Posted on 10/24/2013 11:56:54 AM PDT by Servant of the Cross
The Obamacare recriminations are underway. Stuck with an unpopular law whose launch has been an unmitigated disaster, the Democratic Party has morphed from a ruthless, unified political machine to a frantic, zig-zagging tornado of blame. The White House would like you to know that the Department of Health and Human Services was chiefly responsible for the implementation process. HHS counters that the White House ultimately runs the show, and that Sec. Kathleen Sebelius' hands were effectively tied by her relative lack of power. Some Democrats are blaming the private sector contractors who were brought in to help craft healthcare.gov (conveniently ignoring the facts that the Obama administration hand-selected each contractor, and that the administration foolishly chose to appoint itself head contractor). Not so fast, say the private sector firms, refusing to be scapegoated. Indeed, at Congressional hearings today, representatives from one such company swore an oath to tell the truth, then proceeded to lay waste to the White House's blame shift:
[Four separate tweets at the link]
Members of the administration will testify next week. Buy your popcorn now. Meanwhile, Congressional Democrats are splintering off into various camps. Some want an open enrollment extension fix. Others agree with Marco Rubio, who's calling for a lengthy delay of the individual mandate tax. (Both of these "solutions" would actually make things worseif other major provisions of the law aren't simultaneously delayed). Several elected Democrats and former Obama administration figures are calling for heads to roll over the meltdown. Vulnerable 2014 Democrats are frenetically searching for ways to distance themselves from their party's signature law, as "frustrations" mount over its "screwed up" carousel of failures. Nice work, guys. But when all else fails, Lefties' inevitable, reactionary, catch-all response never changes: Blame Republicans. Juan Williams took a stab at it earlier in the week, now Howard Dean (of "repeal Obamacare's rationing board" fame) is getting in on the action:
[Howard "Scream" Dean video at the link]
I've been on a Megan McArdle kick recently -- the woman has simply been en fuego in her analysis of the Obamacare trainwreck -- so I'll let her take the wheel for a few sentences:
Nor can you really blame the Republicans -- an argument that makes sense only if you don’t examine it very closely. It starts by assuming (but never stating) that the administration passed a law that didn't work as written, and then posits a civic duty for the opposition not to oppose laws that they oppose, but instead to help the majority party turn an unworkable law into something more to said party’s liking. This is absurd. Moreover, it’s not even a very good explanation for most of these problems. Maybe CMS turned lead contractor because they couldn’t get more funds to hire private help, but lack of funds does not explain why HHS took so long to write regulations and specifications, keeping insurers at loose ends until as late as this summer, and preventing their biggest contractor from writing code until spring. It does not explain why officials decided to launch a system that was so badly behind schedule, or to keep insisting, against all evidence, that it wasn’t broken.
Republicans in Congress voted unanimously against this law. Republican governors who chose not to set up their own state exchange were exercising their prerogative under the law, which was written and passed exclusively by Democrats. That the administration was "caught off guard" or whatever when Republicans chose not to cooperate with the unpopular law is also their own damn fault. Beyond that, those GOP governors who declined to expand Medicaid under Obamacare were both looking after their state's bottom line, and following the Supreme Court's Obamacare ruling. Seven justices declared that forcing states to expand Medicaid was unconstitutional. Blaming Republicans may be a path to knee-jerk catharsis for some liberals, but it's a totally unconvincing argument to even remotely independent-minded observers.
I’m conservative not Republican
Most in the country are, now you go away but bring along your laptop with Google on it.
Oh and good page with your tag lines
Have I mentioned today that I'm glad Ted Kennedy is dead, and I hope it was a painful death?
No?
I'm glad Ted Kennedy is dead, and I hope it was a painful death.
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