DailyKos Senior Political Writer Joan McCarter said it best. This time Democrats must not reward Republican intransigence with any kind of assistance that they will eventually use against them.
Joan McCarter wrote the following.
Mitch McConnell is having to explain that “You can’t just snap your fingers and go from where we are today to where we’re headed,” on Obamacare repeal to justify why he is going to be trying out a “repeal and delay” tactic. That new plan is to repeal the law right away, but delay the actual end of the law until a miracle happens and Republicans have a replacement plan. And create another “cliff” in three years’ time in which health care for millions is threatened unless Democrats help.
There are some inconvenient truths for Republicans. Obamacare is a Republican plan. What that means is that it was not optimal but was the best option given Blue Dog Democrats and no Republican assistance. Any failures within Obamacare are directly related to market-based options anathema to health care. Payment for healthcare among many other portions of healthcare does not belong in the market. Having to shop around for healthcare is inhumane and immoral.
Americans will come to the realization that markets cannot work in healthcare when Republicans are forced to remove protections given the pricing they hope for. Maybe that is a good thing as single-payer becomes our reality in a few years.
McCarter final words in the piece about what Democrats must do is prescient.
They have to let Republicans know that when they break it, they will be on their own and there won’t be any Democrats around to share the blame in it. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has it right: “They’ve used these talking points for 10 years and they are regrouping .[…] We’re going to name victims. The young women who are going to lose their birth control coverage … How about the 600,000 Ohioans who are going to lose their health care? How about the seniors who are going to pay more for their drugs. We are going to name names when they go after these people.” And make sure that everyone knows it’s Republicans who did this.
Why? It’s pretty simple. If no Democrats step up to help them undo Obamacare (looking at you, Sen. Joe Manchin) it makes it harder for Mitch McConnell to get every Republican on board behind pulling the rug out from under the law. The law and the huge number of people it has benefitted, not to mention the health insurance industry, hospitals and other providers who have spent the last decade reengineering their systems. There’s going to be a lot of pressure coming at Republicans from all directions to not do their worst. Democrats have got to let them do their worse. And take the blame for it.
Democrats, are you listening?