Viewpoints: Anti-abortion Democrats praise health law; A defense of the Medicare cost-cutting board

Sep 6 2012

The New York Times' Taking Note: Anti-Abortion, Pro-Democrat
The big question heading into the Democratic Convention is just how forcefully the party will defend the Affordable Care Act, which the president fought to pass and then declined to sell. On Tuesday, an unusually vocal endorsement of the law came from an unlikely source: Anti-abortion Democrats (Juliet Lapidos, 9/4).

Los Angeles Times: Democratic 'Pro-Life' Group: It Is GOP That Threatens The Unborn
It might initially sound as oxymoronic as a pro-government libertarian, but a group of Democratic loyalists made the case here Tuesday that there really is such a thing as a "pro-life" Democrat and that their position is bolstered by the party's social justice world view (James Rainey, 9/4).

The Washington Post's The Plum Line: Repealing Obamacare Would Take Health Care Away From People
There's been a good deal of punditry to the effect that Obama and Dems will have to run from the health law this cycle; Obamacare remains unpopular and a symbol of Obama taking his eye off the ball of the economy; etc. This doesn't really look like running away from the health law, does it? (Greg Sargent, 9/4).

Bloomberg: Health-Care Goal Should Be Quality, Not Quantity
The Independent Payment Advisory Board is perhaps the most mischaracterized part of the health- care reform law -- which is saying something, given how many false charges have been hurled at the Affordable Care Act. The IPAB was designed to be a backstop to make sure the health-care system makes a transition from fee-for-service payments to payments based on value (Peter Orszag, 9/4).

Wall Street Journal: Food Stamp Nation
The more revealing news was the Department of Agriculture report, released on the Friday before Labor Day weekend, that 46,670,373 Americans are now on food stamps. That's an all-time record, at an annual cost of $71.8 billion, $770 billion over a decade. Mull over that one for a minute. That's nearly one of out every seven people-;46 million citizens-;who depend on taxpayers to buy one of life's most basic responsibilities. It's a good thing breathing air is free (9/4).