James Carville: ObamaCare being struck down would be the best thing ever to happen to Democrats

Hotair ^ | 03/27/2012 | AllahPundit

[SeekAndFind]

What’s the best part of this? The idea of a prominent Democrat interrupting his party’s Mediscare demagoguery to scold the right on increasing health-care costs for seniors? The fact that he thinks ObamaCare, which isn’t even defended as a cost-saving measure anymore, will effectively bend the curve on that? Or his palpable annoyance at the notion that enumerated powers might throw up a constitutional roadblock to something progressives really, really, really want to do?

But never mind that. Is he right? He’s unquestionably right on how the left will spin the aftermath of the mandate being dumped: They tried, now it’s the right’s turn. Hope the GOP’s ready. Let me rephrase his question slightly, though, and ask whether an adverse ruling would also be the best thing to happen to Obama, specifically. On the one hand, it would be an enormous humiliation to have his signature domestic “achievement” repudiated as an unconstitutional power grab. That’s one of the reasons that righties are so excited to see the mandate tossed. Once O-Care is gone, what’s left of Hopenchange except high unemployment and mind-boggling debt? Killing Bin Laden is awesome but if that’s all he has to point to in November, he’s done.

Would that humiliation cost him any votes, though? Or would it actually gain him votes by sending the left into a frenzy of utopian outrage? Obama could tell them, quite correctly, that the difference between universal health care and the status quo turned out to be one Supreme Court appointment. If they want to make sure this doesn’t happen again, it’s imperative that he be reelected. That’s a compelling pitch, much more so than clean coal or high-speed rail or whatever the hell he’s planning to talk about on the trail. And not only does he gain votes, he gains the right to do something that he loves loves loves doing — namely, passing the buck. The public hates the mandate and they’re going to hate the horrendous cost of this giant clusterfark once it goes into effect in two years. But once it’s gone, O doesn’t have to worry about that anymore. He can dress the program up rhetorically in all manner of “what might have been” nonsense — it would have lowered costs and there would have been no rationing and the whole thing would have been totally amazing — and use the comparison to bludgeon whatever Republican alternative plan emerges. In other words, losing O-Care would be a momentary embarrassment that just might get him reelected by turning out his base and would spare him the much greater embarrassment of watching this boondoggle melt down in the years to come. Hey, maybe that’s why Verrilli’s argument was so bad today. Dude, they’re throwing the fight. (Kidding, kidding.)

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[GreatRoad]

Obummer has got the Black Panthers and Al. Sounds like a bad 70s sitcom

[aruanan]

James Carville: ObamaCare being struck down would be the best thing ever to happen to Democrats

Sure, James. They would be the party that had singlehandedly passed an unconstitutional law that had to be struck down by the Supreme Court. And that would make them more popular amongst folks who are not Democrats how? And how did the repeal of the Volstead Act enhance the political prospects of the Prohibitionist Party?

[kabar]

If America loses "free health care" because the law was not written quite right, then the obvious next step is to re-elect Obama so that he can get it right next time.

That's contorted reasoning. The Dems had total control over Congress. No Rep voted for Obamacare. So the Dems now get a second chance to write another 2,700 page bill and shove it down the throats of Americans again?

The costs of Obamacare have already doubled to $1.7 trillion, the biggest entitlement program expansion ever. At the same time the US is borrowing 42 cents of every federal dollar spent. Our national debt equals our GDP now. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

[kabar]

Why didn’t Congress just expand the Medicare program and its taxes? Even though it is already broke and dysfunctional, anyone employed has to pay into it.

Current Medicare will consume the entire federal budget if it is not reformed. Medicare has been running in the red since 2008. The Medicare Trust Fund (Part A) has been cashing in its IOUs to make up the shortfall, which means the General Fund must come up with the dollars to redeem the IOUs. By law, Medicare Parts B and D, are funded by only 25% from the premiums with the remaining 75% being funded by the General Fund. By 2030, one in five residents of this country will be 65 or older, twice what it is today. And by 2030 there will be only 2 workers for every retiree.

[kabar]

I think what will happen instead is that the mandate will get thrown out, but the rest will remain with nothing to pay for it. This will be really bad for Democrats. They will lose a critical revenue stream for the bill with no way to make it up. The cost of the program will explode along with the corresponding federal deficits.

If the mandate is struck down, Obamacare will collapse like a house of cards. It will be unsustainable.

[Hostage]

Maybe and maybe not.

The way I see it is the vouchers are apportioned to states who dispense them to beneficiaries with hands off except that the provider be licensed with the state.

Patients should be required to see first a health care counselor or advocate at an intake to plan their year expenditures before a voucher is activated. The counselor/advocate could be an MD, an ND, an LNP or any credentialed administrator approved by the state.

The counseling requirement is subject to abuse by government trying to dictate what, where, who but the counselor will only have authority to counsel on health budgeting and also reviewing a retainer fee provider service agreement and actuarial certification.

The patient will sign a retainer fee contract with a provider but have the right to cancel with 15 day notice.

That’s it, nothing else required by government to impose. Health matters are left to patients and their providers.

[Monorprise]

“
Sure, James. They would be the party that had singlehandedly passed an unconstitutional law that had to be struck down by the Supreme Court. And that would make them more popular amongst folks who are not Democrats how? And how did the repeal of the Volstead Act enhance the political prospects of the Prohibitionist Party?”

The real question is how does Obama go to the American people and defend the individual mandate? His current defense is already rebuddled not by republicans but by himself in 2008.

Carville is a bit nutty here if he thinks the left is going to rally to the defense of Obamacare. Conservatives are going to campaign against this oppressive monstrous one way or the other. Liberals rallying to its defense just paints a nice clean target on their back.

[eyedigress]

I’m guessing Sanford and Chico, the next generation.

[USNBandit]

So it will go on the rest of the pile of unsustainable entitlements.

[Razzz42]

Thanks for the graph (and that is the good news).

[Monorprise]

That is not necessarily true, Maryland has outlawed denying coverage for preconditions and its health insurance industry still persist.

What will happen is the cost of health insurance will continue to rise, at a faster rate. More and more people & business will thus be pushed out of the health insurance market and into the out of pocket market thus becoming price selectors.

The price selectors will finally start driving competition for cheaper cost effective health services which will in turn both control & reduce health care costs.

Ultimately a balance must be found, where a competencies large share of the population is effectively uninsured, and thus effectively enchanged in price selection in the health care market.

In the end the problem with the healthcare system is the tragaty of the commons.

Conservatives MUST push this point!

You can’t solve a problem created by too few people having any need to take responsibly for their health care choices, by having even fewer people in that position of responsibly. You can only make it worse as Obamacare has done.

[Liberty Valance]

"Sounds like a bad 70s sitcom"

That's a big 10-4

[Dilbert San Diego]

Carville also wrote a book predicting that, as a result of the 2008 election, that Democrats would have a solid governing coalition for the next 40 years.

He’s a big political activist/talking head, but, he’s been known to be wrong.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

Yep, the weasel is just spinning. Obamacare overturned by the SCOTUS would be a crushing blow for two reasons. First, they would lose their cherished attempt to socialize medicine. Second, some of the independents would begin to see the Democrats for the power-grabbing, lawless punks that they are. Not many, but some. Mostly, the real damage would just be that they could not implement socialized medicine, and now lacking having the House and Senate, no new attempt can be made.

It would be nothing but all kinds of terrible for the Democratic Party to have SCOTUS overturn Obamacare as unconstitutional.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

Obama is polling bad over gas prices and unemployment, not over Obamacare. Your average brain-dead twit can’t see beyond the immediate present. They aren’t being immediately affected by Obamacare. They are being immediately impacted by layoffs, protracted problems finding a job, high gas prices and soaring food prices. Those are the reasons Obama is polling badly, not some future health care plan that has yet to be implemented. There are lots of socialistic Democrats who want Obamacare but still want Obama out of office because they haven’t been abot to find a job for more than a year.

[Bellflower]

*******God save the United States of America*******

************** Unelect Barack Obama.**************

[Bellflower]

They need to face it, the first time he got in it was because he razzle dazzled the public. His razzle dazzle has definitely fizzled.

[maddog55]

Is that a picture of Carvilee or Alan Colmes?

[Prov1322]

Yeah, right, James...this from the clown who in 2009 wrote a book telling us that the democrats would have 40 more years of victory ahead...

...and then reality happened...November, 2010...

C'mon, November, 2012!

[jersey117]

Playing politics with the lives of 300 million people instead of doing what’s right for the country. I’m so sick of this crap. Does he think liberals will be immune from the fallout of obamacare? These people are so f’n stupid, it’s unbelievable.