Krauthammer: We shouldn’t defund ObamaCare

Hot Air ^ | DECEMBER 26, 2010 | ALLAHPUNDIT

[RobinMasters]

Alternate headline: “Confirmed: Krauthammer’s a RINO.” Seriously, though, he’s making a shrewd point about retail politics, especially given the left’s desperate obsession with “branding” as the source of all of its problems.

No matter how expensive ObamaCare gets, no matter how many unintended consequences there are, they’ll never admit that their signature domestic achievement is bad policy.

There’ll always be an excuse, be it not enough Obama speeches on the subject or an insufficiently catchy name for the legislation (really!) or, inevitably, the idea that only by making the system more statist via a public option or single-payer will it truly thrive.

Krauthammer’s point is that starving the beast will simply give them another excuse for its failure, so why not prop it up initially in the expectation that it’ll fail?

My addendum, which I’ve suggested before: Since liberals were such fans of benchmarks for war funding, why not apply them to O-Care funding too?

Make them prove after the first few years that they really have bent the cost curve, that there’s been no decline in quality of care, etc.

If they can’t, the program is automatically defunded. Remember their early predictions about how the stimulus would affect the unemployment rate? This time, missing the target would mean something. As a sneak preview, here’s something brand new today from WaPo. I blame poor “messaging”:

[Kickass Conservative]

Supporting an Unconstitutional attack on our Liberties to prove the Left wrong. Sounds like a great action plan to me. I guess I’ll just hand over my Guns when the Leftist nuts on the Supreme Court decide that the Second Amendment was just a little joke after all.

[Gene Eric]

We need new pundits.

[dr_who]

Make them prove after the first few years that they really have bent the cost curve, that there’s been no decline in quality of care, etc.

No. Don't give it some "first few years". Kill it.

[radpolis]

Do you know what the House should do?

Actually force the Obama Administration to defend Obamacare by having hearing after hearing and systematically destroy it from a rational, methodical perspective.

Force all the administration officials to defend it line by line.

Make them defend the costs.

Make the president defend his statements about all the things he obviously lied about.

Obamacare is a trillion dollar boondoggle and the GOP is better to go the rational, intellectual route than screaming about it.

[Just mythoughts]

Oh, so we just fund the ‘pills instead of procedures’ for those old American grandmothers, call it ‘am I my brother’s keeper’ act and expect these consequences to change the hearts and minds of our liberal rulers. Got it.

[goldstategop]

Kill it. If we’re going to keep it, we might as as well drop the pretense and sign on to single payer. Insurance companies don’t want to deal with the regulatory nightmare.

Either we have a free market or we have state-run health care. There’s no middle of the road option.

[Lancey Howard]

No.
Once this nightmare is in motion there will be no turning back. It must be killed completely and mercilessly, with prejudice, as quickly as possible.

[Still Thinking]

If they can’t, the program is automatically defunded.

Not a bad start, but where's the disincentive? The structure is still tilted in favor of the statists. If it works they get to keep a socialistic program; if it fails we just go back to status quo ante, so they're no farther from socialism than if they hadn't passed it. How about if it passes the metrics, then fine, but if it fails not only is Obamacare out, but they lose Medicare as well, or something like that. Every time they want a new program they have to stake not only the new one but an old one on the new one fulfilling they promises they make for it.

[RightFighter]

Funding it for the first few years to prove that it’s not achieving its goals is a stupid idea. By that time, it will have taken root and will be impossible to kill. We hear all the time about how inefficient Social Security and Medicare are, but nobody’s out there talking about killing those programs. Obamacare will be the same way - sacrosanct and untouchable.

[UCFRoadWarrior]

Looks like CabbagePounder has jumped the shark totally....went from RINO to Liberal

[Just mythoughts]

Funding it for the first few years to prove that it’s not achieving its goals is a stupid idea. By that time, it will have taken root and will be impossible to kill. We hear all the time about how inefficient Social Security and Medicare are, but nobody’s out there talking about killing those programs. Obamacare will be the same way - sacrosanct and untouchable.

Liberals never 'kill' their programs only 'people' that get in their way. Literally or figuratively... BamBamKennedy care would sure ease the pay out of Social Security using the planned methodology of 'pills instead of procedures' for the OLD people.

[Cementjungle]

Looks like CabbagePounder has jumped the shark totally....went from RINO to Liberal

He must have signed a contract with the DNC or something.

[BenKenobi]

I’d agree, if and only if abortion funding were stripped entirely.

As it is, I think Obamacare should be killed as soon as possible.

The argument isn’t just that Obamacare is a terrible way to deliver health care, but that it is an unconstitutional violation of our rights and freedoms.

That, plus dollars for babykilling. Krauthammer’s providing cover for Obama. We don’t need him or any of the other RINOS.

[Quiller]

YGTBSM!

Incredibly lame idea -- fund it so we can all see how REALLY BAD it is?

Wouldn't that be kind of like -- oh, I don't know -- ELECTING AN INCOMPETENT, INEXPERIENCED, INEFFECTIVE, SOCIALISTIC NARCISSIST CLOWN so we can prove how bad a president he would be?

Oh wait -- did that.

How's that working out, by the way?

[J Edgar]

Krauthammer and I live in different worlds!
CommieCare is going to destroy the greatest, although not the cheapest, health care system in the world, and Krauthammer says “sure, go right ahead”
p|ss on Krauthammer

[NTHockey]

Five reasons to defund:
1. It is unconstitutional;
2. We don’t have the money for it;
3. On Fox News, 2000 pages will generate 10,000 pages of regulations;
4. Baby killing and senior killing are included; and
5. In the end, it will anothe failed government fiasco.

I could have said #1 five times.

[Ezekiel]

Make them prove after the first few years that they really have bent the cost curve, that there’s been no decline in quality of care, etc. If they can’t, the program is automatically defunded.

On come on! Anyone with half a functioning brain cell knows that gross ineptitude, fraud, corruption and waste is what keeps the government beast alive. Give the beast a few years to let the quality of care plummet and the costs skyrocket, and it will *know* it has secured a perpetual gig as the grim reaper.

[Rashputin]

Reverted to his liberal roots which pretty well proves that he's been a fifth columnist all along. He knows that if this illegal mess ever goes into effect there's no way to recover. He also knows that the only alternative at that point would be to “compromise” on a “moderate” socialized health care system. His true colors are on display for all to see with this line of crap.

The fascists are up against the wall and if they have to out the traitors who have been helping them, they're willing to do it if they think it'll help save them. Kraut, Rove, and that whole bunch who freaked out over O'Donnell need to be swept out of the Republican party rather than left in place to keep resisting the needed changes.

Regards

[okie01]

Krauthammer is preaching the most cynical kind of politics.

Essentially, he is asking the GOP House to let the healthcare industry and the entire country suffer the pain of Obamacare so as to make political points. And only then repeal it.

The honorable course is to kill Obamacare in the crib. Not after it has taken root and irrepairably destroyed the healthcare system.

Not one of Krauthammer's best ideas.