House Republicans have no scheduled votes or hearings on ObamaCare, signaling a shift in the party’s strategy as the White House rides a wave of good news on the law.
Not a single House committee has announced plans to attack the healthcare law in the coming weeks, and only one panel of jurisdiction commented to The Hill despite repeated inquiries.
GOP campaign committees also declined to say whether they will launch any new efforts on the law.
The lack of action highlights the GOP’s struggle to adjust its message now that enrollment in the exchanges beat projections and the uninsured rate is going down. Insurers also report that 80 to 90 percent of new policyholders are paying their premiums, contradicting a frequent criticism from the GOP.
This dynamic was laid bare last week as Republicans failed to land punches against the healthcare law in a hearing of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee. In a rare display, Democrats began to control the message as witnesses from health insurance companies rebuffed several lines of GOP questioning.
And just when I thought they would NEVER shut up about repealing the law or attempting to smear Democrats who voted for it.
Of course part of this sudden shift, could have something to do with the newest bright and shiny object on the horizon.
Benghazi!
However Benghazi does not really help the Republicans during the 2014 election cycle, which makes one wonder just what is their fallback strategy for attacking the Dems?
We didn't have to wait long: Dr. Karl Rove diagnosing Hillary Clinton's brain damage.
ReplyDeleteRove is pathetic. He has completely lost any credibility that he may have had at one time. He'll continue to throw shit out about Hillary hoping that something will stick.
DeleteI loved this exchange on "The Five" (a fairy tale representing television reporters at their worst) regarding Saint Karl and President Clinton's epic rebuttal.
Deletehttp://www.politicususa.com/2014/05/14/fox-news-reveals-real-agenda-congratulating-karl-rove-hillary-clinton-smear.html
Watch, they'll stop calling it Obamacare now; bet on it !
ReplyDeleteNot only are they going to start calling it The Affordable Care Act, but the closer we get to elections, the more they are going to start taking credit for it.
DeleteYou ask the question......Karl has the answers......it's magic.....
ReplyDeleteAccording to the increasingly annoying polls asking average Americans what they think (is that an oxymoron?), the news about Obamacare and President Obama's ability to get things done despite Republicans that benefit average Americans has a long way to go before it sinks in the average Americans' tiny minds.
ReplyDeleteDo pollsters and the media really think polling (stupid, clueless) average Americans on what they think about facts and the way things are is really how we should be doing business in this country?
Turns Out Obamacare Premiums Aren't More Expensive After All
ReplyDeleteWhen the cost of an employer-provided health insurance plan is compared to the cost of an Affordable Care Act plan bought on a state health insurance exchange, the ACA plan will be more affordable on average, a new analysis from PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute finds.
"In 2014, the premiums for health plans offered on new state exchanges under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are comparable to — and in some cases lower than — those being offered by employers with similar levels of coverage," the analysts concluded. "The data suggest the new exchanges are competitive with the current insurance market."
The analysis is based on employer-sponsored premiums of 156 million people in 2013. Here's an infographic illustrating those numbers (this is the median annual price for each kind of plan):
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/turns-obamacare-premiums-arent-more-153900650.html?soc_src=mediacontentsharebuttons
They may not love all of it, but most Americans want the president’s signature health reform policy to stay.
ReplyDeleteA significant majority (61%) of Americans want the Affordable Care Act kept as-is or improved with changes, while a little more than a third (38%) want the law fully repealed or replaced, according to new polling released Sunday.
A little less than half (49%) of all respondents said “make some changes” when asked what they thought Congress should do with respect to the law, according to the CNN/ORC poll. Another 12% want the law kept in place in its exact form. Among those supporting repeal, 18% said they wanted to repeal and replace the health reform law with a new law, and 20% said it should just be repealed.
Even Republicans are more likely to say they want to see the law “changed” than repealed. Although a tiny 2% of Republicans said the law should be kept as-is, the most popular answer was “make some changes” at 36%, with 33% saying repeal it entirely and 29% supporting repeal and replace. Only 10% of Democrats support any version of repeal, but 63% support making changes to the law, while 26% want it kept as-is.
Independent voters show a slightly more repeal-friendly breakdown, with 55% supporting a law in its original or improved form, and 45% supporting repeal either with or without replacement.
Broken down across age groups, younger adults (ages 18-34) are most likely to support making minor changes to the law (50%). Seniors, many of whom already received health coverage from Medicare, are more likely than any other demographic to support a full repeal of the law with no replacement, at 25%.
Across racial groups, nonwhites are more likely than whites to want the law kept as is or improved, 79% to 53%. While whites are slightly more likely than nonwhites to support repeal or repeal with replacement, 46% to 21%.
Recent polling from Gallup found African-American and Latino Americans saw more significant decreases in the uninsured rate since the law’s health exchange open enrollment period began.
President Obama has indicated publicly he’s open to working with Congress to make adjustments to the law. “I’ve said many times, I am willing to work with anyone on any idea to make this law perform even better,” he said at an October event discussing the shaky rollout of the health exchange website. “But it’s time for folks to stop rooting for its failure, because hardworking middle-class families are rooting for its success.”
The poll also finds a slight increase in the overall number of Americans who see the law as a success – a four-point jump since November 2013 from 8% to 12%. But overall the percent that see it as a failure – 39% – remains unchanged. The most popular response to this question continues “to be too soon to tell” with 49%, down from 53% in November 2013.
A slight majority of Americans remain optimistic that the current problems facing the law will be solved, with 51% saying they will be and 47% saying they won’t.
Poll: What should Congress do with Obamacare?
http://www.msnbc.com/politicsnation/americans-want-obamacare-stay-fixes
A law by any other name would smell as sweet
ReplyDeletewww.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/law-any-other-name-would-smell-sweet
The Totally Misleading Way The GOP Plans To Attack Obamacare Next
ReplyDeleteOne of the next big tests for Obamacare's long-term viability -- matched only perhaps by whether people actually like their new coverage -- is what happens to health insurance premiums in 2015.
House Republicans were digging for bad premium news last week, though insurance executives declined to give it to them, and prominent GOPers have sounded the warning bells whenever a headline suggesting skyrocketing prices gets published.
"Americans will be shocked by higher premiums this November," teased the Republican National Committee in late April. House Speaker John Boehner's office tweeted a similar headline the month before. It looks like to be their next big attack on the law.
But they left out one crucial piece of information: Obamacare is designed to protect enrollees against year-to-year price fluctuations. Warning about higher premiums leaves an impression that people will pay more, and the GOP surely won't hesitate to push that line again whenever news of rising premiums breaks.
But they're not telling the whole story.
Larry Levitt, vice president at the non-partisan, non-profit Kaiser Family Foundation, noted this key point in some tweeted perspective on the premium news that has emerged in the last few days. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that at least one insurer in Washington was cutting rates next year. A day earlier, the newspaper reported on filings in Virginia that showed premium increases -- but not as big of a bump as some had warned.
But inseparable from any news about premiums is an understanding of how Obamacare actually works: People receiving subsidies are "shielded" from price increases, Levitt told TPM in an email.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/republican-attack-obamacare-premiums-2015-subsidies
Darrell Issa’s Benghazi Stunt Blows Up In His Face as Kerry Won’t Appear at Hearing
ReplyDeleteDarrell Issa’s subpoena of Sec. of State John Kerry has completely backfired, as the State Department announced that Kerry would not be testifying at next week’s Benghazi hearing, and Issa put the subpoena on hold.
According to The Hill:
http://www.politicususa.com/2014/05/13/darrell-issas-benghazi-stunt-blows-face-kerry-hearing.html
Dear Darryl Issa,
DeleteSorry I can't make it to appear for your subpoena, but I've delegated Representative Elijah Cummings to take my place.
Regards,
Secretary of State John Kerry
Oh yeah.. I purchased my elite state retirement health insurance this year. Been logging down the experience since Janurary......simpley outrageous. In my state the pattern has been explained by the lowest paid person in the building to me, Blame it on Obamacare.....it is President Obama's fault......Omygosh.....this happened in not one but several appointments. As you might guess I called my insurance, the state attorney, the healthcare oversight committee and everyone in between to complain. This is a stinky nasty republican ploy and lousy providers behaving unethical and unprofessional. Actually we need to remove insurance and just deal with one agency directly. ELIMINATE INSURANCE....the leeches of the world. One healthcare card for all.
ReplyDeleteI think pigs are flying! Chuck 'carries water for the GOP' Todd said this???
ReplyDeleteChuck Todd: It's Time For Republicans To Get Over Benghazi
Chuck Todd has a message for Republicans still harping on Benghazi: it's over, people.
The panel on Tuesday's "Morning Joe" was discussing the new House Select committee formed to investigate the 2012 Benghazi attacks. The inquiry comes after several others into the attacks, all of which led Todd to suggest that the latest investigation is not necessary and is more of a "partisan" process than anything else.
"I’ll hear from Republicans that say, ‘But there are unanswered questions!’ Well, no, all the questions have been answered," he said. "There’s just some people that don’t like the answers, that wish the answers were somehow more conspiratorial, I guess."
Todd said that there were a number of issues, like policy or the United States' response to Arab Spring, worth discussing. "But to sit here and investigate talking points seems to be totally missing the larger point here," he added. "It’s like investigating who cut down one tree in a forest that’s been burned down."
His comments echo his remarks earlier this month that the new committee "looks nothing more than a partisan stunt.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/13/chuck-todd-republicans-benghazi_n_5317210.html
Who needs Obamacare since it's a success? The GOP will always have Benghazi. They've overplayed their hand, it must really suck swamp water to be a Republican and or Teahadist. Is Obamacare perfect? No, but it's getting better and better.
ReplyDelete