The House Republicans passed their “repeal and replace” bill last Thursday. This is the most current travesty that’s been foisted on the American people since Trump and his band of morons got elected. Their push to eliminate one of Obama’s signature accomplishments is a mystery to thinking Americans because of the popularity of the Affordable Care Act; well over half of the people in the US are in favor of it and an even higher percentage support the key provisions (such as the prohibition against denying insurance due to pre-existing conditions).
So what was driving this? Why vote to eliminate such a popular program?
One of the things that I’ve read in frequent reviews is that the Republicans in Congress painted themselves into a corner. They’ve positioned themselves as the “party of small government.” Since, like forever, Republicans have railed against the Federal government being involved in healthcare. They were opposed to Medicare when it was first proposed, and it was made into law over their votes and strenuous objections; they called it “socialized medicine” from the beginning and have continued to attempt to chip away at its provisions. It’s now become such a feature that any attempt to get rid of it is generally recognized as a sure-fire way to lose the next election.
But for years the Republicans have predicted that the ACA would wreak havoc on our society. Taxes would go through the roof, the economy would tank, companies would close their doors and people all over the country would lose their jobs as a direct result of ACA. Of course, none of this happened. In fact, the very people who the Republican party has appealed to over the last 30 years are the ones who most benefit from the provisions of ACA. The so-called “Red States” (deep south, rural midwest and western states) have the highest percentage of people who are currently receiving benefits from the Federal government for their healthcare.
But rather than accept the reality that is represented by the experience of those benefiting from the ACA, Republicans are hanging on to their “small government” mantra. It seems that admitting that there are in fact some benefits from Federal government involvement would lead to such cognitive dissonance that it would call into question their other positions. For example that “trickle-down” economics doesn’t work (which, by the way, it doesn’t), or that states are always better at handling policy administration than is the Federal government (also not true).
So ideology gets to trump reality. (Pun intended.) Republicans would rather let millions of people (upwards of 24 million by one bi-partisan estimate) lose healthcare coverage than accept that one of their foundational premises is wrong. To me, this is a travesty. And there’s the beginnings of rumbling that they may pay a price for it in getting booted out of office at the next election.
I can’t speak for what goes on in the minds of politicians, but it seems they are cravenly ignoring what’s right for their constituency to stick to a philosophy that’s been proven wrong.
About BigBill
Stats: Married male boomer.
Hobbies: Hiking, woodworking, reading, philosophy, good conversation.
Fact vs ideology
The House Republicans passed their “repeal and replace” bill last Thursday. This is the most current travesty that’s been foisted on the American people since Trump and his band of morons got elected. Their push to eliminate one of Obama’s signature accomplishments is a mystery to thinking Americans because of the popularity of the Affordable Care Act; well over half of the people in the US are in favor of it and an even higher percentage support the key provisions (such as the prohibition against denying insurance due to pre-existing conditions).
So what was driving this? Why vote to eliminate such a popular program?
One of the things that I’ve read in frequent reviews is that the Republicans in Congress painted themselves into a corner. They’ve positioned themselves as the “party of small government.” Since, like forever, Republicans have railed against the Federal government being involved in healthcare. They were opposed to Medicare when it was first proposed, and it was made into law over their votes and strenuous objections; they called it “socialized medicine” from the beginning and have continued to attempt to chip away at its provisions. It’s now become such a feature that any attempt to get rid of it is generally recognized as a sure-fire way to lose the next election.
But for years the Republicans have predicted that the ACA would wreak havoc on our society. Taxes would go through the roof, the economy would tank, companies would close their doors and people all over the country would lose their jobs as a direct result of ACA. Of course, none of this happened. In fact, the very people who the Republican party has appealed to over the last 30 years are the ones who most benefit from the provisions of ACA. The so-called “Red States” (deep south, rural midwest and western states) have the highest percentage of people who are currently receiving benefits from the Federal government for their healthcare.
But rather than accept the reality that is represented by the experience of those benefiting from the ACA, Republicans are hanging on to their “small government” mantra. It seems that admitting that there are in fact some benefits from Federal government involvement would lead to such cognitive dissonance that it would call into question their other positions. For example that “trickle-down” economics doesn’t work (which, by the way, it doesn’t), or that states are always better at handling policy administration than is the Federal government (also not true).
So ideology gets to trump reality. (Pun intended.) Republicans would rather let millions of people (upwards of 24 million by one bi-partisan estimate) lose healthcare coverage than accept that one of their foundational premises is wrong. To me, this is a travesty. And there’s the beginnings of rumbling that they may pay a price for it in getting booted out of office at the next election.
I can’t speak for what goes on in the minds of politicians, but it seems they are cravenly ignoring what’s right for their constituency to stick to a philosophy that’s been proven wrong.
About BigBill
Stats: Married male boomer. Hobbies: Hiking, woodworking, reading, philosophy, good conversation.