It appears that the Republicans were fairly confident that ObamaCare wouldn’t have passed the House and was caught off guard by the bill’s passage of 219-212. Oooops, like I’d posted, don’t underestimate the president.
Originally the GOP’s strategy was to focus on efforts to repeal the law, which to this day is still as unpopular as ever, even with high-profile companies. Companies like AT&T, Caterpillar, and Verizon have come out with press release on how much ObamaCare would burden them financially, and that had made for gloomy headlines recently. But now the GOP seems to be retreating to another narrative, one that’s more centered around jobs and the economy:
“They are now are in the unfortunate position of looking voters in the eye and pledging to take away their health care, reinstate the donut hole for seniors, and restore pre-existing conditions for insurance companies,” said Eric Schultz, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which began formulating this message back in December.
The immediate Republican response did not help them: some said repeal the bill and start over, while others said they wanted to repeal parts of the bill and replace them with better solutions.
Now, however, “we are seeing a shift” in Republican message, Collins said.
Brian Walsh, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, whose chairman – Sen. John Cornyn of Texas – has had to clarify whether he wanted to repeal the full bill or just parts of it, indicated that the GOP would be talking more about the economic impact of the bill from now on.
“The number one issue on the minds of most Americans is jobs and the economy, with health care part of that larger narrative,” Walsh said.
“The fundamental political problem facing Democrats, however, is that they’re unable to explain to voters how passing a trillion dollar health-care bill either creates jobs, other than for the IRS, or lowers health-care costs for families. Arguably, the initial indicators are that this legislation is making America’s economic situation even worse.”
Would this shift work for the GOP? Personally I think Republicans ought to stand firm on repealing the law, simply because it is unsustainable to our economy. In turn, ObamaCare will result in rationing health care, a shortage of health care workers, and having the government controlling our bodies. It will not be a good future for America. The Republicans would be a huge disappointment if they do anything short of repealing ObamaCare.
