{"id":1004,"date":"2013-05-30T13:45:32","date_gmt":"2013-05-30T18:45:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/napervilledemocrats.org\/ntdo\/?p=1004"},"modified":"2013-09-03T13:26:33","modified_gmt":"2013-09-03T18:26:33","slug":"wonkbook-the-gops-dangerous-obamacare-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/napervilledemocrats.org\/ntdo\/wonkbook-the-gops-dangerous-obamacare-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Wonkbook: The GOP’s Dangerous Obamacare Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wonkblog describes the Republican strategy on Obamacare<\/a>\u00a0(emphasis added<\/strong>):\"\"<\/p>\n

Republicans who\u2019re unable to repeal it also refuse to permit any tweaks or technical correction that would help it work better<\/strong>. In fact, they\u2019re creating new problems by withholding implementation funds.<\/strong><\/p>\n

…If [this behavior] persists, \u201cwhat America will get is not the Affordable Care Act, and nor will it be repeal of the Affordable Care Act. It\u2019ll be a hobbled version of the Affordable Care Act, where what works isn\u2019t expanded and what fails isn\u2019t replaced. And though that might be better than nothing for the uninsured, it will be pretty terrible policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s both a strategy and a principle at play here. The GOP really, truly hates Obamacare. They believe that their best chance to repeal it is to make it as big a mess as possible. Anything that makes it easier to live with makes it harder to get rid of. But they know that the chances of repeal are pretty slim. That\u2019s where the politics come in. They think their best chance to retake the Senate in 2014 is to make Obamacare as big a mess as possible and then ride the outrage in the midterms.<\/strong><\/p>\n

They may be right about that, or\u00a0they may be very wrong<\/a>. But this is a theory that requires Republicans to knowingly damage America\u2019s health-care system on the off-chance the damage is severe enough to help them accomplish a much larger policy goal<\/strong>. It\u2019s a theory that requires them to choose to let problems fester because the pain is more politically useful than the cure.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s characteristically brutal and cynical, putting politics first and utterly refusing to consider the impact on human beings. \u00a0Again, why do decent people choose to associate themselves with the GOP?<\/p>\n