Tuesday, September 24, 2013 9:47:31 AM · by SeekAndFind · 63 replies
National Review ^ | 09/24/2013 | Thomas Sowell
Now while he is a brilliant thinker - he is WRONG here.
Posted on 09/24/2013 10:31:03 AM PDT by servo1969
Hoover Institution senior fellow Thomas Sowell argued Tuesday that the defund Obamacare effort is serving as a helpful distraction from President Obama’s low approval ratings and the controversies facing the administration.
In his weekly column, Sowell pointed out that while the Obamacare law should be defunded, efforts to defund it are only pulling attention away from Obama’s vulnerabilities, including discontent among his own supporters, criticism on Syria, the continuing IRS scandal, Benghazi and the unfolding of the “train wreck” Obamacare.
“What could possibly rescue Barack Obama from all these political problems and create a distraction that takes all his scandals off the front page? Only one thing: the Republicans,” Sowell wrote.
“By making a futile and foredoomed attempt to defund ObamaCare, Congressional Republicans have created the distraction that Obama so much needs,” he continued. “Already media attention has shifted to the possibility of a government shutdown.”
According to Sowell, the fact that Republicans are not looking to shut the government down does not matter. The real issue is that they have created a distraction large enough to give Obama cover, he said.
While the respected economist wrote harshly about the Republican effort to defund Obamacare, he agreed with the premise, saying the law “is an economic disaster and will be a medical disaster, as well as destroy the Constitution’s protections of American citizens from the unbridled power of the federal government.” It should “absolutely” be defunded, he said.
He added that both Obama and Chief Justice John Roberts deserve impeachment for “arbitrarily waiving laws” and “his decision upholding Obamacare” respectively.
However, Sowell noted, “for the same reason that it makes no sense to impeach either President Obama or Chief Justice Roberts, it makes no sense to attempt to defund ObamaCare. That reason is that it cannot be done. The world is full of things that ought to be done but cannot in fact be done.”
Bullsh!t. I don't accept that.
Is that how the Democrats win? By always letting the other side do whatever they want? If that were the case the Republican party would own all 3 branches of government right now.
Fight. LET THE PEOPLE SEE YOU FIGHTING! Show them that you stand for something. Fight all the time and the media be damned. They will always support the Dems no matter what.
Thomas Sowell is a genius. But even the world's best shot misses once in a while.
If Thomas Sowell says that it is obfuscating the real scandals, I’d take a second look.
Not that expect to seem much done about those scandals.
Maybe we have just reached a state where all that can be done is to attempt to mitigate the damage?
Sowell needs to remember that the voter remembers most keenly when the government takes from their pocketbook.
They will see Cruz in 2013 as possibly this monster who might be standing up to a possibly decent medical plan the government proposed.
In 2014 they will look at him as the man that tried to keep their premiums from tripling.
TS may be technically correct, maybe not. However, not attempting to de-fund, like not attempting to do all the things he list is defeatest. We MUST de-fund, we must fight, and we must try... to do anything other than that is to go out with a whimper. There is something to be said about going down fighting, sword in hand.
At this point the biggest issue we face is whether we even HAVE any brakes on this train-wreck. And I mean EVERYTHING. If nothing is going to happen about Obamacare, then nothing is gonna happen about any of the scandals either - as we can all see. Either we MAKE something happen or we may as well roll over and die on everything, because the system is rigged against us. If we can’t get the system back to lawfulness and accountability to we the people, then all is lost. Doesn’t matter one whit whether we’re distracting from something else, because we can’t do anything even if there AREN’T any distractions.
Personally I think the long decent is almost as bad as the crash. Just let it crash and burn already. Geez.
You got kids?
The great Dr. Sowell is indeed wrong here. He is not counting at all the optics and the impact of the effort on public opinion, etc. Sorry Doctor - missing it here.
Sowell makes a valid point, unless Cruz knows this and is looking for a different, later, and bigger victory.
This is fascinating to watch. Part of me wants to see obamacare fully implemented so all doubt can be removed as to the destruction it will do. For all I know this is what Cruz wants. But he wants to go on record, before this happens, that he was THE person to risk everything to stop it.
He could be the “head” of the phoenix that rises from the ashes.
Hold the line! Do not surrender! The House and the House alone has the constitutional power to win this appropriations fight against an illegally expanding federal government, per James Madison, Federalist 58. The Founders saw this coming and gave we the people the tools to head if off through our elected representatives. This is the people’s fight against unconstitutional government and we can win it as long as we can prevent our reps from surrendering. Obama/Reid cannot get the funds for obamacare if our House refuses to appropriate them!! Period!! No matter how long it takes!! There’s nothing more important to the republic!!
The senate has nothing to do with it. The house has the power to deny funds—if they hold it together. The house rejects what the senate sends back, and then passes a new bill. This time start cutting the budgets of the mostly political departments, ie, any department that has anything to do with health, education, welfare, housing, labor, commerce, banking, agriculture, energy, etc, and be sure to cut the budgets of the IRS and HHS by more than the amount they’re asking to implement obamacare. If the senate amends it back, then the house reject it again, and begins passing individual bills to fund each essential department, one by one. If the fight drags on until Nov 2014 that’s fine. We’ll get a new Republican controlled senate, then the battle starts against the lame duck president. There’s no reason for the congress to work on anything else, because obamacare marks the end of limited government. And the end of our republic. This one is for all the marbles.
You got kids?
Then again, I also have 30 self sufficient acres at least 60 miles as the crow flies from any metropolitan area, so they have a “bug out” destination.
If you don’t fight Obama you lose.
And if you fight Obama you lose.
I don’t accept that.
Is that how the Democrats win? By always letting the other side do whatever they want? If that were the case the Republican party would own all 3 branches of government right now.
No one is going to do anything about Obama’s scandals. The MSM says they don’t exist and, therefore, they don’t exist.
Stop letting the media and the Dems decide what Conservatives should do next! Fight. LET THE PEOPLE SEE YOU FIGHTING! Show them that you stand for something. Fight all the time and forget the media. They will always support the Dems no matter what.
Thomas Sowell is a genius.
But even the world’s best shot misses once in a while.
So what if you lose. You at least stand for something and put it completely in the Dem lap. That is a win.
Pray America Wakes Up
I just called a bunch of senators as well as my Congressman so I have done my part.
I was getting to the point where I was going to throw my hands up and say WTF, but decided it would feel better to make the calls.
Everyone was busy except John Thune’s line. I left messages in the ones that I could, more than a couple were full.
even this guy got it right:
Erick Erickson: “Republican base voters have, for quite a while, distrusted their leaders. Now, thanks to [Ted] Cruz and [Mike] Lee, they know why and they know who, on the inside, they should be listening to.”
These guys don’t understand that Cruz isn’t concerned with defunding Obamacare, he is concerned with putting on record those who will fight and those who won’t.
If the fight drags on until Nov 2014 that’s fine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We just need this fight to drag on another 60 days. Here’s why. Millions of employers and the group insurance companies like Humana and Blue Cross will soon be setting and releasing the 2014 insurance options. And the premiums associated with ObamaCare.
If in fact - as many expect - the premiums increase 20 percent or more... The Senate will join the House and deny funding. The fraud that is Obamacare will fall apart by end of year.
You have a better idea, Thomas Sowell?
If it involves doing nothing, writing commentary, and hoping for the best in 2014, then please don’t offer any more advice.
Let’s examine the logic. No Republican voted for Obamacare. But it passed. So now Sowell and others are saying that Republicans must vote for everything that is related to Obamacare? Why?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.