Republicans bash Obamacare but can't repeal it. What do they want? (CS Monitor)

[pinto]

As the reports of successes and improvements at both the State and Federal level get some air time, their plan seems to be simply another obstructionist straw horse ploy. GOTV ! 2014 ~ pinto

Republicans bash Obamacare but can't repeal it. What do they want?

The Republican strategy is to talk about Obamacare all the time. If the rollout continues to stumble, Republicans could pick up some Democratic support. But the big prize is 2014.

By Francine Kiefer, Staff writer / November 26, 2013

The Republican playbook against Obamacare calls for Republicans to take every conceivable opportunity to talk about cancelled policies, higher costs, and other problems with the law – and to barrel ahead with coordinated oversight hearings.

But why? Republicans cannot repeal the Affordable Care Act, because they do not control the Senate, much less have the two-thirds majority needed to overcome a presidential veto. Moreover, even if the current troubles lead young, healthy individuals to opt out this year, throwing the system's finances out of whack, the law has built-in safeguards to protect against just such a scenario.

So what is the Republicans' endgame?

Put simply, the 2014 midterm elections, and if, in the meantime, Obamacare's woes push some Democrats to abandon their support for the law, so much the better.

Republicans “want to preserve the power they have and gain more” by taking the Senate next year, says John Pitney Jr., a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College in California.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/2013/1126/Republicans-bash-Obamacare-but-can-t-repeal-it.-What-do-they-want

[BlueStreak]

1. Are they over-playing their hands YET AGAIN?

Right now they think they have the upper hand on "Obamacare", but the election is still 11+ months away. In that time, almost everybody that had insurance before through employers will find that there is no change other than that some of their doctor visits will now be free. Almost nobody who previously had an individual policy will lose it, Some will have to swallow big price increases, but more people will be lowering their monthly cost. And around 5 million people will get coverage for the first time.

And there won't actually be any death squads running around snuffing Grandma (who was on Medicare anyway, and that isn't affected by any of this.)

So a lot of reality lies ahead. Republicans seem to misread the big issues every time. Will this be another such case?

Let's see how McConnell does. There are a whole lot of people in Kentucky right know who are learning the ACA is a very good thing. Will they punish their Senior Senator for being such an obstructionist?
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/lundergan-grimes-mcconnell-kynect

[pinto]

2. It's particularly ironic that the ACA is working in Kentucky while McConnell mumbles on.

Saw him interviewed on one of the cable shows recently and it was clear, he didn't have a coherent response to either the good news in his own state or the big picture.

Typically tried to fall back on established Republican talking points, no matter how slim. Surprised he didn't go all Benghazi, but he must have gotten the memo.

I, for one, am looking forward to the 2014 races.

[BlueStreak]

3. They are out of touch beyond belief.

Any intelligent person would look at the situation on the ground and say "Hmmm, I think I can win this thing, but it looks like a lot of Kentucky residents are getting into the Obamacare program. Maybe I should lay low on this issue until I see how the winds are blowing closer to election. We can't overturn it anyway, so I'm not falling on my sword for that one."

But they cannot do this. They are truly zombies.

People like Chris Christie and Jeb Bush are the rare ones who aren't zombies. They are the formidable ones. With half a brain and all that money, none of them would ever lose. But most of them don't even have half a brain, fortunately.

[jwirr]

4. They do not care about Obamacare. What they are interested in is destroyiing President Obama so

that we can go back to a whites only need apply for the Presidency. They are furious that we dared to elect him.