The ’Refuse to Enroll’ campaign

 

There's been a lot fear-mongering about Obamacare and about 40 foolish Republican-driven votes to "repeal" it.   Madness, all of it—especially since the Supreme Court has ruled the Affordable Care Act constitutional.  Nevertheless, the fear mongering has now shifted into high gear.

 

Now vast amounts of money are being spent to pressure members of Congress to "de-fund" the health care law; many of the right wingers needed no pressure to be on board with the plan.  In fact, they re excited about the prospect of "taking it down." Translated:  What they would be doing is taking away opportunities for uninsured people to be insured and lessen the burden on taxpayers overall.  That's oversimplification, because there's a lot more to be lost if this law should fail.  

 

Apparently failure to fund it would not render the law impotent.  According to a political pundit on cable, the law has a self-funding mechanism, so Congress cannot "de-fund" it.  I think the pundit was David Axelrod who was in the trenches during the legislation's development and passage.  If it was Axelrod, the self-funding thing probably is accurate.  In that case, all the squawking about taking the law down by failing to fund it is just an empty threat.

 

However,  a very real and far more threatening strategy is in play now:  Super Pacs and money from the Koch Brothers are heavily invested in a campaign to persuade the uninsured not to sign up for the coverage.  It's the "Refuse to Enroll" campaign.   Can you believe this?  Of course you can.  You see, Republicans are afraid of Obamacare.  They are afraid it will succeed.  They're scared that Americans will embrace it once it's fully implemented.  They know participants will be saying, "Don't take away my Obamacare" in the same way people have said, "I don't like government programs, but don't take away my Medicare."

 

So, right-wing forces are getting down and dirty, to the detriment of countless citizens in need of coverage and to the detriment of the country.  The law will help reduce the deficit and bring other good results—even if you set aside the human side of it and the improved health of our citizenry.   But down-and-dirty is what Republicans do best.  They know that key to the success of this law's implementation is the number of Americans who sign up for it.  So, the goal is to see that it fails at that level—and it could happen.  This threat is real.

 

There are some countering ads on the air, but no match for those the cash cows in the anti-Obamacare corner are generating.  This "refuse to enroll" thing is despicable.  There is no conscience in their realm of greed, hate, and "win at all costs."   So, what we can do is dispel the misinformation, help get the facts out there, and encourage people to sign up.  We can direct everyone we know to  www.healthcare.gov for accurate information and ultimately to enroll in the program.   We can't match the Koch brothers for cash, but we can get the word out in every way we know how.  And we can counter the lies when we hear them repeated.  As always, we can speak up—even if our voice shakes (with anger).   We cannot allow this law to be sabotaged.