Democrats believe that a decent level of health care is a right, not a privilege, in a society such as ours that can afford it. Republicans, by and large, don’t agree. They think health care is a commodity like any other–like a car, or food–that must be earned, and should not be provided by the government. That is why they appear to be determined to cut both Medicaid and Obamacare, even though no specific plans have been released to date.
The GOP concept would work if the workers the party claims to represent could actually afford health care without subsidies. Republicans, unfortunately, oppose all efforts to increase worker power (and thus wages); they also oppose any meaningful attempts to rein in health care costs. So how are average workers–even reactionary white Christian workers–supposed to pay for health care in the GOP universe? They can’t, of course.
Health care is a field in which the Democrats have an inherent advantage under most circumstances. When the GOP is trying to take existing rights away, as opposed to the Democrats increasing the size of programs, the advantage becomes much greater. The left needs to take full advantage of this gift from the right over the next two years.