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Monday, March 11, 2013

Political Suicide Paul Ryan Will Work as Hard as He Can to Repeal Obamacare

Posted by Paul Constant on Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 11:19 AM

This passage from Fox News Sunday that was published on Slate this morning is really quite remarkable. After an election in which the American people very clearly turned down a Republican presidential candidate in favor of President Obama, Paul Ryan knows that the American people really want Obamacare to be repealed.

REP. RYAN: These are increases that have not come yet. So, by repealing "Obamacare", and the Medicaid expansions which haven't occurred yet, we are basically preventing an explosion of a program that is already failing. So, we're saying don't grow this program through "Obamacare" because it doesn't work...

MR. WALLACE: I'm going to pick up on this because I must say I didn't understand it. Are you saying that as part of your budget, you would repeal, you assume the repeal of "Obamacare"?

REP. RYAN: Yes.

MR. WALLACE: Well, that's not going to happen.

REP. RYAN: Well, we believe it should. That's the point. That's what's — but this is what budgeting is all about, Chris. It's about making tough choices to fix our country's problems.

So Ryan is going to continue to build his little fantasy budgets for the America that voted three-to-one for a Romney/Ryan ticket, even though reality looks nothing like that America. This makes his budget into nothing more than Atlas Shrugged fanfic.

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Napoleon complex.

Posted by Pope Peabrain on March 11, 2013 at 11:25 AM

His entire career is nothing but Atlas Shrugged fanfic, not just his budget. I'm always surprised when I see a photo of him standing up, since he seems to spend the majority of his time bowing down at the altar (or knees) of Ayn Rand.

Posted by Calpete on March 11, 2013 at 11:40 AM

I love the metaphor Atlas Shrugged Fanfic.

Posted by Clayton on March 11, 2013 at 11:55 AM

How about making the tough choices to tax the wealthy more to help out the rest of the country? Redistribute the wealth, motherfucker, like they used to back when the rich did things like build libraries around the country? Fucking selfish capitalist lackey...

Posted by treacle on March 11, 2013 at 12:03 PM

There should and will be changes however, like the tax on medical devices (I never understood the rationale for that) and perhaps some tort reform (just a tad perhaps -- greedy trial lawyers?).

Posted by raindrop on March 11, 2013 at 12:21 PM

I hope you guys are planning solid coverage of the actual implementation of Obamacare.

Because it's already happening, especially in places like California, where the budget is turned around and the smarter-than-average-bears have been enrolling people in that state's Medicaid-expansion program since last summer sometime.

The obvious effects? People going to doctors rather than, and earlier than, an emergency room; fewer bankruptcies and their ripple effects; less upward pressure on healthcare costs due to unpaid bills, cost-spreading, and administrative/collection expense.

Posted by rob!

on March 11, 2013 at 12:30 PM

The obvious takeaway from this is that Atlas Shrugged Fanfic would be a great name for a band.

Posted by Hanoumatoi on March 11, 2013 at 1:20 PM

How is this different than their usual assumptions about record growth which will make all their voodoo calculations work?

Posted by fletc3her on March 11, 2013 at 1:31 PM

Chris Wallace is one of the few guys on Fux Noise that seems to have a brain.

Posted by Frank Blethen's vodka distiller on March 11, 2013 at 2:10 PM

@5,

The rationale for that is that medical device manufacturers are making record profits. I recommend this article.

Posted by keshmeshi on March 11, 2013 at 3:14 PM

@9,

Too bad he's contractually required to turn it off.

Posted by keshmeshi on March 11, 2013 at 3:14 PM

Why hasn't any reporter, even Chris Wallace, followed up with something like: "But Congressman Ryan, you and Mitt Romney ran on the idea of repealing Obamacare, and the American people decisively chose to stick with Obamacare. Why are you so set on thwarting the will of the American people? Why are you so dead set against democracy?"

Posted by scott (the other one) on March 11, 2013 at 3:22 PM