Senate Votes Against Repeal: Out of the Woods but for How Long?
Posted Feb 08 2011 9:54pm
Photo by debabrata via flickr.
The Washington Post and the New York Timesreport that pro-repeal Senators and activists remain energetic and optimistic. Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) observes “[t]hese are the first steps in a long road that will culminate in 2012.” Marilyn Shachter, a tea party activist, predicts a repeal “definitely will happen. It may take until 2012, or after 2012, when we get rid of Mr. Obama and a lot of these borderline senators that are up for reelection are replaced.” Keith Hennessey, former Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council, outlines a two-year “path to repeal” the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA):
ABC News notes that the latest repeal attempt “was just one of three ways the Republicans are trying to kill the health care law.” The second way involves the constitutional challenges filed in the courts. The third way involves Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Senator John Barrasso’s (R-WY) proposed legislation allowing states to opt out of certain PPACA provisions, such as the individual mandate.
I would add a fourth way: good ol’ public relations (see my previous post on renaming/rebranding PPACA). For instance, last Thursday Alaska Governor Sean Parnell announced that he had asked the state attorney general whether implementing and enforcing PPACA would violate his oath of office. The Governor described himself as being “caught between a federal government that says, ‘You must pursue this, you must pursue this,’ and I have the duty to uphold the rule of law.” There’s some solid, dramatic PR right there.
Be that as it may, the Senate has spoken. The lower courts have spoken. Senators Graham and Barrasso have spoken. Governor Parnell has spoken. Members of this blog have spoken. Must we wait until Mr. Hennessey’s two year “path to repeal” has been successfully implemented or foiled before the Supreme Court chimes in?
Photo by debabrata via flickr.
The Washington Post and the New York Times report that pro-repeal Senators and activists remain energetic and optimistic. Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) observes “[t]hese are the first steps in a long road that will culminate in 2012.” Marilyn Shachter, a tea party activist, predicts a repeal “definitely will happen. It may take until 2012, or after 2012, when we get rid of Mr. Obama and a lot of these borderline senators that are up for reelection are replaced.” Keith Hennessey, former Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council, outlines a two-year “path to repeal” the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA):
ABC News notes that the latest repeal attempt “was just one of three ways the Republicans are trying to kill the health care law.” The second way involves the constitutional challenges filed in the courts. The third way involves Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Senator John Barrasso’s (R-WY) proposed legislation allowing states to opt out of certain PPACA provisions, such as the individual mandate.
I would add a fourth way: good ol’ public relations (see my previous post on renaming/rebranding PPACA). For instance, last Thursday Alaska Governor Sean Parnell announced that he had asked the state attorney general whether implementing and enforcing PPACA would violate his oath of office. The Governor described himself as being “caught between a federal government that says, ‘You must pursue this, you must pursue this,’ and I have the duty to uphold the rule of law.” There’s some solid, dramatic PR right there.
Be that as it may, the Senate has spoken. The lower courts have spoken. Senators Graham and Barrasso have spoken. Governor Parnell has spoken. Members of this blog have spoken. Must we wait until Mr. Hennessey’s two year “path to repeal” has been successfully implemented or foiled before the Supreme Court chimes in?