Since we don’t seem to be getting much help from those in Congress who promised to be on our side in this fight, apparently the only hope that we may have now in avoiding what's being referred to as the train wreck of Obamacare, is that it will simply come crashing down under its own weight. And concerns may now be weighing heavily on the minds of many House Democrats who seem to be worried that the growing number of problems involved with the rollout of Obamacare could cost them the 2014 election. Concerns that were heightened this past Tuesday after Barry admitted there would be some "glitches and bumps" along the way to its full implementation. God forbid!
At his news conference on Tuesday, we heard Barry "Almighty" as he tried to downplay any concerns that the law could disrupt coverage or lead to higher insurance premiums. He insisted the program is "working fine," but added that problems are common for any new government initiative. Barry stated at his new conference that his healthcare law is bound to hit some snags as it comes fully into effect over the next six months. "Even if we do everything perfectly, there will still be glitches and bumps." He added, " That's pretty much true of every government program that's ever been set up." But let's be honest here, nothing on this magnitude has ever been attempted before.
But, according to The Hill, there are more than a few Democrats who are of the opinion that Barry's whole take on this issue of implementing the healthcare program with minimum effort is divorced from reality. "The White House is going to have to step up its game," one top Democratic lawmaker told The Hill. The Republicans are doing everything to prevent success . . . The White House is going to need to understand that." The lawmaker said the administration has placed too much focus on implementation at the expense of educating consumers, and that there is a "significant disconnect" in the public’s understanding of the Affordable Care Act, which is due to take effect Jan. 1.
Asked about Democratic concerns that the implementation could be a "huge train wreck," Barry said, and quite confidently, that the law will be fully implemented on time. "We've got a great team in place. We are pushing very hard to make sure we are hitting the deadlines and the benchmarks," Barry said. He acknowledged the difficult work facing his administration as it scrambles to set up new insurance markets, known as exchanges, by October. Republican governors' resistance to setting up exchanges in their states has made life harder, Barry said. Adding, "Yes, it puts more of a burden on us. And it's ironic, since all these folks say they believe in empowering state." Right!
The federal government is building all or part of the exchanges in 33 states, without a dedicated budget. The Health and Human Services Department has had to scrape together money from various sources, while trying to convince states to set up their own exchanges and draw from an unlimited pool of federal grant money. "I think it's harder, there's no doubt about it," Barry said. Although he acknowledged that setting up exchanges on time is a difficult task, Barry was determined to downplay the implications for the overall implementation effort. Being the big-government guy that he is, he obviously sees this as being a piece of cake.
Sparked by Sen. Max Baucus's, Democrat, comments about a "huge train wreck coming down," some Democrats are worried that a flawed rollout of the exchanges will hurt the law's practical success and political standing. In what was nothing more than an attempt to blow smoke, Barry noted that the exchanges are designed to serve a relatively small part of the country: people who buy insurance on their own rather than getting it through an employer. "For the average American out there … this thing has already happened, and their only impact is that their insurance is stronger, better, more secure," Barry said. But he neglects to mention that because of Obamacare, it’ll be far more expensive.
"Voters will remember that every incumbent Senate Democrat has their fingerprints all over this train wreck," said a statement from Brad Dayspring, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Opposition to Obamacare helped Republicans gain control of the House in 2010. Democrats need 17 seats to win it back in 2014, but if the public’s experience with Obamacare backfires, the party is unlikely to prevail and could also lose control of the Senate. We should be so lucky! A recent poll revealed that 42% of Americans are even unaware that Obamacare is the law of the land. How the Hell is that possible? They need to be made aware so they can vote accordingly!
Despite Barry's heavy cheerleading while doing his best to downplay any of the many potential pitfalls that lay ahead for this looming train wreck that is Obamacare, support for the program has hit the lowest level since the bill was passed, the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll shows. Overall, just 35 percent have a favorable view of Obamacare while 40 percent have an unfavorable view, which ties an October 2011 poll for the lowest level ever. And bizarrely enough, twenty-four percent have no opinion on the law which, according to Kaiser, continues a recent trend of Americans offering no opinion. How stupid must you be to have NO opinion on Obamacare?
The Kaiser poll also finds that, in the month of April, Americans are more divided than ever on their evaluations of the health law. Opinion remains deeply divided along partisan lines with 57 percent of Democrats favoring the law and 67 percent of Republicans opposing. Half of the public (49 percent) say they do not have enough information to fully understand how Obamacare will impact their own family. Sixty-five percent of Hispanics say they do not have enough information to understand the law compared with 48 percent of blacks and 45 percent of whites. Just goes to show how successful the effort to keep Americans in the dark about Obamacare, has been.
More than half of Americans (53 percent) support efforts to change or block the law, while only a third (33 percent) believe opponents should accept Obamacare as the law of the land, down from 40 percent since the beginning of the year. Despite the fact the fact that a majority of Americans still oppose this disaster, we continue to see very little effort, by those who promised us that they would make the killing of Obamacare their top priority, to derail it. While there has been much talk in the House of defunding it, every time an opportunity presents it self to do just that, our stellar GOP leadership has made absolutely no attempt to do so.
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