President Obama huddled with Congressional Democrats on Wednesday to discuss best practices for fending off Republican efforts to repeal and replace his failing signature domestic legislation once Donald Trump is sworn into office. Mike Pence, meanwhile, has met with Republicans on the Hill to plot the path forward to repeal. Both discussions were closed-door, but details quickly leaked out -- and this one made me literally laugh out loud:
McCaskill said Obama "took responsibility for some of the failures to make sure people understood the changes in the health care system"
— Bridget Bowman (@bridgetbhc) January 4, 2017
Heavens, how could anyone have possibly "misunderstood" the degree to which there would be unwelcome changes to the healthcare system under Obamacare? Might it have anything to do with this very same president repeatedly and brazenly lying, assuring everyone that their satisfactory arrangements wouldn't change at all, and that all other conceivable changes for everyone else would be universally positive? Virtually every single promise he made, and certainly all the big ones, have been violated. Perhaps the most egregious (tied with lower costs and "affordability") was Obama's infamous "keep your plan and doctor" whopper, which was rated by left-leaning Politifact as the 2013 Lie of the Year. And wouldn't you know it? Obama is still lying about Obamacare, which remains unpopular. By all means, Democrats, please continue to follow this man's lead on the issue -- Lord knows it's worked wonders for your party. And speaking of ineffective leaders, cheap demagoguery, and Lies of the Year, here's newly-re-elected House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi trotting out a tired and ridiculous talking point:
"If you want Grandma living in the guest room, then repeal ACA" -Nancy Pelosi, coming out as anti-Grandma.
— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) January 4, 2017
This is somehow even lamer than "Make America Sick Again." Let's hear a round of applause for that accomplishment. In reality, grandma wouldn't be on Obamacare. She'd be on Medicare, the rapidly-deteriorating solvency of which was eroded by hundreds of billions in double-counted dollars to "pay for" Obamacare. Medicare needs serious reforms, or it will totally implode. That is a mathematical fact. Republicans have offered forward-looking and responsible solutions on this front, which Democrats have fought tooth and nail, lying endlessly with a barrage of scare tactics. Their biggest lie, implied again by Pelosi this week, is that the GOP wants to 'end Medicare' for seniors. In fact, the proposals on the table conserve Medicare for everyone currently retired or approaching retirement, and only makes changes for younger Americans -- who are set to get no benefits from a collapsed program on the current trajectory. This dishonest framing was deemed Politifact's 2011 Lie of the Year, which seems to be alive and well on the Left. In fact, the new Senate Democratic leader seems to be laying the groundwork for his party to run on a reckless, anti-math "no reform" message in 2018:
All about laying predicate to run on Medicare. As discussed at red state Dem summit > https://t.co/BHYQIetIW2https://t.co/n5KnZurVbR
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) December 27, 2016
That's part of the reason why they want Trump HHS pick Dr. Tom Price's political head on a stake; he's been a strong advocate for both Obamacare repeal and entitlement reform. That being said, this is a question that needs to be asked:
@guypbenson Where does the president-elect, who’s vowed to protect entitlements, stand on this? Will he support Price on Medicare reform?
— Allahpundit (@allahpundit) December 27, 2016
I'll leave you with this, just for good measure: