Half Full Healthcare

There's a battle ahead
Many battles are lost
But you'll never see the end of the road
While you're traveling with me
--Crowded House

Yesterday a group headed by Rand Paul was able to get a clean repeal of Obamacare bill before the Senate for a vote. This bill was nearly identical to the 2015 bill that attracted a near unanimous vote by Republicans when it was understood that then President Obama would veto it.

This time, when it was understood that President Trump would sign a clean repeal bill, seven Republicans, including Ohio's Rob Portman, voted against it which served to strike it down in the Senate.

While this seems a defeat for the cause of liberty, there are several reasons to assume a glass-half-full perspective. Tea Party types in the Senate who promised voters that they would act to repeal Obamacare did their job. A straight repeal vote was unthinkable until just a short time ago.

Moreover, Rand Paul's uncompromising actions in the health care arena strengthen his position as a leader for liberty. My sense it that this has positive long run ramifications.

Yesterday's vote also exposes several Republicans as progressives--a transparency that should also prove beneficial over time.

Finally, although a straight repeal would have directly alleviated Americans from the burden of the ACA, Obamacare as-is is destined to fail--perhaps within a year. Barring some version of 'Skinny Repeal' that strips away burdensome aspects of the ACA--a possibility that is still alive in the Senate--the burden of the failing Obamacare system falls back into the laps of progressives on both sides of the aisle.

The tap dancing to un-own the failure should prove entertaining as always.