Today, the fight over Obamacare has created quite a big dilemma for Congress. The House voted to defund Obamacare, for the 42nd time according to CNN. This time is different. The House has created a situation where unless the Senate passes the law as well, we very well might see a government shutdown. This would occur on September 30th if the government can not agree upon a spending resolution, which would in turn, spark debate for raising the debt ceiling.
Obviously, Obama does not support this bill, but he even went as far as to call the House Republicans out on focusing on the politics of the matter and not the people. They want to do anything they can to stop Obamacare and make Obama look bad that they are willing to risk a shutdown of the government. Do the Representatives that passed this bill think that this threat will push the Senate to follow in their footsteps? Is there any other explanation?
Huffington Post
1 comment:
I'd claim that Obama's statement itself focuses on the politics of the issue and not the people. If, as a politician, I believe that a certain policy or set of policies are detrimental to the American people, then I am morally bound to stand opposed to it. Obamacare has its drawbacks, perhaps the most prominent one right now is the series of cuts full time workers now face as companies try to cut their expenses.
For the most part, the Democrats have been solid in their defense of the ACA in the Senate, and as such, have been able to block meaningful reform/repeal legislation from passing. This represents a prime opportunity for those against Obamacare to force renewed debate on the Senate floor. I find Obama's demonization of the House GOP extremely hypocritical - he blames partisan politics for the split in Congress, and at the same time perpetuates it by criticizing and bashing the Republican establishment.
Finally, since the ACA is projected to negatively impact our current debt situation, with the CBO estimating more than 700 billion in costs by 2019 (and they usually underestimate costs), it becomes reasonable that the ACA is on the table and should be open to debate. I would argue that despite what the Democrats and Republicans say about each other, they both (for the most part) have the public's best interests in mind, and just don't agree on what's best for the people. Both the small-government and the large-government ideologies have existed in the past, and both have worked to some extend, so I find the name-calling and accusations of "holding America hostage" distasteful.
If anything, the House's bill stands as a testament to their philosophy and opinion regarding the debt ceiling and the ACA and their recommendation on how the crisis is to be solved. This shutdown creates an opportune time to once again raise this debate (hopefully meaningfully this time) in Congress, since this time the Democrats must listen to the Republicans and the Republicans must listen to the Democrats.
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