Karl Rove stamps his feet today and insists that conservatives do too have a plan to replace Obamacare:
The president and his liberal posse have a fundamental, philosophical objection to conservative ideas on health care. They oppose reforms that put the patient in charge rather than government, that rely on competition rather than regulation, and that strengthen market forces rather than weaken them.
….In the past, with a few exceptions, Republicans talked too infrequently and with insufficient passion about health-care reform, leaving the
field to the Democrats. There’s a different political reality today.
Actually, liberals have a fundamental, philosophical objection to the tired repetition of stale ideas that (a) plainly won’t work, (b) have no political support, and (c) contra Rove, inspire no genuine passion among Republicans other than as a way of pretending that they have a health care plan.
Rove’s “plan” would blow a huge hole in the deficit; wouldn’t reduce costs; and quite likely would decimate the current employer-based system without covering any of the people with pre-existing conditions who are tossed out on their asses. And the worst part of it is that Rove knows all this perfectly well. He just doesn’t care. He needs words on a page, so he’s put some words on a page.
In any case, if you want more than just a peevish rant from someone (i.e., me) who’s too tired to bother going through Rove’s collection of gimmicks and evasions point by point, we’ve got you covered. Aaron Carroll has the detailed version here. Paul Krugman has the short version here. Enjoy.
