As said before, to make sense of DC machinations I try to evaluate those political developments through a constitutional lens. For me, doing so simplifies and clarifies.
To wit, the provision of health care is within the Constitutional province of the States alone--NOT the federal government. (See Art 1 Sec 8 and 10th Amendment.) But, the Constitution is irrelevant these days. So, to keep their campaign pledge to "repeal and replace" Obamacare, Republicans in the House have, by the thinnest of margins, approved what is, in effect, Obamacare Lite.
Just to be clear, Obamacare was NOT "repealed" by the House. It wasn't really "replaced" either. It was tinkered with and rewritten to reduce costs and to improve upon patient centered health care.
Yes, it's an improvement over the costly, ham-handed, authoritarian Obamacare abomination, but any reasonable person must see that the age-old Progressive goal of government control of health care is fast becoming an acceptable goal on both sides of the aisle. (And unless we're VERY careful, it's only a matter of time before healthcare, education AND the right to self-defense are ceded by the People to our federal masters. And once surrendered, only revolution can restore them to the People.)
The people have drunk the kool-aid and don't want to surrender it. Bread and circuses are seductive and difficult to resist. Human nature.
Those of you who are familiar with the Hegelian Dialectic understand that the GOP health care bill is but a historical compromise with big government Liberal dogma. Long-term winners: Progressivism and Socialism. Oh, the Libs will whine over and lament this watered down version of Obamacare, but the hardcore ideologues among them are quietly licking their chops. The House has unwittingly vindicated the Left's Progressive agenda.
For some time now, this country has clearly been on a socialist, top-to-bottom glide path because the People, with the help of years of slick and relentless Progressive propaganda, have bought into the notion that big government is the answer. In the end, history's lessons will be ignored and Socialism will prevail until it collapses yet again.
We can hope that more thoughtful constitution-minded heads in the Senate will give this bill a harder look and render it more palatable. But I'm not counting on it.
On the bright side: Planned Parenthood has been defunded for a year. (Gee, what will those researchers out there do without PP-supplied baby parts? Curses!)
