Back in the day, my former husband wanted to buy a motorhome, which required a trip to San Diego to go shopping. We went from one car lot to another without finding what we were looking for, but finally we came across a coach with an excellent lay-out, solid construction, and outstanding reputation: a Mini-Winnebago. I was ecstatic to find just what I was looking for as a family recreation vehicle, and husband seemed to agree. This was it; however, when we started off on a test drive, the engine light came on. Immediately, we shut off the engine and told the sales rep about the light. He said not to worry; sometimes, the mechanics who prep the vehicles forget to recheck the oil they add upon delivery. They would do that now and then we could proceed with our test drive.
Ex-husband refused to budge: we either got another coach that had never seen the engine light come on or we would move on to another lot. The salesman lowered the price and offered a 100% guarantee and he still wouldn’t budge. I argued that this was the perfect coach for us, spacious, comfortable, with a separate seating area away from the kitchen, and 3 separate sleeping areas, listing all the features that it had that we had not seen in any of the other coaches. Ex stubbornly refused to purchase that one and we were off to another lot.
Ex-husband found a coach he really liked and I was appalled. It was a smaller footprint than the Mini Wini and the design didn’t allow anywhere to sit while meals were being prepared. There was an overcab bunk, which I refused to crawl into, and the dining table top made into a small bed for two children, 2 constricted sleeping areas for a 4-person family. The construction didn’t seem as top drawer as the Mini Wini and I said no, no, no – for a dozen different reasons. Just the fact that I said “no” was reason enough for ex-husband to decide that this was the motorhome for us – and he refused to go back to the Mini Wini for another look-see or to look at other coaches on the same lot, or travel to yet another unexplored sales lot. He wanted what he wanted and it didn't matter what I said or did because he was not going to change his mind.
I told him that I refused to co-sign the loan and would not partake in trips involving that coach as I absolutely could not see it working well for a family of four. He signed all the papers and proudly drove the motorhome to a friend’s home in the area, feeling that he had bought a great recreational vehicle for his family to enjoy. When a friend asked me (in front of ex-husband) why I had agreed to purchase it if I didn't like it, I told him that I had not agreed -- but my opinion was disregarded completely.
The first night we slept in it (yes, I caved in and went on vacation, pissed off and not looking forward to it at all), I slept on the tabletop bed conversion because there was no way I was going to climb into the overcab bed. As I turned over in my sleep, the support brace broke off the bench seating and the whole thing fell to the floor. I was right about shoddy construction and the decision not to buy this model, but being right didn’t mean diddly as we were stuck with it because it was more important for the husband to be right than to compromise.
Hence, the Affordable Care Act. The Republicans are generally saying slow down, think this through, and give it some time before we commit one hundred percent to a program that seems to have too many potential problems attached to it. The Democrats say if that’s what the President wants, that’s what he’ll get, and we’ll work the kinks out after the fact. The President whines like a kindergartener, worried about his presidential legacy that is based on ObamaCare as he hasn’t done much of anything else to brag about. He’s exasperated and that’s reason enough to pass the legislation.
Maybe the Republicans are right and the President and the Democrats are wrong. Maybe this is being rammed into law without thinking it through for the long run. Maybe we should all be taking a closer look at the construction details, and rather than be pleased by what seems like a good, cheaper deal on the surface, check the support braces before sleeping on the tabletop conversion.
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Rewriting history doesn't help. The Republicans never said "slow down let's think this through." Instead they said, "We refuse to even help with this, this is wrong/bad and no one wants it." When shown statistics that showed that people in a majority DID want it (and continue to), they dug in their heels even more. When the Democrats asked for their input time and again, they refused. Then they lied about even being asked to help. Hell, at one point, Boehner and his top cronies were asked to the White House, met with Obama, agreed to work with the Democrats on the law, and then went on the news and said that not only did they not agree to do that but that they never even met with the President! When shown pictures of the meeting, they claimed it was for something else!
Since it was passed into law almost 4 years ago (yes, it is ALREADY law), the Republican have tried to repeal it 41 times knowing it will not succeed. What a waste of time -- if they had put that much energy into helping to write a law that included their opinions and actually understood and worked toward compromise, this law would not be so contentious now. The ONLY studies that show that small businesses and people in general don't want it are those done by Fox News and one set that was paid for by... The Republican National Committee, for the Republican Party. Any from a non-biased source shows the exact opposite (and there are plenty to find).
Every other industrialized nation has universal health care. Hell, a few states do, too (Hawaii and Massachusetts, to name two). It works. It can be done and done well. And it actually stimulates the economy because people are healthier and more able to work. In the best examples, like Japan and Germany, people are seen by doctors and specialists in a minimum of time (Japan brags that you can see a specialist in less than a week).
By not compromising, by not working with the Democrats on the law when (repeatedly) asked to, the law became a bloated and unwieldy mess. The people asked for it, the law makers wrote it, and the Courts determined it was legal and Constitutional. Why not try to actually compromise, work with the other side, and correct the law so it is more like the incredible systems in Japan, Germany, and the other 20+ industrial countries?
And, "compromise" doesn't mean saying, "You must do things our way or we will shut down the gov't." That is extortion, pure and simple, and has nothing to do with working toward middle ground.
The one thing that surprises me the most is the fact that most of Obamacare is based on the plan that Mitt Romney (R) came up with and implemented and which has worked in Massachusetts for years.
Now, is it possible that the Republicans will prove to be right? Well, they are doing everything in their power to be right, including blatantly lying, going back and forth on things they themselves have said in the past, so it could happen. They are certainly right that it is going to hurt the economy-- they made that happen when they shut down the gov't and scared the Dow, but I'm not sure you can truly lay that at the law's feet. Since Boehner and his cronies have been wined and dined by the Insurance lobbies repeatedly, I have my doubts about their sincerity and honesty in this matter.
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