Hear We Are Now. Entertain Us.

As the GOP stands poised knife in hand over the ACA and hesitating because they are unsure what the political consequences might be should they go through with the deed, now might be a good time to take stock of how we got here. 

Back before there was even an Affordable Care Act, insurance premiums were skyrocketing, and had been for years. Hardly a few months would pass before employers would have to change insurance companies because the rates and deductibles were always fluctuating upwards.

Everybody, including Republicans, acknowledged the need for Health Care reform. A Republican think tank came up with a plan. The Republican Governor Mitt Romney instituted the plan in Massachusetts.  President Obama introduced this same plan to congress in large part because he felt that the Republicans would work with him on passing their own plan. At that moment, the Republicans could have said, “Ok, let’s do this. But we want to be involved so that the final product comports as closely as possible with our conservative values.” Instead, they chose a path of total obstruction with racially tinged personal attacks on Obama, questioning his citizenship, etc.  

Now they want to repeal the plan, but they don’t have a better plan, either. They just want no plan. Nothing. But they can’t have just nothing now, because to repeal it without replacing it would cause widespread economic problems and would put us right back on the situation we were in before when everybody agreed we needed a plan.  They are trying to cast the blame. But they are the ones to blame, because their attitude has been that if they can’t dictate terms in all things, they will knock over the table. But now they are responsible for the table. So here we are.