So the Strawman was Republican?

Smitty at ATK had a great post on some right wing straw man arguments, and I was thinking about that when I drove home today and heard this NPR story about Republican efforts to undermine the ACA. From Paul Ryan, the Ayn Rand devotee, we get this gem:

"'We must reject the notion that a centrally planned, bureaucratically run health care system can produce more favorable outcomes than the one managed by doctors and patients,' he said."

Never mind that the ACA actually strengthens private insurance companies, and never mind that this bill does nothing to dictate to doctors what to do with their patients. Never mind that. No need to actually be honest.

So let's just recap the conservatives "principled stances" over the last 50 years:

Opposed integration because of "state's rights"

Opposed equal pay for equal work, and women's equal access

Opposed clean air and water regulations, as well as the endangered species act

And now they oppose a government healthcare program that doesn't exist, so they have to lie about it to oppose it. But at the heart of conservatives, they actually oppose people getting healthcare. Sorry, but I don't know how else to explain it. I heard another story today about how the tax credit in the new law is actually helping small businesses cover their employees and sales are up around the country for companies with 25 or fewer employees. Republicans want to get rid of that.

I am not sure we can afford or survive their principles.