Posted on 10/22/2013 7:46:44 AM PDT by smoothsailing
October 22, 2013
ObamaCare may accomplish what Republicans and Tea Party members could not. It may reverse the Road to Socialism that this country has been on for the better part of a century.
A recent post, No Cause For Celebration, argued that nothing has changed from an economic perspective as a result of the recent government shutdown. From a political perspective a major inflection, even turning point, may have occurred.
Talk of a “Grand Bargain” before January 15 is delusional.
Simpson-Bowles provided a framework for a grand bargain early in the President’s first term. Obama and the Democrat Party ignored every recommendation of their own commission. The reaction to this effort suggests that the Democrats did not understand the mathematics of the revenue-spending-promises problem or that they didn’t believe it would blowup on their watch.
Now we are several years deeper into the hole. Today’s version of Simpson-Bowles would have to be substantially more painful to accomplish the same end.
Neither Obama nor his fellow Democrats have any stomach for revisiting this issue.
January 15 is not far away. Spending will continue to rise. Movement further down the Road to Ruin will occur.
There is one possibility, never dreamed of by Democrats that may alter dramatically the political equation. ObamaCare may do what the politicians were unable to — reverse the march toward ever bigger government.
Politics and its practitioners have never been held in lower esteem. Both parties were diminished by the shutdown as was the President.
In terms of winners-losers, all lost. Most of the pundits believe the Republicans lost more than the Democrats. That may be so, but I am not sure this judgment holds over time. John Hayward provides his opinion on what may happen:
The Democrat victory is preserving a disaster thats only going to get worse once more people can log into it and see their sky-high premiums. A party can be bled to death with wins like that. Hearings into the disastrous Healthcare.gov launch a no-bid contract to a firm with cozy Obama connections should be percolating right along as the midterm elections get under way. Remind voters, at every opportunity, that this is what Democrats shut down the government to protect.
Never stop reminding them about Obamas Shutdown Theater antics, too. The Republicans didnt do a good job of keeping our memories of Sequester Theater fresh. The director of the National Park Service just admitted, in congressional testimony, that all those outrageous open-air monument closings were discussed with the White House. If Obama defenders want to trot out the Empty Chair defense, fine: ask how much of this titanic government is operating on a rogue basis, and suggest maybe the President should golf less and manage more. Obamas perpetual cover-ups and evasions of responsibility should be an anchor around his neck, a card he should never be allowed to play without facing ridicule. A lot of people out there in flyover country including a lot of the folks who didnt vote in 2012 are getting really sick and tired of hearing those buck-never-got-here excuses. –John Hayward
The Democrats may have backed themselves into a corner from which there is no escape. They have taken an existential position on ObamaCare; they are all in and must fight for their Frankenstein monster no matter what.
ObamaCare represents President Obama’s signature program, arguably his only real success. For about a century universal healthcare has been the dream of every Socialist. Like all Socialist dreams, it looks better in the dream than when the lights go on. Now it is here with more than its share of warts and defects. The old warning about being careful what you wish for seems especially appropriate.
As the details of ObamaCare become known, it is likely that their blind commitment to this dysfunctional program will torpedo whatever advantage they might have gained from the shutdown. They are stuck defending what will increasingly be seen as indefensible. Here are but a few links regarding the problems:
The botched sign-up process is bad, but it is only the beginning. Here are but a few of the consequences from ObamaCare:
ObamaCare may end of whatever effectiveness Obama may have had in his lame duck period. ObamaCare will fail spectacularly.
While it represents the culmination of Liberalism’s dream, its failures present an existential threat to Liberalism itself. One can only hope that this failure will cause the basic tenets of Liberalism to be re-examined. If so, ObamaCare, despite the immense short-term dislocations and pains it causes, may do the country a great service — It may sound the death knell for the Social Welfare State.
How ironic might it be that this Holy Grail of Liberalism might turn out to be a cup of hemlock unwittingly consumed by Democrats.
A nice wish, but unlikely. Highly unlikely.
Only if you can replace it with something like a free market. That takes a political will that can overcome the factions vying for government largesse. Do you see how it can be done?
“Liberalism” is the political expression of the religion of Humanism,
which began with the lie “you will be as gods, deciding good and evil for yourselves”,
and will only end when its author is flung into the pit forever.
There were lots of wishful posts like this here in 2010 back when Rush was telling his ditto-heads that Obama wasnt even interested in a second term.
First we need the death of Rinoism, then maybe we stand a chance to act like adults instead of children betting at the kennel club against each other the way Karl Rove does it in more emotional ways than Reid himself.
Liberalism will wax and wane, but will never go away.
Witness the Czech Republic, where scarcely a generation after the Wall came down they are about to vote the Communists back in to a share of power in Parliament.
Yes, we can start with your tagline and rebuild from there.
The director of the National Park Service just admitted, in congressional testimony, that all those outrageous open-air monument closings were discussed with the White House.
...........................................................
If there was any doubt in anyone’s mind who was the Engineer on this train, this should tell them.
One of Obama’s more brilliant ideas shutting down the Memorials, What a ditz.
This was nothing but arrogance and a pathetic attempt to punish Americans. Hopefully they will remember this at the next election. This putz is destroying America and the Democrat party is too stupid to see it. They vote with him every time.
Were there? I like wishful posts.
Maybe we can ignore it like we did with Hillary-care and it will self-destruct and go away.
The only way to defeat liberalism is to give them everything they want.
Then start over from scratch......................
Hmmmm...... “Highly unlikely???”
Maybe? But wasn’t the fall of the Soviet Union a colossal and sort of sudden CHANGE in tens of millions of people’s beliefs that “government”, and particularly “big government, was good”???
Hell, even Putin doesn’t believe in Central Government Authority anymore. Basically, private enterprise is good in Russia now and big government is bad. So, I tend to think the author is spot on and that it is “highly unlikely” that Obamacare, passed without a single republican vote, is going to survive.
What is Obama's?
He has his fingers (and his cohort's fingers) in every aspect of our lives.
While he is working on taking over our nation's access to healthcare, he is also canoodling with education to entomb our children.
He has already compromised the Boy Scouts for gay rights and reached into Komen's attempt to escape the Planned Parenthood plantation.
We tend to just look at one area he is abusing, but when we stand back and look at the entire picture, Obama truly is up to no good.
He has plans for every aspect of our lives to be placed under the control of his own all-seeing eye.
Why?
He wants to be the ultimate boss of all of us.
His end goal is to be our tyrant.
They don't see it as destroying America, to them it's "transforming" America to one party rule. They sell the Utopian dream to the fools who vote for them, but it's really about power and control, theirs.
Conservatism has a better chance of dying out than liberalism. Common sense, decency, self-discipline, personal responsibility and honor aren’t qualities I see spreading as time goes on.
In that case, you can be pleasantly surprised when it occurs!
Yep, Obama had given up the idea of winning re-election according to Rush in late 2010, early 2011.
Here's a few I saved:
Talk radio giant Rush Limbaugh says that Sen. John McCain will score a stunning upset over Sen. Barack Obama and win the presidency on Nov. 4
[Rush] Limbaugh Predicts McCain Victory (NewsMax ^ | October 31, 2008 | David A. Patten, FR thread link )
I almost forgot this one :
We Could See a McCain Landslide (Rushlimbaugh.com, August 12, 2008)
The enthusiasm that got people out in 2010, I'm seeing at every Mitt Romney rally. Romney's drawing crowds of 20,000, 25,000, 30,000, 15,000. The enthusiasm that we all saw in 2010 is there. The same issues that existed in 2010 exist today. There hasn't been anything that's gotten better.
Rush: Everything But Polls Say Romney Landslide (Newsmax Monday, 05 Nov 2012)
Dont doubt me!
They will institute a single payer system. As soon as those who are old enough to remember quality healthcare have died off, the rest will not know any difference and will be told that we have the best healthcare and they will believe it.
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.