11 dimensional Teresa

11 dimensional Teresa

"More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones"

 - St Teresa of Avila 

"It’s absolutely one of the possible outcomes of a debt limit negotiation, and likely given the President’s proclivity for delaying sections of this law. Whether it’s a mandate delay, or delaying the law entirely, it depends on a great deal of other factors."

- GOP aid e-mailing to Greg Sargent

Hmm the original 11 dimensional chess fantasy was that Obama had scared the health Insurance lobby (AHIP) into supporting health care reform so long as there is a mandate by arguing that a mandate was not needed.  Obviously that was 1 dimensional pandering as no one is going to get elected President by proposing a mandate.

But Republicans evidently enjoyed AHIP publicly opposing them so much that they want to experience it all over again starting now (and yearly as once they get one delay they will demand a years delay each year).  

The mandate is needed to prevent free riders from bankrupting health insurance companies.  It is very unpopular.  The argument that a year's delay of the individual mandate is like a year's delay of the employer mandate will be very appealing.  

I think an argument to AHIP that they will get a mandate only if they get a Democratic majority in the House would go very nicely with an argument to the not currently medicaid eligible poor that they will get medicaid only if they get Democratic majorities in state legislatures.