I have no idea if the Republican health care bill is going to pass and if so, what form it will be in by then. It does seem pretty obvious that it's a terrible bill that will create great suffering as it makes health insurance unaffordable for millions while it slashes taxes for folks who don't need their taxes slashed. It also seems to me that a lot of Republican leaders are trying to ram it through, regardless of what it will do, because to not "repeal and replace" would be to admit they might not be in total charge of the country.
Here's what I'm wondering. According to Nate Silver…
The House's bill was extraordinarily unpopular: On average, unfavorable views of the bill exceeded favorable ones by 25 to 30 percentage points. (For instance, 59 percent of Americans disapproved of the House bill, compared with the 32 percent who approved, in the most recent CBS News poll.) The Senate's bill, since it's substantially similar to the House's bill, isn't likely to rate much better.
What's on the mind of that 32% that wants to see the nation go this way with health care? I'm being serious here. I can think of a number of viewpoints here…
- I don't believe the bill will cause so many people to lose insurance or see their premiums soar. I trust the Paul Ryans of the world who say that won't happen.
- I do believe the bill will cause that many people to lose insurance and I'm fine with that. If they do, that's their problem. The government shouldn't be involved in stuff like this.
- I'm a Republican. If our leaders want to do this, I trust them.
- Nothing in government is permanent. If the bill does hurt people, it will be fixed. Republicans can fix it if they remain in power. Democrats can fix it if they take over. Why are we even talking about how many people will lose coverage a decade from now?
- It expunges something Obama did. That's reason enough for me.
I'll probably think of a few more later but mainly, I'm curious: How many people who support this bill support it because they honestly think it will lead to better health care for more people and how many because they think that it won't?