Noem, Thune, and GOP Wrong About ACA and Government Shutdown

Today the South Dakota Democratic Party released a letter in the Rapid City Journal correcting the ideas that somehow the Democrats were the ones that pushed for a government shutdown and should be forced to capitulate to the demands of the GOP as if that was what compromise means.  Zach Crago reminds the paper that 72% of Americans believed that Congress should not shut down the government over the Affordable Care Act.  

Kristi Noem, John Thune, and many of the other GOP live in an alternative reality.  Kristi Noem reminded us how disconnected she is when she proudly declared

"House Republicans will continue to do what the American people elected us to do – keep the government open and get rid of Obamacare," U.S. Rep Kristi Noem wrote in a statement, shortly before voting for another bill that would delay aspects of Obama's health care overhaul in exchange for preventing a shutdown.

This was on the same day that the Farm Bill expired.  So much for doing the business of the people.

John Thune on the same day stated

"When you have got a divided government, you have got to have a little give and take," he said.

However Thune does not tell you that the Senate had passed a clean CR bill that was originally accepted the GOP demands for the budget level and maintaining the sequester.  He also doesn't tell you that Boehner originally said that he could accept this kind of CR bill.

Now they continue to claim that Obamacare is a failure due to the (avoidable) technical glitches that occurred with sign-up on October 1.  However, just because someone promises to have something nearly perfect at a certain date and there are problems doesn't mean we get rid of that person or plan, right Kristi (think Farm Bill)?

Bob Mercer jumps on the delay ACA bandwagon, but it turns out that tens of thousands of people across the nation have already signed up.  A great example is in Paul Rand and Mitch McConnell's state of Kentucky.

The state’s healthcare exchange, Kynect, has “enrolled [Kentuckians] in new insurance plans at a rate of about 1,000 Kentuckians a day,” Beshear continued. “The rush of our families and small businesses to enroll in Kynect demonstrates how enthusiastic Kentuckians are about obtaining affordable health coverage.” 

Kentucky’s not alone—28,000 signed up in California and 40,000 enrolled in New York.

Oops, it appears that people are signing up.  This also includes young people.

Access Health CT, Connecticut's marketplace, said earlier this week that approximately one-third of the people who have so far applied for coverage there are under 35. This would hover around the administration's goal of having 2.7 million of the 7 million estimated new enrollees be between 18 and 35. 

So it seems that people are enrolling despite theories that the number was zero.  Young people are signing up despite the Tea Party's false and misleading commercials.  The GOP is seeing their ratings shrink, but somehow it is all the Democrats fault.  I think rational and thinking citizens in America know who was really wrong.