Republicans who now have the power to deliver on their central promise of the past seven years — repealing Obamacare and replacing it with a market-based alternative — are facing a gut-check moment. As they fear the potential political backlash, they must ask themselves: Do Republicans love freedom as much as Democrats love big government?
Democrats took a big risk to expand the role of government in healthcare. During the 13-month process that produced Obamacare, there were many freak out moments. There were missed deadlines, scary Congressional Budget Office numbers, terrible polling, and constant infighting among liberals and more centrist members of the party. There were many times when it looked like it could all fall apart and where there was real reason to fear their majorities could be at risk — the massive, nationwide protests and uprisings at town hall meetings, and even the defeat of a Democratic Senate candidate in the deep blue state of Massachusetts in a special election to replace the liberal lion, and champion of national healthcare, Ted Kennedy. And there were voices in Congress, in the media, and in the White House — right up to Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel — arguing that Democrats needed to cut their losses and scale back their ambitions.
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