Dear Republicans, I know we live in the same country, but sometimes I have to wonder if we live on the same planet. And one of the things I know on my planet is that my left-leaning political friends and I already compromised on the health law. Big time. I support Obamacare because it will help the poor and uninsured buy insurance at group rates, just like everybody else does. But it is and always has been a right-centrist piece of legislation, and it's nothing like the Single Payer or Medicare for All options I wanted to see on the table.
So I just get annoyed when one of you, like Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa) -- though he seems a little closer to my planet than the usual Tea Baggers at the megaphone -- says something like this:
I just want to say, too, some of us are working in a very bipartisan manner. I'm working very closely with a good friend, Representative Ron Kind, a Democrat from Wisconsin.
He and I and a like-minded group of Republicans and Democrats offered a suggestion today to break the logjam, at least on the government funding piece. What we said, well, why don't repeal the medical device tax, fund the government for six months at the sequestered level as requested by the Republicans, and pay for the repeal of the medical device tax, something the Democrats want, through a pension smoothing or stabilization mechanism?
I thought that was a win-win-win for everybody.
GWEN IFILL: And how was that received?
CHARLIE DENT: Well, I'll tell you, among the Republicans and the Democrats, it will not be well received on the far left, because those folks say, well, we don't want to make any changes to the health care law, and the folks on the extreme right will say, well, anything short of a defund or a delay is unacceptable.
Mr. Dent, due respect, but you have not a clue where the far left stands on this debate.
The ACA has always been a right-centrist piece of legislation, and the left was completely shut out of its creation. The left held its nose when it passed. But the left in general supports Obamacare because the left in general favors a society that includes the interests of the poor and uninsured.
Republicans, the left has already compromised on health coverage.
Mr. Dent, I agree with you when you say "We have an obligation to govern," but your new proposal sounds to me like a face-saving ruse to help John Boehner keep his job. Stop thinking of clever new conditions. Give us a clean CR and raise the debt ceiling, and then we can have a real debate about affordable health insurance.
And that debate will put all options back on the table.