Tribune short-circuits ObamaCare history

Here at the Eye we have previously written about the ObamaCare train wreck, including Where in the World is Senator Nelson on ObamaCare now and other Eye posts here and here.  We continue to wonder why our local media refuses to interview or question those who voted for the predicted ObamaCare mess, including Senator Nelson.  

Today's Tampa Tribune includes their own editorial Obama short-circuits his own health plan 

The continuing troubles with the Affordable Care Act’s enrollment website rest squarely on President Obama’s shoulders.

If the problems persist, Obama needs to extend the enrollment period beyond the March 31 deadline, or exempt people from the penalties associated with failing to have insurance. After all, big businesses were granted an extension when they complained about a lack of time to prepare for a reporting requirement in the new law.

Therefore, we must assume that the Tribune believes that Obama and the Executive branch can arbitrarily and unilaterally pick and choose what parts of a law the President signs to enforce and when. On what basis, do they believe the President has that power? What precedent does that set? Will the Tribune support that same position in the future if there is a Republican President with the Democrats having a majority of one or both houses of Congress?  

We agree there needs to be a delay of the individual mandate.  In fact, in July, as ABC news reported:  House Votes to Delay Employer and Individual Mandates by One Year

The House of Representatives voted this evening not only to delay the employer mandate by one year, but also to delay implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate by one year as well.
“This is about basic fairness,” House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said during a news conference Wednesday. “If the president believes that the employer mandate is too much for the employer community, how about basic fairness for American families and individuals?”

These votes passed with Democrat support in the House. Nowhere in the Tribune Op-Ed states this fact that the House went thru the proper legislative process to pass two bills to delay both the employer and individual mandates. The House sent these bills over to the Senate.  Senate majority leader Harry Reid refused to address them or acknowledge them. Senator Reid did not want to force Senate Democrats, especially those vulnerable Democrats up for re-election in 2014, to have to vote on bills that would provide fairness to all Americans regarding ObamaCare.  

As far we know, the Tribune never even asked Senator Nelson for his opinion regarding these two bills passed by the House. 

Yet, the Tribune continues to report on Senator Nelson's request to delay raising federal flood insurance rates and refuses to report that it was Senator Nelson who voted FOR the Biggert-Waters bill last year raising the rates while Senator Rubio voted AGAINST the bill last year.  Senator Nelson's request for a do-over for his flub vote last year is almost comical as the Tribune regurgitates from an email Nelson sends to the Associated Press: 

"My legislation to fix this is being blocked right now by partisan politics and those who continue to oppose the existing health care law," Nelson wrote in an email to The Associated Press.

The truth and facts about ObamaCare is that a majority of Floridians always opposed ObamaCare. We knew back in 2009-2010 that the government trying to take over 1/6 of our economy would be a disaster. Yet Senator Nelson voted for it anyway, against the position of his constituents. Accountability for the ObamaCare train wreck starts with who rammed it thru a totally partisan corrupt process of back room deals, and special legislative maneuvering procedures that enabled a "tax" and spending bill that originated in the Senate to get passed when the House Constitutionally owns the purse strings. 

One of the reasons for the website complexity is because this Administration insisted that those looking to enroll would NEVER see the actual cost and price tag of the policies offered - how transparent is that? Oh wait  - we keep being told Obama Claims Administration Most Transparent in History so it must be true.....

The website, which we now know was not thoroughly tested, requires personal financial information be input to determine the subsidy first and then provides the subsidized premium. The Democrats and Senator Nelson put their faith banking on enough Americans  becoming dependent on the unsustainable Obamacare subsidy entitlements and there will be no turning back. Remember the subsidy is NOT free, someone else is paying for it. Again, accountability begins with who starts and creates the mess. There's only one party that passed ObamaCare in 2010 who is responsible for the train wreck they created -  the Democrats and that includes Senator Nelson. 

Requires superhuman mastery to work 

The Tribune implies these technical "glitches" implementing ObamaCare is somehow "new" news.  Where have they been?  We'll help them out going back three years to 2010.

In practice, they will likely prove difficult to design and implement, and may ultimately undermine the country’s quality of care

Verifying eligibility for these subsidies means developing a rapid-response welfare apparatus that has the ability to instantly create detailed, accurate applicant profiles. Fast, accurate income verification presents a particularly serious difficulty.

technical concerns haven't garned the same level of attention as, say, they Supreme Court challenge to the law, but they've been around for a while, and they're fairly serious

The CEO of Aetna, meanwhile, told CNBC that testing of the system has been done on the fly, and that health insurers—who are connected directly to the exchange systems—didn’t get the code to connect their systems until a month before the exchanges opened.

The Tribune continues their ObamaCare lamenting today with an Op-Ed by Michael Gerson Obamacare is in bad need of a doctor.  While Gerson admits 

Obamacare is a multiyear, multifaceted fiasco.

Gerson also states, as if fearful:

And it could become an intellectual crisis for modern liberalism.

And ends his column

So maybe the problem is not Obama or Sebelius but rather a government program that requires superhuman technocratic mastery.

Taking over 1/6 of our economy does take superhuman mastery which proves the government  cannot successfully do it. The majority of Americans who have always opposed ObamaCare knew this.  A government that tries to control our entire healthcare system in the name of "helping" the 10-15% of Americans who were uninsured requires hurting the 85-90% of those who were already insured. Does Senator Nelson believe this is good? Is this what Senator Nelson wants?

We understand bills are to be initiated in the House (again) and the Senate to delay the individual mandate. It is now being reported that 300,000 Floridians are getting notified by Florida Blue they are losing their existing health policies. So much for Floridians getting to keep their existing healthcare coverage.

Will Senator Nelson support delaying the individual mandate now?  And will anyone in the local media bother to ask him?

What we have here is a teachable moment but the Tribune has a lot to learn.