Posted on 08/28/2013 8:01:17 AM PDT by Deadeye Division
Conservatives such as Larry Holland say President Barack Obama’s health-care law will doom the nation and are urging Republican leaders to not abandon the fight against it.
The 57-year-old retired firefighter was among about 650 people to pack a town-hall meeting in Columbus last night, calling on Congress to withhold funding in a last-ditch effort to block implementation of the law.
“I want (House Speaker John) Boehner to defund it, but he doesn’t have the guts,” said Holland, of Mt. Vernon. “Our country is going down the tubes, and Obamacare is going to put companies out of business.”As implementation of key provisions of the law nears, the battle over it has kicked up in Ohio and across the nation with opponents seeking to force another showdown while supporters tout the more-popular provisions of the law.
“Now is the last best chance to stop this, but it doesn’t mean we’re going to stop fighting,” said Jim DeMint, the former South Carolina senator who now heads the conservative Heritage Foundation, which is hosting a series of town-hall meetings.
“We’ve been talking about it for a few years now, and all the Republicans (in Congress) when they campaigned said ‘I promise you I will do everything I can to repeal Obamacare.’ ”
“Lies,” a woman cried.
While recent polls show a slight majority of Americans oppose the health-care law, the proposal to defund it still is considered a long shot, as it carries the risk of sparking a shutdown of the federal government and would require Obama’s signature.
However, DeMint said Congress could withhold funding for Obamacare while providing money for all other aspects of government.
Outside the Crowne Plaza on the North Side, about 100 people waving signs including “Hands Off My Obamacare” protested the rally. Supporters say that efforts by Heritage and others are designed to mislead and confuse people about the law.
Opponents’ goal is “to deny the security and affordability of quality health care to millions of Americans and obviously millions of Ohioans,” said Brad Woodhouse, president of the liberal Americans United for Change, at a news conference earlier yesterday in Columbus.
“These folks, they didn’t get their way, they lost legislatively, they lost electorally, they lost at the Supreme Court, and by God if they can’t defund Obamacare or repeal it, they are just going to shut the government down. They are going to ensure that Social Security checks aren’t delivered, that farmers don’t get help, that our borders aren’t patrolled, because they didn’t get their way on Obamacare.”
Locally, supporters also are stepping up efforts to educate people and get the uninsured covered.
Earlier this week, 21-year-old Ohio State University student Nina Dias was among a handful of advocates for the poor handing out literature Downtown during the busy lunch hour, talking about young adults being able to stay on their parents’ policies longer, free annual checkups and preventive care and no lifetime-coverage limits.
“Most people don’t take the time to read about it and stay informed. We’re hoping to spread the word,” Dias said. “We’re talking about the impact on younger people, like letting people know they can stay on their parents’ policy until 26.” Supporters say they are placing ads on the Facebook page of every user ages 18 to 35.
Both sides are mobilizing their troops as major provisions of the health-care law begin taking effect in the coming months.
Starting on Oct. 1, individuals and small businesses can begin shopping and signing up for health insurance through online state marketplaces (exchanges) with federal subsidies available to low-income families. The law’s centerpiece — a requirement that most Americans have health insurance or face penalties — takes effect Jan. 1.
Conservatives also gathered yesterday outside Boehner’s office in Troy, Ohio, urging Congress to “alleviate the burden of the individual mandate.”
“We can defund this bad health-care program now — or pay the price for the rest of our lives,” said J. Kenneth Blackwell, former Ohio secretary of state, 2006 gubernatorial candidate and a senior fellow at the conservative Family Research Council.
Connie Dailey, a recently retired nurse, said the uninsured are caught in the political crossfire and cautioned consumers trying to learn about the new law to be wary of anything a politician tells them.
“I want to know what this means for me,” she said. “In Ohio, the answer to that question is unsure because, while Obamacare was designed to work with the states, Gov. Kasich, a man I as a Republican voted for, and Lt. Gov. (Mary) Taylor have picked up their ball and gone home,” offering little assistance to those who might benefit from Obamacare.
ccandisky@dispatch.com
@ccandisky
Why isn’t the GOP running ads detailing the horrific outcome of DeathCare???
Spineless, gutless Boner et al.
The GOP waits until the last minute and does NOTHING
because the GOP is the MOTHER of ObamaCARE/RomneyCARE
and the Congress is immune from it. And their staff.
Call it paranoia, wishful thinking, delusional, whatever...
but one guy who’s a CEO of a healthcare organization tells me he’s convinced both Rs and Ds want Obamacare to go forward and fail, so they can “fix it”. The Rs think this means they’ll be able to scale it back under a R-controlled Congress, while the Ds believe that when it collapses they can finally get what they really wanted all along - a single payer system.
We report, you decide. But when’s the last time this outfit managed to pull off any kind of strategery?
And how did that happen when 70% of the people do NOT WANT OBAMACARE??? Democrat TRICKS.
TRAITORS, IMO, all of them. Holocaust, the redo thanks to RATs and RINOs.
His lips to God's ears.
Don't have to call it paranoia. I said this from the onset: Obamacare will not be repealed. I would love to be wrong on this. There is too much tax money to take and control to give up for the establishment (R and D) to repeal. The only driving force, used wisely, for repeal will be the low-information-voters paying for Obamacare, one way or another.
I think that your friend has an interesting thought, but Occam's Razor cancels him out.
Both (R)s and (D)s want power and money, that's it. Nothing more. Obamacare provides these, with the added bonus of allowing pols to dispense favors in the correct directions - thus providing more money and power. And so on, and so on...
IMHO, at least, conspiracy theories are fun, but Occam is usually right. And to distill it further....politicians are motivated by three things: Greed, Stupidity, and Sex. Given the choice between a far-flung conspiracy, and one of those three things, I'll take the latter as an explanation every time. :-)
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