Dem Rep: Obamacare will bury us
Obama is spiking the football over sign-up numbers, but Democrats on the ground see things differently when not spinning.
Steve Lynch is a Democratic Rep. from Massachusetts who doesn’t hesitate to buck the party line from a centrist point of view, and to speak openly about problems in the party and with party positions.
Lynch ran for Senate to fill John Kerry’s seat, but lost in the primary to now-Senator Ed Markey.
Lynch recently was interviewed by The Boston Herald about upcoming Obamacare problems and how devastating they will be for Democrats. That runs contrary to cut current news cycle Democratic spin that (allegedly) meeting sign up goals means electoral problems related to Obamacare are over.
U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, the lone member of the Bay State delegation to vote against Obamacare four years ago, now predicts the law’s botched roll-out will not only cost Democrats valuable House seats but could even jeopardize their control of the Senate in this year’s hotly contested midterm elections.
“We will lose seats in the House,” the plain-talking South Boston Democrat said in Boston Herald Radio’s studio yesterday, delivering a harsh diagnosis. “I am fairly certain of that based on the poll numbers that are coming out from the more experienced pollsters down there. And I think we may lose the Senate. I think that’s a possibility if things continue to go the way they have been … primarily because of health care.”
Lynch cuttingly questioned whether many of his colleagues who echoed President Obama’s health care promises even “read through the bill really,” noting that many mechanisms created to fund the law still aren’t in effect.
Among them, Lynch said, is a hefty tax on employers who offer so-called “Cadillac” plans that won’t come into play until 2018.
“There’s all these taxes and fees that are the tough medicine, that up to now they haven’t implemented. I don’t know who’s going to do that,” Lynch said. “Maybe … they expect the next administration is going to put these penalties in place. I think that’s the time it’s going to hit the fan.”
Lynch’s assessment is consistent with Politico’s reporting about how the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is performing frantic triage, trying to figure out which Democratic incumbents can be saved, and which challenges to Republican incumbents are still vaible:
Operatives working with Democratic groups say they’ve been tasked with examining how much damage incumbents have incurred from a wave of attacks funded by Americans for Prosperity, a Koch brothers-funded outfit. They’ve been conducting polling much earlier in the election year than they initially anticipated….
The focus on protecting incumbents is fueling anxiety among Democratic challengers that they won’t receive campaign resources from the national party.
It’s not uncommon for the DCCC, the party’s House political arm that assesses Democratic candidates on the strength of their fundraising performance and campaign organization, to weed out underdogs. But in interviews, some of the party’s campaign veterans said they felt the committee was being far more stringent than in past years.
One candidate in a top-tier race, who requested anonymity to discuss internal conversations, said he’d been told by DCCC officials that they intended to devote resources to a sparse number of GOP-held seats and that he’d have to work to make the cut.
“There’s just this knowledge that it’s a shrinking map,” said a campaign manager for another Democratic candidate running in one of the nation’s most closely watched House races. “If you’re not meeting [their] benchmarks, they’re saying you’re not going to be in their pool of candidates.”
Against this backdrop, Obama is spiking the football over sign-up numbers. And of course, frantically trying to delay harmful provisions until after the 2014 election.
The only one who actually seems to believe Obama’s spin is Obama. Other’s repeat it, but Obama’s one of the few remaining true believers in his own greatness.
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“Obama’s one of the few remaining true believers in his own greatness.”
I wish it were so, but this seems unduly optimistic to me.
Indeed. His support in the black community is still high. His support amongst white Democrats still reasonably high. Democrats recognize a Communist when they see one, so they’ll stick with him. As Pelosi said, they’d rather lose the election than give up amnesty. IOW, whatever it is that helps their party to attract leeches and spread Communism in America is what they will do. They prefer to suffer losses than give up their agenda. That’s the Democrat mindset all the way down. Better no job and no home than a GOP victory.
What is it like to go through life without thinking? You imply that that is what democrats do, but you exhibit that trait in spades.
I lived through the Cold War. I have no affinity for communism. The follies of that ideology are clear. But I also lived through the hysteria of anti-communism, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Era, the Women’s Rights Era. If none of those got you to think, you should be truly proud of yourself. If you reduced all of those ideas to cliches, you can give yourself another star.
You seem to have also have avoided any nuanced examination of the history of this country. Good for you. You just chose a different ideology. But you didn’t learn to think.
A lot of the people in power now have an unapologetic affinity with communism. Obama’s mentor was a card-carrying Communist. Obama proudly admits that he sought out Marxist professors in college. Valerie Jarret is essentially a Red-diaper baby. Jay Carney displays Soviet propaganda in his kitchen.
Obama surrounds himself with people who never saw the “folly” of coercive collectivism; they just think it wasn’t done correctly and they can do better.
There’s a reason why the CPUSA is happy with the “progress” that this administration is accomplishing. Card-carrying Communists know very well that he (and the “Democrats” in Congress) are pushing the country closer to their ideal.
Obama’s “mentor” – “sought out” Marxist professors in “college” – “essentially” a Red-diaper baby – “displays” Soviet propaganda
That is a lot of innuendo; not much logic.
I flirted with a lot of ideas in college. I still do. But you would do me a disservice if you labeled me based on the books I read or the classes I took.
I once made some custom sandals and traded them for a batik Madonna and Child that was made by a friend. It was a beautiful work of art – but I am no Catholic.
I like Frank Luntz and own some of his books. Does that make me a conservative?
There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your ideology. Apologies to Shakespeare
@AcornsIdiot
Your defense seems off-point. We really don’t know much about what the President did in college. Information around that time period is inexplicably scarce. Obama kicked off his political career with Ayers, has Jarrette as his most trusted advisor and Carney is a relative newhire. Not so much like when you went to college back in the forties (if my calculations based on your autobiography are correct.
Try reading Tyrant Obama’s autobiographies. +
Meanwhile, Jennifer Rubin and all those “moderate” Republicans insist that Republican must, must support amnesty or lose every last Latino vote. I guess they think Democrats are fiercely pushing amnesty because Democrats in their heart of hearts really want to help Republicans win elections.
I actually saw an “I (heart) Obamacare” bumper sticker yesterday.
They expect the election map to be remade this year and are trying to justify not to spend the money to try to stop it. When young or ambitious Democrats understand that the DNC is nothing more than a job protection racket for old b@$(@#*$ the party will start to die as there is no future for any of them in it. Sebelius is an excellent example of what happens to good soldiers who follow the line namely political oblivion. Good on Lynch for voting against the monstrosity and having the spine to continue critiquing it. Obama is a political party killer along with his enablers.
Hey, there is no better was to get a good job than by being a heavily made up, bottle blonde in a heels and a skirt. Fox will hire you as long as you are willing to spout the party line.
If you get a job with ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN etc., you’ll get your talking points from the White House (which is why you’ll all be using the same phrases). You might even be in on one of those conference calls that Obama flacks have with “journalists.” The Democrats will label you “legitimate” media because you’re helping them promote their angle.
But if you actually ask serious, probing questions — like the ones that are always asked of Republican administrations — the White House will marginalize you, say you’re not “legitimate,” hack your computer, persuade your boss (who’s the brother of a White House aide) to stop running your investigate reports, call up one of your friends to warn you to back off if you want a career, or threaten criminal prosecution.
Leftists have a low tolerance for criticism of their agenda, so they go blue in the face over the mere existence of media outlets where dissenting voices are heard.
LOL – you appear to be blind in one eye.
BTW, the MSM is called that because they are “Main”. If they lean too far to either side, they lose part of your audience. They make less money.
Apparently you have never really heard left-wing propaganda. That doesn’t surprise me. It is almost non-existent in this country. Please don’t tell me that MSNBC qualifies. Certainly not NPR.
Do you actually watch the MSM or does your volunteer work of quoting OFA talking points on blogs take up too much of your time?
But no, no. You’re right. The MSM– like CNN hiring DL Hughley and MSNBC in general– is absolutely right down the line objective. I mean when they quote, verbatim, from Dem and White House talking points they’re just be objective. ObamaCare is working, Benghazi was a protest over an obscure YouTube video, and we’ve ALWAYS been at war with Eurasia.
I gotta say thanks…. your ‘arguments’ are less than cogent but you’ve got enormous entertainment value. If you were a fighter the doc would be shining a light in your eyes right now. Stay down son, you’re punch drunk!
The problem with the mainstream media is that they work for Tyrant Obama and the cause of progressive fascism.
Obama’s spiking the football is nothing more than blatant, Soviet style propaganda. Some of the bluster is real. Some of it is fake. But he’s trying to create the impression of success, approval and acceptance by spewing words. Unfortunately or him, he’s got a well earned reputation for being a liar, so I suspect many people now see through it.
For example, yesterday I saw a stunning poll in which 84% of the population believe Obama lies to them at least some of the time. The other 16% apparently don’t have access to electricity or TVs.
I think Americans will tolerate a lot of incompetence, but I’m not sure how much they will tolerate being lied to. I guess it depends in large part if enough of them have been bought off using taxpayer money. Lots of Democrat constituents got paid with the $800 billion “stimulus” that was immorally borrowed and effectively confiscated from future generations, and of course Big Insurance, Big Hospital and Big Pharma are going to get paid by Obamacare. So they’ve spread a lot of dough around to buy loyalty. We’ll see if its enough to re-elect Senators from a party with a well known liar at the helm.
I’ve heard Democrats seriously say there’s nothing wrong with (Democrats) lying to the public if it’s the only way to accomplish what they think should be done. A lot of them see the public as rubes who need to be pushed around.
This attitude is stunningly on display in how the administration — with transparent cynicism — delayed full implementation of the Unaffordable Noncare Act until just after yet another election, and then quickly extended the delay as soon as people remarked that the notices of cancellations and policy changes would be going out just before the 2014 election.
Democrats are plainly saying, “We’re trying to get you to reelect us before you find out what we’re doing to you.”
And they’re not ashamed of it.
Considering the fact that the poll numbers for ObamaCare have barely budged – after the equivalent of a multi-billion dollar media campaign to sell us on the idea it is a glorious success – then the rather forced celebrations of the Democrat/media axis is like watching someone repeatedly spike the football after the other team has scored the winning touchdown. Weird and embarrassing, to say the least.
Of course, never underestimate the ability of the GOP to blow a winnable election (Mitt Romney, Tommy Thompson, Lincoln Chafee, Linda McMahon, and all the other can’t-possibly-miss lefty Republican Establishment candidates).
It took Republicans how long to overcome the image of an inept and uncaring Herbert Hoover? The same is likely to happen with the Democrats and Obama because of Obamacare and particularly the lies used to first to sell it and now which envelope its implementation.
Having good sign up numbers is great, Mr. President.
How many have paid their first month’s bill? how many of them are going to have sticker shock when they realize they need to pay how much? every month.
Oh, and then there’s the how much do I have to pay out of pocket before I see a dime of insurance money??? shock.
Oh, and then it will be fun when the go to their favorite doctor and get told we’re not in that plan or we don’t accept that plan shock.
Congratulations, you have health insurance. Best of luck getting health care. I suspect for many people that by the time they add up the yearly total of insurance payments + the out-of-pocket expenses that they could have just paid cash and come out ahead.
A law that funds 16,000-plus new tax collectors but doesn’t put a dime toward increasing the supply of doctors is clearly not about actual medical care.
Did you hear any concern from any Democrats when doctors en masse announced early retirement and hospitals began laying off staff as a direct result of their “health care” law?
I didn’t either.
Even if the premiums are “doable” the incredible deductibles make the notion of having insurance laughable. The new plans are basically, maybe, insurance for catastrophic illness, but as far as “care” that’s a thing of the past…removing people’s doctors, medications and access to good hospitals removes care.
Americans who are still paying for their own insurance will likely abandon paid insurance entirely and take their chances – many, especially the young adult age group, don’t use $6,000 (deductibles) worth of health care a year, nor are they likely to use even $2,400 premium/yr that my son now has (who has 2 degrees and a 29hr/wk non-career job thanks to Obamacare) – so why not drop it entirely?
Those that can afford it will simply go back to direct pay to the physician and many doctors will return to that method of providing services. Expect to see more and more physicians abandoning insurance as pymt entirely.
We have a company here in NC where you pay a flat monthly rate directly for access to their doctors. There are levels, but the standard plans are under $100 and cover most of the usual family stuff. They even do house calls. Will try to locate the name.
There’s one in Asheville. Blue Ridge Premiere Medicine. They charge a membership fee of $2700 per year per individual, which does NOT cover any medical services they might provide. Expensive, but they claim you can see one of the doctors the same day, rather than the 6 weeks I typically have to wait to see my doctor.
That’s also called “concierge care” and we have several practices like that already up here. I’ve considered it (one practice charges $2,400/yr, but they’re available 24/7 and will see you in the hospital instead of these ‘hospitalists’ that the fat hospital (supposedly non-profit) groups have now ordained take care of patients. IOW, the doctor who knows you doesn’t see you in the hospital. But that’s another issue.
Anyway, the concierge practices here have good reputations, and folks who have Medicare or Tricare (the military insurance) use them to pay for labs and tests. So, one could get a policy for similar type coverage and go your own way with personal pay to MD of one’s choice.
On the rare occasions when I’ve seen a reason to go to a doctor, I’ve gotten an appointment within a week. That was pre-Obamacare, with my “junk” insurance — which once paid (a modest sum) for an appointment even though it technically fell outside what my plan covered. (I didn’t misrepresent anything; the doctor billed them and they paid.)
The Right made a lot of dire predictions about what would happen if Obamacare passed, and damned if not only did most of it come true, but Obamacare’s actually worse than predicted, plus the worst of it hasn’t been rolled out yet. The GOP can point to correct predictions, which lends great weight to new predictions.
Then there are all those people who lost their jobs and whose unemployment has long since run out. They’re broke, but they can afford to vote.
Obama has lied so often and on such a huge scale, about policies that affect everyone everywhere, that anyone would have a hard time believing anything he says, justifiably so. A huge number of Dem politicians told the same lies and are now running for office. Ouch.
The stone around their collective necks is Obamacare, which ain’t workin’ and ain’t never gonna work. They can’t fix it without admitting it badly needs fixing, and they don’t dare admit it badly needs fixing.
There are maybe another dozen or so lesser, but formidable problems for Dems to deal with between now and Nov ’14 / Nov ’16.
All of this is called: ‘caught between a rock and a midterm election’.
Nonetheless, remember 2012, and never underestimate the GOP’s ability to screw this up, such as: BUSH/CHRISTIE 2016!
[…] Some Democrats can see the train wreck coming from here. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) predicts that Democrats will lose the House and probably the Senate too, thanks to ObamaCare (via Legal Insurrection): […]
Why did he spike the ball? From Rules for Radicals:
* RULE 1: “Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.”
Since the administration refuses to release the details of the alleged 8 million, that means they are lying and that there is so much less than 8 million who are actually enrolled that revealing the truth would be even more catastrophic than what has already taken place. He is trying to create a false reality and hoping people will believe it is true.
Consequently, the only ones characterizing this latest round of lies as an ‘endzone spike’are his band of flying monkeys in the press or those who use the term as a joke. There have been a couple of celebrated cases of players running the wrong way and then celebrating in their own end zone and this is a similar instance. There are not 8 million new sign-ups. That is a lie and Obama can dance all he wants but the democrats who must face the voters this fall know than no one is buying Barack Obama’s lies any more.
Obamacare is already in the process of burying US.
And by US I mean The United States.
Burying the Liberal Party is probably the only good thing about Obamacare, but it is insignificant, given the catastrophe it is bringing upon US.
Two choices for Obama. He can let Obamacare roll out with all the ugly stuff like the employer mandates which will crush his party for a decade or two, or he can continue to postpone and delay the ugly parts past the next election, and then the next.
The more he postpones, the more of Obamacare the next president can ignore and allow to die on the shelf – and don’t think that only a GOP president would do this. A moderate Dem president might not be eager to roll out Obamacare components known to be political mines.
And if a GOP candidate takes the WH in 2016, I hope he/she continues the practice established by Obama of only enforcing those laws he/she likes… just long enough to kill Obamacare.