Don't Derail the Obamacare Train Wreck

Remember when Obamacare was the solution to all our health insurance woes? The president assured us his law would provide coverage for the uninsured, reduce healthcare costs, improve the quality of medical care, and cure the heartbreak of psoriasis.

Now it appears Obama is suffering from legislative remorse. His administration is frantically scrambling to delay implementation of Obamacare. Their latest ploy is postponing implementation of the individual mandate that was supposed to be the cornerstone of the act and the crucial component that held the unwieldy Obamacare together.

As I watch panic in the White House, I’m reminded of H. L. Menken’s definition of democracy: "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard."

This is why I’m opposed to any delay in rolling out Obamacare. Obama and his experts told us what they wanted in regard to healthcare and now they and the rest of the Democrats deserve to get it good and hard.

As Erick Erickson points out on RedState, it is a mistake for John Boehner and House Republicans to join the Obama conspiracy to delay the Obamacare timetable. It’s not surprising that Boehner is considering this, but it’s still a mistake.

The citizens of the U.S. need to see exactly what Democrats voted for and imposed upon them. They need to see Obamacare in all its train-wreck glory. Only then will there be enough pressure to repeal this Obamanation.

The Obama administration delay of the individual mandate and the employer mandate until after the 2014 midterm elections is simply illegal. There is no mechanism in the law for these delays; it’s simply an effort to protect Democrats from being punished at the polls.

A deadline should be a deadline and House leaders should hold Democrats to their own timetable. The GOP’s only role should be to insist the law take effect as passed and, if necessary, file a lawsuit forcing implementation.

Mitigating the effect of Obamacare works against the interest of Republicans because their participation means they are now part of the Obamacare process. Reducing the hole in the Titanic’s hull by 10 percent is hardly a victory when it means you go down with the ship, too.

It is not John Boehner’s job to save a majority of Americans from themselves. They re-elected Barack Obama in spite of GOP warnings regarding Obamacare, so now experiencing an undiluted, full-strength dose of Obamacare is part of the spoils of victory.

The people have spoken. Now House and Senate Republicans need to shut up, stand aside, and watch the train roll out. (If they like, Republicans can discretely hum "The Wreck of the Old 97."