Althouse: "If you can’t take some joy, some modicum of relief and mirth, in the unprecedentedly spectacular beclowning of the president, his administration, its enablers, and, to no small degree, liberalism itself..."

November 14, 2013

"If you can’t take some joy, some modicum of relief and mirth, in the unprecedentedly spectacular beclowning of the president, his administration, its enablers, and, to no small degree, liberalism itself..."

"... then you need to ask yourself why you’re following politics in the first place. Because, frankly, this has been one of the most enjoyable political moments of my lifetime. I wake up in the morning and rush to find my just-delivered newspaper with a joyful expectation of worsening news so intense, I feel like Morgan Freeman should be narrating my trek to the front lawn. Indeed, not since Dan Rather handcuffed himself to a fraudulent typewriter, hurled it into the abyss, and saw his career plummet like Ted Kennedy was behind the wheel have I enjoyed a story more."

Is Jonah Goldberg enjoying himself too much?

158 comments:

I'm Full of Soup said...: Hell no.

Many of us knew Obama and his briliant Team of Rivals were greatly over-rated. Heck, many of them are just plain dopes. Now the rest of the country knows we were right!; 11/14/13, 2:03 PM
RBB said...: Not enough, actually.; 11/14/13, 2:03 PM
Kev said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/14/13, 2:06 PM
Charlie Bixby said...: Given the free ride that Obama had during the primaries, two elections and his first term, this is more schadenfreude is well deserved.

Millions have lost healthcare and those who tried t sound a warming were called racists, terrorists, etc. Obama chose to shutdown the government rather than delay Obamacare and then his administration did what they could to make the shutdown painful for Americans.

This ain't just schadenfreude, it's karma.; 11/14/13, 2:07 PM
Kev said...: (the other kev)

Validation is never gloating. That said, watching the progressive's death spiral after enduring some much spite, vitriol, and name-calling - bring it on.; 11/14/13, 2:07 PM
RAS743 said...: I'm lovin' it.; 11/14/13, 2:07 PM
Tank said...: No.; 11/14/13, 2:07 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Let me add my no to the chorus.

Jesus, did these bastards have it coming.

Idealism dies hard. Don't expect them to get the moral of the story.; 11/14/13, 2:11 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: And, after five years of screaming "racist" at every sensible person who tried to get the Obamabots to pull their heads out of their asses...

Why do those fools deserve any compassion?

Let them eat their own shit for a while.; 11/14/13, 2:12 PM
Scott M said...: As was said earlier today, Major Garrett deserves to be promoted to Colonel Garrett after his questioning of POTUS at the presser.; 11/14/13, 2:16 PM
mccullough said...: Does he really get the newspaper delivered in hard copy still?

Reading this article, the schadenfreude is not about Obama, but about the mainstream media people.; 11/14/13, 2:16 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: The delight comes from there finally being something the press can't ignore or spin away because there are too many people involved. This administration being called to account is long, long overdue.; 11/14/13, 2:17 PM
Sorun said...: Karma even catches up with the jug-eared Jesus. And there's lots of catching up still to do.; 11/14/13, 2:20 PM
madAsHell said...: He won't be able to leave the rose garden for the next 2.5 years. He's running on empty.; 11/14/13, 2:20 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: McC, I thought the same thing. "He walks outside to pick up a printed paper off the ground? Perhaps he'll take a ride in his motorcar later to pick up another bottle of India ink from the druggist."; 11/14/13, 2:20 PM
Diamondhead said...: It would be a more enjoyable spectacle if it wasn't actually an absolutely massive disaster that we'll be cleaning up (or not cleaning up) for years (decades?). It would also be more enjoyable if I thought any part of this mess prompted at least three seconds of introspection on the part of the president. On the other hand, it's been a splash of cold water in the face for all the other smug liberals out there, so that's some comfort at least.; 11/14/13, 2:21 PM
MathMom said...: Nope!; 11/14/13, 2:23 PM
Alexander said...: There's still many more steps to come - we haven't got to the group plans, or the fees kicking in - I imagine if there's any shortage of good humor, it's only so that some can be saved for later.

Just today alone, we now have gone from "THIS IS THE LAW YOU CAN'T CHANGE IT NOW" to "...I permit it to change..."; 11/14/13, 2:23 PM
CatherineM said...: No.

This is the man who said he could "turn back the Oceans."

He can't turn on a website. $600 million wasted on the website alone. Where, other than the Govt would that be allowed with out heads rolling?

And his "No one told me" excuses are pathetic.; 11/14/13, 2:25 PM
CatherineM said...: The media are to blame too.; 11/14/13, 2:25 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: At least, Obama is now free to "focus on the economy like a laser!"; 11/14/13, 2:26 PM
John Cunningham said...: Hell no!!; 11/14/13, 2:29 PM
RecChief said...: whileI don't hink so, I think it's important to remember that while the GOP has the tiger by the tail, the tiger can turn and bite very quickly. As evidenced by the turnaround since mid October.; 11/14/13, 2:29 PM
lgv said...: Yes, because a significant part of the gloating is about the website. The website can and will be fixed.

Stay focused people. Granted, the debacle is a general indication of the government to efficiently run anything, but the real issue is Obamacare itself.

Mandatory minimum coverage. Mandatory inclusions. Tax increases to cover the cost. The shift of cost to the next generation. The failure to keep your old network of physicians.

Keep hammering on the key negatives. Ignore the site. Don't try to fix it.; 11/14/13, 2:32 PM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: Its all good but wait until the "Obama is the come back kid" narrative kicks in. You know its coming.; 11/14/13, 2:35 PM
Delayna said...: Schadenfreudelicious!

It would take a decade or more of watching leftist programs crash and burn before I would feel sated.; 11/14/13, 2:37 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: "He walks outside to pick up a printed paper off the ground?"

While it could be true, it also serves as bait for detractors to quote the article.

To know that they know you are enjoying the ObamaCare bungling makes it even that much more enjoyable.; 11/14/13, 2:39 PM
Lydia said...: I won't be able to take any joy, or feel any relief or mirth, until that 46% to 45% poll number (with 10% undecided), which Althouse highlighted yesterday, changes.

That was the poll of likely voters about whether they believe the president purposely misled Americans about the potential impact of the health care law, and 45% said, nah, Obama "honestly expected the law to work out the way he said it would."; 11/14/13, 2:40 PM
rehajm said...: I'd have to agree with Jonah on it being one of the best political moments. I'll need history to run a bit to decide if this tops casting a vote for Scott Brown.; 11/14/13, 2:42 PM
jr565 said...: It would have been less fitting a response if dems hadn't called the tea partiers terrorist with a knife to the throat of America. Unintentionally the repubs were givingObama an out on this, and the dems doubled down on their "victory" and refused any delays.
And now, we need to delay this thing.
So, is Jonah a leittle too happy? I don't think so. He's simply laughing at blowhards hoisting themselves on their own petard.; 11/14/13, 2:44 PM
jr565 said...: There is some satisfaction in horrible people getting exactly what they deserve. This goes for both dem legislators AND voters.

A lot of people won't be getting what they deserve, and there too I hope the dems feel it at the next election.; 11/14/13, 2:48 PM
The Godfather said...: Like every other sensible person, my answer is No (or Hell No!). I have two reasons.

1. Opponents of Obamacare have suffered so much for so long, they have been pilloried, called nasty names, and been defeated over and over again, that they really do deserve a treat.

2. Goldberg, in his mirthful way, reminds us NOT TO DO ANYTHING. Just sit back and enjoy watching Obamacare (and Obama) self-destruct. Don't try to defund it. Don't pass the Upton Bill. The problem belongs to the Democrats generally and Obama specifically. Let them worry about it. Enjoy.; 11/14/13, 2:49 PM
Unknown said...: Heh, heh, heh. The website is just the tiny bit of the iceberg exposed above the water, everything else about obamacare, the monstrocity below the water is just as incapable and rotten. And, the people in charge and managing this catastrophe don't have a fucking clue as to what they're doing, what they've done, or how to correct it. This administration in it's asinine arrogance has screwed over millions of responsible productive Americans to "save" a few in distress, and fewer whom are deserving of assistance. The collectivist house of cards is collapsing. He ,he, he, he !; 11/14/13, 2:51 PM
Anonymous said...: Well, I guess Obama, his team, and many progressives and liberals who want nationalized/socialized medicine are just going to walk away from their commitments and think long and hard about their experiences and their first principles.

'Do I have this wrong?'; 11/14/13, 2:52 PM
RecChief said...: one thing that a lot of people didn't pick up on was that when liberals started with the "substandard" meme, they had to rightfully piss off each and every state insurance commissioner. The job of the insurance commissioner is to make sure that consumers are protected from fraudulent practices. By telling every one that old plans were substandard, they were basically saying that the state insurance commissioners weren't doing their jobs. nothing like insulting the professional integrity of people. Not only that but the 'fix' that was outlined in the latest press conference bypassed the state insurance commissioners who can tell the insurance companies that they can't go back to those plans.; 11/14/13, 2:55 PM
Joe Schmoe said...: I'm of two minds.

I love reading Jonah Goldberg. He's one of the best thinkers and writers on the Right. Like him, part of me is wildly enjoying the Dems hoisting themselves so completely on a petard totally of their own making.

On the other hand, I'm greatly saddened that such big, socio-political decisions are being made solely based on ideology and optics. If it makes my party look good, or makes the other party look bad, or both, then great.

There is so little consideration for trying to run a government that works for the betterment of all its constituents, not just the ones that voted for you. Real results mean absolutely nothing. It's all blame instead of accountability. We deserve better.; 11/14/13, 2:59 PM
Richard Dolan said...: Politics is a blood sport. Like other such sports, it is partly about winning one for the team, and partly about entertaining yourself. (The part about playing fair and square, not so much anymore.) So what if Jonah is doing a little ball-spiking here. It's all part of the game.; 11/14/13, 3:00 PM
moistwilly said...: Wouldn't expect a Morgan Freeman narration, though. Didn't he give Obama a seven figure donation?; 11/14/13, 3:03 PM
Joe Schmoe said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/14/13, 3:04 PM
Delayna said...: "On the other hand, I'm greatly saddened that such big, socio-political decisions are being made solely based on ideology and optics. If it makes my party look good, or makes the other party look bad, or both, then great."

I used to feel that way; the fact that I cannot dredge up a scrap of human sympathy for the 'rats is their own doing. They made me feel this anger/contempt/outrage against them.

Does it make sense that I hate them for making me hate them?; 11/14/13, 3:05 PM
JHapp said...: No, and it is sad that this is a great moment for the Right considering that the Left can defeat them with a few empty promises anytime they want. The Right still don't have the "Right Stuff".; 11/14/13, 3:06 PM
Drago said...: The Washington state insurance commissioner just announced that they were not going to go along with Obama s unconstitutional edict from on high.

Gee what a racist teabag going hostage taking extremist he must be for NOT doing what the racist teabag going hostage taking Republicans wanted to do last month!; 11/14/13, 3:07 PM
Joe Schmoe said...: Even this latest concession, to extend existing policies for a year, is not effective at all, and is just political cover.

It is going to be hard for insurance companies to backtrack and reinstate cancelled policies. But if they don't, Obama can blame them for the cancelled policies instead of Obamacare. Obama's temporary stay on cancelled policies might look good, but I suspect most folks won't get their cancelled policies back. Again, optics over real results for real people. Obama is also reneging on his promise of IYLYPYCKI. He never said IYLYPYCKI "for another year only".

I'm not that sympathetic to the insurance companies, though. You wanna dance with the devil, you gotta know you'll get burned.; 11/14/13, 3:07 PM
Rumpletweezer said...: In a sane world everyone the President met would kick him in the balls.; 11/14/13, 3:10 PM
ron winkleheimer said...: I look at it this way.

ACA proponents frequently accuse opponents of "rooting for ACA to fail."

This is incorrect.

Most of the opponents aren't rooting for it to fail. We simply know that it cannot work. That it was sold as health insurance reform but is actually about forcing the middle class to pay more money for less health care so that the surplus can be provisioned to the poor.

This was never going to work because while the left may talk a lot about helping the poor and economic injustice, their actual actions are generally along the lines of taxing someone else and using that money, not theirs.

So now that their rice bowls are being threatened and they won't be able to afford the European trip this year and won't have the money for paying for the kids private school and they won't have the good doctor they like, they are upset.

An analogy I like is that while I live in Alabama, I am not an Alabama fan. I like Auburn.

So when Alabama plays Tennessee I don't root for Tennessee to lose. I simply know that it is going to happen.

Now suppose I made that perfectly obvious observation, Tennessee will lose to Alabama, to a Tennessee fan and, instead of agreeing with me or politely disputing it, the Tennessee fan called me a racist who hates poor people and an idiot.

Can you imagine my feelings as I watch the Tennessee fan watching the Alabama/Tennessee game?; 11/14/13, 3:12 PM
damikesc said...: You can never enjoy too much watching snotty imbeciles beclowning themselves.

I wonder when the media will start asking for exactly what legal justification he has for his newest administrative fix; 11/14/13, 3:14 PM
Joe Schmoe said...: Oh Delayna, don't misunderstand me; I have zero sympathy for the Demonrats. What saddens/pisses me off is that I have to suffer for their political forays into remaking society. I've been directly affected by this shitty economy and rising insurance costs for YEARS now. I hate this administration for what it's done to this country.

The downside to the Dems cunt-punting themselves over Obamacare is that WE are the ones getting screwed by this, not the Mandarin elite with the fancy benefits packages that they voted upon themselves using OUR MONEY.; 11/14/13, 3:15 PM
Xmas said...: 322nded No; 11/14/13, 3:16 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Jonah Goldberg ‏@JonahNRO 2h
FACT: More people have read this today than have signed up for ObamaCare under the federal exchanges.

It's addictive, it's so good.; 11/14/13, 3:22 PM
Known Unknown said...: Wouldn't expect a Morgan Freeman narration, though. Didn't he give Obama a seven figure donation?

Maybe Morgan needs his own seven figure impetus.; 11/14/13, 3:25 PM
Clyde said...: If "competence is sexy," then Obama might as well start looking for a monastery with a golf course.; 11/14/13, 3:28 PM
Clyde said...: Purvi Rajani said...

This ain't just schadenfreude, it's karma.

Or perhaps it's Hubris meeting Nemesis.; 11/14/13, 3:30 PM
Charlie said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/14/13, 3:30 PM
Paddy O said...: Yes. Because politics affects lives. If you're not affected and it's just a game then it still at least sounds bad to those who listen.

As if the goal is winning, not the bettering of the country.

I don't like Obama. But I want people to have affordable health care. I wish Obamacare worked because there would be at least some progress. But so many were right in suspecting it wouldn't work.

The response shouldn't be jubilation but sadness that what was suspected really was right, that he was in over his head.

We don't need a political treaty of Versailles here, that only breeds more division. We need quiet and confident assurance of a different way, one that invites Obama supporters to conservative ideas not one that always mocks and derides for being tricked by him.; 11/14/13, 3:32 PM
eddie willers said...: Yes, because a significant part of the gloating is about the website. The website can and will be fixed.

Once the phony tinsel of the website is stripped away, all will see the real tinsel underneath.; 11/14/13, 3:34 PM
test said...: lgv said...
Yes, because a significant part of the gloating is about the website.

While some of it is about the website the issue the left can no longer hide is the price increase. Obama claimed the "typical" family would save $2,500. Most people thought they would experience some benefit or at least stay about the same, since they think of themselves as not far from "typical".

In fact they are experiencing large premium increases for policies with much larger deductibles which have a crappy network of doctors and no out of network benefits at all. On top of this the Obamacare plans are covering virtually none of the previously uninsured, so all this cost without much of a corresponding benefit to anyone except the government and their crony partners.

Obamacare is never going to work as intended. The math doesn't work, which will keep the healthy people they must have from signing up.; 11/14/13, 3:37 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Yes. Because politics affects lives.

Goldberg mentioned that he is well aware...

First, the obligatory caveats. It is no laughing matter that millions of Americans’ lives have been thrown into anxious chaos as they lose their health insurance, their doctors, their money, or all three. Nor is it particularly amusing to think of the incredible waste of time and tax dollars that has gone into Obamacare’s construction. And the still-unfolding violence that this misbegotten legislation will visit on the economy and our liberties is not funny either. This very magazine has been downright funereal about the brazen and unconstitutional seizure of one-sixth of the economy, and rightly so.

But come on, people.; 11/14/13, 3:37 PM
eddie willers said...: I wish Obamacare worked because there would be at least some progress. But so many were right in suspecting it wouldn't work.

Maybe you are settling onto the salient point that I and anyone else with a modicum of economic knowledge knew from the get go.

It could not possibly work.

As Goldberg points out late in his article:

He created a rhetorical cloud castle where no one would lose his insurance, every family would save thousands of dollars, and millions of the uninsured would suddenly get coverage. Anyone who doubted this was called a fool or a liar, or even a racist. It was, in the parlance of liberalism, a “false choice” to assert that Obamacare couldn’t be a floor wax and a dessert topping.

TANSTAAFL; 11/14/13, 3:41 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Obama himself was very obtuse about it...

Check out this tweet.

They were not magnanimous in victory.; 11/14/13, 3:42 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: To that tweet I responded...

Please. Don't. Delete.

My best tweet so far... all down hill from there.; 11/14/13, 3:44 PM
campy said...: No, and it is sad that this is a great moment for the Right considering that the Left can defeat them with a few empty promises anytime they want.

This.; 11/14/13, 3:46 PM
Bob K said...: Here is the Washington state Ins. Comm. refusing to implement Obama's fix. Read it quickly while he still has his job.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/State-rebuts-Obama-plan-to-allow-old-health-insurance-policies-231949931.html; 11/14/13, 3:51 PM
Unknown said...: " trying to run a government that works for the betterment of all its constituents," Well, when you routinely and gleefully punish and penalize a responsible, productive portion of society by picking their pockets, denigrate and deride their earnestness for the sole benefit of a segment of the population who have not, do not, and will not make an effort to help themselves; any semblance or opportunity for cooperation is lost. And for those productive responsible folk, a sincere spit in the eye of the collectivists is well deserved. When half the folks are pulling the wagon while the other half take a free ride, I'm not interested in the least about cooperation or the well being of the free loaders. Screw'em, they've earned it, as well their masters.; 11/14/13, 3:51 PM
Skeptical Voter said...: Obama is off in the land of magical thinking.

His Obamacare program (or at least the individual mandate part of it) crashes into the insurance china shop, and breaks nearly every plate in the place.

Then he stands back and thinks that an "Oh never mind after all" can repair the carnage?

Or to put it another way, he's thrown a big stinky cow pie in the middle of the insurance punch bowl, and now he thinks he can pull it out, and no one will notice?

The man is a moron.; 11/14/13, 4:04 PM
BillP said...: Where else can you get *this* turn of phrase?

"...this thing has moved as gracefully as a grand piano in a peat bog."

Love me some him...; 11/14/13, 4:23 PM
eddie willers said...: The sad, sad thing of all of this....John Roberts could have stopped it in its tracks.; 11/14/13, 4:23 PM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: More disgust than joy. What kind of fucking fools would have voted these clowns into power? Absolutely incredible.; 11/14/13, 4:27 PM
Robert Cook said...: "Obama chose to shutdown the government rather than delay Obamacare...."

Uh, no. The shutdown was the work of the Republicans.

Obamneycare is not a "liberal" policy, no matter that a gaggle of foolish liberals supported it (and Obama); it is an industry-driven program designed to deliver a captive audience to the insurance companies. The Democrats are no more "liberals" than the Republicans are "conservatives." Both parties are servants of the plutocracy, (a few independent mavericks here and there excepted).

To imagine things would (or will) be different under a Republican administration is misguided and ill-founded, just as those who voted for Obama assuming things would be different than under Bush were misguided and their expectations ill-founded.

Things will not get better for American workers, voters, citizens, no matter which party dominates from one political season to the next. We are all now or will become serfs.

Goldberg's delight at Obama's embarrassment is the giggling of a fool who does not recognize we are all going down the tubes.; 11/14/13, 4:29 PM
Gene said...: It would be more enjoyable if I didn't know the president was scheming day and night now to make us pay, pay big time, pay forever for this insult to his worthyness.; 11/14/13, 4:31 PM
The Godfather said...: In defense of John Roberts (#eddie Willers): The American people could have stopped this in its tracks. And they're the ones who should have done it. The purpose of the Supreme Court isn't to save us from our own laziness or stupidity.

But Roberts' opinion makes clear that the penalty/tax for not enrolling in Obamacare can't be high enough that it really forces people to enroll -- and that's the big problem that can't be fixed even if (when) the website is fixed.; 11/14/13, 4:33 PM
Anonymous said...: Enjoying it too much? No, he's not half enjoying it like he should. It is delightful to see The Lying Sack of America in this fix.; 11/14/13, 4:33 PM
David said...: I am torn, because I do feel the schadenfreude, but I am also struggling to replace my canceled insurance. I want the Democrats who were so smug to suffer but not the millions of residents in limbo.; 11/14/13, 4:35 PM
Tyrone Slothrop said...: Robert Cook said...

"Obama chose to shutdown the government rather than delay Obamacare...."

Uh, no. The shutdown was the work of the Republicans.

Thank you, Robert Cook. We Republicans will be happy to take credit for the shutdown. It will be making us look pretty prescient along about November 2014. Meanwhile, the Light Worker could have accepted Ted Cruz's call to delay the individual mandate and could be blaming the whole thing, or at least some of it, on the Republicans. Like Jonah Goldberg, I'm in stitches.; 11/14/13, 4:40 PM
jr565 said...: Lem:

Obama himself was very obtuse about it...

Check out this tweet.

They were not magnanimous in victory.

Yup. This is exactly why Jonah is so spot on.

What. A. Douche.; 11/14/13, 4:42 PM
SGT Ted said...: Considering all the vile things that were said of us when we simply pointed out that the ACA is a real bad idea that will not deliver as advertised...

We can't enjoy ourselves too much in this instance.; 11/14/13, 4:49 PM
Joe Schmoe said...: Goldberg's delight at Obama's embarrassment is the giggling of a fool who does not recognize we are all going down the tubes.

I'd say it's a combination of gallows humor and a very human reaction to a slanderous, hubristic adversary.

And when you say "going down the tubes", what sort of Calvinist fate do you think awaits us?; 11/14/13, 4:50 PM
SGT Ted said...: Obama chose to fight the battle of the Government Shutdown in order to keep ObamaCare and score a political victory with the Shut Down blame game to hurt the GOP.

Obama won the Shut Down hill with the aid of the press parroting his narrative.

But, the booby-trap that ObamaCare set for the insurance of millions of citizens back in 2009 went off in his own pants, and now the GOP is conducting a counter offensive taking advantage of the breech in his britches.

I have a schadenboner right now.; 11/14/13, 4:58 PM
donald said...: Speaking of teabaggers, everybody who has invested their belief that this hack is anything less than a moronic pathological liar now know the experience.

Fuck every single Obama supporter, you are evil cocksuckers.; 11/14/13, 5:00 PM
Michael K said...: When your car is going over the cliff, the ability to laugh about it helps keep sanity.; 11/14/13, 5:01 PM
Michael K said...: Purvi Rajani said...

This ain't just schadenfreude, it's karma.

Or perhaps it's Hubris meeting Nemesis.

11/14/13, 3:30 PM
Blogger Charlie said...

“One must have a heart of stone to read the death of the ACA without laughing.”-Oscar Wilde

I couldn't have said it better myself.; 11/14/13, 5:09 PM
Scott said...: You can only experience schadenfreude if everything is all right in the end.

Yes, Obama and the progressive Democrats are looking like clowns trying to make ACA work. But when all is said and done, Obama and his cronies will still be running things, and won't get the comeuppance they richly deserve.

So yes, Goldberg is a little premature in his appreciation of the Democrats' fascist ACA clusterfuck degenerating into farce. The oppression will continue at least through the end of 2014 elections.; 11/14/13, 5:27 PM
George M. Spencer said...: What we need is a parliamentary system so that we could now promptly have a vote of no confidence against Mr. Obama's government, and he could removed from office.

There's nothing to be amused at. We have three more years of this man. The financial press is filled with commentary about looming market pullback (to be euphemistic), and, worse, our enemies overseas now fully know how inept Mr. Obama is. One of them will make a move. Let us hope little blood is spilled.; 11/14/13, 5:33 PM
Scott said...: @Michael K

"When your car is going over the cliff, the ability to laugh about it helps keep sanity."

Laughter? If my car was going over a cliff, my reaction wouldn't be laughter. I would be screaming and crapping my jeans.; 11/14/13, 5:35 PM
JoyD said...: Well, I'm just going to wait and see. In the meantime, Jonah Goldberg is pretty funny.; 11/14/13, 5:38 PM
JoyD said...: Well, I'm just going to wait and see. In the meantime, Jonah Goldberg is pretty funny.; 11/14/13, 5:39 PM
Scott said...: @St George:

I sort of agree with you. I don't think our system of government was designed to be scalable beyond a certain point. Much more power needs to devolve to the states before it can function properly again.

The problem with parliamentary systems are that they're not scalable either. A country as big and diverse as the USA would be careening back and forth between one political extreme and the other. We'd be Italy on steroids.

Keep the federal structure, elect minarchist libertarians, and let the states act more like countries. Fat chance it will ever happen, but it's a better utopia than the prog Demos are peddling.; 11/14/13, 5:45 PM
Anonymous said...: I'm beginning to believe the Kenyan born, crypto-Muslim story for the first time. The Lying Sack of America doesn't give a hoot for this country.

I will admit however that the FLATUS has wonderfully toned arms.; 11/14/13, 5:57 PM
Scott said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/14/13, 6:01 PM
Gahrie said...: I sort of agree with you. I don't think our system of government was designed to be scalable beyond a certain point. Much more power needs to devolve to the states before it can function properly again.

As I found out this week, and wrote about on another thread, there is a viable Constitutional Amendment (in fact there is a pretty good arguement that it has already passed and should be ratified) out there that could demand that the House of Representatives immediately expand from 435 representatives to about 6,000 representatives.; 11/14/13, 6:09 PM
Gahrie said...: We are all now or will become serfs

Seriously? Bolshie Bob is probably the last Marxist on Earth....The Russians, the Chinese, the Cubans...hell even the North Koreans have all admitted that Marxism is a failure.....

Of course Marxism has never really been tried...right Bob?; 11/14/13, 6:14 PM
pm317 said...: We told you so (in 2007-2008)!!; 11/14/13, 6:20 PM
pm317 said...: This Obamacare was boondoggle to pay off all his bundlers/donors and I wonder what they will all do -- serves them right for betting on the incompetence of Obama.

We still have 3 years of this..; 11/14/13, 6:22 PM
pm317 said...: It is funny how the right wing media (read Weekly Standard) is now touting what Bill Clinton said (fairytale) as being true. Where were they in 2007-2008?; 11/14/13, 6:25 PM
Carl Pham said...: Yes. Goldberg is too much the political observer here. He forgets the toppling of this hated golden calf from its perch is a direct consequence of horror and misery for millions. Who could take pleasure in that?

There's no reason not to take grim satisfaction in seeing that worthless pretty-boy bullshitter fade into well-deserved impotent obscurity, and if God is just to see the Chicago Team standing in bread lines in the rain, or asking whether I'd like fries with my Big Mac. For the $100,000 a year academic enablers in particular, with a nice pension and (as yet) untouched employer-paid benefits, I could be straight-up Maoist, and happily see them harvesting cabbages by hand and cooking macaroni over cow patty fires for a while, to learn greater respect for objective reality.

But aside from that, the dominant feeling is or should be great sadness for the needless pain of the millions caught in this typhoon. Those are real lives compromised.

And, no, they weren't all Obama voters, so it isn't entirely a question of just deserts. Statistically speaking, probably no more than 50-55% of those staring this black hole in the face were Odummies.; 11/14/13, 6:32 PM
Paco Wové said...: Well, if I were a passenger on a ship, and I thought the captain an incompetent smug fool, I would not be happy even if he steered the ship onto a reef in a demonstration of smug incompetent foolishness.

Especially not when almost half the passengers still thought he was the coolest captain evar! and the ship's band is constantly blaring out anthems in his praise.

But I'm just a killjoy that way.; 11/14/13, 6:32 PM
Sayyid said...: They spent two weeks of government shutdown calling Republicans, including Jonah, economic terrorists, hostage takers, extremists, and every other slur they could find. They did it because we were pointing out that Obamacare is unworkable and broken, and we wanted to get rid of it before the real pain started.

Now that the pain has started, no, there is no such thing as taking too much pleasure in the awkward situation Democrats have pushed themselves into. They weren't just wrong. They weren't even spectacularly wrong. They were spectacularly in-your-face and obnoxious with their wrongness.

And now we laugh at them for it.; 11/14/13, 6:36 PM
Unknown said...: "First, the obligatory caveats. It is no laughing matter that millions of Americans’ lives have been thrown into anxious chaos as they lose their health insurance, their doctors, their money, or all three. Nor is it particularly amusing to think of the incredible waste of time and tax dollars that has gone into Obamacare’s construction. And the still-unfolding violence that this misbegotten legislation will visit on the economy and our liberties is not funny either. This very magazine has been downright funereal about the brazen and unconstitutional seizure of one-sixth of the economy, and rightly so."

So - no.; 11/14/13, 6:37 PM
Unknown said...: Obama is a horrible man. Hillary is a horrible women. The destruction of health insurance and health care is all part of their plan. The left's big fat ugly hideous single payer -- 100% tax payer funded --must ask the government permission first - plan.

The primary wellspring of schadenfreude can be attributed to Barack Obama’s hubris — another immigrant word, which means a sinful pride or arrogance that causes someone to believe he has a godlike immunity to the rules of life.

100% accurate. Go Jonah.; 11/14/13, 6:44 PM
Illuninati said...: With all the hate speech, I wish the Democrats were the ones suffering, but they're not. Many of the people losing their insurance are middle class folks who voted Republican. Obama's core voters, labor unions, university professors, government workers, and people on welfare, are still happy. In fact, they are probably gloating even more than Jonah Goldberg as they hear the screams of anguish from the middle class. After all, what fun is class warfare unless the enemy class is suffering.

Some of the Democrat politicians in marginal districts are probably squirming a bit even though they knew this would be the outcome when they voted for the law, but those in safe districts are just as happy as clams along with their voter base.; 11/14/13, 6:46 PM
Kelly said...: It's well deserved and a long time coming. Thing is, Obama has such contempt for the republicans that the fool couldn't take the out they offered him. Nope, he couldn't delay the ACA for a year so the government had to be shut down.

He really thought in his arrogance that he had won. I wonder if he regrets not reaching a deal? I hope he enjoyed that three week period where the entire country blamed the republicans for the shut down. That will barely be a blip on the radar when the 2014 election rolls around.; 11/14/13, 6:51 PM
Big Mike said...: Is Jonah Goldberg enjoying himself too much?

No. Obama and Reid chose to shut down the government instead of delaying Obamacare by a year, and now Obama has to delay it a year anyway, but only after proving that it was every bit as poorly thought out as some of the more intelligent of us had argued way back when.

"We have to pass this bill to find out what's in it." Okay. We've found out what's in it. The better care you took of your health, the more prudently you shopped for insurance, the worse off you are.

Well done, Democrats!; 11/14/13, 6:59 PM
Rusty said...: Nope.
It's a train wreck.
The train is full of crooks and liars.; 11/14/13, 7:08 PM
Unknown said...: Mike Lee and Ted Cruz - completely vindicated.; 11/14/13, 7:18 PM
Michael said...: No, he's entitled for the reasons he gives. It's only too much if he (we) gets stuck in this mode.; 11/14/13, 7:30 PM
Michael said...: No, he's entitled for the reasons he gives. It's only too much if he (we) gets stuck in this mode.; 11/14/13, 7:30 PM
Michael K said...: ""When your car is going over the cliff, the ability to laugh about it helps keep sanity."

Laughter? If my car was going over a cliff, my reaction wouldn't be laughter. I would be screaming and crapping my jeans."

What good would that do ? Better to laugh.; 11/14/13, 7:35 PM
rhhardin said...: Obama is the blind guy in W.C.Field's hardware store.; 11/14/13, 7:38 PM
Hagar said...: They aren't "delaying it for a year anyway;" they are just adding to the chaos.
The next thing will be at least a dozen lawsuits claiming Obama does not have the constitutional power to change the law. That it will take time and keep the chaos going.

However, anyawy you cut it, you can't puah an avalanche back up the mountain.; 11/14/13, 7:49 PM
pm317 said...: Obamacare is dead. As another blog put it, it was going to be euthanized tomorrow in a bi-partisan vote but Obama preempted it and killed it.; 11/14/13, 8:01 PM
wildswan said...: This is just the same thing as the way the website was designed. At the last minute we have a sudden last change on a really important point which will cause great confusion and even more delays. The reason is political. There's no understanding that the insurance companies planned based on the law and made projections based on the law. Just as there was no understanding that you have to check out a website end-to-end over a period of months. And if you can't start testing in time to do that, then you have to postpone the website rollout. And similarly the President can't just snap his fingers and everyone, including healthcare.gov throws out all their planning and starts over, doing the whole planning thing over again in 3 days and it all works out OK. No. The whole plan must go. That is the only way forward. There's all kinds of other things wrong besides the lie about keeping your plan and your doctor.

The lie shows up the whole law - Obama and the others don't know what is in it. Why are they even sticking up for a law that they don't know what's in it? Why are they imposing it on others? and not themselves? What about the "demos" going on around the country which are deciding what treatment you get where cost is being factored in to acceptable treatment. This is scam treatment. not treatment according to a doctor's best judgement? And if something goes wrong - well, Obama is going to be so surprised and so sorry and he never saw the memo warning it would happen and he'll issue an enabling edict that doctors are not to pay attention to the demos. And so piece by piece, clusterfuck by clusterfuck, Obamacare will be repealed by decree. Or we can repeal it now.; 11/14/13, 8:19 PM
Henry said...: Given the misery that ACA was due to visit on this country through slow poison, we are fortunate that at least one aspect of its rollout has failed so obviously and so categorically.

ACA has visited a lot of pain on a lot of people this sad season. But lest we forget, ACA has visited pain on a much greater lot of people leading up to this point. ACA expanded coverage. Insurance got more expensive. But these costs were hidden. They were absorbed by businesses and people who were used to paying more every year anyway. The costs seeped into the poor growth of the economy and the dismal employment rate -- but who could say to what degree?

We are lucky to have a clear case of cost in front of us. There's hope that the people directly affected will get some relief. And the people not yet affected may hope for a greater groundswell of support for deflecting the disaster.; 11/14/13, 8:31 PM
Insufficiently Sensitive said...: Jonah Goldberg has a long way to go before he reaches the state of ecstasy which the Chicago mob hit when they realized they owned the Presidency, and with it all the baksheesh which could be skimmed off of hundreds and thousands of Federal 'programs' to enrich and endow the American far left for a generation.; 11/14/13, 8:44 PM
Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...: Well, there's no particular joy in the chaos, inconvenience, and harsh monetary loss this atrocity has already caused to so many.

But we can only hope that the Afraudable Care Act crashes to ground with enough force to be killed well and properly dead.

Unfortunately, my expectations is it will be only wounded. We can expect years - decades - of fixes, patches, 'reforms', mounting expenses, diminishing revenues.

There is just too much potential for graft for the political class to turn loose of.; 11/14/13, 9:11 PM
jr565 said...: Remember when Bush was departing and a bunch of people in the crowd sang "nah nah nah nah, hey hey hey goodbye" like they were taunting the opposing team?
I do.
So, I don't want to hear about any glee from republicans. This president deserves all the derision he gets. And more.; 11/14/13, 9:20 PM
John Cunningham said...: the Obama-felchers in the party media have an infinite appetite for eating filth from Comrade Urkel, no?; 11/14/13, 9:40 PM
Drago said...: Bottom line: Millions of Americans tossed into the chaos and uncertainty of obamas purposeful making.

The media and dem response?

"It's ancedotal", "everything is fine", "this proves the ACA is working and that scares republicans!"

Millions of Americans finding their forced increased medical costs untenable.

Dem response? The same.

A few dems could possibly be voted out?

Obama moves quickly to violate obamas "settled law!!!" law.

The lefts response?

"Gee, I hope the people can find it in their hearts to forgive obama..."

Absolutely unbelievable.

And it's happening in real-time before our very eyes.

It's a once in a lifetime kind of an event.; 11/14/13, 10:11 PM
cubanbob said...: Why is Goldberg feeling so giddy? Doesn't he know the Republicans will snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory? They always do. So far, they always have. Why expect anything different this time?; 11/14/13, 10:37 PM
AlanKH said...: This shoudl be framed as a poll, with the following choices:

a) Yes, you evil nazi dittohead.

b) Hell yes.

c) Yes.

d) No.

e) Hell no.

f) 50 shades of "hell no"

g) Jonah is awesome. I'm on my third bottle of champagne.

(My answer is "f"); 11/14/13, 10:52 PM
Real American said...: Nope, and for the next 50 years, I hope every Republican candidate out there reminds the voters that Obama said they could keep their health plan which was a big fat lie, so why would you believe anything any Democrat promises. You can't. HA HA HA. Fucking LOSERS!; 11/14/13, 11:08 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: Well, at least we all know what his priorities are.; 11/15/13, 12:40 AM
rcommal said...: Is Jonah Goldberg enjoying himself too much?

Yes.; 11/15/13, 12:40 AM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: I think it's great that Republicans like Jonah have such wonderful policy proposals for what to do in place of the ACA.; 11/15/13, 12:42 AM
rcommal said...: Is Jonah Goldberg enjoying himself too much?

Yes.; 11/15/13, 12:42 AM
rcommal said...: He and the fair Jessica (and their kid) are insulated. He can afford to be cheap about such things, what he says, what he expresses, what he does. I am sorry to say that such is so, but, still: It IS so.

Politics--contrary to old cliches--really is just bean-bag, for some.

Live and learn, live and learn, I say.

: (,; 11/15/13, 1:06 AM
Portia said...: Read this early this morning before I read Althouse, and could not finish as I was laughing so hard.

The best bailout for Obamacare would be to kill it. But then what would we laugh at?

I agree with Jonah Goldberg.; 11/15/13, 2:13 AM
rcommal said...: This fits.; 11/15/13, 3:07 AM
rcommal said...: Also this.; 11/15/13, 3:14 AM
Unknown said...: Yes. Schadenfreude is political porn.

I think of a parenting analogy. The love affair between liberals and Obama is like your teen or twenty-something daughter and a drug addled jobless talentless jerk. When this starts going badly for her and she starts recognizing it, are you going to gloat over your predictions or are you going to hug her and help her put her life back together?

It's an imperfect analogy (does the daughter represent liberals, or our country in general?) but the feelings ring true for me. I love this country and want it back on track too much to indulge in 'toldja so's'.; 11/15/13, 5:25 AM
Anonymous said...: Not as much as I am :-); 11/15/13, 5:30 AM
George M. Spencer said...: Where, may I ask, is the inevitable Hitler-learns-about-Obamacare-mess video?; 11/15/13, 5:59 AM
Joe Schmoe said...: See, this is the crap I'm talking about. Here's Barry's chief of staff admitting that their "fix" is nothing more than blame-shifting. It doesn't do anything to help out people with cancelled insurance:

“We do not have a deal where everyone who has received a cancellation notice that they can re-buy. We can’t mandate that,” he said, according to sources present. But, he argued, the new policy shifts the burden for cancellations to state insurance commissioners and insurance companies — an important political distinction. If a tea party Republican contends that someone lost his or her insurance because of the law, McDonough said “that is absolutely untrue.”

I hate these people with the white-hot heat of a thousand suns.

link to article; 11/15/13, 6:04 AM
Paco Wové said...: Somewhere back in the mid-oughties, it dawned on me that the Democrats had morphed into the National Health Care Party. No matter what other differences two randomly chosen D.'s might have, it seemed that they would always, absolutely, vociferously, reflexively support the idea of single-payer health care.

The Democrats – and their allies generally – simply have too much invested in this to let one or two debacles stop them. They are going to "help" you, and help themselves, no matter how much damage it causes, and when it fails it will be somebody else's fault.

Gloating looks too much like letting one's guard down.; 11/15/13, 6:14 AM
donald said...: Scumbags like yourself rcommal can eat shit.

You want a fix for healthcare issues? Get the federal goverenmen's grimy scummy paws out of the equation.; 11/15/13, 6:24 AM
donald said...: Scumbags like yourself rcommal can eat shit.

You want a fix for healthcare issues? Get the federal goverenmen's grimy scummy paws out of the equation.; 11/15/13, 6:24 AM
test said...: If a tea party Republican contends that someone lost his or her insurance because of the law, McDonough said “that is absolutely untrue.

I hope this explanation reaches everyone. It's the kind of "it depends on the meaning of is" bullshit that convinces even to the politically apathetic that whoever saying it is completely untrustworthy.; 11/15/13, 6:31 AM
Curious George said...: "St. George said...
Where, may I ask, is the inevitable Hitler-learns-about-Obamacare-mess video?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3-RKS0_NKk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-ajt5dk__M; 11/15/13, 6:35 AM
Curious George said...: "St. George said...
Where, may I ask, is the inevitable Hitler-learns-about-Obamacare-mess video?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3-RKS0_NKk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-ajt5dk__M; 11/15/13, 6:35 AM
Paco Wové said...: "If a tea party Republican contends that someone lost his or her insurance because of the law, McDonough said “that is absolutely untrue..."

What a loathsome deceitful bag of pus Denis McDonough is.; 11/15/13, 6:38 AM
AHL said...: I cried both times Obama won the Presidency. But, I cannot be happy about this. In the end, I want what is best for the US and I want success to happen if it is for my country, even if it is from the opposing political party. I am sad because our country is now even more open to ridicule than it ever was. We are in a decline and I hate to see it.; 11/15/13, 6:45 AM
Joe Schmoe said...: On the plus side, the Obama admin still seems scared to death of the Tea Party. Whoever has tried to pronounce the demise of the Tea Party obviously isn't privy to WH staff meetings.; 11/15/13, 7:20 AM
Paco Wové said...: I still find it fascinating that the dreaded Tea Party (boo!), which over here in flyover country is all about a certain set of economic principles, is portrayed on the coasts as though it were entirely about social conservatism.

I suppose that once you make your government big enough, and all-encompassing enough, any attempts to restrain it are seen as threats to your social order.; 11/15/13, 7:53 AM
damikesc said...: I think it's great that Republicans like Jonah have such wonderful policy proposals for what to do in place of the ACA.

I love that you take the opportunity of one of the most failings of a government policy to call for MORE government policies to correct it.

Sometimes, the best policy is to not do anything.

When this starts going badly for her and she starts recognizing it, are you going to gloat over your predictions or are you going to hug her and help her put her life back together?

If your daughter is 60 years old and has made the same mistake, repeatedly, her entire life --- don't you eventually sit her down and give her a talking to about making incredibly stupid decisions?

To do otherwise would be to enable the poor behavior. Fixing the problem without correcting the behavior is a poor plan.; 11/15/13, 8:12 AM
rcommal said...: "Scumbags like yourself rcommal can eat shit. "

LOL.

I'm opposed to Obamacare. Never voted for Obama, either. Still think Jonah is taking cheap shots in this one and is gloating/ enjoying himself too much, and that it's too easy for him to do so because he's insulated enough to be able to do so.

Thanks for your feedback, however.; 11/15/13, 8:34 AM
Unknown said...: Open, joyous gloating will be appropriate until Kathleen Sebelius puts a bullet in her own head. At that point a quite smile should suffice.; 11/15/13, 8:51 AM
chickelit said...: @rcommal: If Dusty Springfield fits, then there's room for link; 11/15/13, 9:15 AM
Robert Cook said...: "I love that you take the opportunity of one of the most failings of a government policy to call for MORE government policies to correct it.

"Sometimes, the best policy is to not do anything."

And sometimes the best policy is to do something.

The religious dogma of the rabid right to the contrary, "government policy qua government policy" is not bad; bad government policy is bad; good government policy is good. (Just as not all business practices are good: good business practices are good and bad business practices are bad.)

Obamneycare is bad government policy because it is over-complicated in its intent to keep the private health insurers involved and in the black as the monopoly providers of health insurance. If it were an expansion of Medicare/Medicaid to all--dispensing with the private insurers altogether--it would be simpler and much easier to implement.

Oh, but that would be bad because socialism.; 11/15/13, 9:42 AM
Michael The Magnificent said...: Obamneycare is bad government policy because it is over-complicated in its intent to keep the private health insurers involved and in the black as the monopoly providers of health insurance.

Monopoly? What monopoly? I can buy health insurance from half a dozen companies. And if you chose to, you could start your own health insurance company and compete with them.

If it were an expansion of Medicare/Medicaid to all--dispensing with the private insurers altogether--it would be simpler and much easier to implement.

Sure, we'll force all the insurance companies out of business, and then force all of the "citizens" into Medicare/Medicate, but we won't call that a monopoly.; 11/15/13, 10:21 AM
chickelit said...: Oh, but that would be bad because socialism.

There were many smaller steps Obama could have taken striding towards his over-reaching goal. These include individual state-run plans which actually differ from state-to-state to meet myriad healthcare needs in different markets. Catastrophic care could have been mandated first as a way to enroll as many as possible up front without forcing people to buy more expensive coverage for what they don't want or need.

But Obama and is ilk have it in their heads that only Federal solutions are appropriate. We see it again and again in their approaches to healthcare, marriage laws, abortion, gun control, etc.

Overreaching Federalism (aka socialism) is the enemy a priori. It is a plank in the Tea Party agenda.; 11/15/13, 10:25 AM
Jaq said...: Robert Cook, surely there is some country that you could move to that lives by your ideas.. CCCP, Red China, Cuba, Viet Nam.... Oh, wait.; 11/15/13, 10:48 AM
Rusty said...: Obamneycare is bad government policy because it is over-complicated in its intent to keep the private health insurers involved and in the black as the monopoly providers of health insurance. If it were an expansion of Medicare/Medicaid to all--dispensing with the private insurers altogether--it would be simpler and much easier to implement.

Oh, but that would be bad because socialism.

Yes it would.; 11/15/13, 11:08 AM
kjbe said...: "One of the most enjoyable political events of my lifetime..." Thanks for sharing, Jonah, but for me, it's the Berlin Wall falling.; 11/15/13, 11:12 AM
Robert Cook said...: Michael the Magnificent,

Yes, the consortium of private health insurers certainly provide a competitive market where Americans can find insurance policies that suit their needs at prices they can afford.

Not.

And this isn't even to get into the matter of insurers who, after having "let" people buy their over-expensive products, give bonuses to their employees who can find ways to refuse the use of their product to those people to whom they sold their product.; 11/15/13, 12:13 PM
Jaq said...: "in its intent to keep the private health insurers involved and in the black as the monopoly providers of health insurance."

What does the above sentence even mean?; 11/15/13, 2:05 PM
Rusty said...: Don't even try , tim, he lives in his own little world.; 11/15/13, 5:10 PM
chickelit said...: ...in its intent to keep the private health insurers involved and in the black as the monopoly providers of health insurance.

It makes sense if you realize that Cook likes everything to "stay in the red" so to speak.; 11/15/13, 7:52 PM
rcommal said...: El Pollo: It does.; 11/15/13, 8:09 PM
rcommal said...: Ref'ing a link from earlier in the thread.; 11/15/13, 8:11 PM
Achilles said...: This is a joke. He isn't happy to actually repeal this mess or fight for first principles. The republican party and hacks like him are content to lose, help enact these progressive stunts, and laugh when they fail knowing they will get a brief shot at growing the government for a while before getting voted out like they did after enacting Medicare part D.

All of these establishment republicans are getting exactly what they want. They want bigger government and to be in charge of it, at least for short periods. They merely see this as a chance to win an election, not to actually repeal this law or shrink government overreach.

Wasn't this guy bashing Cruz and Lee not long ago for actually forcing the republicans to stick up for something? We know where their real intent lies.

They all know Hillary is gearing up to run on Single Payer. That is why McCain and all the other good republicans are saying such nice things about her. They will try to push a Christie or Bush on us again just like they pushed Dole, Bush, Bush, McCain, and the architect of Ocare Romney. They will push a squish in the primaries knowing he will lose in the general and they will get to participate in foisting single payer on us.

Whigs 2.0.; 11/16/13, 2:01 AM