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Putting the Brakes on ObamaCare
GOOD NEWS: Rep. Steve King (R.-Iowa) has the signatures of 170 House members on a petition to vote this year on a repeal of Obamacare. King doesn't have a multi-million dollar campaign for this effort, but he has something more valuable: the support of the American people. August 30 story; source HERE. From Cong. King's website: Read and print the full document here. A picture of the signed document is here. A list of Members who have signed the document is available here. [Note: this list is from February, so may not have been updated.]
Public sours on health care reform as midterms loom
A new poll shows that public support for health care reform dropped sharply in August - a dagger in Democrats' hopes that their landmark legislation will help them in November's midterm.
The Kaiser Health Tracking Poll has support for the bill dropping 7 percentage points in August - down to 43 percent - while opposition rose 10 points to 45 percent. That's the weakest showing since May - and a far cry from the bump proponents had hoped to see as some of the law's more consumer-friendly provisions kick in.
Democrats said throughout the year-long debate on Capitol Hill that support for the overhaul would increase once the bill passed and Americans were able to take advantage of some of its benefits. But it appears voters' opinions of the legislation were set more firmly than anyone thought during the bruising political fight. Read more here.
Dear Patients: Vote to Repeal ObamaCare
Facing a nationwide backlash, Democratic congressional candidates have a new message for voters: We know you don't like ObamaCare, so we'll fix it.
This was the line offered by Democrat Mark Critz, who won a special election in Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district after expressing opposition to the law and promising to mend it-but not to repeal it. As a doctor I know something about unexpected recoveries, and this latest attempt to rescue ObamaCare from repeal needs to be taken seriously.
For Democrats who voted for ObamaCare, this tactic is an escape route, a chance to distance themselves from the president with a vague promise to fix health-care reform in the next Congress.
To counter this election-year ruse, my colleagues and I at Docs4PatientCare are enlisting thousands of doctors in an unorthodox and unprecedented action. Our patients have always expected a certain standard of care from their doctors, which includes providing them with pertinent information that may affect their quality of life. Because the issue this election is so stark-literally life and death for millions of Americans in the years ahead-we are this week posting a "Dear Patient" letter in our waiting rooms.Read more here.
Sebelious: Administration Has a Lot of 'Reeducation' To do on Obamacare
Uncertain whether the last 18 months of dismal health-care speeches and rallies had entirely destroyed the myth of the Obama administration as gifted, uplifting message mavens, Kathleen Sebelius bravely ventured into the rhetorical orchards and brought forth this rotten fruit:
"Unfortunately, there still is a great deal of confusion about what is in [the reform law] and what isn't," Sebelius told ABC News Radio in an interview Monday.
"So, we have a lot of reeducation to do," Sebelius said.
Cult of competence, I believe they were once called.
One is left wondering if this will be a standard PSA-style push or something more along the lines of a camp environment. This Healthcare.gov video offers a pretty clear look at the end result of reeducation efforts. Start studying, keep the eyes vacant, the accent regionally neutral, and the tone uniformly, creepily pleasant while repeating your Obama talking points, folks. Read more here.
Putting the Brakes on ObamaCare
How a Republican Congress could begin the process of repealing this unpopular law.
By GRACE-MARIE TURNER
If Republicans take control of one or both houses of Congress this fall, many will have been elected with a promise to "repeal and replace" ObamaCare. But what are their options, really? There likely will be an initial showdown, but President Obama will surely veto any challenge to the law, and it would be hard to imagine mustering the votes to overturn it.
Information is the key weapon. Republicans can use congressional hearings to explain what ObamaCare is doing to the economy and the health sector. Their strongest cases would be built around jobs, the cost of health care, and the rising deficit.
If evidence shows that looming mandates on employers are crippling job-creation, they should be repealed. If health costs are rising, as they inevitably will be, Congress needs to hold hearings to investigate the causes and explain why the offending taxes and regulations must be repealed.
Here are six key strategies that a Republican Congress could employ to put on the brakes:
� Defund it. House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio has vowed to choke off funding for implementation of the legislation, starting with parts that are especially egregious such as the "army of new IRS agents" needed to police compliance.
While Republicans could target the most damaging provisions of the legislation and tie their defunding measures to appropriations legislation that the president wants and needs to sign, they'd better be ready for battles. When former House Speaker Newt Gingrich lost a stand-down with President Clinton over closing down the government in 1996, it was widely seen as a setback for GOP efforts to scale back big government.
� Dismantle it. To focus committee action and floor votes, Republicans can look for provisions in the law that Democrats are on record as opposing. For example, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D., N.D.) has said that the new federal program to fund long-term care-the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act, or CLASS Act-is "a Ponzi scheme of the first order, the kind of thing that Bernie Madoff would have been proud of." Mr. Conrad and five of his Democratic colleagues sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) before the legislation passed opposing the program and expressing "grave concerns" about its fiscal sustainability. Read more here.
