The Beginning of the End
November 14th, 2012 - 7:54 am
“Surrender” is a bold stand, right? Apparently:
Florida Gov. Rick Scott is dropping his staunch opposition to federal health care reform.
Scott, a vocal critic of “Obamacare,” said Tuesday that he now wants to negotiate with the federal government in a way that could help families.
Scott previously stated that he would not go along with parts of health care reform that the state controls. But the governor said that in the wake of the re-election of President Barack Obama he is now open to discussing it.
Scott was willing to fight ObamaCare only so long as he figured Obama wouldn’t be around very long to fight back.
That’s as apt a definition of “cowardly” as you’re likely to find on a Wednesday morning reading of the news.
I’m not ready to throw Scott under the bus yet. I think your language is overwrought. Scott fought when it was important. Pre-election. What did Christie do? I don’t know if it is Scott’s doing or not, but FL is sending officials to look at the vote count in the West election. Has Kasich in OH or other Governors done anything regarding vote counts?
Scott knows health care. He’s fought this battle since the Clinton years. Many think that is what led to the allegations against his company – his fight against socialized medicine. This is complicated stuff, and I don’t know all the ins and outs of it, but I suspect a hair trigger here.
The people of Florida voted for Obama. They deserve Obamacare. Governor Scott shouldn’t be negotiating. They should be getting Obamacare good and hard. Death panels for everyone.
“If you can’t beat ‘em, do that other thing… If you can stomach it.” =’[.]‘=
Voters voted for the full measure of Obamacare. No negotiations.
Under the ACA the Federal government will print money for 100% of the medicaid costs to the states for the first three years (2014-2017). Then it drops to 95% from 2017-2020. Where will Florida get the money for that? And after that, the US government — if such a thing still exists — will pay 90%.
I despise Obamacare, but I agree with Leroy. The time for fighting was before the election. Now, we know for sure it won’t be repealed for at least 4 years. Time to make the best of it.
The biggest problem with something like Obamacare is that is quite difficult to repeal once people have arranged their lives around it. For example, few Americans agree with how the Social Security program has been managed, but we don’t dare repeal it because everyone counts on it. Thus, the focus of Republicans in negotiation about how Obamacare is implemented should be finding ways to keep a federal subsidy for something everyone needs in the realm of the repealable. No easy task, but in four years, after it has affected their lives, I think quite a few people will want to get rid of it. We have to make sure they will also believe they *can* get rid of it without anyone being thrown to the wolves. Republican governors’ number 1 priority should be to see that their people are all getting the best possible care. Their number 2 priority should be to lay the groundwork for repeal. Both priorities require what looks like “surrender.” Well, voters have spoken and that’s the way it is. Time to surrender, but not to give up.