To see the impact of the health care law’s implosion on political campaigns, look no further than my own 52nd Congressional district here in San Diego. Scott Peters, the incumbent,is expected to face a tough re-election campaign against the well-known Carl DeMaio. (I supported DeMaio for Mayor last year.) While DeMaio has a Republican primary to get past, his high name recognition and backing of the GOP central committee makes him the likely nominee. DeMaio has been hammering Peters on the health care issue, even though the election is a year away. Peters has said he would support a House Republican bill to allow individuals to keep their health care. That Peters would be support a GOP bill on this issue is evidence of how toxic the issue has become. Leading Democrats are attacking Fred Upton (R-MI) over his legislation, doubling down on the President’s argument that the public doesn’t understand how bad their policies really are and that this is just another GOP plot to undermine the law. Scott Peters has been supporting the law until recently.
What You Should Be Reading
- The always brilliant Victor Davis Hanson plots the endgame for the ill-named Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Bottom line, Obama will usurp authority to gut the law, declare victory and move on.
- Holman Jenkins asks “Why have the stock prices of the insurance industry have enjoyed a huge run-up if the ACA is supposed to reign in special interests?”
- Dean reports on the end game for socialism in Venezuela and it’s not pretty. Money quote: In this context, “free-market economists” can also mean “anybody that can rub two brain cells together”.
- Left Coast Rebel dissects the supply and demand of Lithium and its potential impact on future electric car production. Left wing dreams of an electric utopia may have to be put on hold.