Conn Carroll:
Republicans, some liberal commentators are arguing, are on the verge of abandoning their pathological opposition to Obamcare, and begin accepting President Obama’s signature domestic accomplishment. One of Obamacare’s premiere cheerleaders, Greg Sargent, makes such an argument at The Washington Post:
Now that Obamacare is clearly moving forward, Republicans are adjusting to a new reality: it may no longer be a realistic option to simply wait until the law collapses under its own weight and vanishes entirely. GOP lawmakers are increasingly discussing a range of responses, from proposing profound changes to finally embracing a comprehensive alternative.
Which raises a question: Is it possible to envision a future in which Republicans and Democrats do enter into real negotiations over the future of the law and the health system, in which each side gets some changes it wants, in exchange for accepting some of the other’s proposed changes?
Yes, it is. But to get there, Republicans will first have to pass through what might be called the Three Stages of Obamacare Acceptance.
Unfortunately, Sargent immediately undermines his entire case by citing Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) as a Republican in “Stage Two of Obamacare Acceptance.” But, as Sargent himself later admits, the actual policy “fix” that Johnson has offered for Obamacare, repealing the individual mandate, would, in Sargent’s own words, “fatally undermine the law.”
The reality is that conservatives are more committed to dismantling Obamacare today than they ever have been.
No, repeal is not possible as long as Obama is president.
But Republicans are already pushing smaller, more populist, measures that mitigate some of the worst of Obamacare’s pains while also hastening the law’s inevitable demise. Johnson’s push to repeal the individual mandate, mentioned above, is just one example. Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) bill to end Obamacare’s insurance industry bailout is another.
And, yes, Obamacare’s death is inevitable. The only question is, who will be the one to kill it, the left, or the right? Think that’s an overstatement? Here is Michael Moore in this weekend’s New York Times:
