Too Typical

Sometimes, it looks pretty simple - spend 4 or 5 years convincing the rubes ObamaCare is a Job-Killing, Granny-Murdering, World-Ending monster, then make a very public show of voting to "repeal" it (50 times), all while continuing to make as much noise as possible about what a horrible thing ObamaCare is so the rubes continue to send in their money and forward all those idiotic emails and most importantly, turn out to vote.

Then, while they're all busy getting their hate on across the river at CPAC, do some very quiet mending of ACA - slip some amendments into marginally related bills in the house and get it taken care of before anybody notices you're doing exactly the opposite of what you say you're doing.

Just make sure you have some plausible-sounding bullshit to cover your ass - like you were only trying "to help the small business owner".

Here's the AP story from 4-1-14:

WASHINGTON (AP) — At the prodding of business organizations, House Republicans quietly secured a recent change in President Barack Obama's health law to expand coverage choices, a striking, one-of-a-kind departure from dozens of high-decibel attempts to repeal or dismember it.

Democrats describe the change involving small-business coverage options as a straightforward improvement of the type they are eager to make, and Obama signed it into law. Republicans are loath to agree, given the strong sentiment among the rank and file that the only fix the law deserves is a burial.

"Maybe you say it helps (Obamacare), but it really helps the small businessman," said Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., one of several physician-lawmakers among Republicans and an advocate of repeal.

No member of the House GOP leadership has publicly hailed the fix, which was tucked, at Republicans' request, into legislation preventing a cut in payments to doctors who treat Medicare patients.

It is unclear how many members of the House rank and file knew of it because the legislation was passed by a highly unusual voice vote without debate.

PoliticusUSA from March 11:

What makes this news all the juicier is that Boehner and company introduced these bills last Friday while conservatives were distracted by CPAC. The right wingers were screaming about repeal from across the river the Republican leadership was submitting legislation that improves the law. On at least fifty previous occasions, Republicans tried to pass off attempts to repeal the law as improvements. In this case, Republicans are actually doing their jobs.

The GOP is pretty sure the rubes can't handle anything more complicated than a 10-word bumper sticker; partly of course because that's what Repubs have been selling the rubes for a very long time - that all you need is some common sense, and if you ever need more than that, well then, it's just because those bad old Dumbocrats wanna make it difficult for hard-working real 'Mericans like y'all to understand it - so just send me a few more dollars and I'll keep fighting to take USAmerica Inc back from the dirty brown hordes who don't carry the right guns to the right church on Sunday, and even when they do, they don't worship in the right language or study the right book, and did you know some of their churches actually take Food Stamp money and pass it on to Obama's campaign fund? - or some other fucked-up mashup of god and Daddy Reagan and the sanctity of the 2nd amendment and Mom's home cookin' and FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It should be obvious that the GOP (I should say the not-crazy-as-a-bug-fuck wing of the GOP) does not want ObamaCare to go away for the same reason they don't really want Roe v Wade overturned - because they need the issues, which provide the heat, which sweats the bucks outa the faithful, which buys the advertising, which turns out the vote, which wins re-relection, which keeps them in power.  Unfortunately, Repubs have been catering to the crazy-as-a-bug-fuck wing for so long that they're in danger of being consumed by these Monsters Of The Id that they've created.

I don't like making predictions, but I like what probably happens if the bug-fucks get put in charge of the US Senate even less.

Sideliner Yeah-But: what if the group of Mega-Donor decisions by SCOTUS makes it even harder for the GOP to maintain their fictions about appealing to grass-roots voters?  I doubt that's a big concern because "conservatives" don't like to change much of anything - especially their way of "thinking" - even when new information comes to light, but sometimes, when the Big Money pops up, the little money shrinks back to where it all but disappears.  If you're a little strapped for cash to begin with, sending $20 to a political campaign gets a lot harder when you know there's somebody out there already pumping millions into it.  So why bother?

Anyway - these people still have no soul and no honor.