“The measure repealing the 1099 mandate may itself increase the deficit slightly. It will reduce federal tax collections by $17 billion, and the offsetting spending cuts are highly questionable. This vote’s real significance, however, is that it shows why ObamaCare’s entitlement spending would survive the political process while its revenue-raising provisions would not.”
“The Senate on Wednesday voted down a repeal of President Obama’s healthcare law in a 47-51 party-line vote.
The vote came two weeks to the day the Republican House voted 245-189 to repeal the law, and just days after a federal judge ruled Obama’s signature legislative achievement is unconstitutional. Republicans have vowed to carry the fight forward, saying they will seek to de-fund the law as it is implemented. The GOP also has promised Wednesday’s repeal vote will not be the last in this Congress.”
“President Obama and his congressional allies want to create the perception that Obamacare is a done deal, and that Republicans need to get over it. But the events of the past week show quite clearly that that’s far from the reality. Since its passage, Obamacare has rested on shaky ground, owing to the heavy-handed tactics used to jam it through Congress against the wishes of a majority of the electorate. But now, after the Florida court decision and the vote in the Senate on repeal, Obamacare is more vulnerable than ever — politically, legally, and operationally.”
“Public opposition to the health care reform law spiked to a record high in a new poll out today — but Americans don’t necessarily want Republicans to spend time trying to dismantle it. Fifty percent of Americans have unfavorable views of the law, according to a joint survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health. Opposition to the law jumped 9 percentage points from last month and is the highest since April, when Kaiser began asking the question every month.”
“The following chart shows that ObamaCare‘s unfavorables reached 50 percent in the latest Kaiser Family Foundation poll. That’s higher than at any point since KFF started tracking ObamaCare’s unfavorables in January 2010. The KFF poll also found that opposition is much more intense than support; 19 percent view the law very favorably, while 34 percent view the law very unfavorably.”
“When Scott DesJarlais heard the American Medical Association was backing the Democratic health care overhaul, he cut up his membership card. Now the Tennessee doctor, who was elected to the House last fall, can express his disdain for the law more directly by voting this week to repeal it.”
“Tomorrow night the House of Representatives will debate the repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), what many call ‘ObamaCare.’ Some critics complain that this is a futile exercise because there is little chance of short-term success. But that’s the wrong way to look at it.”
“The House voted Wednesday evening to repeal the Health Care law by a count of 245-189, and already Republicans are turning up the heat on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to allow a vote for repeal in the Senate. All 242 House Republicans voted Wednesday evening for repeal. Three House Democrats joined the House GOP in supporting repeal: Rep. Dan Boren of Oklahoma, Rep. Mike McIntyre of North Carolina, and Rep. Mike Ross of Arkansas.”
“House Republicans are voting to repeal the health-care overhaul bill today, and the Democratic message machine has whirred into 4th gear or so, easing up just shy of the seizure-inducing pace of spin seen during campaign season.
People don’t want the law repealed, Democrats say. The GOP posturing is unpopular and lame, they allege. ‘Not only would repeal not pass, but according to a poll by AP over the weekend, three out of four people don’t want it to,’ a Democratic leadership spokesman told the Las Vegas Sun.
Well, don’t believe it — at least not on its face. People do want to repeal health reform … when given only two options: repeal it or leave it the same.”
“What these polls show is that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act remains a political millstone around the neck of Democrats. Republicans are right to push for its repeal, on both substantive and policy grounds. In the unfolding entitlement debate, ObamaCare should be front and center. Conservative lawmakers should make a very simply argument: if President Obama is serious about getting America’s fiscal house in order, he needs to repeal last year’s health-care bill and start over again. It’s a budget buster, as this op-ed makes clear. Until Obama himself admits as much, until he undoes the enormous damage of his own making, his credibility on fiscal matters is shattered beyond repair.”