The Open Thread for Friday, July 26, 2013
The Washington Post’s Jonathan Bernstein:
Do Republicans believe that Obamacare is a disaster in the making? Or is it such an appealing program that they have to take extraordinary steps to undermine it? Reuters reports today that conservative groups are taking their campaign to undermine the law to ever new heights. As the Tea Party group FreedomWorks puts it: “We’re trying to make it socially acceptable to skip the exchange.” […]
At the same time they’re trying to undermine it, Republicans are loudly insisting that the program just won’t work — it will “collapse under its own weight,” as the talking point has it. For example, see the apparent attempt by Republican state governments to hype “rate shock” well beyond any reality. As Sarah Kliff argues today, Republicans have set expectations for the program so low that “if Godzilla doesn’t march in on Oct. 1 and gobble up our health insurance coverage and legions of IRS agents fail to microchip the masses, that could plausibly look like a success.”If they really believe that the Affordable Care Act will collapse on its own — that premiums will skyrocket, that people will lose what they have now, or whatever other horrors they’ve been asserting — then there’s no reason at all for any campaign to spread misinformation about the law or to encourage anyone to “skip the exchange.” Consumers would do that on their own. But Republicans apparently think they can’t take the risk that Obamacare will work out just fine.
It is an article of faith if you are a conservative or a Republican: ObamaCare is going to be a disaster, a trainwreck, a total mess. So if you are a Republican, and you want the Dems and Obama to be blamed for the mess that is Obama, why would you not just allow it to go into effect with full funding and sit back and watch the disaster? No, they have to sabotage it for it to be a trainwreck, for if Obamacare goes into affect fully funded and fully implemented, then the people will love on the level of Medicare and Social Security.
Meanwhile, there is something for everyone in this new ABC/Washington Post poll on abortion:
On the choice and reproductive freedom side, we have a majority of Americans—55 percent—who believe that abortion should be legal in most or all cases, compared to just 41 percent who believe it should be illegal in most or all cases. 54 percent oppose state legislation that Republicans are pushing in a number of states that makes it more difficult for abortion clinics to operate, with 37 percent strongly opposing it. A two thirds majority of Americans —66 percent—think the U.S. Constitution, and not the states, should set abortion law. So that’s all good. But then we have this results which will make the anti-freedom and anti-choice forces happy: a 56 percent majority thinks abortion should only be legal without restriction up to the 20 weeks that states like Texas keep passing, rather than the 24 weeks that the Supreme Court has said is constitutional. 24 weeks is the earliest possible point for viability of the fetus. 24 weeks is 6 months.
The Washington Post-ABC News poll also finds that “just 28% of Americans say the war in Afghanistan is worth fighting, the lowest number since 2007 and significantly below the least-popular stretches of the Iraq war.” President Obama, bring them all now home right now. Today. Don’t wait until August 2014.
Finally, the latest NBC-Wall Street Journal poll has bad news for the GOP: the American people can see through your game and excuses.
When you hear Republicans say that immigration reform must wait until the border is secure, do you think that is a legitimate concern that needs to be addressed first before immigration reform can take place, or they are using that as an excuse to block action on immigration reform?
Legitimate concern: 36
Excuse to block reform: 59
And that is before they actually block the bill from coming to the floor, and before the Republicans endorsed Rep. Steven King’s outrageously racist comments about Latinos but not expelling him from the Committee and the House.
Attention Sheriff Wingnut: There’s another sheriff in Delaware, also formerly a cop, who hasn’t wasted his and our time the past few years whining about not having his own posse. Trindad Navarro has done what he was elected to do. He also found a way to aid law enforcement without pissing off his employer and the state of Delaware.
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130726/NEWS01/307260052/Police-Sheriff-helps-nab-serial-burglar
Now go do your job as your county prepares to be overrun with out-of-town speeders in a few hours.
Obama care is socialism. Right now, people in better health pay lower health care cost than people in poor health. Under obama care people in bad health and people in good health will pay the same. So the people who eat right, and get proper exercise will be subsidizing those who are sedetary, obease, overeat, drink alcohal in excess. That is how socialism works, it rewards bad behavior and failure. Where as capitalism rewards good behavior and success.
Obamacare actually takes pains to protect the profits of private insurance companies. Socialism would be more like Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, Austrailia or New Zealand’s system in which everyone contributes a small premium and everyone is covered with a minimum of profit taking and very low overhead.
Dils, Being stupid isn’t a crime, but you are so proud of your stupidity that it is unseemly.
@Rd “Obama care is socialism.”
Healthcare is a basic human right in every first world civilized country except the US. ObamaCare is a small first step in that direction. Maybe someday we’ll override healthcare greed and catch up with the rest of the world and finally get it right.
And if meeting that right is called socialism, then so be it. At least socialism is good for something worthwhile.
What ever happened to repeal and replace so far i haven’t seen a replacement plan from the Repuk’s does this mean like everything else that they have no plan??? What’s the defineing of insanity is it doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result?
“That is how socialism works, it rewards bad behavior and failure. Where as capitalism rewards good behavior and success.”
And this is how morons “think.”
Yeah. someone is a little too proud of the handful of words they know.
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/mcconnell-challenger-grimes-previews-campaign-launch-with-web
This is a great video which knees MCConnell in the groin, but it is also a good demonstration of how Democrats can win the midterms