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10/10/13, "Now It’s Time for Full Throttle Defund of Obamacare," Daniel Horowitz, RedState
Conservatives can debate the prudence of this particular strategy,
but the more important question is what comes after the vote on this
bill. The establishment has been trying to conflate the budget battle
with the debt ceiling and transform our priorities into extraneous
policy issues that are not nearly as serious and as pressing as
Obamacare.
Now they have no excuse to ignore the Obamacare fight.
[Parenthetically, this delay should also preclude any effort to bring up amnesty this year.]
Once the debt ceiling is pushed into November, Republicans must all
unite behind full defunding of Obamacare. No talk about taxes, Social
Security, or Medicare. No talk about a grand bargain or vague fiscal
agreements. With premiums skyrocketing, implementation of Obamacare
crashing, and massive dependency right around the corner, we don’t have
time for other policy fights. This is the one the public sees most, and
this is the one we must message throughout the Democrat shutdown.
Our message is very simple: this law was passed using the budget
process to circumvent a higher vote threshold. Now that the law is
proven to be unworkable, it will be uprooted through the budget
process. We are willing to fund every other aspect of government,
including those functions we oppose, except for Obamacare and the
agencies tasked with enforcing it.
Unfortunately, there are those in the party who are not only
distracting us with other issues but are also watering down our
messaging on Obamacare. Mitch McConnell and Susan Collins are committed
to making this fight about repealing the medical device tax.
Obviously, the end-point of the negotiations would be a mere delay of
that tax.
Although this is a harmful tax, it doesn’t cut to the core of
Obamacare. The entire law needs to be defunded, and at the very least,
delayed. Obamacare is not just about the cost of the health insurance. The 159 boards, agencies, and programs created by the law completely interrupt the delivery of healthcare
and destroy the doctor-patient relationship. This is about our entire
healthcare system, not just the cost. Focusing on the medical device
tax, while leaving the rest of the law intact, is like failing to remove
a brain tumor but taking solace in setting a broken ankle on the same
patient.
If conservatives are willing to give some leeway on a temporary
increase in the debt ceiling, leadership must begin refocusing on
defunding Obamacare. Otherwise, they should just pass a long-term CR
and debt limit increase, and go home."
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