And Now for Something Completely Different

Elections Matter

Posted Thursday, October 17, 2013, at 12:20 PM

We hear this from time to time from both left and right of the political aisle. Elections do matter, but the results are what matter the most, especially in national elections.

After the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) was passed in 2009 it angered a lot of people. So much in fact that in the midterms of 2010 Republicans were almost swept into the majority of Congress (the took the House while almost taking the Senate). We were told at the time that America had spoken. What is important to note though is that Republicans did not run on ACA. They ran on jobs. They promised that if they won they would focus on jobs (still waiting for at least one jobs bill, by the way).

National Republicans (most notably on Fox News and conservative radio) told the country that the election of 2010 was referendum on Obamacare.

Still to this day we here people, even on this blog, point to that election of how unpopular the ACA is and why it must be dismantled.

Of course, what they almost always forget (or just omit) is that an election was also held in 2012. Obama ran (not solely) on ACA, Mitt Romney (whose Massacusette's health care law is what ACA is modeled after and is extremely successful) ran against ACA. Republicans made it a point to focus on ACA as much as possible. What was the end result? Obama won in a landslide. Democrats picked up seats in the Senate and the House and the Democratic Party won the election overall.

TEA Party Republicans in the House do not seem to care all that much. They held the country hostage while they voted on bill after bill after bill ... to repeal the ACA. Then they went a step further, they demanded that unless defunding of Obamacare was on the CR to keep the government open they would happily let the government shut down. They continually said they wanted to negotiate, but when your starting point is all or nothing, there really is nothing to negotiate.

So, the government shut down came. What did Republicans do? They immediately went out to monuments and parks that had been shut down for photo ops and political play so they could blame the President and Democrats for doing exactly what they were doing, led by the darlings of the right, Michelle Bachman and Sarah Palin who has not held political office fo nearly six years. They acted confused that their act to shut down the government would actually, you know, shut down the government.

Finally, in the 11th hour, the more moderate and sane thinking Republicans brokered a deal with Democrats to re-open the government and raise the debt ceiling, so that the governmnet could pay it's bills. The TEA Party faction, as should always happen in hostage taking, got absolutely nothing out of the deal.

Here is the point. Whether you agree with the party in the majority Washington used to be a game of actual negotiations where each side would give something to get something. We have seen what happens when a minority of the minority party is able to hijack the country and the economy. Hopefully from this point on actual negotiations will take place. I am hopeful but not optimistic.

There is another mid-term election coming around the corner, but with the extreme gerrymandering that has occurred in several states I really do not see much change happening no matter how pissed the country is.

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"TEA Party Republicans in the House do not seem to care all that much." This is true and it is false. They care more than anyone about the long term stability of this nation which is why they don't care at all about the short term ramifications of their actions. As previously stated when the piper comes calling everything they are doing will come into focus for the mathematically challenged. Watch and learn.............must be some good stuff mini.

-- Posted by divorcedugly on Thu, Oct 17, 2013, at 1:07 PM
They care more than anyone about the long term stability of this nation which is why they don't care at all about the short term ramifications of their actions.

That has got to be one of the most ridiculously stupid comments on here, and that's saying a lot. They don't care at all about the short term ramifications? The short term ramifications were completely dismantling the economy simply because they don't think a law should be funded. If, as you say, they care nothing about the short term ramifications then they also care nothing about the long term. They care nothing about anyone but the corporate lobbyists who pay them

Of course you left all the context out of the quote you use. What I was talking about is that they don't seem to really care all that much about the results of elections. If they are willing to hijack the government over a law that was passed by Congress, signed by the President, and confirmed by the Supreme Court and to ignore an election where the President that signed said law was re-elected, we should all fear what they will do in the future.

-- Posted by MichaelHendricks on Thu, Oct 17, 2013, at 11:56 PM
What is making me increasingly angry is that most of us agree on 65%-85% of the same stuff. But single issues increasingly divide us.

Granted these single issues are huge.

The majority of Democrats and Republlicans do agree that all able bodied people should work and Children and old folks shouldn't suffer.

Maybe a reset is in order.

I actually had a Republican in my office call me evil because I have and still believe that Bernanke is right and QE is good.

Wallis

-- Posted by wallismarsh on Fri, Oct 18, 2013, at 6:23 AM
What they are doing mini is making it plain and simple that they and they alone are the only ones who understand the dire consequences of the debt and deficit and the stupidity of adding another trillion dollar entitlement program. What will go down in history as "dismantling the economy" is the spending which will bankrupt us. When the history books are written it will be noted that the Tea Party tried to stop the insanity and the liberal democrat party and their non-conservative Republican friends aided and abetted the bankruptcy for the sake of getting elected and kicking the can down the road. That Republican was spot on.

-- Posted by divorcedugly on Fri, Oct 18, 2013, at 8:32 AM
There are some very troubling things about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The House passed one version of the law and the Senate passed another version. It's supposed to be the same law in each chamber, but the President "deemed" it to have passed and signed it into law. This does not follow our constitution, in any way.

This year, when the Democrats in the Senate need to be re-elected, the President decided unilaterally to defer the employer mandate part of the law for one year (this after he threatened to veto a bill by the Republicans that would have done the very same thing). This is a clear violation of the constitution, but since most people don't favor the law, nobody will object.

Obama referred to GW Bush as "the imperial president". I guess Obama has one-upped that, since we should call him "the dictator president".

Btw, Michael, the failure to raise the debt ceiling would not wreck our economy as you say. We raise plenty of tax revenue to pay the interest on the national debt. The problem is you want to borrow it, instead of paying it out of current revenues.

This whole political theater has "1984" overtones all over it. Debt is good, borrowing is good, raising taxes is good, government is good, inflation is good, dependence on government is good. Responsibility is bad, self-reliance is bad, individual self-determination is bad, capitalists are bad, conservatives are bad.

Yikes, this country is starting to feel like Venezuela or Cuba!

-- Posted by JohnGalt1968 on Mon, Oct 21, 2013, at 4:54 PM
Snowden for President 2016.

http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2013-10-27/real-reason-us-targets-whistlebl...

-- Posted by JohnGalt1968 on Mon, Oct 28, 2013, at 2:17 PM
We have 26 full time employees. Just received info on how much money it is going to cost us to comply with the Affordable Care Act. I don't think we can Afford it so we are considering dropping our insurance and letting everyone work with the Government.

I predict this law will be repealed when people realize it isn't free and when people who have had company insurance for years are dropped and are forced to work with the Government.

Wallis

-- Posted by wallismarsh on Thu, Oct 31, 2013, at 3:44 PM
Getting more info. This is a fee that we are being charged for offering our people insurance. Our insurance broker told me, best she can tell, the Government is trying to charge companies into dropping their plans.

This is a WOW deal for me. Unbelievable.

It would be a lot cheaper for me to drop insurance and give everyone a $500/month raise.

Wallis

-- Posted by wallismarsh on Thu, Oct 31, 2013, at 5:26 PM
Our insurer went to a high deductible HSA with a higher monthly premium and are now penalizing my employees whose spouses are eligible at their work place $50 a check in an effort to get the spouse off of my companies plan. I tried to negotiate with the insurance company and this was simply the best they could do given the demands of making the plan "qualify" under the husseinocare rules. This dictator took my companies and my employees who were content and well cared for at the cheapest rates available and just plain politically raped them. Yes raped them. We were all content and just doing our best and enjoying life and now we all feel raped to the tune of around 5K for every employee I have. All so every crack addled loser and hussein loving unemployed democrat party voter can strut around with a health insurance card. Rather than address the uninsured specifically and leave the rest of us alone they are raping our health care and raping my workers wallets. Wake up middle class Americans!!! You have just been politically raped by a bunch of socialists and democrat party members.

-- Posted by divorcedugly on Fri, Nov 1, 2013, at 9:26 AM
I realized after I hit send that mini and his ilk are not as versed in the English language as I am so please see this from Miriam's Dictionary, rape: an act or instance of robbing or despoiling or carrying away a person by force. I am sure mini will go all apoplectic at the mention of the word and will up his lithium for a day or two but that is exactly what has happened to the middle class in this instance. If you were working and enjoyed your health care plan and it has now been changed to husseinocare you have been raped. If you believed hussein when he stated hundreds of times you could keep your plan you have been raped. Liberals have raped the middle class. RAPED!!!!! If you worked to build up companies and provide your employees with health care plans they liked as I have and the government sweeps in and "fixes" it you have been RAPED!!!!

-- Posted by divorcedugly on Fri, Nov 1, 2013, at 11:20 AM
What other alternative was offered when this was making it's way through the system?

-- Posted by Wildhorse on Sat, Nov 2, 2013, at 11:38 AM
Wildhorse, the alternative was to keep what we had.

There were cries that people weren't getting health care before, but they were. They just went down the ER for their care, and the cost got dumped onto the insured folks and Medicaid and Medicare. Just like it will be after ObamaCare.

Now it's just the chaos of a government planned solution. But the government NEVER admits a mistake, they will just throw more money at the mistake.

Everybody was looking for free health care. And Obama promised you could keep your policy and your doctor--both lies really. That assumes your insurance company didn't decide to stop issuing policies (which they have done for millions) and that your doctor doesn't decide to retire or move to another country (which many will do).

JG

-- Posted by JohnGalt1968 on Wed, Nov 6, 2013, at 3:35 PM
Democrat Senators now saying if they don't put off Obama Care Senate Democrats will get thrown out of office next election.

I guess elections do matter.

Our premiums are up 20% in the last 3 months. They are going up 7% more in January and our renewal is in March where they will go up again.

This Health Care Tax is so volatile we don't know what percent of income it is yet.

And your getting less and paying more.

Wallis

-- Posted by wallismarsh on Sun, Dec 22, 2013, at 3:31 PM
"Our premiums are up 20% in the last 3 months. They are going up 7% more in January and our renewal is in March where they will go up again."

I would then suggest that you change insurance companies as yours is apparently pulling one over on you.

-- Posted by MichaelHendricks on Sat, Aug 9, 2014, at 2:15 AM
Insurance has gotten a lot more expensive and we did switch carriers twice.

-- Posted by wallismarsh on Sun, Nov 13, 2016, at 7:36 PM

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