Inventing a Failure

Paul Krugman on Inventing a Failure

"This is a problem for Republicans, who have bet the ranch on the proposition that health reform is an unfixable failure... How can they respond to good news? Well, they could graciously admit that they were wrong, and offer constructive suggestions about how to make the law work even better...No, they have in fact continued to do what they’ve been doing ever since the news on Obamacare started turning positive: sling as much mud as possible at health reform, in the hope that some of it sticks. Premiums were soaring, they declared, when they have actually come in below projections. Millions of people were losing coverage, they insisted, when the great bulk of those whose policies were canceled simply replaced them with new policies. The Obama administration was cooking the books, they cried (projection, anyone?). And, of course, they keep peddling horror stories about people suffering terribly from Obamacare, not one of which has actually withstood scrutiny."

"Now comes the latest claim — that many of the people who signed up for insurance aren’t actually paying their premiums...But the survey was rigged. (Are you surprised?) It asked insurers how many enrollees had paid their first premium; it ignored the fact that the first premium wasn’t even due for the millions of people who signed up for insurance after March 15."

It's really stunning to me that there is no political price to be paid for these kinds of stunts. I get that Fox will report this, but even by their worldview shouldn't every other news outlet be calling them out for this kind of tactic?