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.
Mespo:
Ilk is a superb word, not used often enough in my opinion.
QUOTED FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE !!!!!!!!!!
END THE PARTISAN SPIN FROM THE GUEST BLOGGERS. I AM STARTING TO SEE WAAAAAAAAY TOO MUCH OF IT HERE LATELY.
mr turley has always been a fabulous non partisan blogger. Lets not the weekend propagandists ruin it every further.
on 1, July 13, 2014 at 1:01 pm Bob, Esq.
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.
nick:
“As Richard Pryor would say, “That punch came from way down in Mississippi!”.”
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He’s a low blower. I’ll grant you that. 😀
Darren, where were you when mesbo labeled me “ilk.” I don’t mind if some of you gangbang in effigy, but please don’t hand out free passes for those deserving of gangbanging, themselves.
And now mespo feigns a mea culpa. Well, all I can say is your act contraction is: Just behave!
As an aside, the reason I put polls in the articles is that I get a much clearer picture of the readership than the comment thread shows. Disgruntled folks are seven times more likely to comment than folks just interested in the topic. If you want a pulse of the audience check out the poll results by clicking the link at the bottom of the poll box.
Annie:
You master of disguise, you. Maybe we could get you a CIA job. We’d just have to station you in Lower Moronia to fool the natives.
And Samantha , my point (which you missed) was that it’s cowardly to use the ubiquitous moniker of “anon”, especially when personally attacking another commenter.
samantha:
” is already speed reading escape from freedom, hastily trying to cull anything to use against me.”
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Come on, samantha. I don’t dislike you. I’m sort of Humphrey Bogarty to you and your “ilk”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyOq1aLOIM8
BTW I like “ilk” ’cause it rhymes with “milk” which is snow white and that characteristic describes the basis for a lot of crazy criticism I see about the President and calls for impeachment which like Boehner’s lawsuit is a dead letter. Not all of it mind you, just the vituperative stuff.
Thank you maxcat.
Samantha,
Oh good grief, yes annieofwi is me, how difficult was it to figure out that annieofwi and Annie with the SAME avatar was the indeed same person? I just recently changed my avatar from a picture of myself to a picture of flowers. What is your point? As Annie, I have stated I’m from Wisconin numerous times. If I wanted a sockpuppet, I would dream up an entirely different name, lol!
Annie, you speak the truth; for as long as I’ve (mostly) lurked here, I’ve read your posts and enjoyed them. You argue with facts, not emotion, and say with brevity what, certainly in this thread, has taken others post after post to attempt to convey. Oh, and I do like your new avatar, BTW.
I agree with those who state that Obamacare, warts and all, is here to stay. Republicans DO like it, as long as you call it something else. It is very flawed, but it is the only plan that could have made it through Congress. Please answer me, all of those who are bemoaning corporatism in the ACA; do you really believe single-payer could have been passed? I long for it, but I think it will be incremental, and I think that the major flaws in the ACA will lead us to it. That’s my hope, at any rate.
Until then, we’re stuck with Romneycare.
So, annieofwi is not you. So there you go, I’ve made your point about the confusion of non unique monikers.
“That ability to work together to find good solutions seems to be missing today.”
Mega money attracts parasites, not those who want to govern.
“Annie already knows my comments are justifiably in-kind…”
Huge Assumption Alert. You take way too many liberties.
Nevermind on the eaten comments, I finally got my main thought through.
It’s difficult to proclaim objectivity when demonizing one political party or, especially, castigating its supporters by labeling them as fools, evil, or being minions to the will of the party leadership.
People have the right to choose their affiliation with either party or none for various reasons that each individual sees fit. Ripping them for doing so is rather unfair. What is the alternative here, a single party rule over the US? Well history has shown that to nearly always be an great mistake.
It seems occasionally this blog’s articles are used by as vehicles for individuals to hoist some fervent partisanship. While debate is certainly good the extremeness and blind support or condemnation of others doesn’t help in the grand scheme.
And Samantha, you don’t speak for me as a woman, oky doky? When you hand it out you can expect it back, that I can agree on.
And no thanks on the dietary advice. I won’t give up my ribeyes.
Samantha, I have changed my avatar once, my moniker has not ever changed. It’s ALWAYS been Annie.
“if you think that whatever it takes is ok as long as you get your goal of some social cause accomplished then you are a sick sick person. In fact you are even sicker than your enemies.”
I made a remark in that direction: ‘don’t care where its from and don’t care what you call it, long as it is the right tool for the job and it works.’
But the point of my remark was not that anything goes, the ends justify the means.
My point was that many of us do not care who authors the idea. We don’t care where the good ideas come from. We want to identify the good ideas and good policies from either party and put them to work.
The ‘not invented here’, ‘not our brand’, ‘not gonna compromise’ attitude has got to go.
The country would not be here if original people did not sit down to debate and compromise in an effort to find the best approach.
If there is anything at all exceptional about this country it has been in the past our ability to compromise to find good solutions.
That ability to work together to find good solutions seems to be missing today.