Democrats show what ‘extreme’ looks like
long-sought dream for those wanting to get a handle on out-of-control spending and debt.
By giving states a lump sum, the hope is that they would experiment with costsaving reforms that improve health care results. Opponents of giving states the money and flexibility to innovate often seem to work from the assumption that governors and state legislatures want to harm their own citizens. Maybe they just have a better appreciation of how to help their own citizens than Washington does?
Graham-Cassidy is by no means perfect, and odds are it won’t pass. With 52 GOP senators, Graham-Cassidy can pass only if at least 50 of them vote for it, and they must do so before Sept. 30, when the arcane budget window known as “reconciliation” closes. Because some Republican states would lose money on the deal, squishy senators such as Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski might balk, as she did with previous attempts. This is why it would be smart to emulate Obamacare (and welfare reform) and be overly generous up front with the block grants, to essentially bribe politicians into voting for it.
Meanwhile, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who has mastered the art of supporting the status quo by voting against piecemeal improvements in the name of purity, has already indicated he will continue to play that game.
Heritage Action for America has grumbled, rightly, that Graham-Cassidy doesn’t repeal all of the Obamacare taxes. But the choice for Republicans isn’t between this and a better reform. It’s between this or letting Obamacare continue intact, violating all of those repeal-and-replace promises entirely.
That’s what’s so silly about the claim that Graham-Cassidy is as “extreme” as Sanders’ radical and shoddily written proposal (the bill is totally silent on how to pay for any of it). Graham-Cassidy is very close to the kind of legislation we would have ended up with if Republicans had an idea of what they wanted from the get-go and the Democrats were interested in compromise. But we live in a time when extremism is defined as not getting everything you want.