News.
Last night,
this story appeared on the AP.
The headline: GOP leader hopes to
work with Obama on some issues
The reporter quoted Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate
GOP Leader who was at his home in Louisville, Kentucky, as saying,
among other things, this:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate’s top Republican says
President Barack Obama and a more-Republican Congress could join to
pass laws on trade and spending policy and make changes to the
health care overhaul if the administration listens to voters on
Election Day.
Then, further down, the story has these two paragraphs
below. I have highlighted the interesting parts in bold
print:
Speaking from his home in Louisville, Ky.,
McConnell said there are several areas of agreement that
already exist between congressional Republicans and Obama that,
theoretically, could pass quickly.
Those issues, he said, include an arcane tax
reporting law on businesses that’s part of the unpopular health
care overhaul. Even Obama wants the so-called 1099 provision
changed so that businesses are not overburdened with
paperwork.
What’s missing here?
Earlier in the day, we had a
post about a report that Senator Bob Corker, the Tennessee
Republican, had told a group of high-dollar GOP donors the
following:
The junior senator from Tennessee told the gathering of donors
not to worry about the incoming class of “crazier Republicans”
because the majority of Senate Republicans, especially minority
leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), had no intention of repealing
the president’s health care bill. They instead planned to fix only
the “bad parts” of the law, Corker reportedly told the group.
Senator McConnell’s office quickly sent us a denial, which
we noted in a second post to be found
here.
Then, last evening, the story took an interesting turn
with the statement from Senator McConnell to the AP.
It gave the clear impression that the Senator, precisely
as Senator Corker had been quoted, was
going to fix the “bad parts” of ObamaCare — instead of pushing for
outright repeal.
Clearly there is a considerable difference between
repealing one section of ObamaCare — Section 1099 in this instance
— and repealing the entire bill.
After some back and forth between The American
Spectator and Senator McConnell’s office, the Senator himself
was reached and this clarifying statement was issued:
While we were unable to block the Democrats from passing
the health spending bill — the single worst piece of legislation
that’s passed since I’ve been in the Senate — the Republican
leadership in the House and Senate is committed to its repeal.
While Democrats will filibuster our efforts, and if we’re
successful the President will veto, I believe we should give them
that opportunity. We should vote, again, for repeal. Americans have
spoken out, loud and clear, and we heard them. Repeal is part of
the Pledge to America, and the Republican leadership is united in
that effort.
The problem with the McConnell statement to the Associated
Press is not a small detail. It goes to the very heart of the
issue.
There is no way on earth to achieve the conservative goal
of small government, of limited government, if in fact ideological
surrender is the end result of so-called
“bipartisanship.”
To agree, in the name of “bipartisanship,” with President
Obama that this, that, or the other specific section of ObamaCare
should be repealed winds up inevitably giving the President the
upper hand. Simply put: this White House will no sooner have signed
off on a repeal of the aforementioned Section 1099 when it will be
claiming compromise was had and the other 99% of the bill would
only be repealed by — to borrow the phrase attributed to Senator
Corker and which he now denies saying — the “crazier
Republicans.”
Result? The bulk of ObamaCare will then be allowed to
stand, politically untouchable.
As with the stimulus, Democrats must have 100% complete
ownership of ObamaCare. Either it’s repealed in toto — or
it is left to stand untouched as the monstrosity it is. If the GOP
falls for any “bipartisanship” they will simply remove the intense
pressure Democrats are already feeling on the issue — a pressure
that is in the process of losing them the House and possibly the
Senate.
Which is why, all last evening, alarm bells began to ring
in conservative circles as Senator McConnell’s remarks to the AP
made the rounds.
With the statement formally issued by McConnell last
night, it appears this issue is — with considerable uneasiness —
put to momentary rest for the next 12 days in the run-up to the
election.
But it is very safe to safe McConnell and his colleagues
in both the Senate and the House will be watched carefully for the
first sign that their actions are even remotely hinting at
accepting anything less than complete and total repeal of
ObamaCare.
And if they can’t get a repeal past a presidential
veto?
Then ObamaCare and its consequences will continue to sit
as is — and Democrats will continue to reap the political
liabilities they themselves created.
And, as Ronald Reagan once said when asked his goal in
handling Cold War strategy he replied simply: “We win. They
lose.”
Too much water has gone over the Big Government dam for
conservatives to do anything other than follow Reagan’s strategy.
Simply put:
Winning is a total repeal of ObamaCare. All
at once.
Losing is anything less.
