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Obamacare’s Chickens Come Home To Roost
Townhall.com ^ | October 27, 2016 | Derek Hunter

Posted on 10/27/2016 8:04:20 AM PDT by Kaslin

Under normal circumstances I’m not much of an “I told you so” kind of guy.

Oh, I think it, for sure. I just resist the urge to say it. But these aren’t normal circumstances. This is politics. I, and nearly every conservative, warned Obamacare would be a disaster. Now that it clearly has become a disaster, I say let it – and the Democrats responsible – rot.

The Affordable Care Act, Obamacare’s ironic official name, has been a disaster right from its conception. Democrats locked Republicans out of the process completely, ignoring GOP ideas and objections.

In the sale of this legislative Corvair, Nancy Pelosi, then the Speaker of the House, told us we had to pass it so we “can find out what is in it.” Harry Reid, then the Senate Majority Leader, promised the moon, and, of course, our Commander in Chief lied repeatedly with impunity. Still the American people weren’t buying.

When time for passage came, Democrats played parliamentary tricks to ignore the will of people – every opinion poll came out against it, and Republican pickup-truck-driving Scott Brown replaced Ted Kennedy in the Senate explicitly so Republicans could institute a filibuster against this monstrosity.

It did pass – it was rammed through on a procedural gimmick – but only because Democrats used intimidation and straight-up bribery in both houses of Congress to get it across the finish line.

This is the Democrats’ baby, and it’s getting uglier the older it gets. Republicans should not enable or empower Democrats by agreeing to any plastic surgery or make-up to make it less so.

When the bill was signed into law, Democrats cheered and rubbed Republicans' noses in it. They claimed victory and a problem solved.

During the disastrous rollout, Democrats proclaimed all was well. As costs grew and enrollment failed to meet expectations, they acknowledged no problem. As Americans saw their premiums skyrocket and millions lost the coverage they loved, Democrats pretended they didn’t exist.

As legal challenges mounted, Democrats dug in their heels. With each legal hurdle cleared, Democrats became more brazen. As the Supreme Court rewrote the language of the law, Democrats declared it to be “settled law” and advised Republicans to “get over it.”

Even after the American people had their say and overwhelmingly rejected Democrats who voted for this law, specifically because of that vote, in two elections, they were undeterred and uninterested in the will of the people.

Only now, as the full force of this abomination is hitting and premiums continue to increase exponentially, forcing people into plans they can’t afford with deductibles they’d almost have to be hit by a bus to reach, have Democrats begun to recognize there might be a slight problem. Particularly with the voters having another say in less than two weeks. Weird how that works.

The solutions offered by Democrats don’t acknowledge their lies of the past, the broken promises or the failures. They want more; they want socialized medicine.

This was, of course, the plan all along. The only admirable quality Democrats possess is a focus on achieving a goal and a willingness to fight for it, no matter how long it takes. And a complete and total government take-over of this country’s health care system has been their goal for generations.

After many baby steps, Obamacare was a giant leap. Unworkable, unmanageable, it was supposed to implode and usher in a single-payer system. But it was supposed to take longer. Its impact was to be felt more gradually so its failures could be blamed on the insurance companies and not the law. That would clear the way for the final step.

It didn’t work that way. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned about Democrats is they never let the facts stand in the way of their agenda.

Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and most Democrats are calling for a “public option,” a government plan to “compete” with the private sector. Of course, no company can “compete” with the government because government can set prices, demand compliance under threat of fines or imprisonment and print money.

Make no mistake about it – this isn’t a “fix,” it’s the next step to a complete takeover. Democrats are telling the American people, “Big government didn’t work, so we need bigger government to fix it.”

To hell with them all.

Republicans should offer only complete repeal and replacement with a free-market system offering nationwide competition, tax credits for the individual market and Health Savings Account-heavy incentives with cost transparency.

There should be no mandate, but there should be consequences for choosing not to buy insurance and losing that bet.

You will be taken care of, but bankruptcy will follow if you can’t pay your bills. You gambled and lost. You don’t get to buy car insurance after you wrap it around a tree and get a new car, and you can’t buy health insurance after you get sick and get covered.

Other than complete repeal and replacement, Republicans should block every proposal to tweak, enhance or otherwise alter what those who created this mess proclaimed settled law that could not be changed. They made their bed. Time for them to lie in it.

Only by messaging a better, freer system and forcing the public to deal with the consequences of re-electing the namesake of this monstrosity will people feel the impact of their unwillingness to disconnect the man from the law.

Is it cruel? No. In between twice voting against those who passed Obamacare, they voted for the man who signed it. Breathing any life whatsoever into it as it spirals to its death would be, on some level, to accept the concept. That cannot be allowed.

People need to take their medicine, and they need to unambiguously know the doctor who prescribed it to them. If Republicans want to have a future in this country, if they care at all about individual liberty, they must allow Obamacare to completely collapse. Let those chickens come home to roost.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Government
KEYWORDS: 0bamacare
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1 posted on 10/27/2016 8:04:20 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

All very true. But it’s not what the news media report to their readers and viewers.

“Democrats locked Republicans out of the process completely, ignoring GOP ideas and objections.”

True. But the MSM take on it is that the Republicans blocked Obama from doing what he really want to do, so it’s entirely their fault. And the GOPe has done little or nothing to contradict this widely believed story.


2 posted on 10/27/2016 8:15:08 AM PDT by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: Kaslin

There is absolutely no way obamacare gets replaced with President Clinton holding the veto pen. If any candidate says obamacare is one of their top priorities they MUST endorse and campaign strongly for Trump. If they don’t do that you know they have no intent of replacing obamacare. President Trump is MUCH more important than their single seat.

The best congress can do with Hillary is put off single-payer while obamacare gets worse and worse every year. Between her lying and media bias there is no argument that will beat Hillary’s veto. There is no way they get enough support to override her veto.

If a candidate is not endorsing Trump you know they are ok with obamacare and eventually single-payer. And any condemnation of obamacare is campaign BS to get votes for a promise they have no intention of keeping.


3 posted on 10/27/2016 8:15:44 AM PDT by LostPassword
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To: Cicero; Kaslin

Re: Only by messaging ... per the article

And the news media?

I received a survey with 12 or 14 choices asking what Trump should focus on. Obamacare/Healthcare was not one of the choices.

I received it this week when people are receiving notice of their premium increases and inability to keep the plan/insurance company they have because it won’t be offered in 2017.

When we play the victim card we lose. We can’t blame the MSM when our own candidate doesn’t even place it on the survey question of possible focus for his campaign at the most critical time for both his campaign ... and for those faced with premium increase.


4 posted on 10/27/2016 8:21:20 AM PDT by spintreebob
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To: Kaslin

To BO’B, Fancy Nancy, Dingy Harry, and all Ds
“Embrace the suck!”

Seem to remember these ‘folks’ being told BO’B would be the detriment of this country and would see it ripped apart. How is that working out?


5 posted on 10/27/2016 8:24:39 AM PDT by V K Lee (DJ TRUMP=My Strongest Advocate MAGA)
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To: Kaslin
Did you really think your $20 Fill-Up was going to look like this?


6 posted on 10/27/2016 8:29:05 AM PDT by smokingfrog ( sleep with one eye open (<o> ---)
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To: Kaslin

Obama’s October surprise for Hillary!


7 posted on 10/27/2016 8:46:31 AM PDT by Uncle Sam 911
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To: Kaslin

The insurance companies don’t want to deal with handling payments from individuals and small businesses. They want one big FedGov check every month.

They don’t want to innovate plans, or sell people products they need and will use.

Obamacare was designed to make sure big corporations always had a monopoly on talent at below market rates for their self-funded plans, stifling competition and innovation with the aid and abetting of a bloated federal government.

Anathema is freedom to make your own choices with your own money. The Federal government couldn’t care one bit people are currently staving off going to the doctor because they lost their insurance and can’t afford these crazy high premiums.


8 posted on 10/27/2016 8:51:41 AM PDT by Read Write Repeat
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To: Kaslin
a complete and total government take-over of this country’s health care system has been their goal for generations.

As Mark Steyn once so succinctly put it, nationalizing healthcare is the nationalizing of your body. I.e., the government owns you!

The Democommie utopia, indeed.

9 posted on 10/27/2016 8:52:40 AM PDT by workerbee (The President of the United States is public enemy #1)
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To: spintreebob
NBC has an article titled "Obamacare Not at Top Of Voters' Minds As Election Day Nears". You have to read more than halfway through the article to come to this sentence: "The Kaiser poll, which questioned 1,205 adults, was conducted from Oct. 12 to 18, before the release of the 2017 Obamacare prices."
10 posted on 10/27/2016 8:53:01 AM PDT by Chad_the_Impaler
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To: emmyloukay

ping


11 posted on 10/27/2016 8:54:42 AM PDT by Bellflower (Dems = Mat 6:23 ....If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!)
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To: Kaslin

Those aren’t chickens. They’re vultures.


12 posted on 10/27/2016 9:04:35 AM PDT by mewzilla (I'll vote for the first guy who promises to mail in his SOTU addresses.)
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To: mewzilla

Feasting on the corpse of the American body politic.


13 posted on 10/27/2016 9:05:18 AM PDT by mewzilla (I'll vote for the first guy who promises to mail in his SOTU addresses.)
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To: Kaslin
Obamacare’s Chickens Come Home To Roost

I disagree. The Democrats aren't facing any consequences for their garbage. In spite of overwhelming evidence that the democrat policies fail miserably to deliver their promised bounty, the same morons who voted democrat in the last two elections are still probably voting democrat in the next one.

14 posted on 10/27/2016 9:14:50 AM PDT by from occupied ga (Your government is your most dangerous enemy)
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To: Kaslin

How can any working democrat who has to balance a checkbook every week vote for Hillary???


15 posted on 10/27/2016 9:29:19 AM PDT by AngelesCrestHighway
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To: from occupied ga
The Democrats aren't facing any consequences despite overwhelming evidence that Democrat policies failed miserably. The same morons who voted democrat in the last two elections are still probably voting democrat in the next one.

There's a lot of Democrat amnesia when it comes to O/Care's notorious
Congressional voter history.Let's just make goldurn sure the Dumbocrats get the "credit" for the failures of Obamacare......and I quote:

As far back as 2008, at the presidential debate in Nashville, Democrat candidate Obama advanced his signature plan that was ultimately enacted (by an historic straight Democrat party-line vote) into the "Affordable Care Act:"

QUOTING OBAMA: "No. 1, let me just repeat, if you’ve got a health care plan that you like, you can keep it. All I’m going to do is help you to lower the premiums on it. You’ll still have choice of doctor.”

Repeated over and over by every loyal Democrat---- conning Americans into believing they'd also be saving $2500.00 on healthcare costs.

========================================================

LOCK-STEPPING DEMOCRAT PARTY LOYALTY NOT SEEN SINCE 1930-40's ERA EUROPE.

SEN. HARRY REID (D-Nev.): “In fact, one of our core principles is that if you like the health care you have, you can keep it.” (Sen. Reid, Congressional Record, S.8642, 8/3/09)

SEN. RICHARD DURBIN: “We believe — and we stand by this — if you like your current health insurance plan, you will be able to keep it, plain and simple, straightforward.” (Sen. Durbin, Congressional Record, S.6401, 6/10/09)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): “If you like your insurance, you keep it.” (U.S. Senate, Finance Committee, Bill Mark-Up, 9/29/09)

SEN. PATTY MURRAY (D-Wash.): “Again, if you like what you have, you will be able to keep it. Let me say this again: If you like what you have, when our legislation is passed and signed by the President, you will be able to keep it.” (Sen. Murray, Congressional Record, S.6400, 6/10/09)

SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D-Mont.): “That is why one of the central promises of health care reform has been and is: If you like what you have, you can keep it. That is critically important. If a person has a plan, and he or she likes it, he or she can keep it.” (Sen. Baucus, Congressional Record, S.7676, 9/29/10)

SEN. TOM HARKIN (D-Iowa): “One of the things we put in the health care bill when we designed it was the protection for consumers to keep the plan they have if they like it; thus, the term ‘grandfathered plans.’ If you have a plan you like — existing policies — you can keep them. … we said, if you like a plan, you get to keep it, and you can grandfather it in.” (Sen. Harkin, Congressional Record, S.7675-6, 9/29/10)

THEN-REP. TAMMY BALDWIN (D-Wis.): “Under the bill, if you like the insurance you have now, you may keep it and it will improve.” (Rep. Baldwin, Press Release, 3/18/10)

SEN. MARK BEGICH (D-Alaska): “If you got a doctor now, you got a medical professional you want, you get to keep that. If you have an insurance program or a health care policy you want of ideas, make sure you keep it. That you can keep who you want.” (Sen. Begich, Townhall Event, 7/27/09)

SEN. MICHAEL BENNET (D-Colo.): “We should begin with a basic principle: if you have coverage and you like it, you can keep it. If you have your doctor, and you like him or her, you should be able to keep them as well. We will not take that choice away from you.” (Sen. Bennet, Press Release, 6/11/09)

SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D-Calif.): “So we Democrats want people to be able to keep the health care they have. And the answer to that is choice of plans. And in the exchange, we’re going to have lots of different plans, and people will be able to keep the health care coverage they need and they want.” (Sen. Boxer, Press Release, 2/8/11)

SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D-Ohio): “Our Democrat bill says if you have health insurance and you like it, you can keep it…”(Sen. Brown, Congressional Record, S.12612, 12/7/09)

SEN. BEN CARDIN (D-Md.): “For the people of Maryland, this bill will provide a rational way in which they can maintain their existing coverage…” (Sen. Cardin, Congressional Record, S.13798, 12/23/09)

SEN. BOB CASEY (D-Pa.): “I also believe this Democrat legislation and the bill we are going to send to President Obama this fall will also have secure choices. If you like what you have, you like the plan you have, you can keep it. It is not going to change.” (Sen. Casey, Congressional Record, S.8070, 7/24/09)

SEN. KAY HAGAN (D-N.C.): ‘People who have insurance they’re happy with can keep it’ “We need to support the private insurance industry so that people who have insurance they’re happy with can keep it while also providing a backstop option for people without access to affordable coverage.” (“Republicans Vent As Other Compromise Plans Get Aired,” National Journal’s Congress Daily, 6/18/09)

SEN. MARY LANDRIEU (D-La.): “If you like the insurance that you have, you’ll be able to keep it.” (MSNBC’s Hardball, 12/16/09)

SEN. PAT LEAHY (D-Vt.): “[I]f you like the insurance you now have, keep the insurance you have.” (CNN’s “Newsroom,” 10/22/09)

SEN. BOB MENENDEZ (D-N.J.): “If you like what you have, you get to keep it” “Menendez is a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which is expected to release a bill later this week. He stressed that consumers who are satisfied with their plans won’t have to change. ‘If you like what you have, you get to keep it,’ he said.” (“Health Care Plan Would Help N.J., Menendez Says,” The Record, 6/19/09)

SEN. JEFF MERKLEY (D-Oreg.): “[E]nsuring that those who like their insurance get to keep it” “The HELP Committee bill sets forward a historic Democrat plan that will, for the first time in American history, give every American access to affordable health coverage, reduce costs, and increase choice, while ensuring that those who like their insurance get to keep it.” (Sen. Merkley, Press Release, 7/15/09)

SEN. BARBARA MIKULSKI (D-Md.): “It means that if you like the insurance you have now, you can keep it.” (Sen. Mikulski, Press Release, 12/24/09)

SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-W.Va.): “I want people to know, the President’s promise that if you like the coverage you have today you can keep it is a pledge we intend to keep.” (U.S. Senate, Finance Committee, Hearing, 9/23/09)

SEN. JACK REED (D-R.I.): “If you like the insurance you have, you can choose to keep it.” (Sen. Reed, Town Hall Event, 6/25/09)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.): “‘If you have coverage you like, you can keep it,’ says Sen. Sanders.” (“Sick And Wrong,” Rolling Stone, 4/5/10)

SEN. JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-N.H.): ‘if you have health coverage that you like, you get to keep it’ “My understanding … is that … if you have health coverage that you like you can keep it. As I said, you may have missed my remarks at the beginning of the call, but one of the things I that I said as a requirement that I have for supporting a Democrat bill is that if you have health coverage that you like you should be able to keep that. …under every scenario that I’ve seen, if you have health coverage that you like, you get to keep it.” (Sen. Shaheen, “Health Care Questions From Across New Hampshire,” Accessed 11/13/13)

SEN. DEBBIE STABENOW (D-Mich.): “As someone who has a large number of large employers in my state, one of the things I appreciate about the Democrat chairman’s remark is — is the grandfathering provisions, the fact that the people in my state, 60 percent of whom have insurance, are going to be able to keep it. And Mr. Chairman, I appreciate that. That’s a strong commitment. It’s clear in the bill … I appreciate the strong commitment on your part and the president to make sure that if you have your insurance you can keep it. That’s the bottom line for me.” (U.S. Senate, Finance Committee, Bill Mark-Up, 9/24/09)

SEN. JON TESTER (D-Mont.): “‘If you like your coverage, you’ll be able to keep it,’ Tester said, adding that if Medicare changes, it will only become stronger”. (“Tester In Baker To Discuss Health Care,” The Fallon County Times, 11/20/09)

SEN. TOM UDALL (D-N.Mex.): “Some worried reform would alter their current coverage. It won’t. If you like your current plan, you can keep it.” (“What I Learned: About Health Care Reform This Summer, By Your Lawmakers In Congress,” Albuquerque Journal, 9/8/09)

SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D-R.I.): “..it honors President Obama’s programs and the promise of all of the Presidential candidates that if you like the plan you have, you get to keep it. You are not forced out of anything.” (Sen. Whitehouse, Congressional Record, S.8668, 8/3/09)

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) the 60th vote on Obamacare: "people who are happy with their current plan, wouldn't need to change it."
FRANKEN YOUTUBE SOUND BITE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCZmAYYNz8Ihttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCZmAYYNz8I

=====================================================

Twenty-nine Democrats who voted for it (including onetime lawmaker Landrieu who pocketed a bundle to vote for it) were ousted in the 2014 midterm Democrat Demolition Derby.

16 posted on 10/27/2016 9:37:42 AM PDT by Liz (Experience is a dear teacher, but fools will learn at no other. Benjamin Franklin)
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To: Liz

“Democratic morons” is the key take away here...


17 posted on 10/27/2016 9:51:36 AM PDT by AngelesCrestHighway
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To: Kaslin

Dontcha know it’s George Bush’s fault?

/s/

IMHO


18 posted on 10/27/2016 10:00:40 AM PDT by ripley
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To: Kaslin

Found this on Facebook. The NYS website is down today, but here are rates for the cheapest plans. The top number is the total payment you’ll make before ANY insurance coverage kicks in.

For NY, Rockland County, the cheapest “Marketplace” choices

Bronze:
$16,550
Monthly Premium $1,046.05 = $12,552.60 per year
Deductible $4,000 / $4000 per person | $8000 per group
Maximum Out of Pocket $7,150 / $7150 per person | $14300 per group
Out-of-Network Coverage No
Allows Health Savings Account No
Persons Covered Couple And Dependent(S)
_____________________________

Fidelis Care Silver
$17,610
Monthly Premium $1,300.90 = $15,610.80 per year
Deductible $2,000 / $2000 per person | $4000 per group
Maxi Out of Pocket $6,750 / $6750 per person | $13500 per group
Out-of-Network Coverage No
Allows Health Savings Account No
Persons Covered Couple And Dependent(S)
_______________________________________________

Fidelis Care Gold
$19,563
Monthly Premium $1,530.30 = $18,363.60 per year
Deductible $600 / $600 per person | $1200 per group
Maxi Out of Pocket $4,000 / $4000 per person | $8000 per group Out-of-Network Coverage No
Allows Health Savings Account No
Persons Covered Couple And Dependent(S)
________________________________________

Fidelis Care Platinum
$ 21,889
Monthly Premium $1,824.13 = $21,889.56 per year
Deductible $0 / $0 per person | $0 per group
Maximum Out of Pocket $2,000 / $2000 per person | $4000 per group
Out-of-Network Coverage No
Allows Health Savings Account No
Persons Covered Couple And Dependent(S)
_______________________________________

Catastrophic:
$12,763
Monthly Premium $467.80 = $5613.60 per year
Deductible $7,150 / $7150 per person | $14300 per group
Maximum Out of Pocket $7,150 / $7150 per person | $14300 per group
Out-of-Network Coverage No
Allows Health Savings Account No
Persons Covered Couple And Dependent(S)


19 posted on 10/27/2016 11:27:40 AM PDT by CaptainPhilFan (Cankles WILL appoint the 1st sharia compliant islamist jihadist SC Justice)
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To: Kaslin

Thanks to wikileaks (NOT to townhall Orr any of the other LSM outlets) we already know that obamacare was meant to fail all along.


20 posted on 10/27/2016 4:30:30 PM PDT by uncitizen (Drain.The.Swamp!)
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