President Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi had one last chance to avoid an unmitigated political disaster. Ted Cruz has given them a way out. They can grudgingly pass the continuing resolution, which defunds ObamaCare and blame Republicans for the resulting mess. But they are too stupid and too arrogant to realize that, so instead they will fight to the last breath to save ObamaCare. They will think they are winning because they are sure Americans will be angry at republicans for the government shutdown. When there was a government shutdown in 1995, Republicans did get a majority of the blame: from the main stream media, but not from the American people. Republicans retained control of both the House and the Senate in the next election. In addition, Bill Clinton’s favorability rating dropped like a stone. He eventually recovered and won re-election, but only because the Republicans nominated Bob Dole, who had no discernible pulse. Ultimately, congress will find a way to fund the government. In the meantime, Democrats will own ObamaCare lock stock and barrel. Cruz is making them wear ObamaCare like a coat.
ObamaCare is a train wreck and the devastation will be here sooner than you can imagine. Every employer in the United States is required to give every employee written notification of ObamaCare before October 1, 2013. These notices are designed to inform everyone how the ObamaCare exchanges work. So even though the Employer Mandate has been delayed for a year, the notices have to go out now. I suspect that a lot, if not most employers, will give out the notices this week. That means ObamaCare will suddenly be reality for a lot of people. At a minimum it will be change that no one really understands. They won’t even know when it starts. How much will it cost? How do I obtain treatment? Can I keep my doctor? What is covered? What is not covered? Why am I getting this notice now if the employer mandate was delayed for a year? We just may see a million people with a million questions and no one available to provide any answers.
What about the doctors, or the hospitals, or the drug companies or the home health care givers? How are they going to be paid? How much can they charge? Where do they send the paperwork? How long will this take? The ObamaCare train is traveling at high speed, it has already turned the corner and it has zero change of staying on the rails. The only thing certain is chaos.
Just about the time Democrats start gloating about how they defeated that idiot Cruz, they are going to be confronted with the awful reality of ObamaCare. If they were smart they would have used Ted Cruz to justify another delay. This was one battle they couldn’t afford to fight and one where winning may be more costly than losing.
In the meantime, Ted Cruz yielded the floor, after talking for over 21 hours. Even if you think this was a dumb idea and a futile gesture, you have to be impressed with the sheer energy and determination. Ted Cruz may lose this fight, but this is a man who truly believes what he says and he speaks with conviction. We would be wise to listen to such people.
I would not automatically assume that Cruz will be the loser in this. We have rarely seen a politician with this level of determination. I guarantee you that virtually every political advisor was telling Cruz not to do this. So the question is what drives Ted Cruz. Is he so arrogant that he just ignores sound advice and proceeds full speed ahead? Or is he just determined to do what he considers to be right. History tells us that a lot of important victories were won by people too stupid to know they couldn’t win. When you stand on your feet for more than 21 hours, I think it is safe to assume he is fueled by a higher source than his own arrogance.
His final statement, before yielding the floor, was: “the pleas from the American people are deafening.” If he is right, and I suspect he is, then we may have just witnessed something rare and compelling. One man, fueled only by his personal determination, refused to surrender when everyone around him had given up hope. If he somehow prevails it will be a beautiful thing.
TDM
Just a comment on what I beevlie is a “current” result of Obamacare. I have Medicare coverage via an Advantage plan. This year, not only did my “co-pays” increase for specialists and ER services, but the real zinger is that MANY services which once had co-pays that were flat dollar amounts, e.g. $20.00, changed to “percentages.” Whereas last year (and those preceding) I would pay $20.00 on a $400 dollar bill, I now must pay $80. Not so bad you may say, but my only income is Social Security which did increase slightly this year (following two or was it three years of no COLA), but the increase in my income would quickly be devoured by medical expenses should I suddenly develop a serious illness. It is my understanding that several hundreds of millions of dollars were “redirected” from Advantage Plans with the advent of Obamacare, and I suppose these major changes in my plan are intended to recoup those losses. (See next)
A little known fact – The original Healthcare bill was known to have big flaws and be unworkable. It was assumed that a compromise bill would allow for the corrections. However, when Ted Kennedy passed, his voting replacement (Brown) could not be counted to vote foe a revised bill. Hence – the Pelosi House was forced to accept the bill as written – knowing it would not work!