Sarcasm Is Unavoidable March 28, 2014March 28, 2014 Yesterday I posted Gary’s story — Obamacare gave him the freedom to retire early and gave a young person his job. Both were thrilled. Jobs and freedom — you would think that would be a good thing. But the Republican echo chamber continues to double down on how awful Obamacare is. Never mind that hundreds of millions of people will have greater health care security for decades — no more lifetime caps, no more fear of developing a pre-existing condition that precludes them from switching jobs or from obtaining coverage if they’re laid off. The only thing that matters is the botched first few weeks of the roll-out . . . since fixed. Our estimated 45,000 fellow citizens who’ve been dying each year for lack of health insurance? If those “takers” had wanted health insurance, they could have just not been so lazy. Or simply not have had pre-existing conditions. Listen: No one likes a sarcast.* But in certain situations, sarcasm is unavoidable. Mitt Romney didn’t realize Romneycare/Obamacare would destroy the best health care system in the world (well, the 37th best — please tell me you’ve seen the Aasif Mandvi clip) and bankrupt the country (except the CBO says the Affordable Care Act will reduce the deficit) when he signed it into law in Massachusetts. He said he hoped it might prove a model for the country. The idea had, after all, sprung from a conservative think tank. And it has worked in Massachusetts. But he saw the light the minute he needed to win the Republican primary. There’s so much to be sarcastic about. Have I even mentioned Jesus, whom the right have more or less appropriated as their own, and who would surely have favored cuts in food stamps, the lowest possible minimum wage, and denial of Medicaid expansion for the poor — not to mention bombing Iraq and tax cuts for billionaires? But rather than sink any deeper into this, I give you Chris Hayes from Wednesday, on the latest Republican rant: It seems so many people want to sign up at the last minute that those who start the process but can’t finish by the stroke of midnight Monday will get a few more days. This is horrible, say the Republicans — George W. Bush would never have allowed something like this (oh, except he did); Vladimir Putin — the right’s latest role model — would never accommodate customer demand this way (well, no, actually, he wouldn’t). Worse still, we will actually trust applicants to be honest about whether they had started applying before March 31. The G.O.P. is not foolish enough to trust the American people. As you’ll see in the Chris Hayes clip, they mock that notion. What if everybody claimed to have started the process before March 31 and got health insurance a few days past the announced deadline? Then where would we be? Everybody who wanted to buy health insurance coverage would be allowed to! What a nightmare! Stop listening to me; watch Aasif Mandvi, if you haven’t already, and Chris Hayes. The first half of the clip is edifying. The second — where a woman from the right comes on to espouse the G.O.P. view — is so depressing, as they scream at each other, one really fears for the country . . . until one’s happy gene quickly kicks back in. Have a great weekend! *Not a word but should be.