Republican Ben Sasse Calls ObamaCare Users ‘Hostages’

Republican senator Ben Sasse has come up with a creative way to make us think Republicans would be doing everybody a favor by getting rid of ObamaCare.

Sasse (R-NE), visited Your World to discuss possible fixes to health care if the Supreme Court rules against federal subsidies in the case of King v. Burwell. His “fix” consisted of an “offramp” of “transitional assistance” for the millions who could be suddenly left in the lurch without affordable health insurance. That, and telling them that they’re really hostages to ObamaCare now, set free, apparently by Republican liberty!

SASSE: The rule of law should be upheld …and ObamaCare should be struck down in the 37 states, but a lot of those six million people… could be disrupted through no fault of their own. A lot of these people didn’t want to be on Obamacare.

…There should be an off ramp out of Obamacare, and I think we can use the COBRA law to do that. The worst thing that can happen after we win this case is if anybody tries to save Obamacare. Obamacare should be on the dust heap of history. …We should do nothing to fix Obamacare.

Sasse never explained what, exactly, he was proposing as “transitional assistance” for those millions of people.

However, after this bit of verbal Jiu-Jitsu, he accused the Obama administration of cynicism:

SASSE: The administration tried, really cynically, to set up a moment where they could take hostages this next summer. …If these illegal subsidies are struck down, the administration tried to create a moment where they’ll be a whole bunch of suffering people among these six or seven million people.

Host Neil Cavuto pointed out, “You could face the possibility where millions are losing insurance and they’re going to blame you guys (Republicans).”

”That is absolutely what this administration has tried to set up,” Sasse argued. “They acted illegally, and I hope that’s what the court finds. …I’m afraid that this administration really is planning to take hostages.”

The real hostages are the millions who could lose their health care if subsidies are taken away. Who would be taking hostages? The Supreme Court and the Republican Congress.

Watch it below, from the March 4 Your World.

Correction: This post was incorrectly credited to Ellen.

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Showing 8 reactions

commented 2015-03-07 14:53:56 -0500 · Flag

Oh, this guy is a spark of real genius. Thank you Nebraska for sending this dim wit to represent you? How sad! How pathetic.
I am amazed at how shallow and deceptive these blatant clowns are, and yet “a majority of voters” sent him to Washington? God help us! Shame on you, Nebraska.

commented 2015-03-07 14:37:18 -0500 · Flag

It’s so effin’ easy for these Republicons to talk about ending “Obamacare” (funny how they’re less willing to discuss how many of their ilk supported the idea when the Heritage Foundation set up the original plan as a counter to “Hillarycare”—not that any of those folks were willing to actually, you know, do anything to enact the HF’s proposal into law; they’re also less willing to discuss how supportive they were when it was known as “Romneycare” for Massachusetts) but they suddenly become LESS talkative when it comes to DETAILING how they’d replace the system.

Because, you know, real governing is hard to do, compared to all the “Vote for me” rhetoric they spew each election cycle. (Then again, when the people who actually do show up to vote tend to be the morons who vote for those idiots because they fall for the shtick every single time. I don’t recall exactly where it was—maybe ThinkProgress?—but there was a report that explained why so many state legislatures and governors tend to be the braindead GOPers. The explanation was because of the way the cycle comes between Presidential elections, when the majority of voters tend to be either political junkies or the party “faithful,” the latter tending to be more GOP loyalists than Dem loyalists.)

commented 2015-03-07 11:03:52 -0500 · Flag

The real hostages are the millions who could lose their health care if subsidies are taken away.
Ellen
-———-

Exactly. And one other thing that ticks me off is something that the Dems did a piss poor job of highlighting – the fact that the ACA allows people to quit their current jobs so that they can become entrepreneurs. I have sooo many friends who, because of the ACA, have finally been able to quit dead-end jobs/jobs they hate. They have started their own businesses just like they’ve always wanted to but never could because the needed their employers’ healthcare benefits. They have been set FREE with the ACA because their future isn’t tied to an employer solely for the insurance. The ACA creates hostages?! What bullish!t.

commented 2015-03-07 10:59:49 -0500 · Flag

For many without OmabaCare these “hostages” will be known as deceased…but please Senator, tell us all about your free health care paid for by the taxpayers, we would love to hear it.

commented 2015-03-07 10:45:10 -0500 · Flag

There’s a perverse piece of my brain that wants to see the Court overturn the ACA and the resulting chaos. Too many ignorant people haven’t yet been personally attacked by Republican policies to the point where they realize the need to fight back. Loss of health insurance along with “Let ’em die!” soundbites from 2012 would be a nice wake-up call during the next cycle.

commented 2015-03-07 09:58:24 -0500 · Flag

Hey Ben Sasse — mark my words:

IT TAKES A HOSTAGE TO KNOW ONE, YOU BROWNSHIRT-WEARING, GOOSE-STEPPING RIGHT ARM EXTENDING NAZI! FACT: you and your fellow Republicans are and ALWAYS WILL BE HOSTAGES to your SIX AND SEVEN FIGURE CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS from Big Pharma (i.e. Pfizer, Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, etc.) and the major health insurance companies (i.e. Aetna, Cigna, Humana, United Healthcare, wtc.).

’Nuff said.

commented 2015-03-07 09:23:35 -0500 · Flag

“Transitional assistance” is Repug-speak for letting the uninsured rot in overcrowded hospital emergency rooms.

NewsHounds posted about Republican Ben Sasse Calls ObamaCare Users ‘Hostages’ on NewsHounds' Facebook page 2015-03-07 09:00:12 -0500

Who needs health insurance when you can have Republican liberty?