Conservative rhetoric since Barack Obama was elected has been about how
his administration has cauterized progress in the US. You’d think it would be hard
to get around the fact that the US economy is
doing a lot better than many other countries because Obama understood the fatal ramifications of austerity, and despite what he inherited. But rhetoric, like water, will
flow seamlessly around obstacles no matter how rational and fact-based they
are.
Republicans have opposed Obama on everything they could whenever they
could. Yet, ironically, he provides a measure of cover for them. They want
control of Congress and the White House, but if they succeed after the next elections
– God help us all - they’ll have to take the rap for the ill effects that are
bound to result from their conservative policies. Whether they’re conscious of
that or not is hard to know. This is group of politicians notorious for their
skill in slipping the noose around their own neck and tightening it.
The latest gimmick is for Republican states to resist expanding Medicaid.
In 2010 Congressional Democrats approved the health care law as they intended
to expand eligibility for Medicaid in each state. If that had happened, people
too poor to afford medical insurance or medical attention would have received
Medicaid. The Urban Institute has estimated that it’s about 5.7 million people.
Predictably, there was huge Republican resistance. Last year the Supreme
Court ruled that states could decide for themselves. The New York Times states
that 25 - mostly Republican - states decided against. So those 5.7 million
people will lose out. Surely a victory for Republicans.
Meanwhile, Obama and his administration continue along the path of most
resistance but also most effectiveness for the economy and the recovery of the
middle class. Beginning next month the president and a team, including the
secretary for health and human services Kathleen Sebelius, will fly around the
country informing people about their options. They want to reach those who are
eligible but don’t realize it or don’t know what they have to do to access it.
Unfortunately the team will also have to explain to those in states with
no expanded eligibility that they’re too poor. That is going to be
heartbreaking. It’s hard to know whether or not the blame will fall on Obama at
first. But over time it’s going to be pretty clear who’s responsible. That
noose is tightening. But the collateral damage is something awful.
