We’re entering a bizarre end of the year edition of Silly Season in which the news media is laser-focused on the wrong things. As stories about the roll-out of the Affordable Care Act begin to dissipate, it looks like we’ve segued into an especially nonsensical “British Anchor Wants to Poop in Palin’s Mouth” meets “Wacky Toronto Mayor Does Wacky Stuff” news cycle.
Lost in the mix, of course, is the ongoing far-right effort to sabotage the Affordable Care Act.
I’m not talking about the myths and propaganda — the “death panel” nonsense and the like. This is serious business: the well-financed, broadly implemented sabotage campaign designed to rig the law for failure, while also making it more difficult for Americans to receive insurance.
Sabotaging the Website
We’ve known for quite some time that most Republican governors refused to open health insurance exchanges in their states. 27 states don’t have exchanges and therefore uninsured residents are shuffled over to the Healthcare.gov website to buy a policy.
However, earlier this month, we learned that Republican Party leadership directly urged those governors not to do it — chiefly to burden the federal exchange with a heavier load… [CONTINUE READING]