The GOP has been busy since Election Day showing President Obama that they’re willing to play ball with him in his second term. Case in point: House Speaker John Boehner said that the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s controversial health reform law also known popularly as “Obamacare” is “law of the land,” and that the GOP won’t try to repeal it.
ABC news anchor Diane Sawyer asked Boehner if the repeal of Obamacare is still a GOP mission, to which he replied, “The election changes that,” continuing, “It’s pretty clear that the president was re-elected. Obamacare is the law of the land.”
Considered President Obama’s signature legislation from his first term, House Republicans tried repeatedly to repeal the law throughout Obama’s first term, reports Reuters . Few provisions ended up eliminated or changed, and Democrats blocked outright repeal of the law.
Boehner’s comments, however, preclude the potential for possible changes or amendments to the law, as creating a balanced budget is now the goal of the GOP. Under Obama’s administration, Congress has failed to pass a budget for three years. Boehner said that parts of Obamacare would prove difficult to implement, and that the law is partially on the table regarding balanced budget talks.
The nation itself is still deeply divided over Obamacare, according to the latest exit polls .
According to a spokesperson for Boehner, the GOP “remain committed to repealing the law, and he said in the interview it would be on the table,” meaning that the ACA could still face partial defunding or repeal. The GOP wants it gone, but if Boehner is to be believed, the GOP will cease its outright attacks on it. Rather, along with the possibility of increasing revenues , they’ll treat it like anything else that will find itself on the chopping block as Congress attempts to deal with the upcoming “Fiscal Cliff.”
“I’m the most reasonable, responsible person here in Washington,” Boehner said, according to the LA Times . “The president knows it. He knows that he and I can work together. The election’s over. Now it’s time to get to work.”
Do you think that the GOP is moving closer to President Obama in light of their catastrophic loss in the 2012 election, or are they simply trying to meet him somewhere in the middle? Sound off!
