Obamacare Predictions

The vote count is close as the bill comes down to the wire. The liberal blog FireDogLake has 209 NO votes as of Saturday night, recent no votes added are Jim Matheson of Utah, Ohio’s Zack Space, Glenn Nye, Jason Altmire, and Lorreta Sanchez. This doesn't count the "Stupak bloc" of 10 votes, leading to the conclusion that the bill will fail without the Stupak bloc.... but since they did NOT buy off Stupak, then the inevitable conclusion is ... the Bill Will Fail.

Can it be real? They actually don't squeeze enough Democrats to get this elephantine pile 'o socialistic tax-and-spend road apples passed? Obama may see a repeat of his Copenhagen performance - putting his cred on the line and his chip on the table and seeing himself get bupkis.

If it succeeds, it won't be the end, nor a capstone. It will be a Democratic millstone in November. And beyond, this bill will be the CENTRAL political issue for years, a political black hole that will suck all matter around it into its vortex. The taxes, spending and bureaucracy are all so huge, there is nothing this bill won't touch. It so corrodes the Federal structure of Government that it will set off a firestorm of reaction across many states, inciting nullifications and repeals and stat-level 'opt-out' pleas and challenges. it will drain the Federal treasury, making a balanced budget impossible and real tax reform a dream.

More Obamacare predictions:
1. The bill will cost more than advertised.
2. Insurance premiums will keep rising.
3. The quality of care will be worse.
4. The Left will keep pushing for more.
5. Republicans won’t really try to repeal it. .. once an entitlement is in place, it becomes virtually impossible to take away.

That last one is a sad prediction. If the bill has all the bad effects noted in 1-4, it may well be repealed in 2013, before all the huge entitlement expansions kick in for good.

But we shall see. The best way to stop all the bad effects of Obamacare is to not pass it in the first place.