Repealing Healthcare Is a Losing Hand ( RINO=Toast )

http://spectator.org ^ | July 5 2012 | WILLIAM TUCKER

[Para-Ord.45]

I hate to be a pessimist, but I think the Supreme Court decision upholding Obamacare and the individual mandate has dealt a serious blow to Mitt Romney's election hopes. Right now Republicans are in danger of playing the losing hand of making the election about Obamacare. If it comes to an up-or-down vote on the bill, Republicans will lose.

First let's consider what might have been. If the Supreme Court had voted 5-4 that the individual mandate was unconstitutional, the President would have had egg on his face. He would have looked incompetent. Remember, this election is not going to be decided by people who feel passionately about the issues.

Had the Supreme Court said "Nyet," Obama would have had nothing to show for his four years of labor. People would say, "This guy doesn't know what he's doing. Let's get somebody else in there who can get the job done." That would have been nice. But now that Obama has won, people are saying, "Wow, he gotten done this thing that Presidents since Truman have been trying to do. He must be pretty competent. And it sounds like I might be getting something out of it as well."

[Para-Ord.45]

Tend to agree.

Romney is toast and I say let `em have the 17 Trillion dollar public debt which doesn`t include intra-government debt and the near 200 Trillion in unfunded mandates.

[Paladin2]

So, the “Silver Lining” for RINOs is the continued DICKtatership of 0bama?

[Tzimisce]

So the same douches who told us only Romney could win are now giving up on their golden boy???????????????????????????

.........sigh.......................

No wonder we have Obamacare. :(

[Safrguns]

The Roberts decision was a wake up call to America.

Up until now, conservatives were relying upon the belief that the majority of our Supreme Court was still pro-constitution.

This was a major slap in the face to so many Americans that up until now had assumed that the Supreme Court would protect them from what is clearly socialistic in nature.

Not only did SCOTUS fail to uphold the constitution, but Roberts added insult to devastation with his proclamation that it “Was not their job to protect us from our own political choices”.

Wow... Just WOW!... This election is no longer about Obama or Romney. It’s about freedom, and you better know who your voting for at EVERY level. Our voice rests in the halls of congress. We better start electing representatives there who are not afraid of political thug tactics and are willing to do what it takes to stop this tyranny.

[Para-Ord.45]

You REALLY don`t believe you`re going to eliminate the 16th Amendment, the Commerce/Necessary and proper Clause or the present ‘ It means whatever we think it means’ do you !?

Sorry, I believe we can continue to warn people of the consequences of Statism but the lure of “free” stuff is too strong and dumbed down Americans are no different than Greeks or Frenchmen.

A Lockean renewal is of of the only options left or an American Pinochet to reset the Constitution.

[Brilliant]

I agree that the election should be about the economy not Obamacare. But there is plenty of time to make that case.

[Para-Ord.45]

*A Lockean renewal is one of

[Adder]

“Was not their job to protect us from our own political choices”.

I could almost agree with that had zerocare been honestly brokered and voted upon. As it was it was a corrupt pice of legislation and took bribery and threats to pass it.

It was criminal in its inception and passage. Now, I know the SCOTUS does not normally rule on means and methods, but this one took some real contortions to decide it was constitutional in any way.

[Pollster1]

The election should be about the economy (it should be about freedom, but sadly the voters won’t care enough if we use that strategy).

ObamaCare is a job-killing tax that will harm doctors, harm patients, harm medical care, and harm new medical research while killing jobs and the economy.

Obama’s massively wasteful spending is killing the economy and killing jobs.

The uncertainty caused by Obama’s arbitrary, unpredictable, and lawless meddling with the business community is killing jobs and the economy.

ObamaCare belongs front and center on that list, but it’s about the economy, not about the fact that ObamaCare is evil, anti-Christian, anti-freedom, and unconstitutional.

[FrankR]

"He would have looked incompetent."

Where has this Tucker guy been? Sleeping in a sewer pipe on I-75?

Since when is a piece of crap - shunned by over half the population - a centerpiece?

Most of us have long-since deemed obama "incompetent" long before this thing ever got to SCOTUS.

Is Tucker focusing on the "one thing" that he things obama did well, and forgetting all of the other incompetent attrocities commited by this fraudulent excuse for a president?

Pull-eeeeezzzzzeeeee.

obamacare will finish off America. Forget healthcare, this bill is written to gain total control of our lives and freedoms, complete with budding tentacles to grab anything else that Americans think might be a freedom.

It can take our fortunes, our freedoms, and our rights and flush them right down the drain.

Oh...and "honor"...well, if he gets reelected we've already proven that honor is out the window.

What's next...the 2nd edition of American Slavery, with obama as the massa.

[Signalman]

I disagree with the premise of this article.

Motivation is the key to winning elections. The Roberts ill-decision has, as the cliche goes, awakened the Sleeping Giant. In 2008, the “charismatic” Obama had the enthusiasm factor in his corner as he hypnotized the young and the addle brained to vote for him. But now, the enthusiasm is gone.

This year, it’s the conservatives who are motivated and enthusiastic. In 2008, many conservatives were apathetic, mainly because of McCain’s lackluster campaign. But Obama’s 4 disastrous years of statism and now, with the Roberts decision in the mix, the enthusiasm factor is on our side.

[Scott from the Left Coast]

While it is true that Romney can not be elected merely by running against Obamacare, neither can Obama be re-elected by running with Obamacare being the accomplishment of his term.

It, a promised repeal, can be a arrow in the quiver, solidifying the conservative base. But it will, of necessity, be combined with a campaign on the incompetence of the incumbent in matters related to economic growth, tax policy, job creation and crushing debt load - on transforming the American economy to the socialist model.

[cymbeline]

You should read the article. I think I agree with him.

The arguments against Obamacare must center around what it will force us to do that we don’t want to do, or how it will damage our economy, or how alternative schemes would be a better way of giving us our desired health care.

It is imparative that Romney give specific alternatives to Obamacare. Probably he should quit talking of repealing Obamacare because it’s advertised benefits are appealing. Romney must talk of something better than Obamacare, not just of tearing down Obamacare.

Regarding the individual mandate that is part of Romney’s healthcare scheme in Massachusetts, perhaps it is perfectly legal within that state’s law. That the Mass. plan violates the federal constitition is irrelevant.

Romney needs to talk about the Mass. healthcare program in comparison to the federal one. He must not avoid that subject. He might say (if he believes it) that the best path to achieve a federal healthcare plan is for individual states to each try out their own plan, and then we can make federal-level decisions based on the body of state experience.

[aheckle]

If Romney is toast why is Obama the one who is franticly calling donors begging for money.

[scram2]

Dems have to defend the largest tax increase in history and in an election year AND in the middle of a recession. The Dems have LOST the hammer they had to beat the USSC as a right wing partisan gang. The Dems have lost the talking point claiming the Right has taken away health care for minorities. The Dems are forced to call the USSC claim obamacare is a tax, a lie because they sold it as a penalty and by doing this they are in fact saying obamacare is unconstitutional which is what the USSC said about the law in it’s original form. In short they are tied up in knots and this will not be lost on any except the left wing loons to whom nothing makes a difference.

It’s up to Romney to make the case about the tax increase angle and to the degree it is important in this election (obamacare) it will benefit him.

Most here hate Romney and will look for any reason to call him a failure.

Finally this race will be 10% about obamacare and 90% about the economy and I don’t care what Rasmussen says TODAY.

[Bruce Campbells Chin]

I think the author has really gotten this wrong. Badly.

First, if the ACA truly is a losing hand for Romney, then it's a winning hand for Obama. In which case, the media is going to be complicit in making this election about Obamacare anyway. In other words, there's not going to be any way for Romney to duck that issue, so he might as well take the initiative and define the issues rather than ceding that initiative to Obama.

Second, if the author is wrong about whether it is a plus or minus, then Romney would be giving up an enormous advantage. And since Obama is going to make this about Obamacare anyway if it is a plus for him, then there's no downside to Romney in pushing this.

And finally, this election is going to turn on a very basic, fundamental economic question: Is government the solution, or is it the problem? Ultimately, that's where battle lines are going to be drawn, and whomever wins on that issue wins the election. ObamaCare very clearly falls on the government is the solution side of that equation, and if Romney punts on that issue, he loses.

Romeny cannot have a consistent campaign theme without going after ObamaCare as another example of the feds screwing it all up. ObamaCare must be attacked as an example of excessive federal taxation and spending, and part of the entitlement mindset that got us into this fiscal mess in the first place.

His theme for Obamacare can be very simple, and very effective. It is simply irresponsible to create a fourth new major entitlement program when we're already struggling to pay for the three we've already got.

And if he wants to follow that up, he should say that because the federal government already has its hands more than full dealing with those three programs, the smartest course is to let individual states, and the people of those individual states, decide what health care programs they want to have, and to and pay for, going forward.

If the people of a state decide they want something different, and are willing to pay for it, fine. That's what has happene din Massachusetts and some other states, so we know it is possible. But don't make the people of Ohio, or Virginia pay more in federal taxes for something just because the people of Massachusetts want it.

[DManA]

If Romney wins and doesn’t make an all out effort to repeal this completely that is the end of the Republican party. That will have been the last straw.

[DManA]

Also, an effective pitch to conservatives was, we need to elect a republican because he will appoint up to 3 justices.

So what? Who cares now. The SCourt’s job is done. They’ve made the Constitution meaningless.

[Conservative Vermont Vet]

Well hells bells, why not just run this up the ol' flagpole....

As does this clueless, Moonbat, RINO, surrender monkey (and sadly a few of our Hate-Mitten and Mormons Freepers) and bend over and grab our ankles?

SHEESH, is that the attitude our Founding Fathers (FACING MUCH MORE DAUNTING AND IMPROBABLE ODDS) when they decided to no longer live under the British Monarchy and it's tyrany.

Shameful surrender is for COWARDS and regardless of what the path some will take come November (including staying home) most of us will NOT simply roll over and accept DEFEAT without putting up a good fight.

Regardless of whether Washington said this or not (and I'd like to believe it is something he would have uttered) I subscribe to this philosophy....both "Figuratively," and if need be.."LITERALLY!":

"I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees."

[WashingtonSource]

Tucker is an idiot.