By Derek Hunter
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Throughout the government shutdown, Democrats, who knew
Republicans wouldn’t be able to delay Obamacare, routinely said, “It’s settled
law.” President Obama was re-elected, they say – though he said almost nothing
about Obamacare during the campaign, and what he did say amounted to platitudes
he knew were false. And the Supreme Court ruled it constitutional.
The debate was over, progressives crowed. It was going to
happen. Soon they will be eating crow, and Republicans have to position
themselves smartly and strategically now to make sure that crow is served up to
them on a silver platter.
The roll out of Obamacare has been a disaster that makes
“New Coke” look like the iPad. The website rarely works, and when it does, it
sends incorrect information to insurers. And when young and healthy people do
sign up, they discover they’re going to be paying exponentially more for
insurance to subsidize premiums for wealthy retirees.
That last one should stick in the craw of everyone under
35. They will be paying thousands of dollars per year more so retirees who
technically have no income but own their homes and are living off savings and
investments – which don’t count as income when it comes to subsidies for the
“poor.” And they will be paying for this until they reach 65 and go on
Medicare, at which point still younger people will be subsidizing them.
In short: Obamacare is a massive wealth “spreading” from
the young and struggling to the old and well off.
Add to that Obamacare’s devastating impact on the economy
and part-timing of the American workforce, and you can almost see the train
flying off the rails.
There will be attempts at bi-partisan “fixes” to some of
the more visible problems caused by Obamacare. Republicans and Democrats have
been working together to delay or repeal the medical device tax and change the
definition of a full-time employee back to 40 hours per week from Obamacare’s
30 – to name just two.
Republicans must resist the urge to help with these “fixes.”
We just spent a month being lectured by arrogant
know-it-alls about how Obamacare is “settled law.” So keep it settled.
Obamacare is failing already, and it will continue to
fail in more spectacular ways as we move forward, let it.
Democrat wrote the bill, Democrats voted for the bill, a
Democrat president signed it into law. It’s theirs. Make them live with it. As
is.
Do not change one comma, one letter. It’s settled law!
This is what they wanted, this is what people voted for. If the full failure of
Obamacare isn’t allowed to happen, if “fixes” are passed, it will live on in a
money-sucking spiral of destruction that will lead to a complete and total
government takeover of health care in this country – which is their goal.
It’s going to be painful, but it’s also going to be
quick. And the pain will be nothing compared to the damage to the economy and
our future if this Frankenstein’s monster is helped to limp into permanency.
Meanwhile, this is also a chance for conservative groups
to flex their muscles (and ample money) in a non-circular firing squad way. I
have to address them directly now.
Set up a website as a clearinghouse for Obamacare failure
stories.
I know you don’t play nice with each other, but get over
it. One website, not competing websites – and the focus has to be spreading
these collected stories to the media, both national and local. I know you love
adding to your email lists, but this can’t be about that. This has to be about
spreading the truth the media will do its damnedest to ignore.
Gather stories from any source possible, including
user-submitted. Verify them and record the actual people going through them on
video in 30- and 60-second clips. Then blast them out daily to every local
media outlet in their area. And post new ones on the site daily. Go around the
media like President Reagan used to. Overwhelm them into covering the truth.
It’s going to take money, but this can’t be a fundraiser
for you. Asking people for money is understandable in normal circumstances, but
this is not a normal circumstance. Collect stories, film them and get them out
there – that is the only purpose here. If you want to win, that is. If you’d
rather be the voice of the conservative movement or the Tea Party group, then
that’s your priority – not making the country a better place – and I can’t help
you.
Republicans have to be united. Conservatives have to be
united. If done right, this effort will have no spokesman on TV. It will be a
conduit for getting real people with real Obamacare horror stories in front of
any camera, at any time, anywhere in the country. It will be a major
undertaking, a massive database and possibly the most important thing any or all
of you can do over the next year.
Progressives are unified and indignant. They are
indifferent to the cost to both the country and individual, and the pain to the
individual is, to them, irrelevant. This is about the concept.
To protect their agenda, they will highlight any success
story, no matter how dubious. Conservatives must beat them at their own game.
They trot out personal stories constantly; we must do the same. If the
president gives a speech touting Obamacare in Fresno, Calif., every reporter within
100 miles should be served up a menu of people suffering under it before Air
Force One touches the ground.
This is a winnable fight. It’s our fight to win. But if
there’s one thing Republicans and conservatives excel at, it’s snatching defeat
from the jaws of victory.
Obamacare is a disaster, not just in code on a website,
but in concept and construction. It survives if we allow it to survive. No more
delays, no more defunds, and no more changes. Every unconstitutional change the
president makes must be immediately met with a court challenge, even if it’s
good. It’s his law. It’s his “medicine.” Make him take it.
No comments:
Post a Comment