Some Observations On The Debate Over Health Care And Insurance, Part II

Part Two in a series of observations about health care and health insurance in light of the introduction of the House GOP’s health care plan. This post examines several ideas advanced by conservatives, and the reasons they aren’t complete answers to the problems we face.

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Some Observations On The Debate Over Health Care And Insurance, Part I

Part One in a series of observations about health care and health insurance in light of the introduction of the House GOP’s health care plan.

Policy Analysts From Left, Right, And Center Criticize House GOP Obamacare Replacement

Health care policy analysts seem united in their assessment of the House GOP’s replacement for the Affordable Care Act, and it’s overwhelmingly negative.

Trump To Propose Massive And Unnecessary Increase In Military Spending

Reports indicate that President Trump will seek to increase military spending. We don’t need to, and we can’t really afford it.

Republican Budget Hawks Have A Donald Trump Problem

Budget hawks in the GOP face a showdown with Donald Trump’s spending ambitions this year that will likely decide whether we’ll ever get spending under control.

Clinton Acting Like She Won, Alienating Bernie Fans

Backers of the losing candidate for the Democratic nomination are surprised that they’re not getting their way.

Sanders Wins West Virginia, Continues To Fall Behind In Delegate Race

Bernie Sanders won another primary last night, but he continues to fall behind in the race for delegates nonetheless.

The End Of Paul Ryan’s Honeymoon?

Five months after becoming Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan seems to be running into some of the same difficulties that John Boehner did.

Hillary Clinton Scores Decisive Super Tuesday Wins, Moves One Step Closer To Nomination

As expected, Hillary Clinton won big last night while Bernie Sanders largely floundered, thus going further toward making Clinton’s victory inevitable.

Clinton, Sanders Clash In Final Democratic Debate Before Iowa Caucuses

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders clashed in the final debate before the Iowa Caucuses in the context of a race that has appeared to become tighter than it was before Christmas.

Supreme Court Appears Poised To Hand Major Defeat To Public Employee Unions

After oral argument today in a high profile case, it appears likely that public employee unions are likely to suffer a major legal defeat later this year.

Supreme Court Considers Case Where Civil Asset Forfeiture And The Sixth Amendment Collide

The Supreme Court is now considering a case that deals with the problem of overly broad civil asset forfeiture laws and a Defendant’s right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment.

Senate Passes Two-Year Budget Deal

As expected, the Senate easily passed the two-year budget deal early this morning.

Paul Ryan Easily Elected Speaker Of The House

With only a handful of opposition, Paul Ryan was easily elected the 62nd Speaker of the House.

Governing is Not Win-Lose

Compromise is simply necessary for the country to function.

Paul Ryan Blasts Budget Deal Process, But He’s Likely Very Pleased It Happened

Paul Ryan is blasting the process that led to the new budget deal between the GOP and the White House, but one suspects he’s secretly quite pleased with the fact that it makes his job-to-be a lot easier.

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Congress, White House Reach Budget Deal, John Boehner’s Parting Gift To Paul Ryan?

Congress and the White House have reached a tentative deal on the budget and debt ceiling that promises to make Paul Ryan’s initial months as Speaker a lot easier.

Conservative Groups Opposing Paul Ryan For Speaker Before He Even Announces

Paul Ryan has yet to say if he will run for Speaker of the House, but that hasn’t stopped the opposition on the hard right from forming already.

Ben Carson Isn’t Alone In Having Utterly Silly Ideas About The Debt Ceiling

Yes, Ben Carson’s comments about the debt ceiling are silly, but it’s the fact that a lot of Republicans agree with him that’s dangerous.

Death Panels Are Back. Good.

With the last legal hurdle to Obamacare cleared, “death panels” have made a quiet comeback.

A New Era for Conservatives?

The events of the past two weeks could allow the Republican Party to move forward.

Can Christie Bounce Back After The Bridgegate Indictments? Probably Not

Aides to Governor Chris Christie apparently think there’s still a way he can run a credible campaign for President, but it seems unlikely.

Have Republicans Given Up In The Fight Against Obamacare?

Five years after it became law, the Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act appears to be over.

Should Convicted Murderers Get Free Sex Changes?

A federal judge has ordered the people of California to foot the $100,000 bill for sexual reassignment surgery for someone serving a life sentence for murder.

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez Indicted On Corruption Charges

As expected, New Jersey’s senior Senator has been indicted.

Harry Reid Retiring From Senate

After nearly 20 years in office, Harry Reid announced early today that he would not seek reelection in 2016.

Senator Bob Menendez To Reportedly Face Federal Corruption Charges

A powerful Democratic Senator looks like he’s about to be in a whole lot of trouble.

Top Senate Democrat: Democrats Should Not Have Focused On Obamacare in 2009, 2010

Sen. Charles Schumer says Democrats made a mistake by concentrating on getting health care reform passed instead of on fixing the economy.

How Obama Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Imperial Presidency

A critic of the imperial presidency becomes an imperial president.

Should Lawmaking Be Left to Congress?

Should the Legislature take back legislating from the Executive?

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Who’s Going To Pay For The President’s War Against ISIS?

As we head into a new conflict, perhaps we ought to give more thought to fiscal issues than the President is to overall strategy.

Republicans Still Have A Problem With Female Voters

Two prominent Republican groups point out the blindingly obvious.

Will the GOP Ever Win Another Presidential Election?

It’s hard for a party to win four straight presidential elections. The Democrats may pull it off.

Don't Steal From Medicare to Support Socialized Medicine Don't Steal From Medicare to Support Socialized Medicine

Did Gingrich Correctly Predict Medicare’s Demise?

In 1995, the Speaker predicted Medicare is “going to wither on the vine because we think people are voluntarily going to leave it.”

On Many Issues, The Tea Party Is Out Of Step With The American Public

The people with the biggest voices in the GOP seem to be leading it to positions that most Americans disagree with.

Political Vultures Circling Around Eric Shinseki, Deservedly So

It seems unlikely that Eric Shinseki will have a job for much longer.

Ideological Purism Is Making American Politics Stupid

The latest chapter in an all too familiar story.

The Tea Party’s Nebraska Battleground

A Tea Party battle in the Cornhusker State

What Will The GOP Do If It Wins The Senate?

It might not be pretty.

Measles Reports Hit Highest Level In Nearly 20 Years Thanks To Anti-Vaccine Movement

The anti-vaccination movement has earned a dubious achievement, the return of a disease that was effectively eradicated 15 years ago.

Supreme Court To Decide If Politicians Can Be Sued For Lying During A Campaign

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments next week in an important First Amendment case.

ObamaCare Passes 7 Million Served

After many ballyhooed glitches, 7 million Americans have signed up for ObamaCare. Now what?

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Congress Set To Do Basically Nothing For Rest Of 2014

Don’t expect much out of Congress for the rest of 2014, or for the two years after that either.

Yet Another ObamaCare Deadline Extended

Another day, another delay.

Paul Ryan And Patty Murray Reach Budget Deal, But Can It Pass Congress?

A budget deal has been reached, now it has to get through both Chambers of Congress.

Choosing A $2,000 Drug Over A $50 Alternative That Works Just As Well

Thanks to current patent and drug regulation laws, we’re paying up to $2,000 for a drug when there’s a drug that does the same thing for orders of magnitude less.