WAPO...THE OBAMANATION POST...BUT OF COUSE WHO OWNS IT...IRANIANS...On Obamacare, Republicans test the definition of insanity By Dana Milbank, Published: July 17 Well, this is embarrassing. Republicans have made so many attempts to repeal “Obamacare” that the scorekeepers have lost count. “Republicans,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, “voted to repeal it 40 times.” Dana Milbank Dana Milbank writes a regular column on politics. Archive @MilbankFacebookRSS Gallery Tom Toles on health care:A collection of cartoons on the debate. Video Ann Telnaes animation: America’s bad health-care deal. You may also like... Ruth Marcus We need answers Richard Cohen Teen culture run amok “Their 38th vote to repeal,” Rep. Sander Levin (Mich.), the top Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, tallied Wednesday on the House floor. “Thirty-nine times,” declared Rep. Louise Slaughter (N.Y.), the ranking Democrat on the Rules Committee. “The House has tried nearly 40 times,” the White House asserted. Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Tex.) wasn’t sure. The chairman of the Ways and Means Committee’s health subcommittee referred on Wednesday to criticism that “Republicans are trying for the 38th or 39th time to repeal Obamacare.” Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) observed that “my good friend, the chairman, couldn’t even reference exactly how many times they’ve tried to repeal it.” But let’s not pick on Brady. All the tallies fall well short of the actual number of times Congress has voted to repeal all or part of Obamacare. It has done that — are you sitting down? — 67 times. According to The Washington Post’s fact checker, Glenn Kessler, there were 37 votes to scale back Obamacare before Wednesday’s two votes in the House. But those 39 don’t include the Senate, where Reid’s office has documented 28 votes, all but a couple in the form of Republican amendments. This might explain the new findings that Congress is holding more votes than ever but passing fewer bills. Wednesday’s 66th and 67th attempts went much like the previous 65, except for a mid-debate recess so that lawmakers could have their official photograph taken on the House floor. “This bill is unraveling before us,” exulted Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Tex.) reported that “the train is not coming off the rails; it’s already off the rails.” On the Democratic side, Rep. John Dingell (Mich.) responded by saying, “Einstein observed that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again with the full expectation that the results are going to be different.” Actually, the quote is probably apocryphal — but Einstein didn’t live to see the 113th Congress. The proposals on the floor Wednesday were relatively mild: One codified the delay in the law’s employer mandate already announced by the Obama administration, and one extended the delay to the individual mandate. And Republicans weren’t entirely logical or consistent in advancing these proposals. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex.) accused the Obama administration of ushering in “socialism,” while Brady argued the contradictory position that the White House is “just listening to the voices of business” and ignoring “Joe Six-pack.” But Republican lawmakers were clear about one thing: The tally of attempts will continue to rise. “Postponing the two mandates are only the latest steps to repeal Obamacare,” Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.) said on the floor. Rep. Luke Messer (Ind.) explained that “each day this law is delayed gives us more time to seek its total repeal.” The overkill isn’t irrational. As The Post’s Sarah Kliff noted, research shows that people resist regulations more vigorously if they think the requirements will eventually be repealed. “If it’s 37, 38, 39, I don’t care,” Rep. Rich Nugent (R-Fla.) said this week. “If we do it 100 times, sooner or later we’ll get it right.” And so Republicans continue to tee up the repeal votes — far more than anybody realized. “Thirty, 40 times we’re talking about repealing it,” protested Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.). Or was it, as Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) posited, “the 38th time”? “I kind of lost track,” confessed Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.). It’s okay, Congressman. So did everyone else. Twitter: @Milbank Read more from Dana Milbank’s archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. Read more: Ezra Klein and Sarah Kliff: The plan to sell Obamacare Jamelle Bouie: Obamacare traps the GOP Jonathan Bernstein: Republicans’ tricky line on health care Michael Leavitt: Implementing Obamacare the Bush way Charles Krauthammer: A modest GOP agenda for 2013 Dana Milbank: Republicans’ Obamacare search-and-destroy mission
Posted on: Tue, 03 Sep 2013 15:37:20 +0000
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