Everything you need to know about the delusional, lying, cold-hearted motherfuckers that we call "the Republican Party" is in that snapshot up there. It's from the House GOP website. The promise is that the House will "Repeal and Replace the Job Destroying Health Care Law." Under that, it reads, "Because the new health care law kills jobs, raises taxes, and increases the cost of health care, we will immediately take action to repeal this law." Under that, there's a green box with a check mark, along with "This promise was fulfilled on January 19, 2011 with the passage of H.R. 2. President Obama's Job Destroying Health Care Law was repealed by the House of Representatives."
Now, you being a person who believes that "words" have "meaning," you might think, "Huh. I thought the Affordable Care Act was still the law." In fact, shockingly, it wasn't repealed at all. The House passed a mighty bill (well, a bunch of 'em, really) repealing it, but without the Senate agreeing and the President signing, it would more accurately be described as "an act of mass bullshittery." So the House GOP is claiming a promise has been fulfilled that has not, in fact, been fulfilled. We might even call that a lie. It's like saying that you and your wife had sex when, in reality, you jacked off on her while she was sleeping.
One thing that's not in the picture is that, while repeal has been achieved (even though it, you know, hasn't), under "Replacement Status," the website says that "The fight continues." That's right. The House GOP hasn't passed a single fucking bill saying what the hell they'd replace Obamacare with (usually it's some worthless shitpile of medical savings accounts, liability lawsuit "reform," and a regulation or two without protecting consumers from predatory insurers jacking up rates). See, if the House says it's mission accomplished if it passes a repeal bill, then why can't it pass replacement legislation, even if the Senate won't take it up?
It's simple really. There's a reason why any Republican who is asked, "Well, what the fuck would you do?" goes into "Hominah-hominah" mode. The GOP is so infested with Tea Party shit-eaters, evangelical self-fellaters, and Gohmerts that it's got nothing, not a goddamn thing, that it can pass to help people who don't have access to health insurance. Even when they ran the joint a few years back, they didn't do anything to help the fucked beyond fucked American health care system.
If the Rude Pundit were the Democrats' Karl Rove, he'd hit GOP members of Congress with this fact. And then he'd push it further. He'd point out, as Joe Conason does, that insurance companies were canceling over 40,000 health policies a week pre-ACA, and Republicans (and most of the media) didn't give a happy monkey fuck about it. And those millions who had policies canceled or were facing cancellation couldn't just go and buy another policy, perhaps even a better one with lower costs for care (as the people who have had policies canceled under Obamacare can). No, they would have pre-existing conditions, perhaps even terminal illness, and no insurer would touch them or would charge them an arm, a leg, their firstborn, and a prostate massage a week.
But the Rude Pundit would go even further. He'd figure out how many people in the district of Congressperson Doucheface had gotten health insurance under the ACA, including the young people who got on their parents' insurance. Then he'd say that Doucheface wants to take it away from them. And he'd state a certainty: If Doucheface gets his way and repeals Obamacare, people will die. Your neighbors will die. Doucheface will be responsible, as will everyone who votes Doucheface into office.
That picture from the GOP website says it all, man. They don't do a goddamn thing but pretend like they are leading. You wanna say, "Job Destroying"? Go ahead. We'll cry, "Murder."
