certainly in the next… 3-6 years, say. The trendline is certainly headed in that direction as the ACA’s benefits become clearer.
Republicans may be starting to see the writing on the wall – Senate Republicans are bringing forward a bill to extend ACA subsidies if the Supreme Court strikes them down. Republican presidential candidates Cruz, Paul, and Rubio are notably absent from the bill’s sponsorship (but McConnell and 28 other Republicans are included).
It will be interesting to see if they can pass it without Democrats. I hope they have to come hat in hand to get enough votes, so Democrats can wring some concessions out of them.
Darn tootin’!
I seriously doubt Democrats wouldn’t support it (if the SC strikes down the subsidies) – this would be a fix, even a temporary fix, and fixing it until 2017 makes sense since there will be a new Congress and new administration (which will have been, presumably, running at least partially on how to handle this).
The Senate GOP leader, who just got re-elected largely on a promise to “pull out Obamacare, root and branch”, now would want to *extend *it. I very much do hope he has to grovel more than just a bit first. Preferably publicly.
You see, this is where I differ. I personally think that Democrats won’t - nor should they - go along with anything other than a permanent fix if SC makes a stupid decision. What impetus would they have to do that? It puts the law in a precarious position again, and the GOP would be negotiating in entirely bad faith. Moreover, what reason would Obama have to go along with such a temporary “fix?” He is not going to want to leave office with his landmark achievement being in a dangerous position.
As bad as it may sound, I kinda think that the Dems & O should just sit on their hands, let the horror stories start flooding in, cast all the blame (rightfully) on the GOP and the philosopher kings on the Supreme Court, and demand nothing less than a permanent fix to the law.
All of this, of course, is predicated upon the Court stripping the subsidies, which, let’s remind ourselves, is still the most unlikely outcome of King v. Burwell.
Oh, certainly. It would be easy, too - just say they agree with their Republican friends that the wording glitch needs fixing. Make them make the case for letting the subsidies expire, which would be effectively another Repeal vote, and make them come up with a Replace bill right before the election. The Reps can try a cover story about how they’re finally gonna do that under the next administration, but meanwhile they’re gonna leave things in place so everyone can see how bad it is. 
Not a consideration in recent history, sadly.
The fact that they ever took this farce on is worrisome enough to make it unwise to declare what they will likely do.
Americans with Obamacare like their coverage more than Americans with employer-based health insurance.
Bolding mine.
So, have any of the RW board members apologized for their chicken-little hysteria yet?
[cue the can being kicked down the road in 3…2…1…]
A man named Luis Lang has just become the newest traitor on the right for coming out in favor of single-payer health care, embracing Obamacare, & abandoning the GOP.
Also, the New Yorker has a great article out now about how the GOP is royally fucked if the Supreme Court buys into their bogus, meritless lawsuit next month.
Lang has a relatively straightforward means by which he could get Obamacare now… move across town. Heck, a five mile move would be enough
He lives in a metro area that straddles the North Carolina/South Carolina border. Moving out of state triggers a special enrollment period granting him the option of enrolling in whatever policy he would like.
Of course that won’t pay bills he already incurred, but it would get him covered for the operation he is seeking.
He doesn’t want to sell his $300,000 home.
Poetic justice – they would be hoist by their own petard.