Paul Krugman: The GOP base "actively hates improving the lives of Those People"

Mitt Romney walking back claims about Romneycare more evidence of the GOP's new radicalism

Published October 26, 2015 11:44AM (EDT)

 (AP/Lai Seng Sin)
(AP/Lai Seng Sin)

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is feeling sorry for former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, whose party has drifted so far to the right that he can't even boast about his achievements in office without being attacked by his compatriots.

Romney made the mistake of bragging to the Boston Globe that "without Romneycare, we wouldn't have Obamacare," but later was forced to distinguish between the two, referring to the latter as a failure.

Krugman acknowledges that Obamacare hasn't been perfect, but "considering the scorched-earth opposition it has faced," it has been remarkably successful, as 16 million people who wouldn't otherwise be insured currently are -- and "[m]illions more would be...if Republican-controlled states weren't refusing to expand Medicaid (even though the federal government would pay the costs) and generally trying to obstruct the program." He continued, asking:

Oh, and have you noticed how those ads featuring people supposedly hurt by Obamacare have disappeared? That’s because none of their stories held up.

What’s more, the big Biden deal has come in below budget. Insurance premiums in Obamacare’s first two years were well below predictions. It looks as if there will be a partial rebound in 2016, but it’s still cheaper than expected. And over all, health care spending has slowed dramatically.

Meanwhile, none of the bad things that were supposed to happen have. Employment growth since the “job-killing” law went into effect has been faster than at any time since the 1990s. Employers have not, in fact, eliminated full-time jobs to avoid the act’s provisions. And the budget deficit keeps falling...

Read the rest at the New York Times...


By Scott Eric Kaufman

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Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Elections 2016 Mitt Romney Obamacare Paul Krugman Romneycare The Gop