By Mark Esposito, Weekend Contributor
Even as the GOP struggles to hold onto to its wacky Tea Party base and appease the country clubbers who finance the show, it finds it can unite on one thing: It Loves the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). That’s right, the party who issued dire warnings over death panels and runaway costs, and rationing, and lost jobs just heard from its grass-roots and … they LOVE it. According to the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that “aims to promote a high performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society’s most vulnerable,” polling shows 74% of persons who had the guts to identify themselves as Republicans “said that they were very or somewhat satisfied with their new insurance plan.” And even more remarkably for that “sky-is-always-falling” crowd, they’re optimistic .. yes, optimistic, that “new health coverage will improve their ability to get the care they need.” What ? No waiting lines, no rationing of health care ? No shadowy board saying Grandma must die because she needs hormone replacement therapy?
What is this our conservative brethren cry? Well, it’s reality and everything Republican leaders hoped — for purely political reasons — it wouldn’t be. Like the number of uninsured dropping from 15.6% to 13.4% in just one quarter. This is “the lowest quarterly average recorded since Gallup and Healthways began tracking the percentage of uninsured Americans in 2008. ” Oh, then there’s the actual people who now can get the healthcare they need (and that most civilized nations regard as a civil right). Over fifteen million Americans have signed up for coverage by the end of the last enrollment period and about 8 million went through the exchange. A Kaiser Survey found that nearly 6 out of 10 of the 8 million who enrolled in the marketplace were previously uninsured. Maybe that will reduce the 25,000 American per year who, pre-ACA, were dying from little or no healthcare.
And what about the demographics of those recently insured? Those cut across all age groups except those 65+ due to their eligibility to Medicare.
Not seeing the doctor of their choice, I bet. Nope that canard has gone the way of the buggy whip too, according to the Washington Post. “Just about one in five of those with new coverage, though, said they tried to find a primary care doctor — but of those, 75 percent said their search was somewhat easy or very easy.” So 80% kept their doctor, and 75% said getting a new one –if they had to — was easy. That lying Obama saying that everyone will get to keep their doctor and plan. Throw him in jail for that whopper!
And lastly, what about that great Republican bugaboo. You know the one where we’ll all wait years for surgeries or even just to see a specialist under Obamacare? Well, the Commonwealth Fund says that 58% of those newly insured who needed to see specialists did so in two weeks. Two weeks? That’s how long it tales me to get a plumber out to my house!
So, with the dire predictions of the demise of healthcare system via the ACA effectively debunked what does it mean for the GOP’s singular wedge issue? Plan B: The President’s travel schedule? ( He won’t “visit the border,” you know) Well, maybe, but the bigger problem is the disconnect between GOP leadership and its apparently healthy and satisfied membership. Taking away the things that people like by their own government has never really been a winning political strategy. See, Prohibition, i.e. disaster.
Even more politically challenging is that independents love Obamacare more than Republicans. By a 85% to 15% gap, independent voters can’t get enough of quality affordable health care that, for the first time in a long time, actually costs less per month than their mortgage. Try that on for size GOP. Who’s left to vote? Undocumented workers? Oh, sorry, they can’t and well, a lot are Hispanic and … you know … you’re not doing so great on immigration reform. Next subject, please.
Already facing a demographic nightmare in 2016 when even more young people and minorities are expected to vote, the GOP presidential chances stand at a crossroads. Give up the best issue you thought you had: government “takeover” of the healthcare system or change? What would a savvy political party do? Well, change of course. For the GOP? Well, they do love a good collision course with reality sometimes.
Ok, all you political operatives in the making, what do you think:
Source: Commonwealth Fund and throughout.
~Mark Esposito, Weekend Contributor
By the way and for better or worse, the views expressed in this posting are the author’s alone and not necessarily those of the blog, the host, or other weekend bloggers. As an open forum, weekend bloggers post independently without pre-approval or review. Content and any displays of art are solely the author’s decision and responsibility. No infringement of intellectual property rights is intended and will be remedied upon notice from the owner. Fair use is however asserted for such inclusions of quotes, excerpts, photos, art, and the like.
Knauer, Annie already knows my comments are justifiably in-kind, so go park your hate somewhere else. It’s all in jest anyway.
Nick, it’s more like guys gangbanging a female commenter. Even Annie sees that.
Comments eaten, anyone up for getting just my last one out of Wordmess?
“And perhaps most disturbing, Professor Turley will have to explain…”
It’s the only lawsuit in town, so one hitches one’s wagons to what is moving? But it’s a terrible pathway, and completely wrong-headed, only adding to the distraction the GOP needs to keep from governing. The lawsuit is DoA.
Only the seating of grand juries to probe matters of war crimes and financial collapse will do at this point. One wonders how many Bushs must first pass from this Earth.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/12/1313546/-Memo-to-Jonathan-Turley-Obama-s-so-sue-me-is-not-Bush-s-bring-em-on “Turley’s starring role may be an uncomfortable one. For starters, just two weeks ago he co-authored an op-ed with Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson laying a laundry list of President Obama’s had acted “unilaterally in the face of Congressional opposition.” But Boehner’s lawsuit focuses only on Obama’s understandable to decision to delay the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate, a move with ample historical precedent including President Bush’s 2006 waiving of penalties for low-income and disabled seniors who missed the deadline for enrolling in his Medicare Part D drug program. More bizarre still for the critic of waterboarding and “enhanced interrogation techniques,” Turley’s fellow GOP witness will be Professor Elizabeth Price Foley, who has partnered with Bush torture defender David Rivkin to plot Boehner’s legal strategy against Obama. And perhaps most disturbing, Professor Turley will have to explain how he could compare President Obama’s “so sue me” response to cynical House Republicans to President Bush’s dangerously irresponsible “bring ’em on” invitation to insurgents in Iraq.”
Of course, to some “liberal” means anyone who would dare question my authority that derives from the privileges I had no hand in creating but enjoy nonetheless.
When it became clear Mitt Romney could have not 47% of the people removed from the premises, I think he no longer wanted the job. He certainly did not fight for it.
Let’s get back to the main event, a heavyweight bout between the Battling Barristers, Bob, Esq. and Mark Esposito.
nick, Quit reading her over a month ago.
Care to whine about Samantha, it’s been a popular vintage today.
SWM, We’re serving a nice provolone w/ the liberal whine this afternoon.
Samantha, You started a liberal Whine fest. Toilet humor is @ best a minor violation, a parking ticket. But, liberals LOVE to play victim and make it like you committed a felony. I’ve had the same happen to me. That’s why I instituted the flop rule here as in the NBA. That’s where NBA players would flop on their ass trying to make a ref call a foul. It was horrible for the game, and now floppers are fined. I have watched the World Cup some and flopping is out of control in soccer. Of course, liberals love soccer.
Talk about spin…. This blog has been full of anti-Obama spin since he was elected. Now, it has moved on to Hillary Clinton. Some days one cannot tell the difference between it and Breitbart or World Net Daily.
“When I finish whipping your diet into shape, and you feel better, I’m going to work on your thought-running.”
Intimidation much? Who is samatha to barge into the lives of perfect strangers and make such baseless demands? Does samantha still wonder why her words carry so little weight?
Annie, you mak an excellent point, because I like to see continuity among commenters, too. But in the time that I’ve been here, which hasn’t been very long, you’ve changed your moniker and avatar how many times now? When I finish whipping your diet into shape, and you feel better, I’m going to work on your thought-running.
The hypocrisy of the wrong wingers is ceaseless. I suspect some of these personal attacks are in violation of the civily rules. Infantile comments often include references to other’s bowell movements. Such comments only make the commenter appear a bit deranged.
As Richard Pryor would say, “That punch came from way down in Mississippi!”
“Mitt Romney, after his term, will be remembered as a gypsy.”
Barkin Dog wins Today’s Internet. ROFL.
Bob, Esq. w/ a HAYMAKER!
Obamacare is just one of many topics. IRS, VA, Surveillance, Border, etc. Hell, TIME MAGAZINE, a liberal MSM news mag, just called Obama Orwellian w/ his increased NSA spying.
Dan Brazile: “So, with the dire predictions of the demise of healthcare system via the ACA effectively debunked what does it mean for the GOP’s singular wedge issue? Plan B: The President’s travel schedule? ( He won’t “visit the border,” you know).”
It’s one thing for a Legal Blog to post stories on political spin; it’s quite another when one of the weekend bloggers does the actual spinning.
Five days out of seven Jonathan Turley posts legal stories, human interest stories, stories that highlight the absurd behavior of mankind and some really great pictures of dogs. But the one thing Jonathan Turley’s blog hasn’t done until recently is to spin stories for a particular political party. In the more than five years I’ve been visiting this blog the one thing I could always count on was an objective, non-partisan approach to news stories that Jonathan Turley always provides.
Weekend blogger, Dan Brazile, brother in spin to Donna Brazile and a.k.a Monsieur Villeforte, has truly out done himself here. When he’s not spinning absurd arguments in support an imperial presidency he’s laying down cover fire for the entire Democratic party.
I have German shepherd named Brody. Occasionally Brody will walk up to wherever I am and present his lower back near his tail for a scratching that he just can’t seem to provide for himself. I oblige and his ears lay back in total enjoyment.
What I will not do for Brody, or any dog for that matter, is raise his tail and scratch or kiss his ass. As much as I love Brody, there I lines I will not cross.
The author of this post apparently knows no such boundaries when it comes to spinning for a Democratic imperial presidency and the Democratic party.
I can abide women not using their real names. I think men should be required to do so. That would cut the animus by @ least 60-70%.