We conservatives think we are a hundred times smarter than liberals. So why does it seem that our representatives in Washington so often get the short end of the stick? That’s a long story, but at least part of the answer is that we need representatives of conservatism who are not only good on the stump and adept at firing up the base, but who understand the intricacies of legislation and are willing to do the hard and usually thankless work needed to beat our opponents in the trenches.
Today the New York Times headlined: “Marco Rubio Quietly Undermines Affordable Care Act.” Is that music to our ears, or what?
The Times expressed grudging admiration for Rubio’s shrewdness in derailing a key provision of Obamacare:
A little-noticed health care provision that Senator Marco Rubio of Florida slipped into a giant spending law last year has tangled up the Obama administration, sent tremors through health insurance markets and rattled confidence in the durability of President Obama’s signature health law.
So for all the Republican talk about dismantling the Affordable Care Act, one Republican presidential hopeful has actually done something toward achieving that goal.
Mr. Rubio’s efforts against the so-called risk corridor provision of the health law have hardly risen to the forefront of the race for the Republican presidential nomination, but his plan limiting how much the government can spend to protect insurance companies against financial losses has shown the effectiveness of quiet legislative sabotage.
“Quiet legislative sabotage.” I like that. You can read the article for the details, but note that Rubio’s legislative change is also popular politically:
Mr. Rubio’s talking point is bumper-sticker ready. The payments, he says, are “a taxpayer-funded bailout for insurance companies.”
Which, of course, is true.
Obamacare is a Frankenstein’s monster of weirdly stitched-together legislation. It does nothing to reduce the cost of health care, has caused millions to lose health insurance they already had, and has raised the costs of insurance for all those impacted by its provisions. The pathetic argument in its favor is that the increased costs caused by Obamacare are partly borne by taxpayers, so who cares?
Obamacare lumbers on, zombielike, already a dead program walking even though some of its key provisions have yet to take effect, having been delayed for political reasons by the Obama administration. Maybe Marco Rubio’s shrewd stake through the heart will bring the monster down. In any event, it is a good example of how conservatives in Washington can be effective as well as inspiring. Effectiveness is what we conservatives should vote for.
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