Are Republicans afraid that Obamacare will actually work?
“That’s really what’s driving a lot of the Republican mania over shutdown and debt ceiling. It’s clear that D-day is October 1. They think it’s the last chance they have to kill Obamacare, therefore they’re willing to shut down the government to draw attention to this law that they think is a socialist menace,” Bloomberg Businessweek writer Joshua Green said on Friday’s Morning Joe.
Centering on Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz’s 21-hour talk-a-thon against the bill, the budget showdown has centered more on Obamacare than it has on the debt ceiling and deficit, despite the fact that Obamacare’s funding is largely automatic and not part of the budget Congress is writing up.
“I think Republicans are very nervous this will work,” co-host Mika Brzezinski said. “There’s been this literally constant drumbeat against it about how it hurts business, how they’re going to have to fire people, how it’s going to ruin the economy. Now people are going to be able to log on, or get the paperwork, go to Walgreens or somewhere else and see how easy it is to sign up. And they’re also going to see the prices.”
She continued: “And I’m sorry, but people are about their wallets ultimately. And when they can save $200, $300, $400 a month on health insurance, this is going to be attractive to them. And what’s happening in Washington is not.”
Jane Timm