ACA Ruling "hurts President Obama's reelection prospects," and Other GOP Talking Points

Republicans have wasted no time spinning today's Supreme Court ruling, which upheld the individual mandate, as bad for Obama. Here's a sample of releases, memos, and talking points that Republicans are pushing. Almost all of them focus on the Affordable Care Act as a) bad policy and b) a huge tax increase. 

Here's the Republican National Committee: 

ObamaCare represents a toxic political asset for Obama: It is a two-fold broken promise. First, he failed to keep his promise to reduce healthcare costs. (Health insurance premiums continue to increase.) Second, with his pursuit of ObamaCare, he failed to keep his promise to focus completely on the economy and create jobs.

ObamaCare was bad policy for America from the very beginning. This November, it will be bad politics for Democrats. Voters want real reform, and only Republicans are prepared to pursue it.

And the Romney camp also just released a list of talking points "you can expect from our campaign (surrogates, top advisors, etc) in response to the SCOTUS decision on Obamacare." Here are some of those: 

Let's not confuse what the Court said today. The Court said that Obamacare is constitutional – but not that it's good policy or good for the country.  

• Yesterday Obamacare wasn't popular, today Obamacare isn't popular.
• Yesterday Obamacare was bad policy, today Obamacare is bad policy.
• Obamacare is a job killer – it raises taxes, it cuts Medicare, and it puts government between patients and their doctors.
• We have a path to defeating Obamacare and it is by electing a new president.
• We urge everyone in the country who is opposed to Obamacare to join Mitt Romney in his campaign to replace President Obama. To defeat Obamacare, we must defeat President Obama.

Food for thought: In a parallel timeline in which the Supreme Court struck down the mandate or the entire law, what would the Tea Party be doing right now? I'm betting it wouldn't be nearly as ramped up as it is today, and will be between now and November. 

Comments

[Mr. FIFY]

Shit Sandwich v. Giant Douche, 2012 Edition.

[General Butt Naked]

Slow down. Jesus.

OBAMACARE SUX...

*onto next thread*

[0x90]

A certain candidate's IRS hostility just became a much larger factor. Perhaps not large enough, but still.

[CockGobbla]

Just curious:

Who here kept up with the initial announcement of the decision on CNN.com?

I did. I figured it would take Reason a few minutes to post their first report, and I didn't want to wait. Also, I didn't want to listen to the pundits on TV.

The reason I bring this up is that CNN.com originally posted it, in big, bold, uppercase letters: "COURT STRIKES DOWN MANDATE!"

You can imagine my disappointment 10 minutes later.

[benji]

http://desmond.yfrog.com/Himg6.....ysize=640

[benji]

Try again:
http://i.imgur.com/6JUjI.jpg

[Mr. FIFY]

God, benji, you're a stupid fuck.

[CockGobbla]

I know Benji is a troll, but that might have made me laugh just a little bit.

[Mr. FIFY]

Sorry, but I'm not going to click on any of that fuckstain's links.

[CockGobbla]

Just to spoil it for Benji,

It's a photoshopped image of the famous Dewey defeats Truman photo.

Instead, it's Obama's face in place of Truman's and an iPad with CNN.com's erroneous headline instead of the Chicago Daily Tribune.

I'm not saying I laughed all that hard, but I do like a good photoshop.

[anon]

CG, I was listening to the decision via radio. Apparently CNN read the first paragraph and assumed that the mandate was defeated because it read how the individual mandate didn't apply to the commerce clause, which is what was argued in court. Then it went on to read how government did have the power to levy taxes on an individual for pretty much any reason it wants, and considered the mandate a tax.

[CockGobbla]

Funny, of all the major networks, I would have pegged CNN as the least likely to fuck up after reading just the first paragraph.

[anon]

Well, you have to consider how MSM reports the news: Headlines, one paragraph to promote a talking point, lots of filler bullshit, then add in the details on page 9 in some obscure section most people probably won't get to.

Procedures were followed.

[wareagle]

the Tea Party is the beneficiary here. Health reform was the impetus behind its birth, it is what led to 2010 mid-term outcome, and it will be what refuels it.

Twin ironies here: the mandate was upheld by being recast as a tax, which Obama all along insisted it was not; and, the leftist punditry was ablaze yesterday with the horrors of an anticipated 5-4 ruling. Well, the vote was 5-4 but I doubt those same talking heads are feeling any heartburn over it.

[Randian]

Did Roberts Sell Out?

[John]

He is a moral coward. When push came to shove he didn't have the courage to stand up to the bully in chief.

[CockGobbla]

Sweet jaysus, that's disappointing if true. Fuck Roberts.

[anon]

"That's a nice court you have there. Be a shame if something happened to it."

[Robert S]

The switch in time that saved nine.

[Apparently a 'statist']

So now that all you Reason readers are with Team Romney, Obama might as well give up?

[Mr. FIFY]

Fuck you. I'm not voting Shit Sandwich OR Giant Douche.

Want some chips with your sandwich?

[Whiterun Guard]

I'm switching to Obama. I want to back a winner.

[Mr. FIFY]

We're fucked either way. MAYBE, with Romney, we'd get a kiss afterwards, but that's being optimistic.

[Robert S]

I've never had anything up in there. If I have choice of who's going to fuck me, I'm picking the white guy.

[Apparently a 'statist']

When the country is dying from nutritional deficiencies, a little shit with the broccoli is still "shit with broccoli". Fuck Team Purple, fuck the gilded age, fuck outlawing unions, fuck letting the powerful off the hook for fracking and pipeline disasters.

[Mr. FIFY]

Got any other boring-assed leftist talking points, shitheel?

[Apparently a 'statist']

Libertarians do not want accountability for environmental destruction. They also don't respect the right to form a union, even a private one. They are fully in support of discriminating customers and employees, in the belief that this will be punished by market magic.

On gay rights and reproductive rights, they are weak, largely deferring to state infallibility and religious institutions.

[anon]

Libertarians do not want accountability for environmental destruction.

Wrong.

They also don't respect the right to form a union, even a private one.

Wrong again.

They are fully in support of discriminating customers and employees, in the belief that this will be punished by market magic.

Strike 3. Team BLUE: 0. Individuals: 1.

[Apparently a 'statist']

So you support banning insurance companies from charging women more?

[anon]

So you support banning insurance companies from charging women more?

Nope. I don't support banning insurance companies from doing whatever the fuck they write in their contracts with their customers.

[cbone]

On the flip side, do you support insurance companies from charging men more?

Because that's exactly what the auto insurance industry does. And with good reason.

[wareagle]

is it possible for you to say more stupid and erroneous things in a single sentence?

[WhatAboutBob]

Rhetorical question?

[anon]

This election is irrelevant; the destination is the same, it's just a matter of how fast we get there.

Court gave our govt. pretty much unlimited power today, defeating the entire purpose of the constitution. Way to walk back 250 years.

[John]

No some day on something less controversial that won't make people mad, Roberts will limit government power, he promises.

[anon]

Right. So, should I be packing some ice skates for when hell freezes over?

[John]

He will write some good opinions. They will just be on small issues that won't make his fellow elites too angry.

[anon]

Even the best of polished turds, in the end, is still a turd.

[John]

I seem to remember a lot of gloating with this shit sandwich was passed. Lots of talk about how it was going to become popular and ensure Democrats ruled for a generation. Didn't quite work out that way. I suspect this might be less good news for the Dem hacks than they think.

[Whiterun Guard]

You're on crack, they just guaranteed control of the Executive branch for as long as they can find well spoken minority candidates.

[John]

WTF? That doesn't make a bit of sense.

[Whiterun Guard]

Once the media gets their hands on this it will snowball to November. Nothing a bunch of Tea Party racists (assuming they're even covered at all) can do about it.

Roberts got sold a bill-of-goods in the trade for the SEIU vote, forgetting that money doesn't control elections, the media does.

[wareagle]

why are you obsessed with race? Because the truth of Obama's election is that he won due to the support of white folks.

[Whiterun Guard]

Nothing makes white people vote more than the fear of being racist!

[wareagle]

the only one here who is racist would be you. It remains your only talking point and is only effective if the opponent takes you seriously. Doesn't seem many here do, so that argument is neutered. Try something more substantive.

[Whiterun Guard]

What the hell are you even talking about? Whether I'm racist is moot. The fact that we have another 4 years of Obama and another 12 years of statist fuckheads is the salient argument.

[anon]

I wouldn't go that far. Voter enthusiasm means a lot for turnout. Dems have nothing left to re-elect Obama for, whereas non-statists will be far more motivated to "do something" this election cycle.

At least, I hope so.

Then again, I'm pretty apathetic right now. I don't care who wins the election because it all means the same bullshit; people lose, government wins.

[Whiterun Guard]

Ah, you got me there. THAT'S where the Tea Party racists come in. Moving the dem base.

[anon]

The Obama campaign has be laying down the ground work for full-tilt race baiting already, so yeah, nothing new.

[Mr. FIFY]

Shit, the internets are going to be nothing but a "fuck you, we won" gloat session from Team Leftist.

Bunch of fucking retards.

[Apparently a 'statist']

Yeah, because you would have been much more mature.

[anon]

Yup. Individual freedom is a far greater joy than being a slave to the state.

Don't worry though, your welfare check should be coming in a few days.

[Apparently a 'statist']

Nothing makes welfare sweeter than knowing some white trash felt pain from paying for it.

[Whiterun Guard]

Enjoy it while you can.

[anon]

One must make 60k a year to have a neutral tax liability. You aren't making "white trash" pay a dime, you're simply mooching off the productive members of society.

It's ok though, because welfare queens are useless parasitic pieces of shit, whereas I actually make people's lives better.

[wareagle]

nothing shines a light on a turd quite like his/her joy from seeing someone they dislike suffer. No wonder you are a Dem.

[anon]

nothing shines a light on a turd quite like his/her joy from seeing someone they dislike suffer. No wonder you are a Dem.

The irony being the standard dem claim about how they want everyone to live a good life.

Make no mistake; these moochers want every dime you've ever earned and ever will earn. They are jealous of your ability to think, to reason, and to act on your thoughts.

I'd be OK with a real civil war right about now.

[Anonymous Bosch]

We have a path to defeating Obamacare and it is by electing a new president.

Gary Johnson 2012!

[Whiterun Guard]

Man, I've seen optimism before, but never an actual terminal case.

[Ryan60657]

Go Team Johnson!