Don’t get too excited about this from GOP Rep. Jack Kingston of Georgia—he has yet to propose an idea that would actually improve Obamacare—but:
“And there’s some criticism, ‘Well, are you helping improve this law when you make that change? And should we be doing that?'” Kingston said of pushback to his bill.”A lot of conservatives say, ‘Nah, let’s just step back and let this thing fall to pieces on its own.’ But I don’t think that’s always the responsible thing to do,” he added.
“I think we need to be looking for things that improve healthcare overall for all of us. And if there is something in ObamaCare, we need to know about it.”
Then, Kingston suggested the unthinkable: That Republicans should actually listen to reasons why Obamacare isn’t the Devil’s Medicine:
“If you get a lot of letters that say, ‘Hey, back off, it works. I have a special needs child and here’s why its been good for me,’ we want to listen to that,” he said.
In a sane GOP, neither of these statements would raise an eyebrow—Kingston’s words come down to a simple declaration that better is preferable to worse, and that if something is good, he’d like to know. But today’s GOP isn’t sane, and it’s a little surprising to hear Kingston give voice to such thoughts, particularly in light of the fact that he is a southern Republican seeking his party’s nomination for U.S. Senate.
I’m sure he will be stoned for this by his fellow Republicans.
