By now, most of us are expecting widespread GOP victories in the midterm elections that will give Republicans complete control of Capitol Hill come January. But Tuesday will also deliver an inconvenient truth: The single item at the top of the Republican legislative agenda, the signature talking point of the last four years, is likely to go nowhere.
Even Mitch McConnell admits it. After six years of railing against Obamacare, here’s the sum total of what Republicans are likely to do if they win control of the Senate: Little, if anything.
Obamacare has been Republicans’ favorite whipping boy even before it became law in 2010. They’ve used it time and again on the campaign trail to fire up voters against the White House and Democrats in Congress. But now that they seem poised to begin doing something about it, they will have to face a new reality: The Affordable Care Act is here to stay and Republicans will be political losers if they mess with it too much.
This week McConnell admitted that repealing Obamacare is impossible, in the face of a likely Democratic filibuster and a certain presidential veto. But McConnell didn’t tell the whole story. That was left to Ohio’s Republican Governor John Kasich, when he pointed out last week that the “political and ideological opposition” to the ACA won’t hold water “against real flesh and blood and real improvements in people’s lives.”
Kasich insists that he was just talking about Medicaid expansion, but the same political logic applies to the ACA as a whole. With millions of people newly covered, and with major industries including insurance and hospitals benefitting, the ACA will not be repealed, dismantled, defunded or defanged. Any changes will be around the margins and even these will be complicated to pull off.
Feel Better?
Interestingly enough Jim Wright, a fellow Alaskan blogger, said much the same thing yesterday.
So what WILL the Republicans do if they manage to win control of both the Senate and the House?
Well if past is prologue nothing of any real benefit to their constituents that's for damn sure.
And I also agree that they will be unable to do anything about repealing Obamacare, and as for impeaching the President, well I am sure that there are many of them who remember how well that worked out for their party with Bill Clinton.
I actually think that after making halfhearted attempts to derail Obamacare, and undo some of Obama's policies, that the Republicans will then turn to what is really important to the future of their party.
Benghazi.
But not to hurt President Obama, he is yesterday's news. No they want to use it to damage somebody much more threatening to them.
Hillary Clinton.
In fact I would be willing to bet that a number of agenda items will be barely concealed attempts to damage her reputation, to question her ability to lead the country, and to dredge up old news about Bill Clinton's sexual peccadilloes.
Yes if the Republicans get control of both houses it will be all about bashing Hillary Clinton 24/7. And I will guarantee you that before they are finished they will have managed to cut her favorability ratings in half. If not having derailed her candidacy altogether.
Keep that in mind as you head out to the polls today.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment