Wrong again. Obviously.
One of these days, we'll all be shocked at Bill Kristol for getting something right. Today isn't that day.
Bill Kristol, August 5, 2013:
If the exchanges are permitted to go into effect on January 1, 2014, there will be error, fraud, inefficiency, arbitrariness, and privacy violations aplenty. Isn’t the Obama administration concerned about that? Yes. Wouldn’t it be in their interest to agree to delay the exchanges? Not really. There’s a reason the administration is vehemently resisting delay. There’s a reason the Obama administration will claim, till hell freezes over, that all is well with the exchanges, or is going to be well, or would be well, if only the critics would be quiet.
Boy, Kristol didn't even get the date of the exchanges right. They went online October 2013. So by the time Kristol's January 1 date came along, those big early errors were fixed. So he might've been partially right if he'd at least gotten the date right. Oh, well. Missed opportunity. Fraud? None. Arbitrariness? Not even sure why that would be a concern given the clear eligibility rules and automated system. Inefficiency? You can say that about anything, but given that Healthcare.gov just processed 1 million enrollees in pretty much 24 hours, I'd say it's efficient enough. And there hasn't been a single reported instance of privacy violations.
[I]n politics, even train wrecks aren’t self-explanatory. Facts have to be presented to a candid world. One way to do this is through legislative fights, aggressively prosecuted. The Republican party can shine a spotlight on Obamacare, to bring its exchanges out of the shadows and help citizens see their harsh reality.
The reality is harsh, no doubt, but not for Obamacare. The train wreck didn't materialize. Early projections (and aggressive ones, at that) were met. Republicans are left either stuttering about
bogus numbers or worried that they may have placed the
wrong bet.
Meanwhile, ol' Kristol's winless streak continues. Because of course it does.