The degree with which Republicans are lying about the bill they just rammed through the Congress is frightening. What is more concerning is the amount of air time journalists have given them unchallenged to lie to the American people.
Paul Krugman is decidedly pessimistic on the game Republicans are playing with the AHCA. Why? –because he knows the past is prolog. Americans may buy it. Krugman wrote a New York times piece titled “Republicans Party Like It’s 1984.” He described everything Republicans are saying about their draconian bill as a willful lie.
What really stands out, however, is the Orwell-level dishonesty of the whole effort. As far as I can tell, every word Republicans, from Trump on down, have said about their bill — about why they want to replace Obamacare, about what their replacement would do, and about how it would work — is a lie, including “a,” “and” and “the.”
He then explained the reality of Trumpcare.
Even without a proper analysis, however, it’s clear that Trumpcare breaks every promise Republicans ever made about health. Deductibles will rise, not fall, as insurers are set free to offer lower-quality coverage. Premiums may fall for a handful of young, healthy, affluent people, but will rise and in many cases soar for those who are older (because age spreads will rise), sicker (because protection against discrimination based on medical history will be taken away), and poorer (because subsidies will go down). Many people with pre-existing conditions will find insurance either completely unavailable or totally out of their financial reach.
And Medicaid will be cut back, with the damage worsening over time.
Krugman then points out the intentional nature of the lying effected by the Republicans on the AHCA bill.
The really important thing, however, is not just to realize that Republicans are breaking their promises, but to realize that they are doing so with intent. This isn’t one of those cases where people try to do what they said they would, but fall short in the execution. This is an act of deliberate betrayal: Everything about Trumpcare is specifically designed to do exactly the opposite of what Trump, Paul Ryan and other Republicans said it would.
Krugman says that the bill is in effect a wealth transfer engine from the have-nots to the haves. He then asked the critical questions.
Why are they doing this, and why do they think they can get away with it?
The answers were clear. Republicans believe they have a gullible enough base to accept every evil effected by Republicans with the expectations that they will blame Democrats. And the GOP has been successful thus far in getting their followers to accept policies detrimental to their personal economies by marketing them under the mantra of freedom and other immeasurables.
Krugman closes with a salient point that should be concerning.
Why shouldn’t Republicans believe they can convince those same voters that the terrible things that will happen if Trumpcare becomes law are somehow liberals’ fault? And for that matter, how confident are you that mainstream media will resist the temptation of both-sides-ism, the urge to produce “balanced” reporting that blurs the awful reality of what Trumpcare will do if enacted?
In any case, let’s be clear: What just happened on health care shouldn’t be treated as just another case of cynical political deal making. This was a Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength moment. And it may be the shape of things to come.
Many continue to believe that Trumpcare is so bad that Republicans will pay a price for it. Don’t be too quick in that belief. Republicans are showing perfect message discipline and it will not surprise me if some of that discipline begins to bear fruit. In fact, that discipline may be helped with the sabotage of the Obamacare that is forthcoming.
Progressives, effective immediately, must begin their own disciplined messaging. They must start assigning blame for the increases in rates this year and insurance companies leaving certain markets on Republican sabotage.
Learn why Single-Payer/Medicare-For-All is our future. MSNBC’s Ali Velshi explained, that the free market simply does not work for health insurance, period. Chuck Todd recently pointed out that the AHCA decimates coverage for all but mostly to the Trump voter.
Call your Senators and Congressional Representatives every day and let them know you do not want the Affordable Care Act repealed. Also tell them they must support H.R. 676, Medicare-for-all. If you do not know how to get in touch with them, click here.