I spent far too many precious minutes on October 1st listening to the Republican spin on the government shutdown. According to their current storyline, it's the fault of the Democrats and most specifically Harry Reid (Senate Majority Leader) for not wanting to 'discuss the merits of Obamacare'.
That Republican spin is complete and utter nonsense. Do they think the public has no memory of events at all?
The Affordable Health Care Act was debated in Congress for months. There was plenty of opportunity for Republicans to offer their own version which would achieve the same goals in a manner they prefer, but they declined to present any such plan. Their focus was entirely on killing the Act, not replacing it with something that might be better.
When that failed to derail the Act, they filed lawsuits. These ended up in the Supreme Court which ruled the contested provisions of the Act as constitutional. End of Story.
When legislative debate and Supreme court decisions failed to go their way, did the Republicans accept reality and buckle down and work with the Dems to fix any unintended consequences or issues with the Act?
No, they instead drew a line in the sand and voted 41 (or 42) times to defund the Health Care Act. Does that sound like people interested in 'discussing the merits of Obamacare'?
These Republicans are hell-bent on killing the Act and leaving millions of Americans with no healthcare options, and even worse, these Republicans are willing to do this with no solutions of their own that would give these people the care they need.
Meanwhile, the Health Care Act is off an running and looks to be getting the kind of buy-in from the public the system needs to succeed. What do the Republicans want to do, cancel all the desperately-needed insurance the public in now buying?
The Republicans as a group can't hide behind the excuse that the 'Tea Party' conservatives made them do it. Each and every Republican who voted for the spending bill that included defunding for Obamacare is as guilty as sin.
That Republican spin is complete and utter nonsense. Do they think the public has no memory of events at all?
The Affordable Health Care Act was debated in Congress for months. There was plenty of opportunity for Republicans to offer their own version which would achieve the same goals in a manner they prefer, but they declined to present any such plan. Their focus was entirely on killing the Act, not replacing it with something that might be better.
When that failed to derail the Act, they filed lawsuits. These ended up in the Supreme Court which ruled the contested provisions of the Act as constitutional. End of Story.
When legislative debate and Supreme court decisions failed to go their way, did the Republicans accept reality and buckle down and work with the Dems to fix any unintended consequences or issues with the Act?
No, they instead drew a line in the sand and voted 41 (or 42) times to defund the Health Care Act. Does that sound like people interested in 'discussing the merits of Obamacare'?
These Republicans are hell-bent on killing the Act and leaving millions of Americans with no healthcare options, and even worse, these Republicans are willing to do this with no solutions of their own that would give these people the care they need.
Meanwhile, the Health Care Act is off an running and looks to be getting the kind of buy-in from the public the system needs to succeed. What do the Republicans want to do, cancel all the desperately-needed insurance the public in now buying?
The Republicans as a group can't hide behind the excuse that the 'Tea Party' conservatives made them do it. Each and every Republican who voted for the spending bill that included defunding for Obamacare is as guilty as sin.
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