John Cornyn Likes It, But Doesn't Wanna Pay For It.

Anyone that thinks today's GOP is serious about fiscal conservatism, you might want to hold your hands over your ears and sing, "I can't hearrr youuuu."

In a brief chat with the Huffington Post on Tuesday, National Republican Senatorial Committee chair John Cornyn (R-Tex.) implicitly acknowledged that Republicans are content with allowing some elements of Obama’s reform into law. And they’d generally ignore those elements when taking the fight to their Democrat opponents as November approaches.

“There is non-controversial stuff here like the preexisting conditions exclusion and those sorts of things,” the Texas Republican said. “Now we are not interested in repealing that. And that is frankly a distraction.”

What the GOP will work to repeal, Cornyn explained, are provisions that result in “tax increases on middle class families,” language that forced “an increase in the premium costs for people who have insurance now” and the “cuts to Medicare” included in the legislation.

John Cornyn wants to keep the preexisting conditions exclusion, labeling it "non-controversial."  Of course, that "non-controversial" item is a big chunk of what makes this bill so expensive.  Dismissing it as "a distraction" while talking about eliminating the necessary taxes and spending cuts in order to fund it is complete nonsense.

Of course, big spending combined with tax cuts is the complete nonsense that got us to this point in the first place.  I'm looking right at ya, W.

Misreading the Anti-HCR Public Sentiment.

Today (and for the past few weeks) the GOP has been screaming from the mountain tops that the American public did not want this bill.  And if this recent CNN Opinion Research Poll is any indication, they're absolutely right:

As you may know, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are trying to pass final legislation that would make major changes in the country’s health care system. Based on what you have read or heard about that legislation, do you generally favor it or generally oppose it?

Mar 19-21 2010

Favor 39%

Oppose 59%

No opinion 2%

I'd say that 59% is pretty telling. Until you read the next question:

(IF OPPOSE) Do you oppose that legislation because you think its approach toward health care is too liberal, or because you think it is not liberal enough?

Mar 19-21 2010

Oppose, too liberal 43%

Oppose, not liberal enough 13%

No opinion 5%

So, if you combine that with the 39% that favor the bill from the previous question, you get something like this.

52% Favor, or oppose because the bill isn't liberal enough

43% Oppose, feel the bill is too liberal

5% No opinion

Maybe you're not as tuned in to the pulse of America as you think you are, GOP.  I'd be willing to wager that if this bill included a Public Option, approval numbers would have been much higher.

Frum Ponders His Party.

David Frum, former speech writer for George W. Bush and die-hard conservative, ponders the current state of the GOP:

No illusions please: This bill will not be repealed. Even if Republicans scored a 1994 style landslide in November, how many votes could we muster to re-open the “doughnut hole” and charge seniors more for prescription drugs? How many votes to re-allow insurers to rescind policies when they discover a pre-existing condition? How many votes to banish 25 year olds from their parents’ insurance coverage? And even if the votes were there – would President Obama sign such a repeal?

We followed the most radical voices in the party and the movement, and they led us to abject and irreversible defeat.

Good Job, DC.

I'd like to extend my thanks to the lawmakers in DC who chose to do what was right.  The health care system in America is broken.  This legislation is a step in the right direction toward fixing it.  It really doesn't get any more simple than that.

That is all.