As if it couldn't be more obvious, Republicans at both the state and federal levels have been trying their damnedest to sabotage the Affordable Care Act, either through denying funding, stupidly challenging parts of it, or trying in vain to repeal it for the 40th time. They are terrified of this law, nevermind that they came up with it first (specifically, their 2012 presidential candidate enacted the exact same program in Massachusetts).
The question on everyone's mind, of course, is why.
Oh, they're all too happy to tell you. They're positively gleeful to tell you it's a job-killer, it's socialist, it's putting too many regulations on the free market, it will cost too much, it's unconstitutional
I could pick through each and every reason listed and why they're all ridiculous nonsense, but that horse has had its rotting flesh flogged off for a couple years already. No, the purpose of this rant is to cut through the bullshit and tell you the true reason the GOP is evacuating its bowels over Obamacare.
That reason is because it will work.
Yes, they're terrified of it working. And the reason they're terrified of it working is because it was implemented by a
There's a very simple formula at work, here. When you give people rights they know they should have and protect the rights they already do have, you get votes. The GOP is afraid because they know that when it works -- not if, when -- and when people start feeling the benefits of being able to get healthcare they didn't have access to before, they will be Democratic voters for life.
Because see, that's just how we roll on the left.
Conservative voters (read: scared old white people) vote out of fear. Fear of change, fear of losing their privilege, fear of their ideas becoming obsolete. When you vote out of fear, you vote to restrict and restrain that which makes you afraid (read: people who are not old, scared and white). And thus, as a conservative, you vote to take away rights. You vote to restrict and restrain the poor, women, the LGBT community, immigrants, and people of other races.
Progressive voters (read: everyone else) vote out of hope. Hope to make things better, for our lives to improve. We vote to give rights to people instead of taking them away, because when people have rights, their lives suck less.
Republicans hate the ACA not for the law itself, but for which side it's benefiting. Which is why they rail so hard against Obama for it, but dodged the question when Romney's plan was mentioned. They're not seeing 30 million Americans having access to healthcare; they're seeing 30 million votes going to Democrats, and they just can't let that happen after the beating they took last year.
This isn't new, of course. Anybody who paid attention under the Clinton Administration should be getting an odd sense of déjà vu. For those who weren't old enough to remember or be interested in politics, check out this infamous memo from 1993, courtesy of Republican strategist William Kristol.
To put it another way, I'm sure anyone who is reading this and is from the U.S. has seen Revenge of the Nerds. Or at least clips of it. If you haven't, let me remedy that because it's kind of important:
Sound familiar?
The message from the Alpha Betas is pretty clear: how dare you be popular, how dare you work, how dare you give credit for working to people we don't like.
Republicans fear Obamacare for the same reason they feared the 19th Amendment, Executive Order 9981, the New Deal and the Social Security Act, the Civil Rights Acts, the Auto Industry Bailout of 2009, the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, and countless other Little Guy victories. They know there are a lot more nerds than there are beautiful people. There are a lot more who have been stepped on, left out, picked on, and put down.
They know there are way more of us than there are of them, and they're afraid that if we're given too many rights, too much equality, we're going to realize it.
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