Congress, Health Care, and Politics
| Congress is getting to their first order of new business, repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [PPACA] signed into law by President Obama last year. It is interesting to note that the justification the GOP is using to repeal the act is that they have heard the voice of the people, and the people, in the recent election, resoundingly rejected the direction of the Obama administration. Well here are a few central parts of the PPACA that are already in force, as detailed in this column by Eugene Robinson at truthdig.
Certainly there are things in the new law that need to be fixed, and even the Democrats want to do that, but when they tried last year, the GOP said no, preferring the chance to be able to tell their base they stood for total recall. Instead of fixing the bad parts of this legislation, a common Washington practice, the GOP played politics. So I look forward to the next few months as Republicans try and convince us that since they won a majority of seats in the last election, they have a right to legislate as they see fit, because the American people said so. I just don’t understand why they did not support that right after the 2008 elections when the Democrats won big. Can someone answer that question for me? Please. |
posted by Dave Miller at 10:22 AM
Comments on "Congress, Health Care, and Politics"
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Lista said ... (11:49 AM) :
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Dave Miller said ... (12:15 PM) :
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Doug said ... (12:50 PM) :
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BB-Idaho said ... (12:58 PM) :
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Shaw Kenawe said ... (4:02 PM) :
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Lista said ... (6:49 PM) :
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Lista said ... (7:10 PM) :
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Dave Miller said ... (10:38 PM) :
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Lista said ... (11:35 PM) :
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Bloviating Zeppelin said ... (10:55 AM) :
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Dave Miller said ... (12:45 PM) :
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dmarks said ... (10:24 AM) :
post a commentSince I do Need to Get Off the Computer Soon, I'm Going to Try and Make this Short.
Republicans have Never Denied that there are some Good Things within the Health Care Package. The Concern is that there is Far more than this in that Package and that it is Excessive. Complaining that something is Excessive is not the Same as Rejecting Everything about it. Such an All or Nothing Approach would Fit in the Category of Black and White Thinking.
To Answer your Question about the Repeal, rather than the Fix, it Appears that the Republicans do not Trust the Democrats to "Fix" this Law. Also, it has to do with the Percentage of the Law that Needs to be "Fixed", for if this Percentage is too High, then it is easier to Start from Scratch.
I believe that the Message that the Voters Sent was that the Democrats Need to Stop Legislating "as they see Fit" and Give the Republicans the Chance to do at Least a Few Things Their Way instead.
Ah, but Lista, the GOP had all the reins of power for six years and we saw an explosion of debt, the economy tank, two wars overseas, and many problems here at home.
And then came the elections of 2006 and the American people started voting against the GOP. This trend was extended in the elections of 2008 when both houses were in the hands of the Democrats as well as the White House.
If the Republicans believe that when voters speak, politicians have a responsibility to follow the will of those people, as expressed in who wins the elections, why do they seem to only believe that when the GOP wins elections, and not the Dems?
DO you recall any republicans saying after the 2008 elections that the American people have spoken and chosen the vision of the Democrats and we have a duty to follow through on that?
Of course not, because it would not have served their interests.
This is exactly what politics is.
Us and them. Left and Right. Liberal and Conservative.
Personally I think it would be a whole lot easier for them to follow the will of the people if they would just eat their own dog food. Meaning that the legislation they pass for us affects them the same way.
One suspects that dismantling healthcare
may put the GOP back in the minority...
I think this vote in the House is merely symbolic. The GOP will not overturn the health care bill. They need to perform this kabuki dance for their base. It will not be overturned.
Mr Obama's approval numbers have risen, and Americans favor him and the Democrats over any Republican.
Only 40% of American voters voted in the midterms. IOW an overwhelming majority of American voters--60% did not participate. A minority of Americans put the GOP back in charge of the House.
When you hear the pols say the American people sent a message to Washington, they're talking though their hats.
The fact is that Mr. Obama is still the president and still very well liked by the American people.
Limbaugh and Beck and Hannity and Palin represent a minority of Americans.
One Thing that I Think you Need to be Aware of, Dave, is that Many Republicans Consider George Bush a RINO and have been Disappointed in him, so not Everything that he did can be Considered Truly Republican and the Success or Failure of the Republican Philosophy should not be Based on his Rein.
Reagan is the One who Showed some Real Promise in Relation to the Success of the "Trickle Down" Idea.
When it Comes to the GOP and the Democrats, Neither Extreme is Good and when ever either One gets too much Power, the Other Side is Going to Receive more Votes in Order to Restore the Balance. What I'm Beginning to Realize about you, though, Dave, is that you Only see the Excesses of the Republicans and not the Excesses of the Democrats and this Makes me Wonder whether or not you are Truly a Moderate. Maybe you're not. I just don't Know.
Another Thing that you are not Realizing is How Often Republicans have Compromised with Democrats. If this were not so, than there would not be all these Frustrations within the Republican Party against all the "RINOs". Who is a "RINO", after all, if not One who Compromises? Therefore, the Very Presence of the Term "RINO" is Proof of the Compromises that have Taken Place.
The Fact that you are Only Aware of the Compromises made by Democrats is again another Evidence of your Bias and of the Fact that you have Fallen Short of the Objectivity of a True Moderate.
Just Because Republicans do not Emphasize that which goes against their Interests, does not Mean that their Actual Behavior is not Affected by the Opinion of the Voters.
Amen, Doug! I Agree.
BB‘s just Speculating.
Shaw Kenawe,
"Mr Obama's approval numbers have risen, and Americans favor him and the Democrats over any Republican."
These Numbers Keep Going Up and Down Like a Yoyo. People are Fickle. Repeal or not, the Democrats are going to be Forced to Compromise. They Simply can not Have Everything that they Want.
Those who do not Participate in Elections have Decided not to Speak. They do not have Strong Opinions, for if they did, they would have Voted. The Non-Voting Public Sent the Message that they don't Care and the Message that was sent by those who do care is the One that Matters.
Dave,
Perhaps Compromise is a Relative Term, because to those who Truly Agree with what has been Agreed Upon, there is no Compromise, but to those who do not Agree Fully with what they have had to "Settle For", it is a Compromise and just because a Person on One Side of the Isle Feels that the Compromise that they have Made is Very Deep, does not Mean that the Compromise Made on the Other Side has not been just as Deep.
To Only See the Compromises of One Side and not the Other is a Narrow and One Sided Focus. Both Sides are Blinded to the Sacrifices that have been Made by the Other and there is no Objectivity and this is the Whole Problem with Politics. What I have Observed so Far in you, Dave, is that you have not Escaped this Weakness as much more than the Others as you may Think.
Au contraire Lista, as one who has worked for both sides in Presidential elections, [Nixon and Obama], voted for GOP Presidents [Ford, Reagan, and Bush I] and supported third party efforts [Nader] as well as Senate candidates from both parties during my time in both CA and NV, I think I hew a pretty center orientated line.
I can't stand it when either side plays politics with stuff, and frequently I have been critical of Democrats.. Enough so that I've yet to be banned at some of the more rabid conservative sites.
This particular post was not about compromises, but about the GOP attempt to repeal health care.
I am okay with politics. Really I am. What I don't like is when either side claims they are not playing politics. Because normally, they are lying, and at least in this case, the shoe is on the foot of the GOP.
Perhaps the subject of compromise is a line of thinking for another post.
BTW, you'd be hard pressed to find many people who called Bush anything less than a true conservative while he was in office.
That view is a much more revisionist stance, adopted after he left office.
Liberals have been very critical of President Obama since he took office. Where was that type of criticism of your supposed RINO Bush while he was in office?
I'm just giving you my Observations in Relation to what I have Personally Read in your Blog Posts and Comments. So Far, I haven't Seen much Criticism of Liberals Coming from you. I, however, Criticize Conservatives all the Time, yet now that I have been on the Blogosphere awhile, I have realized that the Actual Conservatives that I the most have a Beef with are the Libertarians.
The Subject of Repealing Health Care Relates to the Subject of Compromise because it could be said that the Repeal is a Position of Non-Compromise, yet I'm not sure if it is Really that Simple.
I Looked at your Post Again in Order to Remember what it was that made me Think of the Subject of Compromise and I Think it was your Statement, "Since they won a majority of seats in the last election, they have a right to legislate as they see fit, because the American people said so." and also your Statement, "I just don’t understand why they did not support that right after the 2008 elections when the Democrats won big."
These Statements Imply Lack of Compromise, so Pointing Out that Republicans do so Compromise and also Respond to the People was Entirely Appropriate.
I'm not sure what you mean by "Playing Politics". The way I see the Political Process is that it is a Form of Negotiating. Each Party Writes a Proposal, which is Like Making an Offer and the Bills/Proposals/Offers are Changed and Renegotiated Until the Number of Votes Necessary to Pass them and make them into Laws has been Reached.
So when does this Become "Playing Politics"?
"BTW, you'd be hard pressed to find many people who called Bush anything less than a true conservative while he was in office."
You Obviously have not been Hanging Out with Many Hard Core Conservative Libertarians. Bush was also Losing his Popularity Towards the End of his Last Term in Office and this is when I began Hearing him Called a RINO. That is not After, but During his Term.
I haven't Heard much Liberal Criticism of President Obama. Hopefully, my Libertarian Friends are going to Jump in and Tell you about Bush being a RINO.
"Personally I think it would be a whole lot easier for them to follow the will of the people if they would just eat their own dog food. Meaning that the legislation they pass for us affects them the same way."
PRECISELY! That should be LAW!
NO exemptions.
BZ
BZ, I have always wondered about the practice of making laws, and then exempting certain people, or issues from those laws.
Apparently what is good for the goose, is not always good for the gander.
"Does the GOP really think a majority of Americans do not support these provisions?"
Those are popular. The provisions such as the one forcing families to buy healthcare plans they don't need and can't afford is wildly unpopular.
The provisions which force small businesses to cut pay in order to spend it on healthcare plans, along with the one that have been forcing big businesses to cut their plans for the last several months are also destructive and must go.
Imagine if the Obama plan had done what you describe, and didn't bully families or force companies to cut coverage. It might have been wildly popular.