Wednesday, October 16, 2013

The Federal Government Shutdown Comes To A Predictable Close

Yes my friends, the long national nightmare (16 days) of a partial government shutdown (roughly about 13% of the federal government) is about to end more or less predictably.
Part of why we got here was an attempt by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tx) and Mike Lee (R-Ut.) to force a total defunding of Obamacare.
The problem with that strategy is that they went on their own and figured that all would come to their way of thinking.
That is not how things work.
One of the problems with their approach is that it appears they not get anyone in house or senate leadership involved at all. Had either or both made a convincing case to the leadership and had one leader totally on board, a unified front could have gotten more concessions from the Democrats that, while eventually getting the same end game of funding the federal government and increasing the debt ceiling. The two senators tried to stage a revolt from the ground up. And thus it was a a bad strategy to begin with. Now we get nothing tangible and the Democrats can gloat for a while.
But there are silver linings.
One, we know who the spineless Republicans are.
Yes, Congressman Peter King is a leader of the spineless brigade. For some petty reason, he is still smarting from fellow Republicans for not rushing to vote for immediate federal government assistance for people recovering from Hurricane Sandy.
Mr. King, get over it.
Of course there is always Sens. John "F--- You" McCain (R-Az.) and Lindsay Goober Graham (R-SC) and they are just, well losers is the word that comes to mind. Why they could not bear to lose their permanent seats on the Sunday television talk show circuit to use to beat up on fellow Republicans.
Another thing that we have learned is that Obamacare is the disaster that we on the conservative side said that it was.
The roll out of the Exchanges is not nearly the story here. It is the reality that many, many Americans are coming to realize that they were blatantly lied to by the Dear Leader, President Obama, and his Democrat allies.
First, those who think that the federal government shutdown clouded the picture on the roll out of Obamacare do not give the public any credit. Yes, we can chew gum and walk at the same time. We can deal with the federal government debacle and the Obamacare debacle. The reality it only accentuated why Sens. Cruz and Lee were trying what they were doing.
When it was not all the difficulty (still occurring) of actually getting on the website, it was millions of Americans realizing that they were going to lose their doctors and not able to keep their health care plans as promised by the Dear Leader, President Obama, et al. And if they could, their health care costs would rise dramatically, even if they meet the requirements to obtain a subsidy. I highlighted two people right here. The most precious is this lefty from the Daily Kos website realizing that yes HE would have to pay a higher premium. Hey Tigre, don't say that we crazy right-wingers did not try to warn you. Oh yeah, Tigre is from California. As are the other two people in my link. Hmm, are they realizing that welfare comes at a cost? Just askin . . .
And for the rest of you out there, if you are dumped onto an Obamacare exchange and are lucky enough to get that federal government subsidy, most of you will have an unbelievably high deduct able should you actually use your new found affordable (Guffaw! Guffaw! Guffaw!) health care. (Need to sign up for a digital subscription to read the linked article but there is a free option-the story is important to read.)
The reality is that the federal government shutdown did make the Obamawhore media take notice of the multiple pitfalls of Obamacare. Regrettably, long after the fact that the law was passed. They took the former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal.) at her word about having to pass the bill to see what was in it.
And we learned that there is a rarefied air in Washington, D. C. That the political class cares about themselves and not really the American people as a whole. And throw in the punitive nature of how Team Obama dealt with what they did and did not shutdown and it is really apparent.
But make no mistake, the Republicans did lose on battle points. But I still believe we will win the war in the mid-term elections next year.
And in the end the reason will be Obamacare more than anything. Because people that like the idea of health care for all are beginning to realize that there is a cost to that. Not just in higher hidden taxes but in the quality of health care going down. The long waits not just to see a doctor but in getting a referral to see a specialist. This is the predictable results of health care for all and the government subsidizing it.
At least Sens. Cruz and Lee were willing to fight the predictable effects of Obamacare. However the best way to fight is to adopt the Burn It Down approach. Let Obamacare go full force. And make sure to force the political class to have to take it too. And employee mandates? Vote to have that as well. Sometimes the best approach is to let the damage happen. Yes it is going to be painful, but sometimes people need that cold water in the face to realize what they should have known in the first place.
Yes, the can is kicked down the road and the federal government will be funded and the debt ceiling will be increased. But the war is not over at all. Not by a longshot.



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