The Affordable Health Care Act And The Republican Party

The cost of health care insurance, health care itself and the number of people with out health insurance has increased and became a problem many years before President Obama took office in 2008.  Employers, employees and those retired have felt the effects long before the President's election.  The republican party in congress has vowed to defund and actually voted to repeal "Obanacare" (their term) 40 times in the U.S. House.  Recently they have even talked about shutting the government down if Obamacare is not defunded.

Prior to President Obama's election the republicans controlled the White House and the country 20 of the previous 28 years.  Reagan 8 years, G.H.W. Bush 4 years, Clinton 8 years and G.W. Bush 8 years.  During the 20 year reign of republican control no President submitted a plan to congress to address the health care issue or the escalating number of people with out health insurance.  They said they knew how to handle the problem but never had a plan or policy.  And as of this writing they still do not have a plan or a policy even though they say they do.

President Clinton assigned his wife to handle health care reform during his term in office and the republicans killed that idea and it went no where.  President Obama in the election of 2008 campaigned on health care reform, was elected and his administration passed the AHCA.  The republicans said it was unconstitutional, took it to court and the Supreme Court ruled otherwise in favor of the administration.   So now, 32 years later and the republican party still has no plan or policy for health care reform nor can they articulate how they would replace Obamacare and deal with the issue.  The T.V. talk shows who play to the republicans on the subject matter never question them about their lack of a plan during the 20 years of republican rule.

The republican record of failure concerning health care is a mirror image of those same three republican Presidents who said they would balance the federal budget and then gave the country and its people 20 years of record deficit spending and debt.  Those who follow politics and the facts understand why the republican party troday are a sorry bunch.  The leaders of the party today could not have been a part of the greatest generation of WWII.  They would not have fit in.  The unAmerican conservative ideology they preach today has overwhelmed their sense of decency, compassion for their fellow man and their ability to work with democrats on the tough issues facing the country and its people.  They make it a priority to use divisive issues such as abortion, religion, the gay community and etc., instead of talking about those issues that unite us.

Yes, there was a time in America when the republican party put the country and the people first.  That was a time when good things happened.  It is getting harder to remember those good things because the tea party has moved the republican party more and more in the direction of the extreme right and there is no republican willing to stand up and say enough is enough.  Obamacare is just another phony talking point that make up a phony republican agenda.  Government is not the problem.  The problem is elected officials who run government with an unAmerican conservative ideology.  Our leaders and the people of the greatest generation would never have put up with such an ideology, and neither should todays generation.


This commentary written by John Lucia