To Delay Or Not To Delay?

     The Republicant majority in the House of Representatives may not have to concern themselves with whether or not they should allow John Boehner to continue as Speaker of the House. The voters in next November's mid-term election may remove him by virtue of placing the Democrats in the majority of the House, thus we may see Nancy Pelosi as speaker again. The current continuing resolution fight and its corollary issue of what to do about ObamaCare, is scarily reminiscent of the 2011 debt limit increase fight, where Democrats stood back and watched as John Boehner and House Republicants negotiated with themselves until they had a deal that weakened them politically and left the Democrats and President Obama holding all the cards. Some have suggested that watering down the legislative opposition to ObamaCare with the delay tactic is analogous to getting half a loaf. But for Republicants and the nation, delay is not half a loaf, it is barely the crumbs from one slice of the loaf.
     The current contest between Republicants has had them in a race to comprise their principles so quickly, it resulted in going from repeal and replace to de-fund and disarm to delay and distribute, in a matter of months. Now that they have watered down their demands along with their principles, they are going to engage Democrats in negotiations, which may result in even less being achieved for the national good. But even if the Democrats have to settle for a delay, it could actually work out just as well, if not better, for them politically. The President and the Democrats may resist the deal to show how bi-partisan they are when they finally accept it. Make no mistake, they have orchestrated this beautifully. I could be wrong, and Republicants may cave after just a few hours or a few days of a government shutdown, and capitulate to the demands of the President and Senate Democrats, eliminating the need for delay. But it just appears to me that President Obama's rigid opposition to compromise will make him seem all the more magnanimous if and when he does.
     The myriad problems with ObamaCare have been well chronicled for the three and half years since it became law. The mountains of new regulations that have forced insurance companies out of the health care insurance business and doctors and other health care professionals away from practicing medicine, have already had a deleterious effect on Americans' health care. And now with employers being given a pass by the President on providing their employees with health insurance, more companies will find it necessary to kick their workers off the company plan that, because of ObamaCare, would bankrupt many of those companies if they kept them. Additionally, many companies have kept or reduced their payrolls under the fifty employee limit to avoid the law as well as converted full-time employees to part-time. The cost of health insurance premiums have skyrocketed in many markets as a direct result of ObamaCare and the medical device tax in the law has already caused a slow down in medical device innovation that will have an ever increasing negative effect on all our health care in the next twenty years.
     But all of these problems being blamed on the law are a moot point if it gets delayed. The problems will still be there, and probably will become much worse, but the President and the Democrats can and will make the case that the disasters in health care are the fault of Republicants and the free market. They will say it can not be the fault of the law, since those evil Republicants orchestrated its delay. This strategy will setup the Democrats nicely to take back control of the House and increase their margin in the Senate. And because the problems in health care will have grown exponentially because of the new law, which will not have been implemented, the American people will be screaming for relief and see the Democrats with their unimplemented health care law as a saving grace. In the final analysis, delay will only increase the need and likelihood for implementation not eliminate it.