ObamaCare: When Is Enough Enough?

You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough.

William Blake (1757—1827),  Proverbs of Hell

Now this is not the end.  It is not even the beginning of the end.  But it is perhaps, the end of the beginning.

Winston Churchill (1874-1955), Speech at the Lord Mayor’s Day Luncheon, November 10, 1942

From the beginning, March 23, 2010, the strategy was clear.  

Sweeteners

Addict the people with sweeteners, for example, covering all with pre-existing conditions and promises they could keep their doctors and health plans at lower costs, then at the end, hit them with realities – the launch with its conditions for enrollment,  the mandates and fines, increased premiums and deductibles,  and the loss of health plans and doctors.

Painful Realities

What was not clear was that the people, in increasing numbers, would resist the plan,  and what would happen when the promises could not be kept and costs.   

What was not incorporated in the strategy  were that most of these realities would take hold just before the midterms elections of 2014 and that President Obama’s approval ratings would be as low as 38%.

Abandoning Ship

What was also not clear was that many Democrats would abandon the ObamaCare ship.    These Democrats, particularly 15 vulnerable ones running for the Senate,  would begin to wonder if the law was worth all the trouble,  as they saw the death of the their political lives flash before their eyes.   

Was the health law worth saving?  

Was it really worth losing the Senate over? 

Those Many Maybes

Maybe the health law wasn’t worth all the political pain.  

Maybe a two year delay of those 6 million health plan cancellations would help. 

Maybe those techno-wizards in Washington would step in, fix healthcare.gov, and save the day. 

Maybe enough of those signing up for ObamaCare subsidized plans would rejoice and let the world know of their joy.  

Maybe those losing their plans and their doctors would not complain too much and would not release their stories to the media.  

Maybe the young and the non-subsidized middle class would be mum about unaffordable premiums and ridiculously high deductibles.  

Maybe the 31 million left uninsured would be silent.   

Maybe the unworkable would work out.  

Maybe, just maybe,  “maybe”  has become the biggest word in the political language  for ObamaCare.

Twitter:  There is increasing evidence that ObamaCare’s troubled implementation   may be not worth the political pain for Democrats.