This story dropped last night, but should set off a round of ceaseless re-examination. The Washington Free Beacon, an on-line source of news and comment from a
Paul Krugman looks back at President Obama's first term and sees a glass more than half full:
* A historic piece of health care legislation, far from ideal, but destined to be popular when implemented.
But the bad news is that the savings will come from the fact that more people will be uninsured because many states, driven by Republican legislators, say they won't accept better health coverage for their citizens, even if paid by the government.
Arkansas Republicans — abetted by the Koch lobby and other corporate interest groups — are loudly selling the message that the coming of expanded health coverage is a ticket to a November Republican electoral sweep.
The Republican Party in Arkansas grows ever more extreme, with unhinged members like Jon Hubbard and Loy Mauch (the anti-Lincoln Southern rights defender) characterized as mainstreamers.
The answer to the headline question is right here. The Arkansas Tea Party and a Koch front group are sponsoring anti-health-care rallies July 13-14 in El Dorado, Hot Springs, Malvern and Stuttgart to whip up a frenzy about Obamacare and, incidentally, help Republican candidates.
Will Arkansas Republicans really deny fellow citizens health care financed by the federal government? The question on implementation of Obamacare is no more complicated than that.
Here's the wishful thinking from Obama spokesman David Axelrod now that the health care law is indisputably the law of the land:
As the American people become familiar with what this program is and what it isn’t,” Mr. Axelrod said, “they’re going to be very, very happy with it.