Posted on 10/24/2013 5:30:04 PM PDT by Kaslin
The repeal or defund caucus readies for another go, but the replace caucus has ammo for their strategy moving forward.
WASHINGTON – Still sore after the whipping administered by President Obama and Senate Democrats over the government shutdown, congressional Republicans nonetheless insist they remain committed to shutting down the Affordable Care Act.
House Republicans, especially those with ties to the Tea Party, targeted what is popularly known as Obamacare from the outset of the raucous debate, refusing to support a temporary funding measure to carry the government beyond the federal fiscal year that began on Oct. 1 unless the healthcare law was defunded.
That effort famously went up in flames when lawmakers finally embraced a settlement that reopened the doors after a little more than two weeks without killing Obamacare. Now a question is plaguing a divided GOP caucus – how does the party accomplish the commonly held objective of bringing the ACA to a quick and bloody end since the Senate as presently composed would never go along? And, even if the upper chamber agreed, the president would issue a quick veto that could never gain the votes to be overturned.
In addition, Republicans must find some way to recover from the perception that the showdown over the shutdown was their Battle of the Bulge in the Obamacare fight – that last great shot at victory.
“This is our last chance and our last best chance to do something about this,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said back in July.
But those long odds aren’t stopping congressional Republicans, particularly conservatives, from ramping up the fight. Some, like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), argue that the law’s bitter critics will do whatever it takes.
Cruz said he is “optimistic” about the ultimate death of Obamacare.
“I am inspired by the millions of Americans who have risen up,” he said. “And if the American people continue to rise up, I am confident that in time the U.S. Senate will follow the lead of the House of Representatives and listen to the American people. That is our job. That is our responsibility.”
A public revolt, he said, will “turn this around.”
“We’re going to restore jobs, we’re going to restore economic growth, we’re going to restore the ability of people struggling to climb the ladder and achieve the American dream and we’re going to stop the number-one job killer in this country that is Obamacare,” he promised.
Appearing a convention of the Texas Medical Association in Austin on Saturday, Cruz said the cause was lost because “Senate Republicans declined to unify and declined to support House Republicans” in repealing the law. He remains “hopeful that in the future the Senate will listen.”
Cruz has not ruled out navigating toward another governmental shutdown to push the issue when the current continuing resolution expires on Jan. 15. But apparently he will have to maneuver around Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, if he intends to do so.
Like Cruz, McConnell wants to kill Obamacare.
“This law is ravaging our economy, killing jobs, driving up premiums, and driving people off the health care plans they have and like, in droves,” McConnell said. “Its disastrous rollout is sign of even worse things to come. And the Democrat refusal to delay it reflects a stubborn ideological obsession that will do untold damage to our country. And Republicans remain determined to repeal this terrible law.”
But they will have to accomplish that, he said, without closing the government a second time. Appearing on Face the Nation on Sunday, McConnell said, “There will not be another government shutdown — you can count on that.”
“A number of us were saying back in July that this strategy could not and would not work,” McConnell said. “And of course it didn’t.”
McConnell acknowledged that Senate Republicans “have a math problem” when it comes to getting rid of Obamacare.
“It’s the following math problem — 55 Democrats and 45 Republicans,” he said. “We only control a portion of the government, and so that limits our ability to get rid of this horrible law.”
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) concurs with McConnell, asserting that another government shutdown could prove disastrous.
“Every one of us has voted against Obamacare repeatedly,” Alexander said of Republicans. “Every one of us would vote to repeal it. But in my view the right tactic is not to shut down the government. It won’t work – Obamacare would just keep going and we would have shut down the government.”
Alexander suggested one way to end Obamacare – “elect more Republicans.”
“The best way to do it is to take over the government,” Alexander said. “Elect some more senators. Elect a president. Put in a bill. That’s our constitutional system.”
Unlike either Cruz or McConnell, Alexander, the ranking member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, has a plan for replacing Obamacare. It includes providing governors with more flexibility in operating state Medicaid programs, strengthening workplace wellness programs, permitting small businesses to pool their resources and offer lower-cost insurance plans for employees, expanding opportunities for consumers to purchase insurance across state lines and providing greater access to health savings accounts.
Alexander said his plan offers “step-by-step reforms that would reduce the costs of healthcare.”
Alexander isn’t alone in advocating for a process known as “repeal and replace.” The House Republican Study Committee, a conservative group within the GOP caucus, also has offered an Obamacare alternative that it intends to continue pursuing.
“American families and businesses deserve and demand real solutions to the serious problems that exist in our healthcare system,” said Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), the committee chairman. “The RSC’s American Health Care Reform Act is a common-sense bill that will lower costs using conservative, free-market solutions which give American families more choices without the unworkable mandates and billions in taxes included in President Obama’s healthcare law.”
The 200-page bill offers $20,000 in tax deductions to families and a $7,500 deduction to individuals to purchase insurance from vendors in any state — thus, supporters say, allowing people to save money by selecting lower-cost providers.
The measure also offers altered proposals to some of the more popular aspects of Obamacare – creation of a $25 billion fund to lower costs for those afflicted with pre-existing conditions, permitting people to carry their insurance from job to job and permitting coverage for adult children up to age 26.
“By allowing people to buy health insurance across state lines and pool together so small businesses and families can get the same buying power as large corporations, we can lower costs and increase choices while removing Washington bureaucrats from your healthcare decisions,” Scalise said.
But no one seems to have developed a strategy of repealing Obamacare and replacing it with a package of free market alternatives more to the liking of conservative lawmakers. Regardless, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), chairman of the House Budget Committee and 2012 Republican nominee for vice president, urged that the fight go forward.
“The way I see it, our job is to preserve our values in the 21st century,” Ryan said during an appearance at the recent Values Voters Summit in Washington DC.
“We need to completely rethink government’s role in healthcare,” he said. “That means we can never give up on repealing and replacing Obamacare.”
In an op-ed that originally appeared in USA Today, Rep. John Fleming (R-La.), a family physician for more than 30 years before entering Congress, insisted that “Obamacare is just the latest bad law needing repeal.”
“That’s why we fought Obamacare through this difficult debate, and that’s why this is just one round and why we must continue to fight on,” he said.
Primary McConnell.
Surrender?
BS! What has McConnell done to kill Obamacare?
let Obamacare fail.
some people will suffer.
its that, or Republicans will get none of the credit
and all of the blame.
Blame 0care on the dims every chance they get. Whenever they want to improve the situation by efforts such as delaying it ask why did you vote for the damn law. Why did you vote against our funding bill that wanted to delay implementation? Call them damn politicians trying to save their own @$$e$ over the good of the country. Give em h@ll and never quit. Every chance provided condemn the propaganda media. Call them the democrat propaganda media and shame them every time you go on their shows. FIGHT! I know, but I can dream can’t I?
The time to fight obamacare is over.
The damage is already done.
Best thing to do now is just let it implode... the faster the better.
The longer Obamacare drags on, the better chance it has of dragging the economy down with it.
The GOP’s Patriots' Next Strategy to Fight Obamacare
Given that the GOP Constitution-ignoring RINOs don't have a carefully planned strategy to reach its goals any more than Obama does, I think that patrots need to consider that relying on GOP for anything is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.
Alternatively, if patriots and former Obama supporters can get their acts together in time for the 2014 elections, the following may be possible. If patriots can get low-information voters up to speed on the federal government's constitutionally limited powers and elect 2/3 conservative majority control in each House of Congress, then the following scenario is possible.
A super majority-controlled Congress will have the constitutional authority, under Clause 2 of Section 7 of Article I, to overide presidential vetoes. In other words, Congress will be able to repeal Obamacare without Congress's signature.
Lots of Republicans who didn’t stand by Cruz need to be gone.
We also should be involved in Democrat primaries offering fiscally conservative choices when you can’t get a Republican conservative in. Example, California.
Be ready for the McCainonnell “tactics”:
Watch it implode...
But when healthcare.gov breaks, pay for fixes, THEN watch it implode.
But when not enough people sign up, subsidize it, THEN watch it implode.
But when... spend... repeat...
Repealing ObamaCare doesn’t make sense, McConnell/Alexander say, because there are 55 democrats and 45 republicans.
But their plan of repealing and replacing does. Even though there are 55 democrats and 45 republicans.
They are blowing smoke up our _$$. I despise this kind of rino politician who thinks we are stupid.
to post 7
the damage is not already done, it has yet to come.
if we steal candy from a baby now,
Republicans will look bad.
best plan is to let the damage happen.
I told him he wasn't there supporting Cruz, so I would vote for one of his opponents. I listed what I had done with the party to refresh to him who I was, and which county which is important. Cornyn was here not long ago.
In fact, almost every candidate for Texas state office was in my county last night and this night for a state wide debate. Right here in Montgomery County. The Tea Party of this county and the Republican Party of this county went together to have this. It took two nights, three hours a night, to get them all in.
If you can believe, it, it wasn't on TV or radio. I inquired about that to be sure and was told yesterday that it would be taped and shown on the internet at some time. When I know it's going to be shown, I'll let Jim R., and Onyx know and the info. will be put on here.
Had our benefits conference call today for 2014.
Keep in mind I work for a very large national bank that employs a good amount of part-time workers, mostly bank tellers.
1st: they admitted that part timers would be thrown onto the exchanges.
2nd: not only do our monthly contributions increase but because of the Obummercare mandates & extended coverage, our deductabiles are sky rocketing..this year, deductabile for hubby/I is $500. Next year, $2500.
3rd: to offset higher deductabiles, our company is depositing $ into an HSA for each employee - starting at $500 per individual, $700 for emp-spouse, $900 for family.
I’ve never used a HSA before. Any tips/advice?
Hope & change!!!
If there are 55 democrats and 45 republicans and that means you can’t do anything, then why don’t you just go home and save the taxpayers all that money. You know, your salary, the salary of your staff, why are we spending that if the math means you can’t win anything.
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Right because we can always recreate a healthcare system that has been destroyed and we all know those nice insurance companies will bring down the premiums once Obamacare is gone, right?
> “Appearing on Face the Nation on Sunday, McConnell said, “There will not be another government shutdown — you can count on that.”
You say that because you have Boehner in your camp. But I wouldn’t bet that Boehner is secure in your camp nor in his person because he will be made aware of how damaging his and your actions and views are to the party and to the country.
> “A number of us were saying back in July that this strategy could not and would not work,” McConnell said. “And of course it didn’t.”
Sure, and your strategy was what? Your strategy was to lay down and die wearing a republican lapel pin.
Your strategy was to allow the democrats to walk all over you by causing you to move to cloture where they could have their way with a mere 51 votes while providing you cover to vote against them thereby making you look like a conservative when in fact you are nothing but a Beltway grifter.
Good on you, dearest Marcella!
Your letter must have shocked him silly and now you’ve written another!
He knows you hold sway with a lot of voters.
God bless and keep you.
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