Do Republicans Really Have No Plan?
A constant refrain we hear from Democrats in congress and members of the media is, "Republicans oppose Obamacare but have no plan for how to fix health care."
Is this, in fact, the case? Do Republicans really have nothing to contribute to the debate over how to improve health care in this country?
I recently had my friend Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) on my radio program and asked him about this. Without any foreknowledge that I would question him along these lines, Congressman Dreier rattled off five things that he and his colleagues have been advocating for:
- The immediate allowance for interstate purchases of health insurance nation-wide
- Meaningful tort reform
- Association health plans for small business owners to come together and find lower rates (as large corporations do)
- "Pooling" to deal with preexisting conditions
- Expanded medical savings accounts
He continued: "These five things, if implemented, would have an immediate impact on the costs of health care...It is a myth to claim that Republicans don't recognize that we do have a problem that needs to be addressed."
Even the casual observer of congressional politics will be able to verify that these are all suggestions that have been publicly offered by Republicans, if not written into pieces of proposed legislation. One may disagree with the Right's ideas, but for Democrats or political pundits to claim that our side has "no plan" can only be explained in one of three ways:
- They are using hyperbole to characterize conservatives and libertarians in an unfavorable light
- They are so instinctively dismissive of the Right that they don't pay attention to what Republican members of congress say or do
- They are knowingly lying to advance their side's ultimate goal: a single-payer health care system (see: Cuba, Sweden, etc.)
Not one of these options speaks well of our opponents and all three are contributing factors to the cynicism most Americans feel toward politics at the national level in particular. Certainly both sides are, from time to time, guilty of the first one. The second would be further evidence of my theory that the Left in this country live inside a "bubble" of their own making and simply do not read or listen to our thinkers and scholars. The third option - and the one I believe is the most common motivation for someone to repeat the "Republicans have no plan" mantra - leads me to an interesting ethical question:
If I went to Washington D.C. to represent my home district or state, what lengths would I be willing to go to see that a piece of legislation I believed as deeply in as the Left believes in government-run health care passed?
Would I be willing to say something that I knew to be untrue over and over and over again to defeat legislation I opposed?
What say you, Ricochet?
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Dec '10
Re: Do Republicans Really Have No Plan?
We have chickens.
The truth is, sometimes people buy eggs from us, but, for the most part, we have lousy chickens.
One chicken laid a blue egg, today.
If you added up all of our chickens and applied an appropriate government multiplier, we should probably get a dozen eggs, every single day, so that's got to be worth at least $2. A premium price, because, hey, some may be blue.
The truth is, it costs me more than a dollar a day for chicken feed, and we only get, usually. 3 eggs a day. Since we can't produce more than that, my fiancee expects me to eat more eggs, which, I believe, makes me a health risk.
We have the laziest chickens in the world, plus I may become a health risk. Under these circumstances, I should probably become qualified for Social Security Disability, dontcha think?
I personally know a guy that drinks all day and is now on disabilty, for the rest of his life.
Because he drinks all day. That's his disabiity.
So whaddaya say, Ricochet? May I, too, go onto permanent disability, because I am a lousy farmer and one chicken lays blue eggs?
May '12
Re: Do Republicans Really Have No Plan?
I think Congressman Dreier makes some good points.
I am not one to defend republicans, but this is a case where they/we could do much to help ourselves. If conservatives support free market principles then the 'plan' should be for the government to do less and get out of the way. All politicians fall into the trap of 'we have to do something' when the problem is that our federal gov't has already done far too much.
The plan for conservatives involve words like repeal, eliminate, reduce, stop, etc. But we have been seduced by progressives tickling our ears to think that a plan must include words like enact, sign into law, create, regulate, pass laws, etc.
Any plan that eliminates tax gimmicks such as employer provided insurance, or eliminating market distorting mandates such as Obamacare and EMTALA will embrace free market efficiency.
Oct '10
Re: Do Republicans Really Have No Plan?
"You have no plan!" says the party that controls the Senate, which by the way has gone over three years since passing a budget even though it is legally mandated to do so.
THAT is what not having a plan looks like.
Apr '12
Re: Do Republicans Really Have No Plan?
Yes, I've heard all of these bullet points discussed for a couple of years. Obviously, the Republicans have plans for healthcare reform. It's just no one can hear them. Dennis, you know there's reasons for that, and you know what those reasons are.
Luke: Obi-Wan! Why didn't you tell me? You told me Vader betrayed and murdered my father.
Obi-Wan: Your father was seduced by the dark side of the Force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader...So what I told you was true, from a certain point of view.
Luke: A certain point of view?
Obi-Wan: Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.
Oct '10
Re: Do Republicans Really Have No Plan?
I imagine Republicans haven't pushed our plan (which I detail here) because we don't want to give Democrats a rich tapestry of potential distortions and attacks. There's also some uneasiness in the base over one of the key reforms, risk adjustment--though I don't know why; the alternative the base seems to prefer--federally subsidized high risk pools--seems much worse to me than a more market-friendly risk adjustment scheme.
Oct '10
Re: Do Republicans Really Have No Plan?
And let's be honest. While we have detailed plans, including one bill by Paul Ryan and another by a congressmen whose name escapes me, the GOP leadership has most definitely avoided pushing a detailed plan of our own, and conservative think tanks have also mostly avoided the issue.
The battle we need to focus on--more than full repeal, more than what would replace it--is repealing the regulations in the bill. If we can kill those, we'll have a much easier time making the rest of the bill market-friendly by executive action, and repealing the regulations legislatively would make it much more difficult for future presidents to reinstate them.
Apr '12
Re: Do Republicans Really Have No Plan?
Dan Hanson makes a critical point about government plans. The problem for Republicans is that they look mean spirited and not caring about the lower IQ, poorly organized citizens. It was only when I began reading the Internet and listening to you, Mr. Praeger, that I realized that image was not accurate. Republicans do need to paint a picture of the single woman at 60, just like " Julia", and discuss how they would like to see her live her life and manage her life. If the Republicans wanted her to buy insurance back in her thirties, they do need to articulate this respectfully. They need to speak to these Liberal groups directly and not with a sneer but to actually pursuade them to think about how to live their lives. I watched a Medicine Sans Borders in the USA, a medical clinic held at the school. It did shock me to see all these people flocking to get medical attention. How would the Republicans like these Americans to have done instead to ensure care? Also, Republicans need to throw in a big game changer such as a tax free medical bank account to use for family health care?
May '10
Re: Do Republicans Really Have No Plan?
The challenge of conservatives is to sell a "plan" that consists of dismantling large pieces of the " plans" already implemented. It can be done, but it takes better salesmen to convince that less is more. More is more is what most expect.
Nov '11
Re: Do Republicans Really Have No Plan?
Sorry, fellas, but I think the Dems are right.
The five things Dreier "rattled off" are probably fine ideas, but ideas rattled off are not a plan. (No collection of ideas, however numerous and worthy, can be said to constitute a "plan to fix healthcare," without specifically discussing how to "fix" medicare, which Dreier's "five things" do not do.)
The GOP needs to find the guts to commit to a comprehensive, appropriately detailed plan, write it down in a single document, present it to the electorate, and defend it with pride. The plan should state both principles and goals, and explain how the plan will accomplish its goals within those principles.
In my humble opinion, the main goal should be: Return the healthcare system to a free market basis because a free market will always produce the best combination of choice, cost, and value for greatest number of consumers. I dearly wish that someone, anyone, in the GOP had the courage to state the foregoing fact clearly and unashamedly.
The GOP leadership must take on the task of teaching the electorate not to fear a free market in healthcare. Until they accomplish that task, nothing useful can be done.
Apr '11
Re: Do Republicans Really Have No Plan?
Astonishing: Sorry, fellas, but I think the Dems are right.
The five things Dreier "rattled off" are probably fineideas, butideasrattled off are not a plan. (No collection of ideas, however numerous and worthy, can be said to constitute a "plan to fix healthcare," without specifically discussing how to "fix" medicare, which Dreier's "five things" do not do.)
The GOP needs to find the guts to commit to a comprehensive, appropriately detailed plan, write it down in a single document, present it to the electorate, and defend it with pride. The plan should state both principles and goals, and explain how the plan will accomplish its goals within those principles.
In my humble opinion, the main goal should be: Return the healthcare system to a free market basisbecausea free market willalwaysproduce the best combination of choice, cost, and value for greatest number of consumers.....
Drier's points (other than full interstate purchasing) are included a plan that almost all of the House GOP have voted for. They almost all talk about the superiority of the market frequently, Romney almost constantly. If you're wanting a safety net (eg. Medicaid/ Emtala) free system, though.....
Nov '10
Re: Do Republicans Really Have No Plan?
Dan Hanson and Indaba are correct. It's probably nothing so sinister as Mr. Prager suggests (though I don't discount those as possibilities) but simply that when Democrats ask, "What is your plan?" they mean, "What would you have the government do." When Republicans respond, "Nothing but..." the Dems ignore everything after the "but" and conclude the GOP wants to do nothing.
To the left a plan that doesn't involve more government is simply not a plan.