FarCenter (16,052 posts) Fri Dec 20, 2013, 06:12 PM
Obamacare Initiates Self-Destruction Sequence
Yesterday, we had a more official announcement from the administration: Anyone who has had their policies cancelled will be exempt from the individual mandate next year. The administration is also allowing those people to buy catastrophic plans, even if they’re over 30.
What to make of these two statements? On the one hand, the administration is trying to minimize the number of people who have been affected by cancellations, and on the other hand, it is unveiling a fix to the problem of cancellations. And these are not minor changes.
...
I’m not sure the administration is thinking that far ahead. The White House is focused on winning the news cycle, day by day, not the kind of detached technocratic policymaking that they, and the law’s other supporters, hoped this law would embody. Does your fix create problems later, cause costs to spiral or people to drop out of the insurance market, or lead to political pressure to expand the fixes in ways that critically undermine the law? Well, that’s preferable to sudden death right now.
However incoherent these fixes may seem, they send two messages, loud and clear. The first is that although liberal pundits may think that the law is a done deal, impossible to repeal, the administration does not believe that. The willingness to take large risks with the program’s stability indicates that the administration thinks it has a huge amount to lose -- that the White House is in a battle for the program’s very existence, not a few marginal House and Senate seats.
And the second is that enrollment probably isn’t what the administration was hoping. I don’t know that we’ll start Jan. 1 with fewer people insured than we had a year ago, but this certainly shouldn’t make us optimistic. It’s not like people who lost their insurance due to Obamacare, and now can’t afford to replace their policy, are going to be happy that they’re exempted from the mandate; they’re still going to be pretty mad. This is at best, damage control. Which suggests that the administration is expecting a fair amount of damage.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-20/obamacare-initiates-self-destruction-sequence.html
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024206545#post1Response to FarCenter (Original post)
Fri Dec 20, 2013, 06:24 PM
Tarheel_Dem (18,581 posts)
1. Why you guys are given free reign to trash and bash is beyond me. Talk about "self-destruction".
Folks like you defeat the very purpose of this board, which AFAIK still remains:
Vote for Democrats.
Winning elections is important —therefore, advocating in favor of Republican nominees or in favor of third-party spoiler candidates that could split the vote and throw an election to our conservative opponents is never permitted on Democratic Underground. But that does not mean that DU members are required to always be completely supportive of Democrats. During the ups-and-downs of politics and policy-making, it is perfectly normal to have mixed feelings about the Democratic officials we worked hard to help elect. When we are not in the heat of election season, members are permitted to post strong criticism or disappointment with our Democratic elected officials, or to express ambivalence about voting for them. In Democratic primaries, members may support whomever they choose. But when general election season begins, DU members must support Democratic nominees (EXCEPT in rare cases where were a non-Democrat is most likely to defeat the conservative alternative, or where there is no possibility of splitting the liberal vote and inadvertently throwing the election to the conservative alternative). For presidential contests, election season begins when both major-party nominees become clear. For non-presidential contests, election season begins on Labor Day. Everyone here on DU needs to work together to elect more Democrats and fewer Republicans to all levels of American government. If you are bashing, trashing, undermining, or depressing turnout for our candidates during election season, we'll assume you are rooting for the other side.
Forgive me, but I just don't see how you help. It should be crystal clear that you have an agenda that runs counter to the mission of this site, and instead of joining the GOP refrain of "Obamacare Sucks", we should be pulling together to elect more Democrats who can sort out the kinks, and make this better. Dwelling on the daily machinations of the administration trying to provide the necessary fixes so that everyone has access to healthcare, is just bad form for this site. I mean, I could read this shit at Free Republic.
I hope the New Year brings some changes for ObamaCare, and for DU. It's a critical midterm election, and we don't need this suppressive bullshit trying to thwart the mission of this board.
Response to HereSince1628 (Reply #7)
Fri Dec 20, 2013, 06:40 PM
geek tragedy (34,093 posts)
8. Are you familiar with the purpose of this site? It's not to promote rightwing propaganda nt
Haters got to hate.
Response to geek tragedy (Reply #8)
Fri Dec 20, 2013, 06:48 PM
HereSince1628 (27,887 posts)
17. Yes, quite. I've been here longer than your current username
I quite understand.
What's more important? Knocking homophobic minor television celebrities or knocking down hit-pieces about ACA?
I can't understand how you can't understand that I understand what you don't understand.
Lots of alert buttons being pushed tonight kids.
Response to Scurrilous (Reply #5)
Fri Dec 20, 2013, 06:37 PM
geek tragedy (34,093 posts)
6. maybe we should rename this place dkfunderground.com, since apparently this kind
Last edited Fri Dec 20, 2013, 06:37 PM - Edit history (1)
of rightwing horseshit is considered acceptable by every jury.
Friendly reminder to our moles that due to rules change you have a new mission - hidden posts = high entertainment factor.
Response to Scurrilous (Reply #5)
Fri Dec 20, 2013, 06:47 PM
Tarheel_Dem (18,581 posts)
14. Well, it's almost as if Megan's interns have taken over the damned board. There has to be a fix....
for this shit.
Alert.. alert.. goooooo alert!
Response to Scurrilous (Reply #5)
Fri Dec 20, 2013, 07:49 PM
Star Member SidDithers (30,287 posts)
43. Lots of "any port in a storm" bashing going on around here lately...
as long as it's anti-Obama, it's fine with some DUers. Doesn't matter what the source is.
Sid
Alert that shit Sid. ALERT IT.
Response to geek tragedy (Reply #18)
Fri Dec 20, 2013, 06:50 PM
Star Member Pretzel_Warrior (5,847 posts)
21. Has anyone alerted?
I see what you did there pretzel. I owe you a H5.
Response to Pretzel_Warrior (Reply #21)
Fri Dec 20, 2013, 06:53 PM
geek tragedy (34,093 posts)
22. yep, 3-3 to keep, closer than I would expect, given that he's also promoting Duck Dynasty nt
Alert, alert... goooo alert!!!
