Discussion: What A Maine Tea Party Battle Can Tell Us About Obamacare's Future

Discussion for article #237830

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"Chemotherapy turned off for perhaps 12,000 people, dialysis going dark for 10,000. The horror stories will be real.”

The stories may be real, but unless the Obama administration, Congressional Democrats, and the DNC get off their asses and actually construct and frame a message and pound it into the public’s consciousness 24/7—something they all should have started doing months ago—these stories will be largely unheard. Why? Because the media will either ignore them or repeat the GOP’s talking points about it all being Obama’s fault.

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Cheney should have taken LePage hunting too.

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or blissfully hot air ballooning near high voltage lines …

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Anyone who is against efficiency and conservation is NOT a conservative, no matter how they try to label themselves,

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Bingo. A true conservative would logically be a raging environmentalist, and the fact that the vast majority of alleged “conservatives” are completely in the pocket of the extractive and exploitation industries is a testament to the intellectual bankruptcy of the movement.

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The Tea Party faction of the Republican Party honors the Confederate flag - even Lepage in Maine (a union state).

The Confederate flag represents rebellious states trying to tear apart and tear down the United States. The Confederate flag represents racism, bigotry, white supremacy, pro-confederate government and anti-US Government.

The Tea Party = The Confederate Flag = Paul Lepage.

Members of the Tea Party in public office need to be impeached - they are out to destroy our government.

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We know how this will turn out.

The court will vote 5-4 to kill the subsidies.

Congress won’t lift a finger.

People will die.

Republicans will blame Obama.

The Corporate Controlled Conservative Press will bring out the horror stories of people losing their insurance 24/7 and say Obama killed these people.

You’ll see endless commercials from the Koch Brothers saying Obamacare kills.

And so it goes…

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I feel this sort of thing has been happening for years. It just usually does not make it this far along, with exceptions. So, the issue is that the lower courts dropped the ball and that the SCOTUS picked up the case in the first place before really letting the lower courts reach any sort of consensus on the matter. Several of those that will vote against the law have also gone on at length about how to read a statute in context too.

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Republicans have worked relentlessly to damage or destroy the ACA from the day one. Now that they see the possibility they may wreck it, you can rest assured their propaganda outlet FOX and myriad supporters in the corporate MSM are gearing up to shout…“Obama’s fault!” "We told you this would happen!"

And IF the worst happens and the ‘people’ don’t rise up against the rat bastard and depraved Republicans and make them pay at the ballot box then the blood of the innocent people who will die and whose health will spiral down unnecessarily because of Republican obstruction will be on the hands of everyone who could have voted to oust them and didn’t.

And the Republican alternative healthcare??? “Jesus Take the Wheel”? A “GoFundMe” page for everyone? Trump has another “secret plan”???

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I doubt this snafu in Maine regarding energy efficiency will have any bearing on the aftermath of SCOTUS’ decision in King v. Burwell.

We already know the direction the House GOP leadership wants to take should SCOTUS rule against subsidies for those using the federal exchange. It will do everything it can to strip mandated coverage and most of the subsidies. The pre-existing provision feature of the ACA will also be on the potential chopping block.

Current subsidies would probably remain in place until after the 2016 general election. That way, if the GOP takes the White House it’ll be easier for conservatives to dismantle the ACA.

What happens to ‘the people’ as a result of all of this will be of little consequence.

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Remember the GOP doesn’t have any real belief system, no matter how much they bellow that they do. Their belief system is just what their donors tell them to believe. You can find a contradiction for every “closely held belief” that they have because they simply do what their donors tell them to do.

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Worse, the masses of people who can’t think critically will believe it all.

And beyond that, the political impact could be significant.

I’ve long said that many Americans don’t care about TPP and some of the other stuff floating around because these same Americans can’t understand the short- and long-term impact of this stuff.

However, many Americans will feel the impact of this loss of subsidies and still more will know someone who will feel the impact of this loss of subsidies. When those ramifications become clear, that will be a direct and indirect hit on enough Americans that the damage to the GOP could be significant.

And I agree: the next election cycle for the Dems should include daily pounding against every GOP incumbent that allowed this to go forward.

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Obamacare is already separating practical Republicans, who aren’t the law’s biggest fans but nevertheless feel obligated to sincerely try to represent their actual constituents, from the ideological tea baggers who are financed by nonresident billionaires.

Up until now, the process has been gradual but unmistakable, like oil separating from vinegar after being shaken together. The wrong SCOTUS ruling will make the process instantaneous, like magnets flipping around until they line up correctly.

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The real death panels brought to you by the GOP…

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Maine secedes from the US and becomes a province of Canada in a book by Stephen King called 11/22/63 about time travel. Would that it were so.

VICTORY FOR THE ACA. SUBSIDIES UPHELD…6 - 3 at the SCOTUS.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssss! Suck it Cons and Baggers!

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ACA subsidies WIN!!!

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I saw that at NYT and was going to link to it. Good news day.

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