Sinking your half of the boat
By Jim Surber

What will be the result of the U.S. House Republicans’ last-ditch effort to block the Affordable Care Act more popularly known as Obamacare?

My first reaction is that this is what happens to a party that has been hijacked by zealots. If they can’t take over Washington, then they’ll shut it down.

If a definition of insanity is doing the same thing twice and expecting different results, then what is defined by 41 attempts to repeal the same law?

For all the hype and potential damage that this ill-conceived scheme could cause, it is still unfair to blame all Republicans. There are still many GOP legislators that believe in good governance but, because of some of the nastier aspects of politics, they are being forced into lockstep by the newer, more ideological members.

Many of these firebrands represent safely gerrymandered districts with nothing to lose.

A few well-seasoned GOP legislators and even Karl Rove have called this an ill-conceived tactic, and are being called everything short of traitors.

The irrationality we are seeing is most likely brought on by right-wing Republican realization that the biggest government program since Social Security is happening on their watch, and will become the new third rail of politics.

I realize that, in many ways, the law has significant flaws, not the least of which is the public cost. But it could make significant improvements in our healthcare system with adjustments in its implementation. But alas, Republicans will likely make every effort to make it more complex and more expensive.

Many in the GOP contend that the majority of Americans oppose the law, pointing to a May CNN poll that found 43 percent favored the law while 54 percent opposed it. They fail to mention that a very sizable portion of the opponents, 16 percent, hold that opinion because they think the law isn’t liberal enough.

But another potential situation could be factored into this. It is reported that there are many workers, aged 60-65 who can afford to retire, but they cannot afford health insurance on the private market at the current rates.

If the law is indeed true to its name, and brings their cost of insurance to affordable levels, these people may retire, creating a host of jobs with employment and the economy making a recovery.

In light of past statements made on the floor of Congress, as well as by many of the general populace, it is not a quantum leap to infer that many would rather kill the country than have a recovery on Obama’s watch.

Some in the news media refer to the GOP tactics as the “Kamikaze Congress.” This is not really accurate because they are different than the World War II Japanese pilots who represented a unified force with strong leadership. These political warriors are each fashioning their own crude weapons to serve personal political interests, or possibly personal obsessions that go beyond politics.

If the budget and spending are really their concerns, they could demand pulling out of Afghanistan and Iraq, and defund the military so we can’t keep getting into budget-busting wars simply because we can.

Getting back to healthcare, they could demand that healthcare disclose the costs up front. It has been said that the difference between the Mafia and healthcare is that when extortion is practiced, the Mafia tells you the cost up front.

Would it be that horrible for healthcare to participate in the free market practice of disclosing the price prior to the purchase?

But maybe this group of reckless Don Quixotes will prove that you need to take a stand, rather than compromise your basic principles. It will take time to know if their strategy was the correct one. What is known now is that many of these rebels are doing exactly what they were elected to do.

And isn’t that the way the system is supposed to work?