Pete Suderman of Reason writes about the uphill battle that faces the new group launched to defend and promote the new health care law (funded with a cool $125 million) . He persuasively argues that the people are likely to find the law more distasteful today, as we learn about more of its effects, than the did before its passage:
Since its passage, bad news has continued to pile up, and many the claims made about it have become increasingly difficult to maintain. We’ve already seen reports that the total cost will be more than expected, that the administration isn’t hitting its deadlines, that it won’t bring overall health care spending down, that some health insurance premiums will probably rise, that Medicare benefits for many seniors are scheduled to go on the chopping block, that it will strain emergency rooms, and that employers expect medical costs to rise and are looking at dropping millions from their health care plans-all of which is to say that what the law’s advocates sold to the public isn’t quite what they delivered. If protecting the public from distortions and misrepresentations is really what these folks hope to do, maybe they ought to start with their own side.
I also wrote recently about how Americans are learning more and more about how much this law is likely to drive up health care costs.
Meanwhile, Donna Brazile is arguing that the GOP is making up phony issues in attempt to rally their base and turn Independents away from Democrats.
I understand that the GOP had a miserable record when it comes to overspending during the last decade, but they look positively frugal compared to what’s happened since President Obama took office and what he is proposing to do during the next decade. Brazile also includes health care among the “phony” issues. Yet it’s hard to think of a more real issue that the future of our health care system.
There were legitimate differences in what people think the proper role of government is in our health care system. And most Americans simply don’t believe that government should decide what’s sufficient insurance and force people to purchase coverage. Republicans weren’t practicing “obstructionist” tactics when trying to derail health care-they were representing their constituents. It was Democrats who had to resort to the worst kind of vote buying in order to ram through legislation that the public rejects.
Health care isn’t a phony issue. And one should expect it to be a big issue in November, and not just because of the actual policies which people detest, but because it was the ultimate example of a government out of touch, a corrupt legislative process, and a Congress and Administration who are more far Left than they pretend to be while on the campaign trail.