Imagine a political party that keeps government from helping people, because that might lead people to support government. Imagine a political party that hurts parts of the country because those parts tend to not vote the way they want. Imagine a political party that would hurt the public, the economy and the country so they could say in the next election, "Hey look at how the country is hurting, vote for us instead." That could never happen here, could it?
This Is Who They Are Now
At RedState today the featured post is titled, Defund Or Be Challenged. It calls on Republicans to demand that Obamacare be defunded -- killed -- or they will shut down the governemnt. It says pass a budget that defunds Obamacare and if the Senate won't take it up or the President vetoes it, shut down the government rather than pass a reasonable budget.
If you say, "So what?" and ask, "Who is RedState?" then you are making the same mistake that many in the Democratic establishment have been making for decades. Asking "Who is Rush Limbaugh/Glenn Beck/Sean Hannity/Sarah Palin/Ann Coulter, etc.," or saying that what they say doesn't matter is a mistake. This is who they are now. This is who the Republican Party is now. It is RedState, Limbaugh, Coulter, Drudge Report, etc. It is not Bob Dole or John McCain or even Ronald Reagan. It is not Ronald Reagan playing poker with Tip O'Neill.
Ronald Reagan would be primaried out as a "RINO" in today's Republican Party.
If you don't get it yet, let this sink in: Mitch McConnell is being primaried for being "a big government guy" and too "progressive" and working with Democrats. Mitch McConnell!
This is who the Republicans are now. RedState, Limbaugh, Coulter " this is who they are now.
Obamacare Helps People -- So They Want It Killed
Obamacare, for all its policy and political flaws, makes our health care system far better than the corrupt and dysfunctional system we have now. (I think Medicare-For-All is the right approach and would have high public support.) People with "pre-existing conditions" will finally be able to get insurance. Subsidies will help people afford private insurance. The expansion of Medicaid will help millions receive health care.
The Republicans want it killed, period, and are willing to sabotage everything to get that. They want this because it will help people and therefore will be popular. They offer no alternative plan and do not care about all of these people who will be helped. In fact, they complain that so many new people will have access to health care that it could cause a shortage of doctors!
They want the health care act killed because it helps people, which they fear could lead people to support Democrats and government in general.
They mean it. They are willing to shut down the government unless their demands are met. They are about sabotaging the program and sabotaging all of government to make that happen.
Is that a strong statement? Remember that they were willing to refuse to raise the credit limit and destroy the credit rating of the country -- and destroy the world's economy unless their demands were met. Remember that they have actually shut down government to get what they want.
This is who they are now.
Norm Ornstein
Norm Ornstein has an important piece at The Atlantic today, The Unprecedented, Contemptible GOP Quest to Sabotage Obamacare. In it he compares how Republicans are opposing Obamacare with they way Democrats responded to the passage of Bush's Medicare drug plan. Please read these next two paragraphs,
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