[Jim Noble]

Obamacare won’t be repealed, because it can’t be repealed - or, more exactly, it can’t be repealed without ushering in huge Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate.

Members of Congress don’t know much, but they can count votes like a pimp in a whorehouse can count money.

Yes, the voters “hate Obamacare and want it repealed”. That is absolutely true.

It’s also true that they want the ability to buy insurance for pre-existing conditions, want insurance companies to be forbidden to cancel policies for non-payment, want zero payment at the point of service, want their adult children who are smoking dope in a dive in Oakland to stay covered, want their States to expand Medicaid without taxes going up, and so on.

In other words, the only two things they hate about Obamacare are paying for it, and the name.

Republicans in Congress understand this perfectly well, which is why there’s no plan.

And, not coincidentally, Obamacare (and Romneycare) were the culmination of fifty years of “reform”, all of which had the purpose of destroying the private sector or making it impossible for the private sector to function, except for boob jobs and a few other things. And, by 2009, the mission was largely accomplished.

Obamacare was merely a temporary mop-up operation, until full nationalization was possible.

And now, it is.

Like Nixon to China, Trump will propose single payer within the year. It’s really the only way out at this point.

And before you accuse me of favoring it, realize that it will destroy a lifetime of work for me. I don’t like it - I hate it.

But it’s coming, because it’s what the voters, bless their pointy little heads, want.

[usconservative]

Obamacare was merely a temporary mop-up operation, until full nationalization was possible. And now, it is.

Agree, that's exactly what Obamacare was. I think most of us knew it was destined to fail deliberately and destroy healthcare in this country so that people would clamor for single-payer (or what many see as "free healthcare like Canada and Europe".)

Not sure I agree with Trump proposing single-payer by end of year and I hope that's not the case. He has said in the past he favored it though. Who knows at this point.

Excellent post, thanks.

[Wolfie]

In other words, the only two things they hate about Obamacare are paying for it, and the name.

Brilliant. And spot on. I can't count how many "rugged individualist" conservatives I've heard call in to local talkshows decrying the "commie" Obamacare laws and demanding a repeal that keeps all of those giveaways.

[Alberta's Child]

You've captured the essence of the problem perfectly.

There are 33 states with Republican governors right now, and one of the things that keeps those Republican governors busy all day long is their constant begging for more Medicaid money from their Republican counterparts in Congress.