Republicans Vote to Repeal Obamacare - Again and Again
Breaking news!! The House of Representative voted to repeal all of Obamacare - for the 33rd time. In a recurring political ritual, Republicans in the chamber denounced the law as a government takeover and said that all of it has to go. Then they backed up their statements with a vote.
Republicans Vote to Repeal Obamacare – Again and Again
Robert I. Field, Ph.D., J.D., M.P.H., Professor, Earle Mack School of Law & Drexel School of Public Health
by Robert I. Field, Ph.D., J.D., M.P.H.
Breaking news!! The House of Representative voted to repeal all of Obamacare – for the 33rd time.
In a recurring political ritual, Republicans in the chamber denounced the law as a government takeover and said that all of it has to go. Then they backed up their statements with a vote.
The action has virtually no chance of becoming law. The Democratic majority in the Senate is certain to block it. And if for some reason it does not, Obama has promised to veto it.
Many Republicans, aware that repeal is likely to go nowhere, acknowledge that the vote is largely symbolic. But symbolic of what?
They had based much of their opposition to health reform on the claim that it is unconstitutional. Attorneys allied with the party turned to the final arbiter of constitutionality, the Supreme Court, to prove their point.
The Court has now spoken, and it found, to the contrary, that most of the law passes constitutional muster.
Now, opponents contend that while health reform may be legally valid, it represents bad public policy. They assert that alternative approaches to fixing the health care system would work better.
But Republicans have yet to propose a substitute. And they don’t plan to formulate one until after the November elections.
The closest thing to a Republican health care plan is a series of steps outlined by policy experts at two conservative think tanks. However, many of the steps they advocate are already part of Obamacare. It is less an alternative to Obama’s plan than a reaffirmation of it.
Nevertheless, House Republicans express such outrage at Obamacare that they find no room for compromise. They claim that all of it must go.
But they have already voted to keep part of it – and done so twice.
That part is a series of cuts to Medicare that were included in health reform to help offset the cost. The budget plan formulated by Rep. Paul Ryan (R – Wisc.) had included all of those cuts (but without any expansion of health care coverage), and every Republican member of Congress voted for it.
And, in perhaps the biggest contradiction, the plan that so outrages Republicans is based almost entirely on their own ideas.
The notion of a mandate on individuals to maintain health insurance originated with Richard Nixon. It was developed in detail by the conservative Heritage Foundation in 1990, backed by a group of 20 Senate Republicans in the mid-1990s, and implemented by Mitt Romney in Massachusetts in 2006.
In fact, no prominent Republican expressed outrage with the idea until after Obama had adopted it in 2009.
The ritual of voting to repeal Obamacare is pure political theatre. It is clear that Republicans are not acting out of concern for the Constitution, do not envision better policy approaches, have no desire to replace it entirely, and do not even harbor true ideological objections.
Perhaps it’s not fair to fault politicians for playing politics. That’s their job.
But when it comes to health reform, the financial security, health, and even lives of millions of Americans are at stake. Is it too much to hope that they would take that into account?
Hey Bobby...we don't want it. Can't you understand that?— bannedrepublican- It's odd that the Liberals/Democrats so often refer to the Conservaives/Republicans as "The Party of NO"...
yet the Democratic leadership of the Senate continues to say NO to putting this repeal to a vote!
If Mr. Reid REALLY BELIEVES that the Senate Vote would uphold the Healthcare law, he would immediately put it to a vote so tha once and for all he could crush the damn Republicans and finally get them to shut-up!
BUT...He knows deep down that a Senate vote just might cause the repeal. What he fails to grasp is that "we the people" want to know how our Representatives feel about this today. The more he resists, the stronger the conservative base gets, and the better odds for another Democrat Disaster like they saw in 2006.— rentlaw 
Comment removed.- Dear Dr. Robert I. Field, Ph.D., J.D., M.P.H
Would it be at all possible for you to cite the instances where a vote on the FULL repeal of Obamacare was held? I mean, you do make the audacious claim that "The House of Representative voted to repeal all of Obamacare – for the 33rd time" and since I only know of two instances in which the Congress attempted in any way to repeal ALL of Obamacare I'm really curious what secret knowledge you have access too.
I think what you are confusing the truth with are the small sections of Obamacare which has been repealed since it was first enacted. You know, annoying sections such as the 1099 requirement which required any business to file a 1099 if they sold more than $600 in a year.
It's idiotic pieces of Obamacare which has been voted on, and repealed, with almost complete bi-partisan support but does not in any way even remotely resemble a full and complete vote to repeal ALL of Obamacare.
Now, since these facts are readily available to anyone with the capacity to do a simple internet search I have to wonder if you're the type who just takes for granted what other people tells them. Building on that, is that how you practice medicine? You just go with the flow and take for granted whatever anyone tells you without searching for the truth?
I am so glad you are not my doctor.
You should print a retraction.— jboston
From Obamacare to Medicare to managed care to genomics, this blog reports on and analyzes the laws, government policies, and political trends that are transforming the care we receive and the way we pay for it. The Field Clinic dissects the latest health care news, explaining it and putting it in context. Read more about the panel here.
For Inquirer.com. Portions of this blog may also be found in the Inquirer's Sunday Health Section
