“Obama seems to have a version of Munchausen’s syndrome; he wants to inflict pain to prove that government is the only cure.”
The lead quote is from (Jonah) Goldberg File, no link available other than by subscription which is available through National Review Online (NRO).
Short takes from Prof. Gerard Magliocca in a guest column at the Washington Post. Magliocca refers to the constant refrain from Democrats, and replies: Why Obamacare isn’t ‘settled’
The Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress, signed by President Obama, upheld by the Supreme Court and reconfirmed by the president’s reelection. Many of its provisions have gone into effect. As Democrats have taken to saying, it is the law of the land. . . .
The Affordable Care Act is not settled law because the public remains deeply divided over it: More than half of Americans are opposed . . .
Republicans offer several explanations for their rejection of the act’s validity. Most often, they note that the law was passed entirely with Democratic votes. This is in contrast to other major legislation, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was enacted with overwhelming bipartisan support and thus became settled much more quickly . . .
Republicans also cite the unusual procedures used to pass the health-care act — most notably, the budget reconciliation process that avoided a filibuster while moving the final legislation through the Senate. This tactic left many Senate Republicans feeling cheated. . .
The implementation of a statute and the creation of regulatory institutions can make it more difficult to reverse course. Implementation creates its own reality on the ground, makes people accustomed to a new law and tends to diminish opposition, even if people remain less than thrilled.
That’s why House Republicans are actively seeking to delay the rollout of the rest of the new health-care law. They know their task will be harder once the law is in full effect. The time for them to take a stand is now.
Magliocca makes many other fine historic points in the article, available here.
Could Republicans Be Winning, is the title of an analysis by James Toranto in today’s Wall Street Journal. We agree with Toranto in his highlighting of this great quote:
“we’ve been surprised this week at the Democrats’ tactical maladroitness. As Josh Jordan quipped yesterday on Twitter: “Since the shutdown began, Obama and [Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid have taken tough stands against the two most villainous groups: WWII veterans and kids with cancer.”
Also at NRO, Charles Krauthammer had this to say, while disagreeing with using the “continuing resolution” on spending as the vehicle for stopping Obamacare. For the record we believe Magliocca, linked on this page, and others make sufficient historic, legal and political points to justify the appropriateness, even preferability (arguments abound) of the continuing resolution as a vehicle to stop Obamacare. Krauthammer prefers using the budget ceiling debate as the bargaining leverage tool.We see it as vulnerable to the “full faith and credit” scare and and some of the same parliamentary problems. But whatever works, we do not expect to see Cruz and Lee undercutting the effort as McCain and Graham did to their conservative efforts.
The Democrats and the press (sorry about the redundancy) have always conflated the two in order to confuse the public. They have already been arguing against both. In the meantime certain Republicans repeated the Democrat narrative about “shutting down government” virtually admitting blame. Rather than begin the process on the offense they pleaded for mercy right out of the box and attacked those fighting to bring Democrats to the table in the effort to do everything possible to end the government takeover of health care.
The catchy title of K’s useful article: Who Locked Johnny out of Yellowstone?
Tactics are one thing, but substance is another. It’s the Democrats who have mocked the very notion of settled law. It’s the Democrats who voted down the reopening of substantial parts of the government. It’s the Democrats who gave life to a spontaneous, authentic, small-government opposition – a.k.a the Tea Party — with their unilateral imposition of a transformational agenda during the brief interval when they held a monopoly of power.
That interval is over. The current unrest is the residue of that hubris.
There is a wealth of analysis and commentary to justify Republican parliamentary actions to stop Obamacare. Check out our archives as well under the category at right. R Mall
