Eugene Robinson: Opponents of Health Care Law Are Delusional

[babylonsister]

Opponents of Health Care Law Are Delusional
By Eugene Robinson


WASHINGTON -- If the incoming Republican leadership in the House of Representatives is serious about trying to repeal health care reform, there's only one appropriate Democratic response: "Make my day."

Just to be clear, there's no earthly chance that a bill repealing the landmark health care overhaul could actually make it through Congress and be signed into law. Even if Republicans managed to hold together their new majority in the House, they would face the inconvenient fact that Democrats still control the Senate. And even if a repeal measure somehow sneaked through the Senate, President Obama would veto the thing faster than you can say "pre-existing conditions."

So this exercise in tilting at windmills can't even be described as quixotic, since that would imply some expectation of success, however delusional. The whole thing is purely theatrical -- and woefully ill-advised.

Yet Republicans promise to stage a vote on repeal before Obama delivers his State of the Union address, expected late this month. "If we pass this bill with a sizable vote, and I think that we will, it will put enormous pressure on the Senate to do perhaps the same thing," Rep. Fred Upton, who will be the new chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said on "Fox News Sunday." "But then, after that, we're going to go after this bill piece by piece."

more...

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/01/04/opponents_of_health_care_law_are_delusional.html

[Deep13]

1. They can de-fund it. nt

[jaxx]

3. How can the defund it when the President won't sign a bill?

[Deep13]

5. I think he'll sign it and call it "compromise." nt

[jaxx]

6. Oh brother.

[emulatorloo]

9. A firedoglake de-tox might help?

[Champion Jack]

8. yeah, right

[young but wise]

11. LOL

You're funny. There's no way you can be serious.

[Deep13]

12. we shall see.

So far he has caved on everything.

[Sheepshank]

14. Another DU thread indicated that HCR

had it's funding already approved and assigned via the bill. A separate funding source is not required.

[Deep13]

16. Well, that's good. nt

[JTFrog]

24. .... it burns. n/t

[Deep13]

30. go to hell

[JTFrog]

32. You first. n/t

[MBS]

2. thank you , Gene Robinson.

He's really been extra on-target lately.
thanks for posting this.

[SidDithers]

4. K&R...nt

Sid

[chelsea0011]

7. Their first act of being in power of the house will be to do nothing.

It will be like old times.

[kiranon]

15. Call them the "do know nothing party" or the "do nots". More theater,

less governing all the time to bring an end to government by the people and the further rise of rule by corporations. Tea baggers ye know not what you've done or what will be done in your name.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

10. It isn't enough to just play "defense" on this IMHO

We need to also demand that the Republicans explain to the public what their "replacement" plan is (which, as we all know is to do NOTHING). :puke:

[Vinca]

13. I love Eugene Robinson, but I think he's delusional about health care.

He's parroted the statement "30 million Americans will get health care" within the past couple of weeks and that's just not true. 30 million Americans might have a chance to buy health insurance IF they can afford the unsubsidized portion of the bill. In any case, health insurance doesn't equal health care.

[ProSense]

17. According to Senator Sanders

it's 32 million.

[Vinca]

18. And Bernie should know better, too.

[BlueDemKev]

19. Many More People WILL Be Insured

Because insurance companies can longer be allowed to cancel people's coverage after they become sick nor will they be able to deny coverage to children with "pre-existing conditions" (These provisions went into effect last September), and in 36 months, adults with "pre-existing conditions" can no longer be denied coverage, either.

The Teapublicans want to try and repeal these provisions? Good Luck with That!

[area51]

26. Insurance != health care

And there is no regulation of costs, so insurance will continue to be insanely expensive, unlike in first-world countries where governments have figured out that you need to keep the citizens alive, if for no other reason, so they can pay taxes.

[BlueDemKev]

28. Costs....

....are extremely difficult to regulate because there are so many factors that affect the cost of health care. One thing is something NOBODY can do anything about and that is our exploding senior citizen population will cause a huge increase in the demand for health care, and when demand goes up, so do prices.

But with health insurance coverage, there's a much better chance of receiving decent health care (including prevantive care, which will drive costs down in the long-term).

[quiller4]

27. Just allowing parents to continue coverage of their children will

bring at least 2.5 million into the system. The 30 million figure includes the expansion of health care for poorest as well as those who buy in.

[grahamhgreen]

20. COMPROMISE! Just repeal the mandate.

[otohara]

31. Why?

explain your reason for repealing mandate.

[Arkana]

21. It won't put pressure on the Senate to do jack.

Harry Reid still holds the reins there.

And let's see them try and strip a bill that closes the Medicare donut hole, stops insurance companies from booting you for a preexisting condition, and allows kids up to age 26 to stay on their parents' insurance. Let's see them do it.

[quaker bill]

22. +1

[quaker bill]

23. It will be the "fort sumter" of partisan warfare

The point of this is not to actually repeal healthcare reform. All but the most delusional among them know that they do not have and are not going to find the needed votes. It is a symbolic declaration of partisan war, which is why they are doing this first. It is kind of pointless even for this limited purpose, because everyone paying attention knows that there has been all out partisan war for two years.

It probably serves an important internal republican party purpose as well. They need to do this and fail at it to both mollify and educate the new tea partiers. The teabaggers need to get the notion that they can propose and probably get votes in the House for almost anything, but having that almost anything actually make it into law is a far different proposition. Being their number 1 priority, this will provide an excellent case in point.

Can the teabaggers be educated? I have my doubts, but if Bohner cannot educate them alot of time and political capital will be wasted on pointless proposals and votes over the next two years. I am expecting alot of colorful, wildly unpopular, and meaningless stuff to come out of the House and be ignored by the Senate over the next two years.

A thing perhaps lost on these teabaggers is that passing a bill in the House does not even get a proposal formally on the Senate agenda. If they are lucky, it might get a little time for discussion before death in a committee, but not even that is required. Over 400 bills passed by the last House were never even taken up by the Senate. If the Senate chooses to not take up HCR repeal, then it never comes to a vote in the Senate. All this should give the MSM talking heads something to do.

[boston bean]

25. The democrats don't get it. It's all about messaging and appearances.

How many times have we seen on this website, it doesn't have the votes, so why try????

Well, to win the war you fight the small battles, even if you lose some!

[mtnsnake]

29. This is the Republicans' way of humoring the teabaggers. Oh, and I agree with boston bean above me

and K&R!

edit: oops, can't recommend threads that started over 24 hrs ago. Sorry, sis.