Author Topic: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare  (Read 1686 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Online mystery-ak

  • Owner
  • Administrator
  • ******
  • Posts: 381,838
  • Gender: Female
  • Let's Go Brandon!
GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« on: May 12, 2014, 01:09:27 pm »
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/205752-gop-goes-quiet-on-o-care

GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare

By Elise Viebeck - 05/12/14 06:00 AM EDT

House Republicans have no scheduled votes or hearings on ObamaCare, signaling a shift in the party’s strategy as the White House rides a wave of good news on the law. 

Not a single House committee has announced plans to attack the healthcare law in the coming weeks, and only one panel of jurisdiction commented to The Hill despite repeated inquiries.
GOP campaign committees also declined to say whether they will launch any new efforts on the law.
 
The lack of action highlights the GOP’s struggle to adjust its message now that enrollment in the exchanges beat projections and the uninsured rate is going down. Insurers also report that 80 to 90 percent of new policyholders are paying their premiums, contradicting a frequent criticism from the GOP.

This dynamic was laid bare last week as Republicans failed to land punches against the healthcare law in a hearing of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee. In a rare display, Democrats began to control the message as witnesses from health insurance companies rebuffed several lines of GOP questioning.

Republicans are conscious of the need to keep a drumbeat going against the law.The National Republican Senatorial Committee released a memo on Friday that said the law remained deeply unpopular and that “liberal media elites” touting the idea it was a success were beginning to influence beat reporters desperate for a new story.

The memo noted that Democratic candidates aren’t touting their support for the law, a sign of their uneasiness.

But The Washington Post reported Friday that three major groups allied with Democrats will launch public advertising campaigns about ObamaCare.

The Service Employees International Union, Planed Parenthood Action Fund and MoveOn.org are each launching campaigns that highlight popular parts of the Affordable Care Act. The ads are meant to boost the law and officials who backed it.

Republicans remain confident the reform won’t work, and that the party’s opposition to it will be rewarded in elections to come.

Hitting a new record, 55 percent disapproved of ObamaCare in the latest Pew poll, a finding that bolsters GOP confidence that the law’s unpopularity will help them in this year’s elections.

At the same time, Republican aides and strategists said the party is taking the opportunity to broaden its portfolio of issues ahead of November amid a changing landscape on healthcare

“They are now recognizing that they need to be more than a one-trick pony,” said Ford O'Connell, a veteran of Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) presidential campaign and chairman of CivicForumPAC.

This is evident in the new energy House Republicans are putting into a probe into the Benghazi attacks, and a range of pocketbook issues that dovetail nicely with the past criticisms of the healthcare law.

“The two go hand in hand,” GOP pollster Glen Bolger said. “[Voters] are just worried about the quality of their healthcare declining. They're also worried it’s going to cost them more money, and generally more money for less is not a winning proposition.

The change in focus is also evident in what Republicans are not doing.

Last fall, the GOP tore into ObamaCare around the clock, and criticisms of the law became a huge story amid the enrollment website's woes. Now, major news events related to the Affordable Care Act barely draw a Republican response.
Republicans virtually ignored the final release of ObamaCare's enrollment numbers and a report that healthcare spending jumped in the first quarter of 2014. Mentions of the law have dwindled in press conferences by Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), where they were a mainstay earlier this year.

And on the Senate side, the usual partisan rancor was almost completely absent during last week’s confirmation hearing for the next Health and Human Services secretary. Only a few GOP senators mentioned ObamaCare in their questions, and three Republicans failed to attend the event at all.
The House has no plans to vote on ObamaCare legislation in May, according to a memo from Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) released late last month.

It is also unclear when the party's replacement proposal for the law will come to a vote.

Despite pressure from conservatives, Cantor has not committed to put a bill on the House floor by August recess.

Democratic leaders have long insisted the law would boost their electoral hopes in the fall, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) predicted this week that GOP opposition would haunt Republicans.

“The Republican position of repeal has become increasingly problematic for GOP Senate candidates, so it’s no surprise that they’re beginning to abandon their failed strategy of wasting millions attacking Democrats on ObamaCare,” said DSCC spokesman Justin Barasky.

On the campaign trail, it is clear that some candidates and groups are starting to pivot.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently launched its first major ad campaign looking toward the general election.

While all the ads touted GOP lawmakers’ and candidates’ work to boost the economy and create jobs, only a handful made mention of ObamaCare.

Looking toward his general election fight, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) released an ad last week that also focused on job creation.

McConnell and others are sure to highlight the unpopular law in the coming months. But it remains to be seen how much, and that will largely depend on whether ObamaCare-related premiums increase this summer.

Republicans argue the transition is natural for this stage in the campaign cycle.“There is absolutely zero evidence that any Republican is talking about ObamaCare less,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee spokeswoman Brook Hougesen in a statement.


Proud Supporter of Tunnel to Towers
Support the USO
Democrat Party...the Party of Infanticide

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
-Matthew 6:34

Offline Relic

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,967
  • Gender: Male
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #1 on: May 12, 2014, 01:31:45 pm »
I'm going by what I see, and what I see says that the Republicans don't want to win in November.

They are killing themselves trying to get amnesty passed.
They don't want to hammer on obamacare, because they want obamacare.

Online rustynail

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5,977
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #2 on: May 12, 2014, 01:34:33 pm »
GOP goes quiet on.....just about everything.

Online GourmetDan

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7,277
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #3 on: May 12, 2014, 01:47:49 pm »
I'm going by what I see, and what I see says that the Republicans don't want to win in November.

They are killing themselves trying to get amnesty passed.
They don't want to hammer on obamacare, because they want obamacare.

The term you are looking for is 'controlled opposition'.

They give the appearance of opposition but compromise on all of the key issues.

Anyone who thinks the GOP is going to 'save the country' hasn't been paying attention for the past 100 years or so...

"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." - Ecclesiastes 10:2

"The sole purpose of the Republican Party is to serve as an ineffective alternative to the Democrat Party." - GourmetDan

Offline 240B

  • Lord of all things Orange!
  • TBR Advisory Committee
  • ***
  • Posts: 25,949
    • I try my best ...
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #4 on: May 12, 2014, 02:01:53 pm »
The term you are looking for is 'controlled opposition'.

They give the appearance of opposition but compromise on all of the key issues.

Anyone who thinks the GOP is going to 'save the country' hasn't been paying attention for the past 100 years or so...

When Boehner, the Democrats, and most of the GOP establishment went on their big island vacation with Soros, that said it all. They are all working for the same people, and ain't us.
 
Boehner is the quintessential Caspar Milquetoast character, crying and self flagellating himself with every step he takes.
 
Nothing, nothing at all will ever change no matter who is running the circus until the entire government is replaced. I am not sure what it would take to make that happen. They are all the same, and the are all playing us for fools.
 
But yes. It is clear that the GOP establishment would rather elect Democrats (at least Democrats know the rules and play the game) before they would elect anyone who is independent, or anyone who is not in their country club.
You cannot "COEXIST" with people who want to kill you.
If they kill their own with no conscience, there is nothing to stop them from killing you.
Rational fear and anger at vicious murderous Islamic terrorists is the same as irrational antisemitism, according to the Leftists.

Offline Relic

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,967
  • Gender: Male
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #5 on: May 12, 2014, 02:06:07 pm »

When Boehner, the Democrats, and most of the GOP establishment went on their big island vacation with Soros, that said it all. They are all working for the same people, and ain't us.
 
Boehner is the quintessential Caspar Milquetoast character, crying and self flagellating himself with every step he takes.
 
Nothing, nothing at all will ever change no matter who is running the circus until the entire government is replaced. I am not sure what it would take to make that happen. They are all the same, and the are all playing us for fools.
 
But yes. It is clear that the GOP establishment would rather elect Democrats (at least Democrats know the rules and play the game) before they would elect anyone who is independent, or anyone who is not in their country club.

Unfortunately, what it will take is exactly what's coming. Collapse, extreme hard times. Americans are comfortable and uncaring. When reality smacks them and requires serious, compromising life choices, then things will change. Not a second before. We are headed to a very bad place, and it's an unalterable course.

Offline Dexter

  • User banned for personal attacks. --CL
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5,624
  • Gender: Male
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #6 on: May 12, 2014, 02:10:15 pm »
The term you are looking for is 'controlled opposition'.

They give the appearance of opposition but compromise on all of the key issues.

Anyone who thinks the GOP is going to 'save the country' hasn't been paying attention for the past 100 years or so...

Meet the new boss, same as the old one.
"I know one thing, that I know nothing."
-Socrates

Offline alicewonders

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13,021
  • Gender: Female
  • Live life-it's too short to butt heads w buttheads
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #7 on: May 12, 2014, 02:11:10 pm »
The term you are looking for is 'controlled opposition'.

They give the appearance of opposition but compromise on all of the key issues.

Anyone who thinks the GOP is going to 'save the country' hasn't been paying attention for the past 100 years or so...

I have to agree with you Dan.  Anyone can see by the GOP's actions that they do NOT want to win!  You would have to be delusional to think that they do.  Actions speak way louder than words.  The GOP thinks they have pretty much defeated that very terrible Tea Party - so they won't have to pound their fists and make all that noise now.  They can go back to business-as-usual. 

Don't tread on me.   8888madkitty

We told you Trump would win - bigly!

Online GourmetDan

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7,277
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #8 on: May 12, 2014, 02:11:56 pm »

When Boehner, the Democrats, and most of the GOP establishment went on their big island vacation with Soros, that said it all. They are all working for the same people, and ain't us.


Yep, and Soros is a good example ...
 
Quote

Nothing, nothing at all will ever change no matter who is running the circus until the entire government is replaced. I am not sure what it would take to make that happen. They are all the same, and the are all playing us for fools.
 
But yes. It is clear that the GOP establishment would rather elect Democrats (at least Democrats know the rules and play the game) before they would elect anyone who is independent, or anyone who is not in their country club.

I don't think replacing the government would change anything.  The same people would still run things and you don't get to play unless you play along.  Get too far out of control and a bad case of lead poisoning will come your way...

"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." - Ecclesiastes 10:2

"The sole purpose of the Republican Party is to serve as an ineffective alternative to the Democrat Party." - GourmetDan

Online GourmetDan

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7,277
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #9 on: May 12, 2014, 02:16:59 pm »
The GOP thinks they have pretty much defeated that very terrible Tea Party - so they won't have to pound their fists and make all that noise now.  They can go back to business-as-usual.

The Tea Party is full of great people, but it has already been compromised.

All you have to do is look at Rubio's comments wrt the Ukraine and Russia. 

The Nuland tapes showed that the U.S. was doing the bidding of her masters, yet the Russians are the 'bad guys'?

Marco's either uninformed or compromised.  I vote 'compromised'.

As I said, you just don't get to stay at that level unless you play along...
"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." - Ecclesiastes 10:2

"The sole purpose of the Republican Party is to serve as an ineffective alternative to the Democrat Party." - GourmetDan

Online DCPatriot

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 45,798
  • Gender: Male
  • "...and the winning number is...not yours!
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #10 on: May 12, 2014, 02:24:02 pm »
I'm going by what I see, and what I see says that the Republicans don't want to win in November.

They are killing themselves trying to get amnesty passed.
They don't want to hammer on obamacare, because they want obamacare.

That's not my take, Relic.

Obamacare is a lit fuse.   A looooooong fuse.

Time to focus on scandals......
"It aint what you don't know that kills you.  It's what you know that aint so!" ...Theodore Sturgeon

"Journalism is about covering the news.  With a pillow.  Until it stops moving."    - David Burge (Iowahawk)

"It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living" F. Scott Fitzgerald

Offline 240B

  • Lord of all things Orange!
  • TBR Advisory Committee
  • ***
  • Posts: 25,949
    • I try my best ...
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #11 on: May 12, 2014, 02:25:03 pm »
The American system of government was founded on the idea that people are moral and will behave honorably. When those principles are undermined, then government becomes a nothing more than a criminal organization, as we have today.
 
These government people are living to get paid and nothing more than that. As long as they keep getting paid (with our money BTW) then they will continue to rever and even worship the status-quo at any cost. Nothing must change. Everything has to stay exactly the same no matter what.
 
They have a great life. They get paid upward of 50% more than anyone in the real society. They get world class heath care, dental, pensions, enormous paid vacations that a real worker couldn't even dream of. They are living like gods, on our backs. Of course they don't want anything to change. Why would they? They have it made.
 
It is a sad way to live, in my opinion, when your entire life is dedicated to nothing more than immediate self interests. But, that is how those people live. I don't know how they sleep at night, knowing that they are nothing more than thieves and criminals. 
You cannot "COEXIST" with people who want to kill you.
If they kill their own with no conscience, there is nothing to stop them from killing you.
Rational fear and anger at vicious murderous Islamic terrorists is the same as irrational antisemitism, according to the Leftists.

Offline Relic

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,967
  • Gender: Male
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #12 on: May 12, 2014, 02:30:07 pm »

...

These government people are living to get paid and nothing more than that. As long as they keep getting paid (with our money BTW) then they will continue to rever and even worship the status-quo at any cost. Nothing must change. Everything has to stay exactly the same no matter what.

...

OUr culture has eroded to the point where to suggest a member of the political class should put something above self interest is met with derision, even on conservative sites.

Offline Relic

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,967
  • Gender: Male
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #13 on: May 12, 2014, 02:31:35 pm »
That's not my take, Relic.

Obamacare is a lit fuse.   A looooooong fuse.

Time to focus on scandals......

We disagree. A member of the GOP let slip the real agenda when she said obamacare can't be repealed.

Online DCPatriot

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 45,798
  • Gender: Male
  • "...and the winning number is...not yours!
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #14 on: May 12, 2014, 02:44:52 pm »
We disagree. A member of the GOP let slip the real agenda when she said obamacare can't be repealed.

A non-ranking Republican in a local interview.   One person's opinion stated publicly doesn't make it so.

Why harp and complain about a terminal disease that has infected your opponent?   

But in the meantime, there are other topics out there that are opening up many eyes about this regime....and DEMS in gerenal.

"It aint what you don't know that kills you.  It's what you know that aint so!" ...Theodore Sturgeon

"Journalism is about covering the news.  With a pillow.  Until it stops moving."    - David Burge (Iowahawk)

"It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living" F. Scott Fitzgerald

Offline Relic

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,967
  • Gender: Male
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #15 on: May 12, 2014, 02:50:30 pm »
But in the meantime, there are other topics out there that are opening up many eyes about this regime....and DEMS in gerenal.

I don't see that, nor do I hear it. I use my moderate friends as a barometer. While they get a vague feeling that Obama isn't all that they thought he was, they're totally convinced ANY Republican would be worse.

I almost dismiss any news that isn't from an MSM outlet. Not because it isn't true, but because if it doesn't come from the MSM, many, (most?), Americans don't know about it.

Online DCPatriot

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 45,798
  • Gender: Male
  • "...and the winning number is...not yours!
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #16 on: May 12, 2014, 03:05:49 pm »
I don't see that, nor do I hear it. I use my moderate friends as a barometer. While they get a vague feeling that Obama isn't all that they thought he was, they're totally convinced ANY Republican would be worse.

I almost dismiss any news that isn't from an MSM outlet. Not because it isn't true, but because if it doesn't come from the MSM, many, (most?), Americans don't know about it.

Will agree with you, Relic.

However, the price of food, shelter and clothing don't need headlines or speeches to drive home that "something is rotten" in Washington.

Like MLK, I too, have a dream.

That the Republican POTUS candidate will speak to these trampled families....filled with optimism and a patriotic message.

And he'll say it both in English and Spanish....without a teleprompter.
"It aint what you don't know that kills you.  It's what you know that aint so!" ...Theodore Sturgeon

"Journalism is about covering the news.  With a pillow.  Until it stops moving."    - David Burge (Iowahawk)

"It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living" F. Scott Fitzgerald

Online GourmetDan

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7,277
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #17 on: May 12, 2014, 03:19:29 pm »
I use my moderate friends as a barometer. While they get a vague feeling that Obama isn't all that they thought he was, they're totally convinced ANY Republican would be worse.


And those are the people who will vote...

                                                     

"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." - Ecclesiastes 10:2

"The sole purpose of the Republican Party is to serve as an ineffective alternative to the Democrat Party." - GourmetDan

Offline Dexter

  • User banned for personal attacks. --CL
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5,624
  • Gender: Male
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #18 on: May 12, 2014, 03:26:52 pm »
And those are the people who will vote...

                                                     

Why does it matter if a Democrat or Republican wins when we have already established that they're both working for the same people?
"I know one thing, that I know nothing."
-Socrates

Online GourmetDan

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7,277
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #19 on: May 12, 2014, 03:28:16 pm »
Why does it matter if a Democrat or Republican wins when we have already established that they're both working for the same people?

Bush or Obama?

How fast do you want to 'circle the bowl'?

"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." - Ecclesiastes 10:2

"The sole purpose of the Republican Party is to serve as an ineffective alternative to the Democrat Party." - GourmetDan

Offline Dexter

  • User banned for personal attacks. --CL
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5,624
  • Gender: Male
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #20 on: May 12, 2014, 03:30:34 pm »
Bush or Obama?

How fast do you want to 'circle the bowl'?

So do you believe Republicans are less corrupt, but only slightly? It seems more likely to me than the entire thing is bought and paid for and little more than a show to keep the masses placated.
"I know one thing, that I know nothing."
-Socrates

Offline alicewonders

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13,021
  • Gender: Female
  • Live life-it's too short to butt heads w buttheads
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #21 on: May 12, 2014, 03:34:50 pm »
Will agree with you, Relic.

However, the price of food, shelter and clothing don't need headlines or speeches to drive home that "something is rotten" in Washington.

Like MLK, I too, have a dream.

That the Republican POTUS candidate will speak to these trampled families....filled with optimism and a patriotic message.

And he'll say it both in English and Spanish....without a teleprompter.

Unfortunately, the Democrats/Media control the microphone.  Even when the cost of living gets to be unbearable to ordinary working Americans - guess who will get the blame?  Those old meany Republicans that are blocking everything Obama and the Democrats are trying to do for us!  Even when it is staring us right in the face - the typical American will not see it - because Obama is telling us, "Who are you going to believe, ME or your lying eyes?"

Don't tread on me.   8888madkitty

We told you Trump would win - bigly!

Offline Relic

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,967
  • Gender: Male
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #22 on: May 12, 2014, 03:37:36 pm »
Unfortunately, the Democrats/Media control the microphone.  Even when the cost of living gets to be unbearable to ordinary working Americans - guess who will get the blame?  Those old meany Republicans that are blocking everything Obama and the Democrats are trying to do for us!  Even when it is staring us right in the face - the typical American will not see it - because Obama is telling us, "Who are you going to believe, ME or your lying eyes?"

It comes down to one central point, that we all agree on, to some extent. The public is deserves the ultimate blame, (with the media a razor close second). America deserves what's coming.

Online GourmetDan

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7,277
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #23 on: May 12, 2014, 03:37:59 pm »
So do you believe Republicans are less corrupt, but only slightly? It seems more likely to me than the entire thing is bought and paid for and little more than a show to keep the masses placated.

The agenda only advances as quickly as 'the masses' will accept...

"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." - Ecclesiastes 10:2

"The sole purpose of the Republican Party is to serve as an ineffective alternative to the Democrat Party." - GourmetDan

Offline Dexter

  • User banned for personal attacks. --CL
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5,624
  • Gender: Male
Re: GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
« Reply #24 on: May 12, 2014, 03:45:01 pm »
The agenda only advances as quickly as 'the masses' will accept...

It seems to me that instead of continuing to play their game and elect the lesser of two evils we should be trying to change the game so we are actually players.
"I know one thing, that I know nothing."
-Socrates