Interesting article by Catherine Rampell about how
Republicans, instead of attempting to defend their policies on their own merit,
are simply lying about what they want to achieve. With regard to health care
for example, Republicans have long desired (and attempted) Obamacare’s destruction.
But instead of trying to justify this position, they actually claim they’re
trying to do the exact opposite:
“For instance,
they might argue that in their ideal capitalist society, it’s not government’s
job to shield Americans from the financial risks of serious health conditions.
Every man (or woman) is an island, responsible for his or her own health care.
If expensive illnesses befall some unlucky members of society, and they lacked
the foresight or haven’t saved enough to plan for this risk on their own, then
too bad. Life ain’t fair.” Catherine Rampell
But instead of doing this, Republicans still maintain that
they want to do things like protect those with pre-existing conditions, despite
continued efforts to the contrary.
“If Republicans
actually justified Trumpcare by saying that health care is not the role of
government, but the responsibility of the individual, and that the risk of
sickness, bankruptcy and death that comes from this is the inevitable price we
should pay for our 'freedom', then I could respect it.
I wouldn't
agree with it. Both socially and economically, public health care makes sense.
But at least their policy narrative would be consistent with their ideology.
But from
beginning to end, Republicans have claimed that Trumpcare will provide BETTER
health care to MORE people at LOWER cost, when so much evidence (including the
CBO and the insurance industry itself) seems to suggest WORSE, LESS and HIGHER.
So are they
being dishonest about their ideology or ignorant about their policy?”
Catherine Rampell thinks the former.
Republicans are mischaracterizing nearly all
their major policies. Why?
By Catherine Rampell
October 25 at 6:45 PM
Republicans
have mischaracterized just about every major policy on their agenda. The
question is why. If they genuinely believe their policies are correct, why not
defend them on the merits?
Consider the
GOP tax cuts. Last year, Republicans said their bill would primarily benefit
the middle class, pay for itself and raise President Trump’s taxes, among other
claims.
Not one of
these contentions is remotely true.
A more honest
defense — and one occasionally revealed via accidentally-told-the-truth Kinsley
gaffes — might have been something like: We want to let rich people keep more
of their money, regardless of the cost to Uncle Sam. We want this both because
we (unlike most of the public) think that’s fair, and also because our donors
are demanding a return on their investment in us. Plus, maybe it’s a good thing
to reduce government revenue; that gives us motivation to “starve the beast” and
cut the safety net, which we think is a drag on the economy that protects
people from the consequences of their poor life choices.
Likewise with
family separations, a policy Trump is considering reviving.
In the spring,
the administration systematically ripped immigrant children from their mothers’
breasts with no plan for tracking where they ended up or how to reunite these
families. The rationale, as gaffingly revealed by White House Chief of Staff John
F. Kelly, was that such cruelty would deter asylum seekers.
But when voters
recoiled, the administration explained things differently. Officials
alternately lied that the policy was designed to help children, was actually a
Democratic policy or didn’t exist at all.
Lately, the
biggest GOP lies involve health care — the top midterm issue for voters — and
especially how Republicans would treat Americans with costly medical issues.
The public has
had ample opportunity to learn where Republicans stand on protections for those
with preexisting conditions. The party spent the past eight years, after all,
trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, including these particular (very
popular) provisions.
And while
Republicans failed to repeal Obamacare legislatively, they’ve found other means
to undermine its protections.
For instance,
the Trump administration has expanded the availability of junk insurance. These
cheap plans look like regular insurance but actually cover little to no care,
something you would notice only if you read the fine print. Such policies are
not required to accept enrollees with preexisting conditions or to pay claims
related to preexisting conditions — even if the preexisting illness hadn’t even
been diagnosed at the time of enrollment.
These policies
threaten coverage another way, too. Because they siphon young, cheap and
healthy people off the Obamacare exchanges, they drive up prices on (real)
insurance and thereby put coverage further out of reach for people who are
sicker and older.
On Monday, the
administration issued new regulatory guidance that will effectively allow
states to nudge more people into these junk plans. And that’s just one of many
measures the administration has taken that will destabilize the individual
marketplaces and jack up unsubsidized premiums for people with preexisting conditions.
There’s clearly
appetite among state-level Republicans to roll back such protections, too.
In fact, 20 red
states have sued the federal government, arguing that Obamacare, including its
preexisting-condition protections, is unconstitutional. Administrations are
supposed to defend laws passed by Congress, but on these provisions, the Trump
administration has refused.
And yet, Trump
continues to argue that “Republicans will totally protect people with
Pre-Existing Conditions, Democrats will not!”
When Trump made
this claim at a rally in Wisconsin, he was echoed by Gov. Scott Walker (R), who
urged the crowd: “Don’t believe the lies. We will cover people with preexisting
conditions.”
This despite
the fact that Walker authorized his own attorney general to join that 20-state
lawsuit. But Walker is far from alone. Across the country, Republican
politicians shamelessly conceal their track record on this issue.
Once again,
rather than misrepresenting their own positions, Republicans could try to
defend them on the merits.
For instance,
they might argue that in their ideal capitalist society, it’s not government’s
job to shield Americans from the financial risks of serious health conditions.
Every man (or woman) is an island, responsible for his or her own health care.
If expensive illnesses befall some unlucky members of society, and they lacked
the foresight or haven’t saved enough to plan for this risk on their own, then
too bad. Life ain’t fair.
You might
wonder if maybe Republican politicians are mischaracterizing so many of their
own positions because they don’t fully understand them. But given that
Republican leaders have occasionally blurted out their true motives — on taxes,
immigration and, yes, even health care — this explanation seems a little too
charitable.
Republican
politicians aren’t too dumb to know what their policies do. But clearly they
think the rest of us are.
