Mitch McConnell wants to have a one-issue fight for the next two years, convinced that that's what will bring Obama down in 2012. There are a lot of reasons why that won't work, and here are some of the reasons why.
Obama Isn’t Interested in 'Re-litigating' Health Care, Washington Monthly's Steve Benen observes. The president might have said he’s humble in his post-election press conference, but on his signature legislation, he "clearly doesn't seem inclined to budge on this. If Boehner & Co. think Obama will be pushed around on health care, and that with the right leverage, repeal is an option, they're mistaken.”...
Defunding Health Care Isn’t Really an Option, Either, The Wonk Room’s Igor Volsky explains. Boehner and Newt Gingrich have come out in favor of this option, but “that may be easier said than done. As former Senator Tom Daschle explained in a recent interview, ‘a lot of what we did in health care reform has more of an entitlement than a discretionary funding base. So as an entitlement, they would really have to change the law rather than simply not fund in order for it to be effected. The entitlement sections of the legislation are going to be fairly immune from defunding.’"....
And GOP Interest Group Allies Love It, Steve Pizer and Austin Frakt argue at The Incidental Economist. “The Republican base hates health reform because it’s a symbol of Obama. They think it’s a product of the far left, when in fact it’s chock full of Republican ideas. ... When the new Republican House majority starts legislating on health care, they will be more concerned with what the relevant interest groups want. The insurance industry, hospitals, and drug companies want looser regulation and lower taxes. That is, the big players want what they always want–more control over implementation and establishment of favorable regulations–even if it’s at the expense of a more efficient health system for the rest of us. But they also want the mandate, which can’t work without the subsidies and insurance reforms....
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