GOP Grapples With The Unsettling Fear That Obamacare May Succeed
SAHIL KAPUR – APRIL 7, 2014, 6:00 AM EDT
In light of Obamacare achieving its goal of 7 million initial insurance sign-ups, William Kristol's 1993 memo urging his party to block health care reform at all costs seems prescient. In it, the then-GOP operative's message was remarkably candid: it's a "serious political threat to the Republican Party."
Kristol argued that it would cast Democrats as protectors of the middle class and "strike a punishing blow" to GOP ideals about the evils of government.
"[T]he long-term political effects of a successful Clinton health care bill will be even worse -- much worse," Kristol wrote. "It will relegitimize middle-class dependence for 'security' on government spending and regulation. It will revive the reputation of the party that spends and regulates, the Democrats, as the generous protector of middle-class interests. And it will at the same time strike a punishing blow against Republican claims to defend the middle class by restraining government."
Two decades later, Democrats have achieved their century-long dream, defeating the GOP's revived Kristol-esque strategy to destroy health care reform at all costs. Obamacare unexpectedly crossed its first big milestone last week with 7 million sign-ups on the exchanges. While the law still faces many challenges, conservatives who broadly predicted it would collapse under its own weight are forced to reckon with the unsettling fear that health care reform might succeed.
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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/gop-obamacare-kristol-memo-1993
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is actually "fearful" of more Americans being able to afford/obtain healthcare coverage. If they had even half a heart, they'd at least try to be happy about the outcome even if they don't agree with the means by which it occurred- even though they have no practical alternatives to it.
