House Republicans vote to repeal ObamaCare and check off a promise. Big deal.

Virtually partisan passage here, with only three Democrats voting yes. There was actually some lively discussion on the floor with both parties pretty much clinging to exactly the same notions and ideas that were presented during the last several years prior to passage.  A summation; Republicans maintaining this bill would kill jobs and Democrats extolling the virtues of eliminating pre-existing conditions and filling in the dreaded senior doughnut hole.  Both parties are correct and both parties are presenting useless arguments as they pertain to the nation's health care. Nobody is talking about the true cause of spiraling costs and how to fix them, instead the two parties are arguing over how to best shaft the American people - through Government run healthcare via Medicare/Medicaid or mandated insurance purchases.

What the Republicans are doing in reality is buying political points while doing nothing and I believe they are doing this by design.  This newly elected GOP Congress had two years to pass a repeal law, why did they rush to do it?  Some are suggesting that this passage was required in order to demonstrate to the constituency the level of commitment by the GOP, but who does this really impress?  Everyone in America knows that this bill has no way of passing the Senate or the White House, so why bother?  What was the point?  The point was to pretend to care and then get rid of this albatross while throwing a bone to the frothing Tea Party.

There was another way and this way could have really demonstrated to everyone just how serious the GOP truly was on repealing what they believe is a bad bill.  Contingency.  Let me explain.

Within three months the House will be presented with another critical vote, a vote to raise the debt ceiling.  It has once again turned into a strange partisan dispute where Republicans are digging in and Democrats threatening the end of the world if the ceiling is not raised.  What a beautiful opportunity to utilize this leverage and demonstrating to the voting bloc two things one; a commitment to repeal and fiscal prudence.  If the GOP attaches the health care repeal bill to the debt ceiling raise the situation drastically changes.  Now the Senate democrats are forced to do one of two things, approve additional debt and scrap ObamaCare or keep ObamaCare while performing significant cuts elsewhere.

Before you freak out and suggest that not raising the debt ceiling is tantamount to a default, do not believe the propaganda.  Right now the debt service for our debt is around 250 billion a year.  We raise over a trillion in income taxes alone.  That means we have plenty of money to cover the interest and as long we cover the interest we will not default.  Without additional debt the Government might have to forgo on some other promises, but from an international standpoint America will not be harmed at all.

If something like this was actually performed then it would be easy to believe that the new "Tea Party" Congress and the Bohner/Cantor leadership can be trusted, but for now the whole situation is just a big fat farce.