They were the ones who first put the idea on the agenda.
Senate Republicans are set to vote next week on tax legislation that would eliminate the financial penalty for people who don’t get health insurance, often called the “individual mandate.” And plenty of Republicans seem positively giddy about the prospect. “Getting rid of Obamacare’s tax on people who choose not to buy a plan or can’t afford the premiums is the right thing to do,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said.
Republicans and their supporters have been bashing the individual mandate so loudly and so vociferously that it’s easy to forget this outrage is a relatively recent phenomenon. Not so long ago, it was easy to find GOP officials and conservative intellectuals who supported the mandate, and not simply because they thought it was the smart thing to do. They also thought it was the right thing to do. In fact, they were the ones who first put the idea on the political agenda.
The story of how Republicans first came to this conclusion and then abandoned it is a pretty good parable for how the GOP has changed in the last 30 years. It also says a lot about the people who will suffer as their efforts to unwind the Affordable Care Act go forward.