This page was last updated on March 24, 2010.
Empty promise; Editorial; Beaver County Times; March 23, 2010.
In summary, the editorial and its companion “Ethical standard” support the passage of H.R. 3590 and H.R. 4872.
This editorial claims current Republican promises to repeal the bills should they get large enough majorities in Congress are hollow. If we elect the Times idea of “principled conservatives,” that prediction is likely true. If, however, we elect real “principled conservatives,” the prediction is likely false. That said, short of a miracle 2/3’s majority in both houses of Congress to override Mr. Obama’s inevitable veto, “repeal and replace” will also require a Republican President and the soonest that can happen is January 2013. In the meantime, we should expect Republicans (and “principled Democrats” <g>) to do all they can to impede implementation and hope the Supreme Court rules the bills unconstitutional.
The editorial asks “They’d take health care coverage away from 30 million Americans?” as if that’s unconscionable. Keep in mind, though, previous Times editorials correctly claimed we need to cut entitlement spending. For example, in “Dire straits” the Times wrote, “It’s impossible to squeeze the amount of money that is needed out of the remaining budget. That leaves massive tax increases, serious cuts in entitlement and defense spending or some combination of the two as the only options available.” As we saw with debt and deficit spending, we have the Times flip-flopping depending on the political message of the day.
For more on this topic, please read my paper entitled “Healthcare.”
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