Sabotage Circus

It's now September. Fall is just around the corner. And Syria isn't the only tricky situation President Obama has on his hands.

We are less than a month away from the federal budget deadline, and just over a month away from the next debt ceiling deadline. And so far, several G-O-TEA acolytes have been threatening to shut down the federal government and blow up the world economy if they don't get their way in destroying the Affordable Care Act (or ACA, or Obamacare). So not only has The White House had to figure out tough foreign policy, but it's also had to work on a game plan to defuse the haute new manufactured crisis peddled by TEA-publicans hell-bent on taking away people's health care.

Oh, and did I mention the other big deadline coming up? October 1 is also the official rollout day for the new Affordable Care Act state insurance exchanges. Yet even with this coming up, health care policy officials in several states have been worrying about the lack of advertising. Since the G-O-TEA hordes in Congress keep trying to sabotage Obamacare, they refuse to do anything to help implementation of it.

So what can be done? Why not turn to Hollywood & Silicon Valley!

Thanks for spreading the word.#ROAR MT @katyperry: RT@BarackObama: Get affordable coverage starting Oct. 1 http://t.co/1zEA5K9Ebl

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 26, 2013

Katy Perry has about 42 million followers. Obama has about 36 million.

Perry is one of a number of celebrities the White House has enlisted. Last week, reporters spotted Magic Johnson entering the White House. When he left, he made it pretty clear he’s on board.

Don’t forget that Obamacare officially starts on October 1st.

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) August 29, 2013

[...]

Last week, Georgann Helmuth, business development manager at Cover Oregon — Oregon’s new health insurance market place — conducted her own Ask Me Anything session on Reddit, where she was able to explain the law and enrollment process to hundreds of Oregonians for free. A hundred here, a hundred there, pretty soon you’re talking a lot of people.

In ruby red Kentucky, officials at the state’s exchange — Kynect — post at state events, including the annual Bourbon Festival, which helpfully takes place in mid-September. They’re also trying to reach young people using targeted digital ads on Pandora and Hulu.

So there are a lot of irons in the fire, real potential to reach a critical mass of uninsured people, and overcome the din of misinformation that’s been blaring in people’s ears since 2009. But it’s still a much greater challenge than it would be if everyone, including Republicans, took real interest in helping people, and began pulling in the same direction.

Thanks to continued G-O-TEA intransigence, ACA implementation has been far more difficult than originally expected. Yet despite all the challenges, Obamacare is working. And especially with Governor Brian Sandoval (R) and the Nevada Legislature cooperating on ACA implementation, it's already working well here in Nevada. So far, the only real challenges have come from G-O-TEA Congresscritters, Governors, and state legislators who refuse to abide by settled law.

G-O-TEA bomb throwers have been going to great lengths to try to sabotage the ACA. And as a result, the Obama Administration has had to go to great lengths to sidestep the G-O-TEA sabotage attempts. Imagine what Obamacare would look like without the ongoing G-O-TEA sabotage circus. That's what makes the TEA-publican cruel joke all that more cruel (and less funny).

Congress has had forty Obamacare repeal votes. At times, The White House has had to implement the health care law with one hand tied behind its back. And the entire nation may still be dragged through yet another manufactured crisis over extreme ideological tomfoolery. How much more of this circus can we take?