Republicans in the House will hold hearings and more votes "to take this law apart, step by step," Boehner said. "A fundamental promise was broken when this government takeover of health care was pushed through. That day, that week, the people said one thing, and their government did another.”◼ Obamcare: they don't like the dog food - Michael Barone/Washington Examiner
Meanwhile, the Health Information Campaign, which Democrats began in June with high hopes, is dissolving, Politico reports. The group, meant to support Obamacare, was created by Wal-Mart Watch founder Andrew Grossman. Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and Ted Kennedy's widow, Vicki, were supposed to lead the charge. And Grossman sought $125 million in funding over five years.
But nine months later, the group it pretty much toast. Its website hasn't been updated since Dec. 31. Its executive director and communications director have flown the coop. It is bereft of funds, and neither Daschle nor Dunn returned Politico’s calls to discuss it. Grossman wouldn’t speak about the campaign on the record.
In addition, the White House Office of Health Reform shut down this month. The office was intended to coordinate communication between pro-Obamacare groups.
◼ What a difference a year has made for Obamacare - Examiner Editorial
For one thing, solid majorities of the public favor repeal of Obamacare, which helps explain why Pelosi -- who famously said Congress had to pass Obamacare so the American people could find out what it contained -- no longer commands a Democratic House majority. Running with repeal of Obamacare among their most visible promises, Republicans in 2010 enjoyed their biggest congressional victory since 1938, picking up 63 House seats and replacing Pelosi with John Boehner as speaker. On the legal front, 26 states have joined in two separate suits seeking to have Obamacare declared unconstitutional. Two federal judges have agreed with them, with one of the jurists challenging the Justice Department to request an expedited appeal that is certain to reach the Supreme Court in the near future. Two other federal judges upheld the law, but neither sought to expedite appeals of their rulings.
Perhaps the most revealing change in the year past, however, is the reaction of the employers who face mandates under Obamacare that impose massive new costs and mountains of red tape. As a result, more than a thousand employers, including Fortune 500 corporations, nonprofits, labor unions and small businesses, have requested and received one-year waivers to buy them some time to figure out how to cope with Obamacare's demands. Those demands are so severe that even previously enthusiastic Obamacare advocates in the business community, like Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, are stepping back. "I think as the bill is currently written and if it was going to land in 2014 under the current guidelines, the pressure on small businesses, because of the mandate, is too great," Schultz recently told the Seattle Times.
