Should Republicans Try to
Defund Obamacare?
There are a couple of things we can probably all agree on: 1) Obamacare is a bad law; 2) There are
probably not many more chances to prevent its implementation. Republicans are deciding now whether to try
and defeat the law by blocking its funding.
Politically, it’s risky.
It may not be successful. The
Democratic narrative, dutifully promoted by the liberal media, will be that the
health care bill provides services to poor people who would otherwise be
uninsured. (Indeed, Republicans must not
give up on health care reform just because this bill is a mess.) There will be a brilliant campaign against
Republicans for trying to squash Mr. Obama’s signature domestic achievement.
So is it wise to engage in such a fight when Republicans hope
to hold on to the House and possibly regain the Senate in the 2014 mid-term
elections?
The answer, I think, is a resounding YES! If there’s one thing our government does
well, it is play politics. And
unfortunately Republicans have been cowed into submission on important issues
before in the hopes of retaining power or not giving the Democrats and the
media too much ammunition.
When this happens, we all lose. What’s the point of gaining power if you have
to compromise your values to keep it?
When a law comes around that is as bad as Obamacare, it is the duty of
those who oppose it to do so vigorously, regardless of political consequences.
Senator Marco Rubio recently said in an interview that this
may be the last chance to spare the country the negative effects of this
bill. If this isn’t worth fighting for,
the senator asked, what is?
He’s right. If this
battle is not one that Republicans think it is prudent to fight, then they have
become totally impotent in government. There
may be a time for political strategy, but there also comes a time to stand up
and be counted, consequences be damned.
