March 15, 2010 11:14AM 

# More Questions for Thoughtful ObamaCare Supporters 

By [Michael F. Cannon](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-f-cannon) 

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Last week, I posted [a series of questions that I hoped would get supporters of ObamaCare thinking](https://www.cato.org/2010/03/11/questions-for-thoughtful-obamacare-supporters/).

I received [a brief response from the Center for American Progress’ Matt Yglesias on Twitter](http://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/10329126233). *The Guardian*’s [Sahil Kapur provided a thorough response](http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/mar/12/healthcare-republicans), and even posed a question in return.

I appreciate Kapur’s effort, and plan to respond. But before I do, I wonder if he (or any other thoughtful ObamaCare supporter) would answer just a few additional questions:

- What does it say that Democrats are having this much trouble getting their health care legislation through Congress even after [hiding 60 percent of its cost](../2009/12/16/bland-cbo-memo-or-smoking-gun/)?
- What does it say that Virginia’s legislature, including its Democratically controlled Senate, has approved legislation blocking [the Obama plan’s centerpiece](http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00389)? Or that 31 other states are considering legislation or amending their constitutions to do the same?
- What does it say that veteran and centrist health economist Alain Enthoven writes, “[The American people are being deceived.](http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2009/12/22/would-reform-bills-control-costs-a-response-to-atul-gawande/)..the bills in Congress…do little or nothing to curb \[health care\] expenditures. When the American people come to understand that ‘reform’ was not followed by improvement, they are likely to be disappointed.”
- What does it say that [some Democratic pollsters are in open revolt against ObamaCare](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/11/AR2010031102904.html)?
- What do you make of [Yuval Levin’s observation](http://twitter.com/DanFosterNRO/status/10338680557) that, in order to enact ObamaCare, Democrats must “[amend a law that doesn’t exist yet](http://cdn.rollcall.com/media/44110-1.html) by [passing a bill without voting on it](http://www.nationaljournal.com/congressdaily/hca_20100312_2580.php?)”?
- What does it mean if Democrats decide that ObamaCare will die if it faces [a simple, up-or-down, majority vote](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/28/ap/congress/main6252271.shtml) in the House?

##### Related Tags 

[Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Health Care](https://www.cato.org/health-care) 

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