Affordable Care Act is now real for 7.1 million Americans

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With the closing of the first open enrollment period of the Affordable Care Act, the President defiantly stated, “The debate over repealing this law is over”. Flanked by Joe Biden in the Rose Garden, Obama announced that 7.1 million Americans have now signed up for private health coverage.

The number is remarkable given the disastrous roll-out of the HealthCare.gov website last fall. With a concerted effort to enroll people in the final week, however, the Administration reached its goal in the most unlikely manner possible. Celebrities such as Lebron James, Zach Galifianakis, and  Ellen DeGeneres all helped the President raise awareness about open enrollment. With a flood of applicants in the final hours, however, the healthcare website once again crashed.

 

As the new system becomes reality, public attitudes have begun to shift.  A new Washington Post poll shows 49 percent of those polled support and 48 percent oppose the health-care law. This is the first time the law has been above water, ever. For months, if not years, the negative aspects of new regulations have sunk the popularity of the the ACA. Increasingly, the positive aspects of the act are becoming a tangible part of people’s lives.

Opinions are not surprisingly split along party lines, with few Republicans supporting the law (20%) and a majority of Democrats embracing it (76%). On Twitter, the split is apparent with some rejoicing,

And others are, well perhaps missing something,

 

 

Daughter of slain Newtown principal confronts Senator Ayotte in New Hampshire

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Senator Kelly Ayotte from New Hampshire faced withering criticism from her constituents at a town hall meeting. Ayotte voted against the compromise proposal reached by Senators Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa that called for limited background checks.

gun-control

Amongst the crowd, Erica Lafferty, the daughter the principal killed at Sandy Hook Elementary leveled stern questions to the Senator,

“You had mentioned that day the burden on owners of gun stores that the expanded background checks would harm. I am just wondering why the burden of my mother being gunned down in the halls of her elementary school isn’t more important than that,”.

Ayotte countered that efforts should address mental health to prevent guns from falling into the hands of the mentally ill. She continued, “…we have fallen down on actually prosecuting gun crimes and violations of our current background check system.”

Senate budget to be voted on. Reconciliation looms.

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Democrats in the US Senate have put forward a budget. The proposal, which contrast to one submitted by the House Republicans, was brought by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray, D-Wash. The plan calls for a 2% cut in spending over 10 years and new revenue of $975 billion over 10 years from, closing loopholes and cutting unfair spending in the tax code for those who need it the least”.

Although each plan is expected to pass along party lines some time next week, the path to reconciling the two budget plans remains unclear. For instance, the Republican plan calls for a repeal of the 2010 health care law, something that the Senate and the President are unlikely to support.

The positive aspect of this week is that there are now two (polarized) budgets that put the starting positions of the two parties on the table. Much of what is in each plan is for show, negotiation and politics. The path towards reconciliation has at least been started.

Obama sinking Romneys Battleship

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In their final debate in Florida, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama are discussing a range of topics both foreign and domestic. The debate started slowly and then veered quickly off topic into domestic policy. Education, budgets and unemployment dominated. Libya was covered in one short section and it is surprising that Romney didn’t dig deeper on the issue to put the President on his heels. Romney looks much less aggressive than previously, perhaps feeling that he has momentum on his side. He has repeated the line, “attacking me isn’t leadership.”

Obama on the other hand, is clearly pushing the issue. He continues to press on the changes in opinion that Romney has made in his foreign policy stances over time. Romney pressed for funding the military for more ships and planes, which the US has fewer of at any time since 1916. Obama pounced on Romney telling him that he needed to spend some more time “looking at how our military works” because “the nature of our military has changed”.
In the most memorable line of the night, Obama quipped that the US also has fewer horses and bayonets than 1916. He continued to point out that we now have battleships and submarines and that military planning is not a game of Battleship, counting the total number of ships. A searing exchange that painfully underscores that Romney doesn’t fully appreciate the evolution of the modern military.

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Some tweets:

“Is that first time Romney hasn’t convinced a moderator to give him more time?” @chucktodd

“Romney sounds more like Obama’s running mate than his opponent tonight” @carr2n

Another effective line from Obama: “You keep trying to airbrush history.”

Now Romney is picking up steam and is passionate about government not investing in companies. Investment in basic research at universities is fine, but not for companies. When Obama tries to rebut, a clearly energized Romney snaps: “I’m still speaking!”

And now we’re back into domestic policy. Romney talking about foodstamps, the economy and the fact that hiring teachers won’t get us out of economic malaise. Wow, what a terrible ending. Now for the closing remarks.

Well, at times Obama painted Romney as out of touch and at others too inexperienced and “all over the map” for the Commander and Chief. From the beginning, Romney was intent on staying out of any squirmishes and did not delineate many differences with the President’s policies. Overall, a very toned-down Romney perhaps trying to show a measured approach. Romney was trying hard to address his stance on the auto bailout, which made for some strange answers.

President Obama supports same-sex marriage

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In an interview with ABC yesterday, President Obama went on record explaining the evolution of his personal views on same-sex marriage. The President gave, for the first time, clear support for same-sex marriage, “Personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married”.

The statement is sure to hurt the President in states like North Carolina, where the electorate recently passed a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage by a 61% vote. The decision may also dog Obama in a slew of other closely contested states like Florida, Colorado and Nevada. Still, the President left to grey area on where he stands on the issue.

The position is in sharp contrast to Mitt Romney, who is on the record as interpreting marriage as restricted to a relationship between one man and one woman.In fact, Romney stood by as his new spokesman, Richard Grenell was let go from the campaign. If Romney hoped to placate the right, he may be disappointed. AS conservative personality Bryan Fischer responded,

“… if Mitt Romney can be pushed around, intimidated, coerced, co-opted by a conservative radio talk show host in Middle America, then how is he going to stand up to the Chinese? How is he going to stand up to Putin? How is he going to stand up to North Korea if he can be pushed around by a yokel like me?”